Michigan basketball starters are quickly developing chemistry

Michigan basketball head coach Juwan Howard declined to reveal his starting five for Friday’s exhibition game at Wayne State. However, fifth-year senior guard DeVante’ Jones let it slip that the players who many expected to open games has been the group running the ones — Jones, fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks, freshman guard/forward Caleb Houstan, senior forward Brandon Johns and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson.

The team beat DePaul in a scrimmage on Sunday, and it went smoothly, even though three are new to being full-time starters at Michigan.

“What stood out was the chemistry, especially with the starting unit,” Jones said of the scrimmage.

“I feel like we came out great, with a lot of defensive intensity. The offense was smooth. You usually get with a new group of guys, and the ball gets stagnant, everybody wants to dribble, everybody wants the ball in their hands, everybody wants to make plays. But it was just so smooth, just playing with Eli, Caleb, Brandon Johns and Hunter. It was so easy, offensively and defensively, just to get everything going.”

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While Howard will likely tinker with the lineups and rotation, the Wolverines’ exhibition will provide another opportunity for the first five to jell.

“We’ve built a bond very quickly,” Jones said. “I’m cool with all these guys, feel like I’ve been knowing them for years, especially with me, Hunt, Eli, Caleb, [freshman forward] Moussa [Diabate] and [freshman guard] Frankie [Collins] and all the rest of the guys. I just feel like we’ve been knowing each other for a long time.

“Exhibition tomorrow, so it’s going to be a really tight thing for us. The scrimmage was great for us. It was great to get a look at how we get together as a team, howe we play together. I can’t wait; tomorrow’s going to be amazing.”

At the same time, having been in the college game for four-plus years, Jones knows it’s going to take some time for Michigan basketball to play at the highest level it’s capable of.

“I feel like that first month is really about testing your character,” he explained. “I feel like, at the beginning, I don’t feel like this team is going to be at our best. I try to tell our guys that, especially the first few games, we’re going to win — there might be some ugly wins — but we’re just putting this stuff together. It’s going to get better and better as the season continues to grow.

“Buffalo [Michigan basketball’s first regular-season opponent] is going to come in and give us their best shot. We understand that Buffalo is a great team, a hard-nosed team, so Juwan Howard and the rest of the staff are doing a great job telling us they’re going to come in and give us everything they got. So just stay the course, and we’re going to get the job done.”

In addition to the core group of players expected to impact right away, Michigan has younger players who may take longer to get up to speed. In the backcourt, Collins and fellow freshman Kobe Bufkin are coming along and will only get better.

Jones primarily played off the ball at Coastal Carolina last season before transferring after the campaign, but he’ll be asked to play point guard this year. He had been the lead guard for the Chanticleers in the past, and despite shooting 26.2 percent of the team’s shots while he was on the floor and averaging 19.3 points per game a year ago, he insists he loves to pass.

“Understanding that me being a part of a team, you’ve got to be able to do a lot of things, especially at 6-1,” Jones said of where he’s grown since joining Michigan basketball. “Being able to shoot the ball, defend, rebound, play make for other guys.

“That’s just been my key, being able to play make for Hunter, Caleb, Eli. Playmaking for all those guys that I know are really dynamic.

“I’d say my defense is something that stands out. I’m a hard-nosed defender, full court, so that’s another thing that keeps me going.”