Michigan Basketball: 5 takeaways from Wolverines 7-0 start

Smith is the X-factor

I will admit, I was skeptical of Mike Smith coming into this season. I wasn’t sure how his game would translate to the Big Ten. I wasn’t sure if he was the right guy to run this offense.

I wasn’t sure if he would be big or physical enough to defend well enough to play high minutes. For the most part, he has passed all the tests.

This offense runs more smooth when Mike Smith is running the show. Eli Brooks can run the point, but his lack of creation for others is noticeable compared to Smith.

Smith may not be scoring a ton for Michigan basketball, but I think that’s simply because he doesn’t have to. He knows he is surrounded by guys who can score and he’s done a great job getting everyone involved. He is leading the team with five assists per game but even that stat doesn’t fully show how much better this offense is when he’s on the floor.

While he has thrived on the offensive end of the floor, defense has been another story. Smith has struggled staying in front of his man and overall his defense has been poor. I worry about matchups against teams with bigger and physical guards like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

With that said, I have noticed a slight improvement on defense as the season has gone on. Michigan will need Smith to keep getting better and more comfortable on defense or else teams will find a way to expose him.

I really think Mike Smith is the X-Factor for this team going forward. If he can continue to improve on defense and find a bit more scoring, the sky is the limit for this Michigan basketball team.