Michigan Basketball: Unraveling the Wolverines preseason starting lineup

David DeJulius’ Role

Despite DeJulius’ 21-point performance against Detroit Mercy, Howard was not keen on inserting DeJulius into the starting lineup, not even attempting to try a different starting five combination.

This clearly translates to the idea that Michigan wants the sophomore guard to become the primary ball-handler and the main option off the bench. Bench scoring was a main problem for the Wolverines last season, which shows the importance that the coaching staff has in keeping DeJulius as the main facilitator for that second unit.

The Short Leash of Brooks and Nunez

Since Howard made no adjustments to the starting five, Eli Brooks and Adrien Nunez give the impression that they will be going back to the bench once Franz Wagner returns from his broken wrist, and once Brandon Johns Jr. is completely injury-free.

With Howard putting Nunez in with the first-team throughout the preseason it’s a positive look in terms of his progression as a player, meaning that he will play a prominent role during his second season with the Wolverines.

Brandon Johns’ status

Brandon Johns seems to be the best bet to enter the starting lineup and either replace Nunez or Brooks. It was reported that Johns did see some action, showing that Howard seems to be rather comfortable in allowing Johns to properly recover, and put him on a minutes-restriction until he is 100%.

With Johns looking at an increase in minutes, thanks to Isaiah Livers’ ability to either play the 3 or the 4 gives Michigan the ability for Johns to step in and fill in the other role and provide that extra length and athleticism.