How Michigan Basketball can succeed without DeVante’ Jones

Wednesday morning, news officially broke that graduate guard DeVante’ Jones did not travel with the Wolverines to Indianapolis. Jones suffered from a concussion in practice prior to Michigan Basketball leaving for their first-round matchup against Colorado State.

Anytime a vital player has been out this season, different Wolverines have shown that they are able to make up for that player’s absence. Ideally, the same will happen Thursday afternoon when Michigan Basketball takes on the Rams without their starting point guard.

Michigan basketball dealt with a similar loss last post-season when forward Isaiah Livers went out with a foot injury. Nonetheless, the 2021 Wolverines were still able to make it to the elite eight without having one of their best players throughout the entirety of the NCAA tournament.

How Michigan can get bye without DeVante Jones

Earlier this season when the team was down sophomore center Hunter Dickinson against Ohio State, freshman forward Terrance Williams stepped up and scored 17 points while graduate guard Eli Brooks scored 14 points.

Williams has made a decent impact in every game he has played meaningful minutes in. With Jones out, there will likely be multiple stretches where Williams will get playing time where he can put up more of these impressive numbers.

The team was down freshman forwards Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams against Rutgers, a game in which freshman forward Caleb Houstan began a two-game streak of scoring 21 points. In this game against the Scarlet Knights, Houstan also knocked down five 3-pointers.

Houstan has been one of Michigan basketball’s best players this season, however, he has also been wildly inconsistent. If he is able to have another one of his breakout games Thursday, there is no doubt that the Wolverines advance to the round of 32.

Freshman guard Frankie Collins is likely who will take most of Jones’ minutes on Thursday. When Jones dealt with foul trouble early against Michigan State, Collins stepped up and did his part in all areas except scoring.

Collins picked up three rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in his 14 minutes against the Spartans. While Collins might not be able to replace Jones’ 10.7 points per game, his presence on the court will be seen in other areas.

Senior forward Brandon Johns Jr has been Juwan Howard’s go-to replacement starter this season. That being said, he has not scored over five points in a game since early December. If Johns finds himself getting significant minutes on Thursday, this needs to be the game where he breaks out of his funk.

Although DeVante Jones has been an essential player for Michigan Basketball all season, it is likely that other Wolverines will be able to step up and at least temporarily take his place. If not, Michigan will find themselves exiting the tournament in the first round for the first time since 2016.