ANN ARBOR -- It’s rare for a power conference program to hit the road for an exhibition game, but Friday night presents a unique circumstance: Wayne State, a Division II program in Detroit, is debuting its new arena. The Michigan men’s basketball team serves as the marquee guest for the sold-out event.
With games that count towards their record starting next week, the Wolverines feel like they know their strengths and what needs to be cleaned up.
Michigan, last season’s Big Ten champion, played a closed scrimmage on Sunday at DePaul. While no statistics were released, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and two of his players spoke about the game during Thursday’s video press conference.
Michigan’s starters for the scrimmage were DeVante’ Jones, Eli Brooks, Caleb Houstan, Brandon Johns Jr., and Hunter Dickinson; no surprises there.
Jones, who transferred from Coastal Carolina, said the starting unit was clicking on both ends of the floor. Dickinson said Michigan led by 17 at half.
“Offensively, we did a really good job of moving the basketball, making the extra pass,. Howard said. “Every guy played well, from top to bottom, on our roster. On the defensive side of the ball, I thought we were great on that level as far as being disruptive, challenging shots, did a really good job of keeping guys in front.”
Scrimmages are not a true measure of a team, as substitution patterns may not mimic a team’s actual preferences and the rules are often altered (Dickinson noted there was a segment during which both teams agreed to play zone defense).
Still, Michigan found areas for improvement. Jones said Michigan could have rebounded “way better.” Dickinson said there was dip in the second half when Michigan deployed its second unit.
It will be interesting to watch how Howard manages the rotation. He’s got a lot of experience: the scrimmage starters featured two fifth-year seniors, a senior, and a sophomore in Dickinson who played heavy minutes last season.
Michigan also has the second-ranked freshman class in the country, headlined by Houstan. At least a couple of his classmates will also see the court.
Said Howard of Michigan’s depth: “It’s a good problem to have.” He said the Wolverines are fully healthy entering the exhibition.
Dickinson said the scrimmage against DePaul “was really fun to finally get to play against another team for once, stop beating on each other.” He and his teammates are looking forward to doing it again Friday, this time in front of fans.
The approximately 3,000-seat Wayne State Fieldhouse is sold out for the matchup. (Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be watched via an online stream on the Wayne State athletics website for $5.95.) The Warriors return all five starters from a team that posted a 12-7 record last season and won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
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