10

Thursday, May 21, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Wake Forest transfer Chaundee Brown commits to Michigan

Just over three weeks ago, 

it appeared the recruitment 
of 
Wake 
Forest 
transfer 

Chaundee Brown was winding 
down when he released a final 
group of suitors that included 
Gonzaga, Illinois, LSU and 
Iowa State on Apr. 25.

That didn’t stop Michigan 

coach Juwan Howard from 
trying to get his foot in the 
door. And now, less than a 
month later, Brown is heading 
to Ann Arbor.

Brown, 
who 
has 
one 

remaining year of eligibility, 
announced his commitment 
to Michigan via Instagram 
on Tuesday. He averaged 12.1 
points and 6.5 rebounds on 
45.6 percent shooting across 
23 games last season, with his 
most impressive performance 
coming in a 26-point effort 
against Xavier on Dec. 14.

The Orlando, Fla. native 

also declared for the NBA 
Draft on Apr. 15, but now 
appears set to return to 
college. Brown is the third 
transfer 
to 
commit 
to 

Michigan this spring, joining 
Columbia graduate transfer 
Mike 
Smith 
and 
former 

Purdue guard Nojel Eastern.

In his three years with the 

Demon Deacons, the former 
top-40 
recruit 
established 

himself as a physical presence 
around the rim. Brown’s 
6-foot-5, 225-pound stature 
will improve the Wolverines’ 
physicality 
on 
the 
wing, 

while his 74 career starts and 
wealth of ACC experience 
could prove invaluable from a 
leadership standpoint.

Though he’s never shot 

above 35 percent from beyond 
the arc in a single season, he’s 
shown an ability to stretch the 
floor as a jump-shooter when 
necessary and knock down 
free 
throws 
consistently. 

That versatility, success and 
experience in a high-major 

conference should translate 
well to the Big Ten. 

Like Eastern, who also 

announced his intention to 
transfer to Michigan last 
week, Brown will not be 
eligible for the upcoming 
season without a waiver. But 
given Wake Forest’s decision 
to fire coach Danny Manning, 
Brown may have a better 
case for immediate eligibility, 
though it’s worth noting he 
entered the transfer portal 
prior to Manning’s firing.

If Brown is ruled eligible 

for next season, expect him to 
carve out a sizable spot in the 
rotation. While Michigan’s 
biggest needs are backcourt 
playmaking 
and 
defense, 

Brown isn’t a conventional 
‘2’ guard. His play style 
resembles that of a strong 
undersized power forward 
rather than a shot creator.

That being said, Brown is 

more than just an insurance 
policy on junior forward 
Isaiah 
Livers’ 
impending 

NBA Draft decision. Given his 
ability to get to the rim, finish 
through contact and cash 
in at the free throw line, the 
Wolverines could easily carve 
out a role for Brown in either 
of the next two seasons.

Without a waiver to play 

this season, Brown would 
be a fifth-year senior on an 
inexperienced Michigan team 

in 2021-22. As of now, the only 
upperclassmen on scholarship 
for that season will be Eastern, 
Brandon Johns Jr., Adrien 
Nunez and Franz Wagner, and 
there’s a realistic possibility 
the lattermost declares for the 
2021 NBA Draft.

With the addition of Brown, 

the 
Wolverines 
are 
now 

sitting at the 13-scholarship 

limit for next season. If Livers 
returns to school after testing 
the NBA Draft waters and 
there is no further attrition, 
Michigan will not be able to 
offer a scholarship to any high 
school recruits who reclassify 
from 2021 to 2020 or any 
more high-profile transfers 
that enter the portal over the 
summer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WAKE FOREST ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Chaundee Brown transferred to Michigan, filling its last remaining scholarship slot for 2020-21

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

Gattis ‘nowhere near’ naming starting quarterback 

Leading up to last season’s 

Citrus Bowl, Josh Gattis 
was already planning for the 
future.

