Michigan basketball: Depth will be a blessing for Wolverines

Great depth is going to be a hidden blessing for the Michigan basketball team in 2021. 

While all eyes are on the U-M football team (as they should be) for right now with their season coming up soon and them killing it on the recruiting trail, the Michigan basketball team has been doing its thing as well.

All of the freshman are finally on campus, with Caleb Houstan being the final piece to the puzzle (he arrived last Wednesday).

Now that Houstan has finally arrived, Michigan and head coach Juwan Howard (and the assistants) can finally start working with the team as a whole. Juwan can finally be as hands-on as he wants, and that should only really help. Everyone will start to learn each other’s names, learn their tendencies, and build chemistry during practices and scrimmages.

The thing that should make Michigan basketball fans the most excited about the team this season (compared to even last season), and could really help U-M down the stretch (a hidden blessing) is Michigan’s depth.

If there’s one thing that hurt Michigan last season when they lost a few games, it was true depth. Not just being able to run one or two deep, but three, four, or five deep.

Michigan basketball will have real depth in 2021

I see that being the case this season with U-M’s squad. Also, it’s good to have depth, but if the depth is made up of only guys that aren’t that talented, then it won’t really matter how much depth a team has.

Michigan can roll out a starting five of DeVante Jones, Eli Brooks, Caleb Houstan, Brandon Johns Jr., and Hunter Dickinson. That’s just the starting five.

Then, if Dickinson needs a rest, Moussa Diabate can slide right into the five spot. If Brandon Johns gets tired, Moussa Diabate or Terrance Williams can slide into the four.

When DeVante Jones gets tired and needs a rest, either Zeb Jackson OR Frankie Collins can replace him. If Eli Brooks gets tired, Kobe Bufkin or Zeb Jackson can slide right in and replace him. Lastly, if Caleb Houstan gets tired, Terrance Williams, Kobe Bufkin, Isaiah Barnes, or Will Tschetter can come in and take over.

Yes, I do realize that relying on true freshman isn’t always ideal, but they would only need to hold on for like five minutes at a time. Nothing more than that.

Juwan has so much more to work with this season, and he has to be extremely excited.
One thing that Howard preaches is position-less basketball. He showed that a lot last season, especially early in the season during non-conference play.

Now, Juwan can keep tweaking his lineups and try to find the best fit. Sometimes, three or four freshmen might be on the floor at the same time.

Also, when games start getting tighter, and Michigan’s starters get fatigued and need a rest, Michigan won’t just have to rely on one or two guys to carry the squad (aka Chaundee Brown and Terrance Williams). Now, Michigan can use Terrance Williams as a 7th, 8th, or even 9th option off the bench which is great to have.

Great college basketball squads have to have great depth and they have to have quality depth. See that’s the thing. It’s cool to have depth but if there is a tremendous drop-off from the starters to the bench players, in terms of production AND chemistry, then that team would still lose a lot of games. The bench can make or break a game. So having a great bench to relieve the starters is key to a successful season.

Also, nobody knows what will happen during the season. Injuries do happen all the time in sports. If any one of those five starters get injured, it would be sad, but I feel confident the drop-off wouldn’t be as bad as from Livers to Johns (no offense to Johns, he’s a great player, I love him but he wasn’t Isaiah Livers).

Michigan basketball has the top recruiting class in the country (2021). Just the talent alone could help close the gap if there was ever an injury. Michigan no longer has to rely on a freshman Zeb Jackson to keep things afloat when Mike Smith got in foul trouble last season.

Jackson is back, more fired up, and has a year of experience under his belt. Same for Terrance Williams. There is quite a few freshman, but again, talent can sometimes help bridge gaps with having less college experience.

Michigan basketball fans have to be excited for this season for a lot of reasons. Depth is definitely one of the more underrated reasons.