Michigan Basketball: Early predictions for this season’s stat leaders

Minutes: Eli Brooks

I’m glad I finally get to talk about Eli Brooks a bit. He may not be a guy that leads in a lot of statistical categories next season, but he may once again be Michigan’s most important player and the glue to this team.

We’re likely going to see him as the starting SG once again but just like a season ago, he will play some point too. His defense and basketball IQ have proven to be so valuable and it’s just hard to take him off the court.

How many minutes he plays will depend a lot on how ready to play true freshmen Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins are. Zeb Jackson could also push to get some backup SG minutes. But even if all of those guys are ready to contribute, it just may not be their time yet.

Juwan Howard has played Eli Brooks high minutes the last two seasons and I wouldn’t anticipate that changing this year.

Prediction: 32 MPG

FG Percentage: Hunter Dickinson

This was also a toss-up for me. I think Dickinson or Diabate will lead Michigan basketball in FG percentage this year and I’d give the slight edge to Big Hunt.

Dickinson shot 59% from the floor last season. With an increase in usage, I’d expect that number to drop slightly, but not much. I think Johns and Diabate should also be around that 50% number.

Prediction: 54%