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