Michigan Basketball: 3 Things we learned in win against Bowling Green

Hunter Dickinson might be Mitch McGary good

Smith and Brown, the two transfers were very impressive, but another guy that really stood out was freshman center Hunter Dickinson.

The 7-foot-1 big man played 18 minutes in his Michigan basketball debut and was highly productive with 11 points, eight rebounds, a block and an assist. He did pick up three fouls, but his conditioning didn’t seem bad at all and he moved better defensively than expected.

His passing is really advanced for a freshman and that will be a real weapon. Bowling Green doesn’t have a ton of size, so we will see how he performs against some bigger teams but he was solid finishing in the paint. He also made 3-of-4 free throws.

Austin Davis got the start last night and he will continue to have a role on this team, just as he did last year. But he should be playing around 10-12 minutes a night and the majority of the center minutes should belong to Dickinson, especially after how he played last night.

Obviously, it’s very early to compare him to Mitch McGary and he’s a different kind of player. Dickinson is more polished down low and he can’t defend anywhere close to the way Mitch could on the defensive end, particularly on ball screens.

Yet, Dickinson is going to make a huge impact this season and before long, he will be Michigan basketball’s starting center.