Michigan Basketball: 3 Wolverines who need to step after 5-star misses

New grad transfer

You could make the case that every player on the Michigan basketball team needs to step up without Todd and Christopher on the roster next year. But one guy in particular who will play a much bigger role is Mike Smith.

Smith, who is transferring from Columbia, was expected to compete with Eli Brooks for the point guard job and many, myself included, believed that he was going to end up coming off the bench.

Now, with Christopher going to Arizona State, Michigan has less depth at guard and no great options at the two spot. Christopher would have been a perfect guard to combo with Brooks because he can score, attack the bucket and get shots for teammates.

It wouldn’t have mattered that Brooks wasn’t a ball-dominant point guard. It would have been a perfect match. Now, Brooks will have to shift over the two, because as much as some want Wagner to play there, the defense would be damaged too much by doing so.

That leaves Smith to be the starting point guard and unless Zeb Jackson is ready to contribute 15-20 minutes right away, Smith is going to have to play around 30 minutes a night. That’s different than slotting into David DeJulius’ role from last season.

Instead of hoping Smith was going to be good, Michigan needs Smith to be pretty solid and not just as a scorer, as a complete point guard. Hopefully, he proves up to the challenge.