Michigan Basketball: Austin Davis will return to Wolverines for 5th year

Michigan basketball was all set to honor Austin Davis on Senior night against Nebraska Thursday night, however, now that won’t be necessary.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Michigan basketball program has been whether or not Austin Davis would get a fifth season with the Wolverines.

It’s part of a larger issue impacting the roster as head coach Juwan Howard has more commitments right now than scholarships available. For some time, many people thought the necessary roster attrition that will come could impact Austin Davis, the redshirt junior, who hasn’t seen the floor much before this season.

It’s not that Davis was a bad player before. He had his moments, he just was never the stretch four that suited John Beilein so well and it took him a minute to find a home.

Yet, this season, under Howard, he has settled in perfectly as Michigan basketball’s backup center and according to mgoblue.com, Austin will be able to play that role again next season, for the Wolverines.

Steve Kornacki, who covers Michigan athletics, wrote this about Davis:

"“However, prior to Tuesday’s (March 3) practice here, Wolverine head coach Juwan Howard invited Davis back for 2020-21 as a fifth-year senior. The framed jersey he was to receive at Thursday night’s home finale with Nebraska will need to be stored for another year.”"

That means that only Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske will be honored as seniors tomorrow night against Nebraska. But the bigger news is that it now Davis will be on the roster next season.

Orion Sang of the Detroit Free Press confirmed the news and reported the Davis was rather excited.

And despite an influx of young, talented stars such as Hunter Dickinson, Terrance Williams, Isaiah Todd, Zeb Jackson and possibly even Joshua Christopher or Greg Brown, Davis will have a key role to play, especially in the rough and tumble Big Ten.

There is no doubt that you need elite talent to win championships and Howard is recruiting that. But you also need those veteran players and glue guys. If Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner both come back next season, along with Davis, Eli Brooks, Brandon Johns, David DeJulius and Eli Brooks, that’s a scary good blend of depth, talent and experience.

And if Dickinson isn’t ready to start right away at center, Michigan basketball won’t have to rush him, because of Austin Davis, which isn’t something you thought would be the case at the start of the season.

But Davis’ play has been a revelation and it was incredibly smart by Howard to recognize his role and how valuable he can be, even heading into next season.