Michigan Basketball: Team awards for Wolverines after 10 games

Most improved: Isaiah Livers

This may be a bit of an unpopular opinion but let me explain. Of all the major contributors for Michigan basketball this season, only Eli Brooks, Isaiah Livers, Franz Wagner, and Brandon Johns are back from a season ago. Out of those four, I feel like Isaiah Livers has made the most strides and has become a much more complete player.

His assist numbers are way up. He’s rebounding at a much higher rate. He’s playing extremely good defense. He’s doing all of this while still maintaining very respectable shooting percentages.

I think Michigan basketball fans have always wanted Livers to turn into this dynamic 20 points per game scorer when in reality, that’s just not the kind of player he is. He has the potential of being a solid two-way player and he’s one of the best shooters in the country. The strides he has made with his passing, rebounding, and defense make him my most improved player.

Most underrated: Mike Smith

I am so happy to admit that I was wrong about Mike Smith. I didn’t expect him to translate this well to the Big Ten and I really thought he would struggle. The reason why I put him as my most underrated player is because he doesn’t have any stats that jump off the page at you. He’s probably Michigan’s 4th or 5th go to guy on offense so it just feels like he doesn’t get talked about enough. But he should.

The offense is at its best when Smith is running the show. He has shown he is able to create for others and still get his own when he needs to. His efficiency on offense is what has really stood out to me. Smith is shooting 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep. Yes, Smith is only averaging 8.5 points per game, but when he is shooting it, he’s been efficient.

As this season has gone on, it feels like Michigan basketball didn’t really take much of a step down at point guard after losing Xavier Simpson from a season ago. I did not expect that to be the case.

Most consistent: Hunter Dickinson

No surprise here right? Hunter Dickinson has been Michigan’s best player this season and their most consistent. He has scored in double figures all ten games so far and has shot better than 50 percent the field in them all as well.

It’s honestly fair to say that he truly has not had a bad game this season. He has yet to get into foul trouble and has been a model of consistency so far. If Hunter Dickinson keeps this pace and consistency up, he will be racking up the awards come season’s end.