Michigan basketball: Predicting the depth chart with Franz Wagner

Center

No question here as the only other locked starter begins his final collegiate journey.

Starter: Jon Teske

Backup: Colin Castleton

Teske came to Michigan as a three-star and the backup to Moritz Wagner. Now he will have the opportunity to play along-side a different Wagner. As a senior, a lot is going to be expected for the 7-foot-1 paint dominator.

“In my opinion, (he’s) underrated offensively,” Howard said about Jon. “It’s my job to help him really tap into his offensive skills and bring it out of him, encourage him to not only shoot the basketball more but also play a little more with his back to the basket — because he can shoot and score in that low post. We’re going to lean on him a lot.”

Castleton should see some significant playing time at both center and power forward this year. Whenever Teske needs a breather or gets into foul trouble, Juwan will turn to Colin. Should the same happen to Johns Jr, Castleton could play with Teske locking down the paint with a huge lineup.

Analysis

The Simpson-Wagner-Livers-Johns-Teske lineup makes a lot of sense from a talent perspective, however, there is the potential to see Nunez break into the lineup at two, knocking Johns out. But with Johns being such a highly-touted recruit, it’s hard to see anyone knocking him out of the starting lineup. With Livers an almost shoo-in, the taller lineup should give Juwan his best chance at reaching the NCAA tournament and potentially making a deep run.