Michigan Basketball: Breaking down point guard battle for 2020-21

Michigan basketball will have three guys battling for the starting point guard spot this season. Eli Brooks, Mike Smith, and Zeb Jackson will all look to win that job and fill the void left by Xavier Simpson.

It’s always a bit uncomfortable heading into a new season when you’re trying to replace your floor general. It’s even more uncomfortable when that guy was one of the best point guards in Michigan basketball history.

Xavier Simpson had a marvelous career for the Wolverines. He took over the starting point guard spot during his sophomore year and never looked back.

Simpson led Michigan basketball to the 2018 National Championship game, a Sweet 16 the following year, and ended his career ranking 2nd all time in program history in assists.

The Wolverines have three options to take over that starting lead guard spot this season. Eli Brooks, true freshman Zeb Jackson, and Columbia transfer Mike Smith will all get a shot to run this offense and win the job.

I asked Michigan Twitter who they would like to see win the job this season, and after over 800 votes were made, Mike Smith was the overwhelming winner.

Mike Smith

Out of the three players contending for the starting point guard spot, Smith is the most natural point guard of the group. He was asked to do it all last season for a very bad Columbia team.

He finished sixth in the country in scoring a season ago at 22.8 PPG. His style will have to change drastically at Michigan though.

He will not be asked to be a volume scorer. He will be surrounded by extremely talented wings and scorers like Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner. Smith will have to prove he can get those guys involved and be more of a facilitator for Michigan basketball.

Smith is confident he can do that. When speaking to Andrew Kahn from MLive, Smith spoke about his skillset and his new role:

"“At Columbia, they needed me to score and create for others, so I did,” he said. “It’s a different ball game in the Big Ten. I’m not saying I can’t compete with the Big Ten players, but I don’t necessarily have to score as many points. Scoring, passing, defense and doing the dirty work — I’ll do whatever the team needs.”"

We all know Simpson was a terrific player for Michigan, but Smith will give them a different look. He will be more of a threat to shoot from deep which always helps create better floor spacing.

How will Smith’s skillset translate to the Big Ten? That remains to be seen. But Smith has put up big numbers against good competition as well.

Last season, he scored 23 points against Wake Forest, 16 against Virginia, and 20 against St. Johns. As a sophomore, he scored 19 against Villanova, 18 against Penn State and 25 against Boston College. This is a guy who can fill it up against anybody and who’s offensive game should translate just fine to the Big Ten.

If Smith can prove he can hold his own on the defensive side of the floor, I don’t see him losing the starting point guard battle this season.

Eli Brooks

Eli Brooks is back for his senior season and no matter where he plays on the floor, he will have a huge role on the team. Brooks started at the two guard spot all of last season and really did a nice job.

He made big strides from his sophomore to junior season. His minutes increased by 19 per game. He raised his points per game from 2.5 to 10.6. And he proved to be one of Michigan’s most reliable threats from deep.

A lot of people try to argue that Brooks isn’t a point guard. Just because he didn’t play there last season, that certainly doesn’t mean he’s not capable. Brooks was recruited as a point guard. He played a lot of point guard his freshman season for Michigan. The unexpected loss of Jordan Poole and the emergence of Xavier Simpson forced Brooks to turn into more of a two guard.

Maybe that’s where he’s most comfortable at now. Maybe Juwan Howard would like to see him stay more off the ball like the last two seasons. But if Michigan doesn’t think that Smith can handle the starting PG spot in the Big Ten, or if Smith starts to struggle, Brooks will be called on to run this offense.

Zeb Jackson

Zeb Jackson is kind of the wildcard in this point guard battle. Jackson is a terrific prospect. I think by the time he leaves Michigan, he will be an All-Big Ten type player and will be on a lot of NBA teams’ radar.

There’s not much to dislike about his game and his potential. He’s big for a guard at 6’5, extremely athletic and has great length. He can shoot it, has great handles and has the potential to be an elite three level scorer. His length should also allow him to be a great two way player and thrive on defense.

But he is only a true freshman. While he’s full of potential, I don’t see a scenario where he could beat out two seniors for the starting point guard spot. I see his role this season being a combo guard who can play the one or the two.

I think Juwan will ease Jackson in and try to get him acclimated to the college game as slowly as possible. In my opinion, how many minutes Jackson will get this season will depend a lot on if Wake Forest transfer Chaundee Brown receives his waiver for immediate eligibility.

If he does not, that significantly hurts Michigan’s depth and Jackson will be called on early to contribute.

Prediction

I think Mike Smith will end up winning this job. He gives Michigan basketball a different look than they had under Xavier Simpson. He is a guy who is a major scoring threat from all three levels and will give opposing defenses a real problem.

Having Smith start at PG will allow both Eli Brooks and Zeb Jackson to be combo guards and fill in at either guard spot wherever they are needed. This is crucial for depth and will give Michigan some creative lineups to experiment with.

Michigan basketball has had a string of elite PG play over the last decade from guys like Darius Morris, Trey Burke, Derrick Walton Jr., and Xavier Simpson. Don’t expect that to change this year with the PG group that Michigan has.