Rudy Tomjanovich reflects on time at Michigan, how Hunter Dickinson fits in modern NBA

Michigan basketball welcomed back one of its own on Saturday for the game against Ohio State. Program icon and NBA legend Rudy Tomjanovich was honored during halftime for his election into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Prior to the ceremony, he had the chance to reflect on his time at Michigan in a meeting with the local media.

“Any time I come to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, I get a really warm, sort of nostalgic feeling and a lot of memories pass through my mind about all the different things that happened at different parts of the city, just different streets,” Tomanovich said. “But it’s all good feelings.”

Tomjanovich played at Michigan from 1967-70 and was a two-time All-Big Ten performer and All-American in 1970. His No. 45 is retired by the program and hangs in the rafters above the Crisler Center floor. He was a five-time NBA All-Star with the San Diego/Houston Rockets and went on to coach the franchise to a pair of championships.

“I appreciate Coach Howard and them for doing this for me here. Means a lot,” he said. “I’m not crazy about all the recognition, but it works for me when I say it’ll give me a chance to thank people. And that’s the way I’ve dealt with this stuff with the Hall of Fame and stuff.

“Going to Michigan helped me prepare for my future career, and it was a solid foundation that I got here.” 

Michigan in the Hall of Fame

Tomjanovich was the first former Michigan player to make the Hall of Fame. That surprised him given the caliber of talent that has come through the program.

“I was very surprised when I found out I was the first Wolverine to make it,” he said. “I thought there would be somebody with all the history here. Then I was happy before we left that they announced Chris Webber was going in. I got to see him there, so that was cool.”

He feels that former Michigan star Glen Rice, who he coached in the NBA at the end of his career, is also worthy of going into the Hall of Fame.

“Hell of a player and was a good NBA player,” Tomjanovich said. “Had some injuries at the end of his career. That was tough when he found out he had to hang them up. He was a fantastic player and one of the best shooters ever.”

What Tomjanovich sees in Hunter Dickinson

Tomjanovich has not coached since a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004-05 but has still spends time consulting and scouting for other teams. Michigan sophomore center Hunter Dickinson went through the pre-draft process last year, where the long-time coach got a look at his game.

“I like him,” Tomjanovich said. “I scouted him last year when I was working for Minnesota for a couple of drafts and was impressed by him. If it was a different era, he would be right there at the top. But the way the game’s played in the NBA, it’s hard to really get — they just don’t use big men that much.”

Dickinson has taken steps to bring his game away from the basket. However, Tomjanovich still sees him as a throwback-type of big man. Even when he had a legend in Hakeem Olajuwon working with him in Houston, it still took a lot of work to keep him involved.

“It’s not easy when you have a big man and everybody knows you want to try and throw it in,” he said. “They can set the defenses now. In the old days when we had all these different rules and had Hakeem, we worked every day on how to get the ball up and pass it in. It takes a lot of time to have a good inside game. now they changed the defensive rules where you can have a guy upfront and behind. You can put three guys on him before he gets the ball. It gets harder because they can do different things. The big guys will make a comeback.”

At the end of the day, he still sees a bright future for the Michigan center.

“He’s got an inside game,” Tomjanovich said. “He’s got an outside game, he’s aggressive. I like that he takes it to them and he’s a pretty good passer too.”