Just like that, the dream ended.
Two hours earlier, the Michigan
men’s basketball team hoped to be
cutting down the nets en route to
their second Final Four appearance
in four years. Unfortunately for the
Wolverines, UCLA had other ideas.
Now, in the wee hours of Wednesday
morning, a dichotomous visual took
shape on the court at Lucas Oil Stadium.
On one side, a dejected Michigan team
shuffled off the floor and into the
offseason. On the other, the 11-seeded
Bruins celebrated the continuation of
an unlikely run from a play-in game to
the first weekend of April.
While the Wolverines, as the Big
Ten regular-season champions and
the East region’s No. 1 seed, held lofty
expectations heading into the Big
Dance, falling one game short of the
Final Four is not a failure by any means.
Instead, it serves as the punctuation
mark on a successful season for second-
year coach Juwan Howard.
Coming into the season, Michigan
was picked to finish as low as ninth in
the Big Ten by some media outlets. The
Wolverines blew these expectations
out of the water. The return of key
contributors
like
senior Isaiah Livers
and sophomore Franz
Wagner on the wings
and
senior
guard
Eli Brooks, coupled
with the infusion of
talented
newcomers
who
joined
the
program as transfers
and
freshmen,
propelled
Michigan
to a dominant regular
season. As of March 1,
the Wolverines trailed
only
undefeated
Gonzaga in the AP top-25 poll.
“I was excited to see that we were
seeded number one because it proved
that this team of players and staff have
worked so hard to get to this point right
here,” Howard said when the bracket
was revealed on March 14. “It’s been
a very long journey, at times it’s been
stressful but the highs are outweighing
the lows. Our guys have worked so hard,
so they deserve to be in this position so
I’m so proud of them.”
Under Howard’s tutelage, freshman
center Hunter Dickinson burst onto the
scene and earned Big Ten Freshman of
the Year honors. Dickinson claimed the
starting center position from fifth-year
senior Austin Davis five games into the
season and never looked back. Barring
the
unforeseen,
Dickinson
should
return for his sophomore campaign — a
scary proposition for the rest of the Big
Ten.
“For a player like me, I think it’s an
understatement to say I’ve enjoyed this
season,” Dickinson said on March 17. “I
really think this season has been special
for me because I’ve met my teammates
and I love hanging out with them. … I
try to do my best to just help out as
much as possible because that’s kinda
my love for them, I wanna do my part
and help them win as much as I want to
win.”
The post-Zavier Simpson era at the
point guard position also began without
a hitch. Columbia transfer Mike Smith
filled the void left by Simpson with
aplomb, averaging 10 points per game,
shooting 42% from 3-point range and
leading the Big Ten in assists.
Thanks to the family-like culture
Howard has worked so hard to instill
in his short tenure, Dickinson, Smith
and sixth-man spark plug Chaundee
Brown Jr. — a transfer from Wake
Forest — assimilated immediately.
Michigan’s success reflected genuine
chemistry. Throughout the season, it
was demonstrated by the Wolverines’
bench cheering on their teammates and
expressed in every media availability.
“Almost every team now or every
organization will say to you, culture
and values and family and all this
other stuff,” associate head coach Phil
Martelli told reporters in November.
“And being perfectly frank, I think
sometimes it’s bullshit. They’re the
catchphrases so I’m supposed to say it.
“But to Juwan’s
credit, he does live
by those cultural
beliefs. He really
does see everybody
involved
in
the
program as family
and he understands
that in families you
treat
each
other
fairly but you do
have to treat each
other a little bit
differently.”
The
positivity
surrounding
this
program is palpable from the outside.
Even
after
early-season
struggles
against Oakland, losses to Illinois and
Michigan State at the end of the season,
and dramatically bowing out of the Big
Ten Tournament in the semifinals, the
Wolverines never seemed like a divided
bunch.
To lose on the precipice of the Final
Four is undeniably disappointing, but
that, in-and-of-itself signifies that the
Wolverines are in good hands. When
Howard took over for John Beilein
in May of 2019, few expected the
transition to be this smooth. Howard’s
taken an already strong foundation and
added his own touches to it.
“I never forget going back to my press
conference,” Howard said on March
14. “When I said I have unfinished
business, (a title) is the unfinished
business.”
Howard’s business may still be
unfinished, but if the Wolverines’ 2020-
21 season is a sign of things to come, it
won’t be for very long.
“They could say it’s me being me, but
I really do believe that he’s a can’t-miss,”
Martelli said. “He will coach a national
champion before he leaves Michigan.”
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Editor
Howard’s business
may still be unfinished,
but if the Wolverines’
2020-21 season is a
sign of things to come,
it won’t be for
very long.
END
OF THE
ROAD
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan’s season comes
to a close in the Elite Eight
ANN ARBOR, MI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 | MICHIGANDAILY.COM
SPORTSWEDNESDAY
Photos courtesy of Trevor Brown Jr./NCAA Photos via Getty Images