Michigan Basketball Mailbag: Efton Reid or Chet Holmgren?

Michigan basketball season is approaching so I wanted to take some time to answer questions and dive into anything hoops related.

In a new part of our Michigan basketball coverage, we will be having a mailbag with questions relating to U-M hoops or even the football team.

Whether it’s recruiting or just team-specific questions, we got you covered with some expert analysis.

I thought pretty long and hard about this question. Michigan basketball needs a center in the 2021 class pretty bad. Both Reid and Holmgren are five-stars and would be a huge get for the program.

Efton Reid is a bit more old school than Chet Holmgren. Not as athletic and a definitely leans more on his fundamentals. If I had to pick which player I’d rather join Michigan in the 2021 class, I would probably go with Holmgren.

I just think he’s a bit more skilled and a bit more versatile. Chet Holgrem has really good ball handling skills and is a threat to take opposing big men off the dribble. Reid isn’t quite there yet. Chet will need to fill out a bit to help handle other Big Ten centers but I don’t think that will be an issue.

Even though I’d rather have Holmgren, I still think Efton Reid will be the center that Juwan Howard takes in this class.

I’ve been pretty vocal about how I think that Franz Wagner will be Michigan basketball’s leading scorer this season. That is not a knock on Isaiah Livers at all. I think Livers coming back for his senior season is huge and seriously raises the ceiling and floor of the Michigan basketball team this season.

I just feel like Franz Wagner is a more natural and a better all around scorer. We saw that at the end of last season where many times it felt like Wagner was option number one in the offense. Over his last seven games last season, he averaged 15.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game.

I think Franz Wagner taking the next step and becoming option number one in the offense will be good for Isaiah Livers. It will allow him to flourish off the ball and be a floor spacer. That will open up driving lines for Wagner but will also allow Livers to do what he does best, be a sharpshooter.

I think you’ll see Franz Wagner in that 15-17 PPG range next season and Livers be a couple points under that.

As far as Mike Smith goes, it’s still unknown if he will even be a starter in this offense. I think he will be but it’ll come down to who Juwan Howard thinks can run the offense better between Smith and Brooks. Michigan has three starting caliber players fighting for two spots. Somebody will be the odd man out at the PG and SG spot between Smith, Brooks, and Brown.

If Smith does start like I predict he will, I see him being a 10-12 points per game scorer and should dish out 5-7 assists per game. Michigan will not need him to score like he did last season for Columbia where he averaged almost 23 points per game. Smith needs to run the offense, get others involved and protect the basketball.

From @CT_In_TC: How would an entire year of no fans allowed affect how you think the Big Ten standings will finish?

I’m so glad someone asked this question because I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I personally believe that a good home crowd in college basketball gives the home team more of an advantage compared to any other sport.

We see it every single year. Upsets almost always happen when the favorite is on the road. I’ve seen Michigan basketball go into opposing arenas in the Big Ten as the way better team and not even look like they belong. Nothing beats home court advantage in college hoops.

Unfortunately we probably aren’t going to see fans at college basketball games at this season. The home atmosphere will be virtually non existent and I think it’s going to play a significant factor in the conference this season.

Here’s the role that I believe no fans will play. I think the schedules will even out a bit. It won’t matter who you play on the road or at home. With 14 Big Ten teams and 20 conference games, you don’t play every team twice. So I think those games where you are playing the team only once, it won’t matter as much if they are home or away.

I also think since games are going to be played in more neutral atmospheres, that has to favor the better teams. There will be less upsets in my opinion and a lot more road games won. In the NBA Bubble, we seem to be seeing more parity. But I think that’s because the teams are so much closer together in talent. I don’t think that will be the case in the Big Ten.

So in short, yes, I do believe this is going to be a big factor this season and I think no fans will favor the more talented teams.

I believe the 6th man is going to be Chaundee Brown. He has not been given his waiver to play this season yet but everyone would be shocked if that does not happen.

Two of Eli Brooks, Mike Smith, and Chaundee Brown will start in the back court. They are all worthy but there just isn’t enough spots. I like Chaundee coming off the bench and bringing that spark and defensive intensity. I envision kind of a “six starters” type rotation for Michigan basketball this season.

As far as the second question, I’m assuming he’s asking about basketball position battles. If he’s referring to football, I’ll just answer it for basketball since this is a hoops article. I think three positions are already locked up in my opinion. Wagner will start at the three, Livers at the four, and Dickinson at the five.

That leaves both guard spots wide open as I mentioned above. I really have a feeling that Mike Smith is going to win the starting point guard spot. So I think the battle between Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown for the shooting guard spot is going to be intense and fascinating to see how that develops.