Michigan Basketball: Final starting five and depth chart predictions

Starter: Hunter Dickinson

The center spot is a true toss up. Dickinson is the better player. He’s bigger. He’s more talented. He has a higher upside than any other big man on the roster. But he is still a true freshman.

When speaking to the media last month, Isaiah Livers predicted the starting five and had Austin Davis at the center spot. However, that was before official practice started.

Now with a full month of practices under this team’s belt, my tentative guess is that Hunter Dickinson has won this starting job.

Don’t get me wrong. I could easily be wrong about this. Austin Davis is a solid player with a ton of experience. If Dickinson needs a bit more time to adjust to the college game, I have confidence that Davis will do a good job.

But I’d be shocked if by the new year, Dickinson isn’t the full time starting center for Michigan basketball.

In Michigan’s scrimmage against each other the other night, it appeared that Dickinson had his way and outplayed Davis. He also played over 30 minutes. That’s significant because stamina was a big question mark coming into this season for Dickinson.

One thing you will also see this season quite a bit is Johns at the five spot in a small ball lineup. I was calling for it much of last season, and it’s the best way to maximize Johns’ minutes and get him on the floor.

He’s the best offensive rebounder on this team and one of the most athletic. He can be a mismatch on the offensive end against opposing centers and I think he can definitely hold his own on the defensive side.

Depth Chart: Hunter Dickinson/Austin Davis/Brandon Johns

Full Depth Chart

PG: Eli Brooks/Mike Smith/Zeb Jackson

SG: Chaundee Brown/Eli Brooks/Zeb Jackson/Adrien Nunez

SF: Franz Wagner/Isaiah Livers/Chaundee Brown/Terrance Williams

PF: Isaiah Livers/Brandon Johns/Terrance Williams

C: Hunter Dickinson/Austin Davis/Brandon Johns