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December 09, 2020 - Image 20

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The Michigan Daily

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20 — Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Oftentimes in practice, the

Michigan men’s basketball team
plays exhibitions between its first
and second units. Normally, the
result is exactly what you’d expect
it to be.

“We may beat them a few times

but most of the time (the starters
are) beating up on us,” senior
forward Chaundee Brown said.

In
Sunday’s
80-58
victory

over Central Florida, though, the
second unit proved to be the most
productive players on the floor
for the Wolverines. Trailing by
12 points midway through the
first half, Michigan coach Juwan
Howard
subbed
in
freshman

forward Terrance Williams to join
junior forward Brandon Johns
Jr. and freshman center Hunter
Dickinson in the frontcourt. The
Wolverines needed a spark, and
they delivered.

“Soon as I came in on the floor,

(Johns) talked to me, he was like,
‘Be a dog, bring energy, do what
you do,’ ” Williams said, after
finishing with 10 points and six
rebounds. “And that instilled a lot

of confidence with me because he
believed in me.”

Immediately
after
entering

the
game,
Williams
brought

energy and then some. On his first
possession, he converted a three-
point play and followed it up with a
mid-range jumper on the next trip
down. For Williams, coming off the
bench and making a difference is a
role he’s familiar with, and one that
he is more than happy to play for
his squad.

“(Coming off the bench), it’s not

a jarring difference,” Williams said.
“I’ve been in this position before.”

Dickinson proved to be a

difference-maker as well. Though
he didn’t enter the game until
around the 13-minute mark and
struggled early on, Dickinson
looked far more confident on the
offensive end once Williams joined
him on the floor. Dickinson threw
down a massive jam off an offensive
rebound
following
a
missed

3-pointer to cut the Knights’ lead to
three and later converted another
second chance bucket to put the
Wolverines up 33-30 following a
jumper from Williams.

“On the offensive glass with his

length, it’s always good to have
him,” Howard said. “If you miss a

spot, he’s there to clean it up. Or if
he gets in the low block, he’s there
to finish it.”

While Dickinson has come

off the bench as a reserve for the
season’s first four games, he has
arguably been one of the team’s
most consistent performers on
a nightly basis, scoring 14 points
and hauling down seven rebounds
tonight
to
mark
his
fourth

consecutive double-digit scoring
performance. As is the case with
Williams, Dickinson has embraced
his role on the bench.

“He’s a total team guy,” Howard

said. “He trusts the process and
that’s a coach’s dream, to have a
guy that’s all in and trusts what we
can bring to the table to help him be
successful.”

Four games into the season,

Howard has twice called on the two
freshmen to deliver a spark for his
team, and the pair has responded
on both occasions. Last Sunday,
Michigan was also struggling, and
the duo helped spark a second half
rally, with Dickinson scoring 19
points and Williams contributing
seven. On Sunday afternoon, the
final 10 minutes of the first half,
Williams and Dickinson combined
to score 16 out of the team’s 22
points.

“The chemistry’s really good

between us,” Dickinson said. “But
I think the chemistry among us all
is really good. I think this team is
really close and everybody’s really
close-knit and I think we all work
really well together.”

In the second half, Michigan

rode the hot shooting touch of
fellow reserve Brown — who
finished with 19 points and four
3-pointers — to cruise to a relatively
easy win. Johns also added a
strong effort on loose balls and the
offensive glass.

The game looked like it had all

the makings of an upset special
early on, but the team’s reserves
were the ones to turn it around in
the Wolverines’ favor.

“They changed the game for us,”

Howard said.

Chaundee Brown had a long

list of suitors this offseason.

The
2016-2017
Florida

Gatorade Player of the Year and
former Wake Forest guard was
coming off a season in which
he averaged 12.1 points and
6.5 rebounds for the Demon
Deacons. The appeal was evident
— the program that landed
Brown was getting a battle-
tested veteran, a capable shooter
and a frisky defender who had
held his own against stiff ACC
competition.

Brown announced in mid-

May that he would transfer to
Michigan, turning down the
likes of Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa
State and LSU. While Brown
wouldn’t have started for the
Bulldogs and Illini — ranked No.
1 and No. 6 respectively in the AP
Top 25 Poll — he very well could
have for the latter two teams,
or a number of mid-majors for
that matter. Instead, though, he
chose the Wolverines knowing
that his minutes may be limited.

