Will Tschetter looks to bring 'that spark' for Michigan basketball

Michigan Wolverines basketball ranks 288th in the country in bench minutes played at 26.8 percent. Head coach Juwan Howard‘s crew will take anything they can get from the backups, and lately it’s been redshirt freshman forward Will Tschetter playing some big minutes.

First and foremost, Tschetter brings energy off the bench. He’s Michigan’s loudest communicator on defense, per associate head coach Phil Martelli, always seems to be in the right spots and is seeing his shot go down in recent games.

“Whether it’s making energy plays — well, smart energy plays — and being able to impact and feed life into those other guys that are playing those heavy minutes,” Tschetter said on the Inside Michigan Basketball radio show. “Sometimes, it can get a little bit monotonous, they can get fatigued — but being able to provide that spark is huge. Just doing anything I can in order to breath life into those guys.”

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The Michigan forward has played in each of the last four games, averaging 9.5 minutes and 4 points per outing during that stretch. That included a career-best 7-point performance in a 93-84 overtime loss at Iowa last Thursday night. Tschetter hit his second career three-pointer and shined on the defensive end.

According to Synergy, Tschetter grades out in the 83rd percentile nationally on the defensive end, allowing just 0.697 points per possession as the primary defender. Opponents are shooting just 4-of-17 from the field on spot-up opportunities while Tschetter is checking them.

The game is slowing down for him, Martelli said, which should allow him to pick up more minutes.

At Crisler Center, Tschetter is a fan favorite. Students hold up signs like ‘Will is the cheesiest’ (a play on the pronunciation of his name, which is said like, ‘cheddar) and give him an extra round of applause when he enters the game.

“I really appreciate all the love from my Maize Rage people, everything that they do,” Tschetter said. “I think I saw a sign [Sunday against Northwestern] like, ‘It’s a library in here,’ so I always try to bring that energy. I really appreciate all the support from all the Michigan fans.”

Michigan has experimented a bit at the power forward spot over the last couple weeks. Freshman forward Tarris Reed Jr., who’s mostly played as junior center Hunter Dickinson‘s backup, has played alongside his fellow big man. The ‘Thump And Bump’ lineup has worked in the last two contests.

“Those two bring a lot of energy with each other,” Tschetter said. “They create matchup problems for other teams. Tarris being as athletic as he is, he can really guard well in that lineup, as well.

“It was introduced probably a week and a half, two weeks ago. It’s been huge for us. We’ve gotten some good looks out of it, and we’ll see where we go from here.”

Michigan’s season has been a rollercoaster ride to this point. The Wolverines have seven total losses but are 4-2 in Big Ten play and appear capable of being a contender for the regular-season conference crown. The offense has been steady, for the most part, but the defense has been inconsistent. Tschetter said the biggest key is focusing on the task at hand and trying to improve each day.

“As a team right now, we just need to keep that next-game mentality, the 1-0 mentality, don’t look too far ahead and don’t really think about the past games,” the Michigan forward explained. “The past can’t control now. Don’t think about them. That’s been the theme of the whole year. Obviously, [we’ve had] some ups and downs, but just staying the course, making sure that we are looking to that next one, not looking too far ahead.”

Michigan takes on Maryland Thursday night at the Xfinity Center in College Park (7 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Will Tschetter credits Michigan strength coach Jon Sanderson for development

Tschetter’s redshirt season in 2021-22 was beneficial, even if staying patient was challenging at times. He developed his body with strength coach Jon Sanderson and worked on his game behind the scenes.

“Coach Sandman is a big reason for Michigan basketball’s success ever since he got here,” Tschetter noted. “The big thing he does for players is he preps them for the rigor of college athletics. He does a great job of making sure that you’re focused — not only physically, but he does a really good job of making sure they’re mentally, they’re eating right, they’re thinking in the right way. If something’s not going well, he gets you in the right head space.

“On top of that, he’s an out-of-this-world strength coach. You can see the strides that people make strength-wise with him, and that speaks for itself, but what goes unnoticed is all the things he does with the person side of you. I know I appreciated that a lot last year. We had a lot of talks about staying patient and stuff like that. I’m forever indebted to him. I love him.”