Video, observations from Michigan basketball open practice in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — No. 11 Michigan Wolverines basketball held a Wednesday morning open practice at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ahead of its first-round NCAA Tournament game against No. 11 seed Colorado State Thursday afternoon.
Here’s a list of the activities Michigan players took part in during the 40-minute open practice session.
• The Wolverines began by stretching as several fans filed in and looked on. Noticeably missing was fifth-year senior point guard DeVante’ Jones, who did not travel with the Michigan team due to being in concussion protocol. Head coach Juwan Howard said Jones took an elbow to the face while driving during practice and went down. He will miss the first-round matchup with Colorado State, but could be available Saturday if the Wolverines advance. However, we’d believe that’s doubtful to happen if he indeed did suffer a concussion.
• Michigan then went into some ball handling drills, led by assistant coach Saddi Washington and with some encouragement from Howard and the rest of the staff. The players stood in place and moved around while practicing their ball handling.
• The Wolverines transitioned to various shooting drills, which took up the better portion of the open practice. The perimeter players went through circuits where they had to shoot both off the dribble and in spot-up situations — from close to the bucket, mid-range and beyond the arc. Michigan struggled to consistently make shots in this portion of practice, though three Wolverines stood out. Fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks was the top shot-maker, followed by sophomore forward Terrance Williams II and freshman forward Caleb Houstan.
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• The big men also got some work directly with the head coach (this is not an uncommon occurrence for Michigan in practice). Howard was leading drills and working with his bigs on getting the proper post position, using good footwork and finishing. While there were no defenders present, a missed detail or a move that would get a shot blocked, etc. was reason for Howard to stop the drill and bark out instructions. The Wolverines’ frontcourt players threw done some ferocious dunks but also displayed quality footwork and body control.
• The Maize and Blue shot free throws for a few minutes, with the standouts being Brooks, senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson. With the whole team watching, freshman guard Kobe Bufkin knocked down the final foul shot of the afternoon to close things out.
• Michigan’s time on the floor concluded, as the Wolverines’ band played Hail To The Victors. Howard joined in, fist pumping his way down the floor. Some straggling players got off some extra shots before filing down the tunnel and into the locker room. No. 14 seed Longwood, which takes on No. 3 seed Tennessee Thursday, was up next to take the floor.
Watch highlights from practice below.
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