Michigan Basketball: Grading performance of each Wolverine vs Oakland

Michigan basketball escaped against Oakland Sunday night in overtime and here are grades for each player for the Wolverines against the Grizzlies.

The game against Oakland Sunday was supposed to be a cake walk for the Michigan basketball team as the 25th-ranked Wolverines faced a team ranked outside the top-300 according to the Kenpom rankings. U-M ended up being favored by over 30 points.

But in the end, Michigan basketball won the game by just 10 points and it nearly suffered a massive upset at the hands of the Golden Grizzlies. If it wasn’t for the tremendous effort of Hunter Dickinson, Michigan would have lost. It’s as simple as that.

The Wolverines turned it over way too much and shot the ball poorly. The defense was actually better than it looked and they held Oakland under a point per possession but at the times the effort was still sloppy. Players overhelped when it wasn’t needed or didn’t communicate on ball screens — a lot of little things like that.

Those things will get fixed and I’d expect a much better effort from the Wolverines on Wednesday when they host Ball State.

But in something new at GBMWolverine, we are going to hand out grades for each player after each game and we start here with grades for Oakland.

Hunter Dickinson: A+

Michigan basketball probably did the best job of slowing down Dickinson in the first half by not playing him enough and not getting him enough touches. However, that changed in the second half when the 7-foot-1 freshman became the focal point of the offense. Over the last 20 minutes and change, Dickinson scored 19 points, grabbed four boards and dished out four assists. Simply put, he needs to start and Michigan probably doesn’t win this game without him.

Isaiah Livers: A-

Isaiah Livers scored 22 points and made 8-of-12 shots. He also was huge in the overtime and nailed two dagger 3-pointers with the game still on the line. His defense was critical too and his four blocked shots played a big role. The effort wasn’t always great from him and other veterans and coach Juwan Howard got on him for that, which is what their discussion was all about. But it was all good and Livers picked it up after that.

Eli Brooks: B

Due to foul trouble, Eli Brooks spent a lot of his 41 minutes at the point guard position and that led to five turnovers. But his defensive effort was stellar, especially down the stretch which is probably why we didn’t see Smith as much at the end. He’s not a great defender to begin with and with four fouls, it would have been even tougher. Brooks scored just six points and made just 2-of-5 3-pointers but he dished out five assists and was plus 14, which was the second-best mark on the team outside of Dickinson.

Terrance Williams: B

Like Dickinson, the freshman Terrance Williams provided a nice lift off the bench and in 14 minutes, he gave Michigan seven points, four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. His free-throw shooting wasn’t great, but after the game, he was out on the court — practicing his free throws. He’s going to be a good one.

Chaundee Brown: C

Chaundee Brown had a tough night shooting as he finished 2-of-14 and made just 1-of-10 from 3-point range. His shot looked good, it just would not go in. However, his defense allowed him to be plus-13 when it was all said and done.

Brandon Johns: C

Brandon Johns didn’t have a bad night and was pretty productive with eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. He was up and down but he was good attacking the bucket and it will be interesting to see his role going forward.

Austin Davis: C

Austin Davis wasn’t spectacular by any means and but in 13 minutes, he managed six points and two rebounds. His defense was an issue and that’s why he didn’t play a whole lot in the second half, but he is what he is. Dickinson should be starting but in 10-12 minutes, Davis can still be a really effective player. In fact, he will likely be better off the bench, just like last season. He can be the energizer bunny.

Mike Smith: D

When Mike Smith was on the floor, he played OK. He made just 1-of-4 shots but he did have four assists, even though he also had three turnovers. The turnovers were a problem but so were his four fouls. The Wolverines don’t have the point guard depth to have him on the bench that long.

Franz Wagner: D

It was a tough night offensively for Franz Wagner and he took just five shots. He missed both attempts from deep and hasn’t made a trey. But, he did pull down 13 rebounds and notched two steals, which helped make up for the poor shooting and five turnovers. Still, it was a tough night for the guy we expected to be Michigan’s best player.

Zeb Jackson: Incomplete

I’m going to give Jackson an incomplete. His eight minutes were fine but he didn’t much out on the floor. He went up for a lob pass but Brooks threw it over his head. Other than that, he didn’t attempt a shot or turn the ball over.