In the waning days of his 

first season as the Michigan 
football 
team’s 
offensive 

coordinator, he knew his 
offense was only months 

away from losing quarterback 
Shea Patterson to graduation. 
So as the Wolverines zeroed 
in on their matchup against 
Alabama, Gattis pulled aside 
backup quarterbacks Dylan 
McCaffrey, Joe Milton and 
Cade McNamara to zero in on 
a matchup of their own.

“This is the opportunity 

right now to start this (starting 
quarterback) competition and 

compete,” 
Gattis 
recalled 

telling them in December.

In hindsight, that trigger 

might’ve been pulled too early.

“It was a little bit unfair 

(at the time), because they 
still (were) not taking the 
reps needed,” Gattis said 
during a teleconference on 
Thursday. 
“They’re 
still 

taking backup reps because 
we had to prepare. Shea was 
our starter — there were no 
ands, ifs or buts about it. … 
But I challenged all three of 
those guys to step up in any 
kind of way, show me that you 
can lead this team, show me 
that you can lead this offense. 
And I met with them after 
practices and I told them, 
‘Hey guys, we’ve got to start 
now.’

“So just challenging the 

mentality 
of 
those 
three 

guys. We want a healthy 
quarterback competition. We 
want a balanced quarterback 
competition where we can 
give those guys the right reps 
needed. We just couldn’t do it 
right then in December.”

The Citrus Bowl practices 

came and went, as did the 
months 
of 
January 
and 

February. Soon enough, it 
was time for a spring practice 
slate that was supposed to 
be defined by the much-
anticipated 
quarterback 

battle.

But 
Michigan’s 
spring 

slate — like every other 
program across the country 
— was canceled amid the 
COVID-19 pandemic, robbing 
Gattis of the opportunity to 
see McCaffrey, Milton and 
McNamara duke it out over 
the course of 15 practices. 
Though leaving spring ball 
with a clear starter never 
seemed likely, its cancelation 
only added more uncertainty 
to the situation.

One 
way 
or 
another, 

someone 
needs 
to 
fill 

Patterson’s 
shoes. 
And 

without a spring slate to 
determine the best candidate, 
one would think the natural 
next step is an examination of 
last season’s pecking order.

Not for Gattis.

“No guy is out front, no 

guy is behind,” Gattis said 
during a teleconference on 
Thursday. “There is no order. 
It’s not based on last year, it’s 
not based on the depth chart 
(from) last year. Those things 
are not important. What the 
depth chart last year was 
irrelevant because we had 
one quarterback who was our 
starter.”

In Gattis’ eyes, it’s the 

same three-horse race for the 
job that he envisioned back 
in 
December. 
Ultimately, 

one of the quarterbacks will 
win the keys to an up-tempo 
offense that returns most of 
its playmakers.

Now entering his fourth 

year 
with 
the 
program, 

McCaffrey 
has 
the 
most 

experience of the group. He’s 
attempted three times as 
many career pass attempts 
as Milton, even after missing 
time due to injuries during 
each of the last two seasons. 
Milton, on the other hand, 
boasts a cannon for an arm, 
and 
he 
showed 
flashes 

of a high ceiling during 
limited playing time in 2019. 
McNamara did not see game 
action last season, but his 
passing accuracy and touch 
drew praise as a four-star 
recruit coming out of high 
school.

Kick all that to the curb. 

To Gattis, it’s an even playing 
field heading into the summer.

“We’re 
nowhere 
near 

having a frontrunner,” Gattis 
said. “We lost our starter, 
obviously. We’re in a three-
man competition, coming into 
the spring, with Joe, Dylan 
and Cade, and no one’s got a 
competitive advantage over 
anyone. We’re excited about 
the guys that we have on the 
roster. We’ve got to solve that 
question later down the road 
when we get the opportunity 
to.

“… Every guy is going to get 

the right opportunity to go 
out there and lead this team. 
When we have that answer is 
when they’ll know.”

As of now, that answer 

remains months away.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Dylan McCaffrey is just one of three quarterbacks vying for starting job

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer