Hunter Dickinson departure provided 'sense of urgency' for 'pissed off' Michigan basketball team

Michigan Wolverines basketball missed the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2015. Adding insult to injury, center Hunter Dickinson, one of 11 two-time first-team All-Big Ten honorees in program history, transferred to Kansas. Guards Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard departed for the NBA Draft and became top-15 picks. An uphill climb to get back on track became even steeper heading into head coach Juwan Howard‘s fifth season.

Howard and his staff brought in three transfers — graduates Nimari Burnett, Tray Jackson and Olivier Nkamhoua — and added one freshman in guard George Washington III. The returning players are hungry to turn things around, and all four newcomers have also carried chips on their shoulders, junior guard Jace Howard said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch.

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Howard and senior forward Terrance Williams II are two returning captains. Michigan is a veteran team that’s still meshing, searching for role definition, but that process has been a positive, per Howard. And while not having Dickinson’s production hurts, more Wolverines have been forced to step up both with leadership and their play.

“Our guys have really embraced the roles … embraced that there’s a void, and that roles need to be made up because of that void,” the 6-8, 225-pounder said.

“I think our team has done a really good job, whether that’s [sophomore forward] Tarris [Reed Jr.], [sophomore guard] Dug [McDaniel] or the new guys like Olivier, Nimari, Tray. That departure by Hunter really gave us a sense of urgency. And not just Hunter, but we lost Kobe, Jett and a lot of other guys, as well. So now, I think that just made guys step up. You’ve seen that, and the sense of urgency in practice, it’s not just one voice, or we’re not just depending on one voice or a couple players to speak or lead.”

That has led to “the most productive summer practices” Howard can remember, with a feel similar to that of before his freshman year, when Michigan won its first Big Ten regular-season title since 2014.

“We’re in a good spot for fall and getting ready for September, just day by day, week by week,” Howard said.

Last season’s 18-16 record and failure to make the Big Dance, with the Wolverines losing their last three games before heading to the NIT, has provided plenty of fuel.

“[Michigan associate head] Coach [Phil] Martelli likes to talk a lot about, we got hit last year and we got a lot of blood on our lips,” Howard revealed. “We’re tasting it. To tell you the truth, I know it’s made us pissed off. We’re not happy with how the season ended, we’re not happy with — we don’t really get into how we’re being talked about, what our projections are and stuff like that — but we’re just pissed off that we’re being written off.

“We call ourselves like we’re just a band of guys that have been written off — a band of misfits, basically. That’s just been great for us this offseason, because it’s making us a lot closer. 

“Our practices have become a lot more intense. For summer practices, guys are damn-near killing themselves out there. And it’s fun to see. Obviously, we keep it safe, but that intensity is … you’ve got even guys coming into our program like Nimari, Tray and Olivier, they have that chip on their shoulder. George has that chip on his shoulder. And it’s just great to see.”

Michigan isn’t popping up on any (way-too-early) bracket projections or top 25 lists (or anywhere close). The Wolverines are flying under the radar, a fact that they’ve also clasped onto.

“We’ve embraced that we’re the underdog, but we’re not treating ourselves like the underdog,” Howard explained. “We’re not giving into that, and we’re basically going into there saying that we’re as good as anybody and we can beat anybody.

“The potential is definitely there, and you see it in practice, you see it just in everything we do on the court, and even in our open runs and stuff like that. We all think that we’re able to win. We don’t think it — we know it. But we know that we can’t just say that. We know that we’re going to have to put in the work. We know that the game favors the hardest-working team and the team that’s not going to cheat the game, because if you cheat the game, it’s going to cheat you back.

“Next thing you know, you lose that, and I’ve seen that. I think a lot of our guys on the roster have seen that. It’s just cool to see that there’s no begging anybody to do anything. Everybody knows that there’s a job to be done, and they know what it’s like to lose. Everybody on this team hates losing, and they’ve been in losing spots, and nobody wants to get back to that.”

Michigan will tip off the season Nov. 7 against UNC Asheville, following a Nov. 3 exhibition game versus D-II Northwood. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be fascinating to see what kind of team the Wolverines are by then.