Michigan Basketball: 5 things we learned from win over North Carolina

Matthews proves he’s a true star again

Throughout the broadcast, ESPN’s Dick Vitale kept giving Beilein credit for how he develops his players and one thing I kept thinking was how Charles Matthews is a perfect example of that.

This is a kid, that three years ago, couldn’t get on the floor at Kentucky. So he transferred to Michigan and now that he’s in the third year with the program, the transformation is complete.

Matthews wasn’t the leading scorer for the Wolverines, but he was still their best player. When Michigan struggled early, Matthews hit a couple of smooth, fadeaway jumpers to keep the score close. When North Carolina made a run late, it was Matthews three that stopped UNC’s momentum.

Matthews stat line was impressive: 21 points, seven rebounds, one block, one steal, two 3’s and 5-of-8 from the free throw line stood out, but so did his incredible effort on both ends of the floor.

Obviously, there are a lot of great players in the Big Ten Conference, however, in terms of two-way players, there can’t be any that are better than Matthews right now.