“We
just
have
so
much

talent,” Brown said. “... I know
that myself, (senior guard Eli
Brooks), (sophomore wing Franz
Wagner) and (graduate guard
Mike Smith) we all have to
sacrifice each other’s minutes,
shots, things like that. But that’s
why I came here. I knew I was
probably gonna come off the
bench here. I have no problem
with that. I just wanted to win.
That’s all, I wanted to win.”

Brown
didn’t
do
much

winning during his career in
Winston-Salem going 35-58 in a
three-year span. In finding a new
team, winning was a priority.
So far, so good for Brown and
Michigan. The Wolverines are
4-0, and excluding an overtime
scare
against
Oakland,
the

results were never in doubt.

In addition to crisp ball

movement and a well-rounded
offensive
attack,
Michigan’s

bench play has been the driving
force behind its early success.
In no game was this on display
more than in Sunday’s 22-point
demolition of UCF — the highest
ranked opponent the Wolverines
have faced this season according
to KenPom. Michigan’s bench
accounted for 49 of the team’s
80 points and Brown led the way
with an efficient 18 points on
7-for-12 shooting.

“I have a second unit that is

selfless,” Michigan coach Juwan
Howard said. “They have bought
into their roles. Truly the star
was Chaundee … he’s accepted
the role of being the sixth man
for us and he’s perfecting it. It
says a lot about his character.”

Against
the
Knights,
the

Wolverines found themselves
in a double-digit hole midway
through the first half. With
Wagner in foul trouble and
the starting unit struggling
to
score,
Michigan
turned

to
Brown,
freshman
center

Hunter Dickinson and freshman
forward Terrance Williams to
dig it out of it.

“The bench guys, we’re all

D1, division 1,” Brown said.
“(Coach Howard) knows that
we have game. Coach Howard,
all the coaches recruited us for a
reason. He saw it in AAU and in
college basketball.

“Just coming off the bench,

that’s a different role. We’re
sacrificing a lot of things that
on other teams, we would’ve
been star players or starting but
we’re taking a second role on a
winning team. We’re just always
ready.”

Through the first four games,

Brown’s ability to hit 3-pointers
has been on display. At 44%
— and with an average of 6.25
attempts per game — Brown
leads the team in that category.
Whether his stellar conversion
rate is more of a product or
a cause of the Wolverines’

dynamic offense is unclear, but
his confidence from deep is at an
all-time high.

“I believe in my shots,” Brown

said. “I work on my shot hours a
day, hours and hours in the gym.
Before the game, before practice,
after practice, I just work on my
3-point shots a lot and I just felt
like I’ve been getting good looks.
Can’t turn down a good look.
Coach Howard always tells us, if
you pass up an open shot it’s like
a turnover for us. So all the open
shots I get, I try to take them.”

Howard added: “I watched a

lot of film on him. I knew that
he was a knockdown shooter. I
kept telling my staff about it, and
we were having conversations
as we were quarantined in our
homes. … We talked about — one
of the things that he provides
is something that we can truly
enjoy as a staff and also as a team
is his outside shooting. So it was
no surprise to me at all. It was a
big reason why we were high on
him.”

Though it’s early, Brown has

excelled as Michigan’s sixth
man and justified the decision
he made over the summer in the
process.

Knight squad

Behind Brown’s shooting, bench scoring, Wolverines avoid upset bid from Central Florida

Hailey Brown’s experience helping Michigan

Senior forward Hailey Brown

has been a mainstay for the
Wolverines ever since she arrived
in Ann Arbor three years ago.
With classmates Deja Church
and Priscilla Smeenge having
transferred to DePaul and Liberty,
respectively, Brown is the only one
left.

An energetic presence on the

court known for shot-making
abilities, Brown’s ability behind
the arc has impacted Michigan’s
ability to develop big leads. Last
season, she led the Wolverines with
56 3-pointers, going 36.6% from
beyond the arc.

This season, she has shown the

ability to be a major contributor,
scoring 18 points against women’s
basketball
powerhouse
Notre

Dame, three of which were from
behind the arc.

The shots came at dire moments

when
the
Wolverines
were

searching for the edge. In the first
half against the Fighting Irish,
Brown scored 10 points. Coming
into the second half, she scored a
clutch three out
of
transition,

giving Michigan
a 39-34 lead. Her
final three grew
the
Wolverines

lead to four in
the third quarter,
giving her team
the
confidence

to finish Notre
Dame
in
the

fourth.

