Michigan center Hunter Dickinson on his next move: 'It's obviously a hard decision'

Michigan Wolverines basketball‘s season ended March 18 and in the NIT, and neither of those facts sit well with those in the program. The offseason is here, and with that comes some big decisions about the future. All eyes in Ann Arbor are on junior center Hunter Dickinson and sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin, after freshman guard Jett Howard declared for the NBA Draft last week.

Dickinson led Michigan in points (18.5) and rebounds (8.4) per game for a third straight season, adding 1.5 assists per outing and shooting 56 percent from the field, including a 42.1-percent clip from three-point range. Dickinson ratcheted up his level of play at the end of the year, averaging 23.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 60.4 percent from the field over the last six contests.

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A two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and 2021 second-team All-American, Dickinson is taking some time away from basketball after a taxing season.

“Everything’s settled in,” Dickinson said on his podcast, Roundball, of how he’s processing the Michigan season being over. “It’s great being able to take a couple days, relax. The NCAA season is a grind. Everybody’s so sore by the end of the season. Something’s hurting on your body. Being able to take a couple days and just not do anything and just sleep in until like 1 or 2 p.m. on some days is great.

“Just trying to enjoy the relaxation as much as I can, because in a little bit you’ve got to put your head back in the dirt and start grinding again.”

College basketball players with remaining eligibility have three options: to return to school, declare for the NBA Draft or enter the transfer portal. Michigan hopes to get its centerpiece back for his senior season, but he appears undecided on his next move.

“It’s obviously a hard decision on whether I want to stay or if I want to go to the professional ranks or something like that,” Dickinson said. “Just trying to talk it over with my family. I don’t have too many people that I go to for advice and stuff like that.”

Dickinson doesn’t have much in terms of draft buzz, and does not appear on ESPN.com’s top-100 NBA Draft prospects list at this point. However, he entered the draft after his freshman season, participating in the G League Elite Camp before coming back to Michigan, and has been up front with his desire to reach the next level.

What complicates a player’s decision is input from those around him, but as Dickinson mentioned above, he keeps his circle tight.

“It’s kinda hard, because as a basketball player, you have so many people in your ear trying to give you their input on what you should do, and everybody thinks they’ve got the best ideas for you and your career,” he explained. “It’s hard. You’re trying to manage all of that.

“Especially during the season, you’re just trying to play basketball, and you’ve got guys saying, ‘Oh, you should do this, you should do this.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, I’ve still got games left in my season.’ It’s kinda hard as a player. A lot of people don’t realize how much outside noise people have to deal with on a daily basis when they’re playing.”

For now, Dickinson will weigh his options before coming to a final conclusion. The 7-foot-1, 260-pound Michigan star has watched some of the NCAA Tournament as he decompresses, though he admitted it was tough at first.

“It’s kinda hard,” Dickinson said. “It’s definitely harder to watch when you lose in the tournament. When we went to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games and then we lost, it was hard to watch the games after that. It was hard initially this year just to watch the first round and the second round. It was hard to watch those games, but after that you just got used to the fact that you didn’t make it.”

Dickinson has won five NCAA Tournament games during his career, helping lead Michigan to the Elite Eight in 2021 and Sweet 16 last season. Those five victories are the most among Big Ten teams since Dickinson has been in the league.

The big man is one of 11 players in Michigan history to be named first-team All-Big Ten in at least two seasons, joining Bill Buntin (1963-64-65), Cazzie Russell (1964-65-66), Bob Harrison (1948-49), Rudy Tomjanovich (1969-70), Henry Wilmore (1971-72), Rickey Green (1976-77), Mike McGee (1978, ‘81), Roy Tarpley (1985-86), Gary Grant (1987-88) and Glen Rice (1988-89).