Michigan basketball: Robbie Hummel talks 'pro' Kobe Bufkin, Hunter Dickinson backing up trash talk
The only Big Ten team to win six games in February, Michigan Wolverines basketball (17-12, 11-7 Big Ten) is one of the hottest teams in the league, playing its best basketball of the season. The Maize and Blue are on a three-game winning streak, their second of the month and third of the season, having just beaten Michigan State (84-72), Rutgers (58-45) and Wisconsin (87-79).
Sunday’s win over the Badgers on senior day was one for the ages considering how it went down. Junior center Hunter Dickinson nailed a 30-foot buzzer beater to tie the game and force overtime, before the Wolverines won the extra session, 19-11.
It was fitting for Dickinson, who earlier in the season called Wisconsin “scumbags” on his podcast, Roundball, after last year’s postgame handshake line incident in Madison, which resulted in fines and suspensions on both sides. Most notably, Michigan head man Juwan Howard was suspended five games. Dickinson exchanged words with Wisconsin fans during the Feb. 14 matchup but scored just 12 points. This time, he helped his team to a victory with 23 points and 10 boards.
“Dickinson makes just an incredible shot. He’s had an interesting year,” analyst Robbie Hummel said on Big Ten Today. “Certainly, his beef with Wisconsin on display.
“If you’re going to talk the trash, this is the type of performance that you have to give to back it up, and he had a double-double — 23 and 10. But it seems like he has beef with everybody in the league at this point, but he did back it up on this day, and their guard play was phenomenal.”
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Improving guard play has been a trend for Michigan lately. Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel has scored 18, 16 and 20 points in the last three games, respectively, earning Kenpom’s MVP honors in wins over MSU and Rutgers. He’s shooting 47.4 percent on mid-range jumpers, third in the Big Ten among those with 20-plus attempts, and has made 17 of his last 28 two-point shots.
“Dug McDaniel, just how comfortable he is,” Hummel explained of what’s standing out. “This is a kid that, you look at the start of the year, when he committed to Michigan, he’s thinking, ‘Alright, we’ve got Frankie Collins, we’re gonna have Jaelin Llewellyn.’ He’s probably not even supposed to be playing, but due to necessity — whether it’s injury or transfer — he’s been thrust in there, and he’s had a really mature feel.
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“He’s been coachable, he’s certainly had some struggles. But he’s taking care of the basketball, he’s starting to really shoot it well during Big Ten play. But just the feel that they’ve not turned the basketball over …”
Sophomore Kobe Bufkin averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per outing in February. He’s turning heads in the NBA Draft world, checking in as the No. 28 overall pick in The Athletic analyst Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft.
“Kobe Bufkin is really coming into his own, whether it’s living at the rim, mid-range [and] he’s starting to make more shots from the perimeter,” Hummel said. “[He’s] starting to play like a guy who’s going to play in the National Basketball Association. He has played like a pro.”
Michigan still has work to do to make the NCAA Tournament, according to bracket projections. The Wolverines are in the ‘first four out’ per both ESPN and CBS Sports. Two regular-season games remain — road tilts at Illinois and Indiana — before the Big Ten Tournament.