“She
has
just
such
great

experience and such great feel for
the game,” Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico said. “That’s what
makes us a different team this year
than the team that we were last
year.”

Brown’s experience comes into

play this season. She’s just four
games shy of 100 as a Wolverine,

and she knows how to play off her
teammates well and get open for
shots.

It’s been a common theme for

the opposition to have two or three

players
shadow

junior forward Naz
Hillmon,
leaving

Brown wide open.
And as she’s shown
this season, Brown
has the ability to
make them pay.

“She’s
a
kid

that
grew
up

playing with Team
Canada,”
Barnes

Arico said. “She

understands the game. Her IQ is
exceptional. She just knows where
to be, and she’s a shot maker.”

Brown’s
ability
offensively

will be a major threat for the
Wolverines all season, but her
defensive game speaks for itself.
The Wolverines blocked eight
shots against Notre Dame, half of
them coming from Brown. Last

season, she averaged 3.3 rebounds
per game and looks to improve that
number this year, averaging 4.5 in
the Wolverines’ first four games.
Whether it’s her experience as a
senior or the pieces aligning for
one last ride at Michigan, Brown
looks to be extremely valuable for
the Wolverines offensively and
defensively.

The
Wolverines
have
an

abundance of experience heading
into Big Ten play. Barnes Arico will
look towards junior guard Amy Dilk
to find Brown off the transition and
knock shots. In the dire moments
of the game, the Wolverines know
they can trust Brown.

“We have experience that helps,”

Barnes Arico said. “We have depth
that helps and our freshmen are
going to be outstanding. They’re
working hard every day. We have
those key components, we have
an All-American candidate Naz
Hillmon, we have a fifth-year
player and a senior that are pretty
special.”

Wednesday game off,
‘M’ schedules Toledo

The
Michigan
men’s

basketball
team’s
scheduled

game against NC State for Dec.
9 has been postponed due to
COVID-19 concerns within the
NC State program. The news
was first reported by Brendan
Quinn of The Athletic.

“Far
too
often
have
I

had to say we are all living
in
unprecedented
times,”

Michigan coach Juwan Howard
said in a press release. “Our
main concern is the health
and safety of (NC State) coach
(Kevin) Keatts, his players as
well as all of
those
within

the N.C. State
program. It is
unfortunate
we
have
to

postpone
this

ACC/Big
Ten

Challenge
matchup.
It

would
have

been
fun.

However,
we must do what is right, and
this is the right thing to do for
everyone.”

Quinn additionally reported

that Michigan will instead
play Toledo on Dec. 9 at Crisler
Center, replacing the matchup
with NC State. Toledo is 3-2 on
the season so far and expected
to be one of the top teams in the

MAC.

By scheduling a game with

Toledo, the Wolverines will
reach
the
NCAA-prescribed

limit of 25 games with five
non-conference games and a
20-game conference slate. That
means the door to playing NC
State would presumably be
closed.

The Wolfpack had their game

against Connecticut, scheduled
for Saturday, cancelled due to a
positive test within the NC State
travelling party at the Mohegan
Sun Resort. The positive test
was
initially
detected
on

Friday after previous rounds
of negative testing. Michigan

was
initially

scheduled
to

play in the multi-
team
event
in

Uncasville,
Conn. but bowed
out.

The

Wolverines were
slated to battle
the
Wolfpack

as a part of the
annual
ACC-

Big Ten Challenge. It’s the
second contest in the Challenge
to be cancelled, joining the
Louisville-Wisconsin
game

which was called off due to
COVID concerns in Louisville’s
program.

Michigan said in the release

that as of now, it has no COVID-
19 issues.

JULIA SCHHACHINGER/Daily

Forward Hailey Brown is the only senior on the roster for the Michigan women’s basketball team, making her a leader on the court for the Wolverines.

She knows
where to be,

and she’s a shot-

maker.

ASHA LEWIS/Daily

Michigan’s game against NC State was postponed due to COVID-19.

JARED GREENSPAN

Daily Sports Writer

We are all
living in

unprecedented

times.

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

CONNOR BRENNAN

Daily Sports Editor

ASHA LEWIS/Daily

Senior forward Chaundee Brown’s outside shooting was key as he helped Michigan’s bench to 49 points against UCF.

NICK MOEN

Daily Sports Writer

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