Michigan basketball has a strong history and here’s a look at the all-time starting lineup, as well as the complete rotation made up of the best Wolverines ever.
How about we take a break from the negativity of football for just a little bit and talk about basketball, huh?
Throughout Michigan basketball’s tremendous history, there have been countless amazing athletes that have walked through the door to suit up in the Maize and Blue.
We can go as far back as the 1960s to find dazzling athletes like Cassie Russell, and every decade since, Michigan basketball has had amazing players.
In today’s article, I will be breaking down my personal all-time Michigan basketball team. I will go through each position, and explain why I picked each player for that spot.
Also, this list will only include players from the 1989 title team to the present, as I wanted to keep this list at least relatively recent.
I mentioned guys like Cassie Russell, also a guy like Rudy Tomjanovich, etc, and although those guys will forever be all-time Michigan greats, the game has changed so much since they played at Michigan, with there being a 3-point line, just to name one thing, that it’s kind of hard to see if their game would translate as effectively as it did in the 60s and 70s to the late 80s (1989) and to the present day.
The goal is to be able to hypothetically put this list up against any other D-I college basketball team’s all-time starting five and bench (from 1989-present) and feel really good about winning the game.
So, any player that played at Michigan from 1989-now gets consideration, and I will list two units of players that were the best at their respective positions.
Also, this exercise is purely about their production in college. I don’t care about their success levels post-college, whether they were NBA greats or anything like that. This is about purely their college-level success.
Here we go…
Jalen Rose, PG
First up is the first member of the Fab Five, a name known to all Michigan fans, and a guy who’s still one of the most vocals and supportive alumni out there right now.
How many guards can you think of who are 6’8 and have dribbling and shooting skills as Jalen Rose did at Michigan? His height varies on different websites, but he was somewhere between 6’6 and 6’8.
Rose’s impact at Michigan was obvious from the moment he first stepped foot in Ann Arbor in 1991. He scored in double digits in his first 13 games at Michigan as a freshman.
He led Michigan basketball to back-to-back national title game appearances in ‘92 and ‘93 and he stayed for the 1994 run to Elite Eight as well, earning second-team All-American honors that year.
He finished his career at Michigan with 1,788 points, 478 rebounds, and 401 assists, as he was the glue that held Michigan’s Fab Five together.
A point guard’s job is to know the offensive sets, run them efficiently, make their teammates better, and hold players accountable.
There’s nobody I’d trust more to run Michigan’s offense in this era of basketball than Jalen Rose. More often than not, Jalen is a mismatch for opponents, and that height and length would make Rose an elite defender as well.
Trey Burke, SG
You can debate and argue whether Trey belongs as the starting shooting guard, as there are other options, but Trey belongs as the starting SG.
Burke led Michigan basketball to a Big Ten championship in his freshman season and really emerged as a sophomore, averaging 18.6 ppg, and 6.7 assists per game. He also finished with a single-season record of 260 assists.
He was the unanimous 2013 AP Men’s Player of the Year, and led Michigan to the 2013 national title game, along with Tim Hardaway Jr.
The only areas of concern I would have is Trey’s size and his defense, but he has elite lateral and long speed and has quick hands to pick pockets, so the positives kind of balance the negatives. He would be abused by bigger guards though.
Glen Rice, SF
There may not have been a better season from a player in the past 30+ years at Michigan than Glen Rice’s senior season in ‘89.
That year, Rice averaged 25.6 points per game, and shot an absolutely blistering 53.4% from the three-point line, as a 6’7 small forward.
He did all that his senior year, but it was the ‘89 tournament where he broke record after record. He scored a whopping 184 points in six NCAA tournament games (30.6ppg average, including 31 points in the title game against Seton Hall) which is an NCAA record that still stands to this day.
This is one of those records that might never be broken, to be honest. To consistently put up over 30 points a game six straight times is absolutely ridiculous and extremely difficult, especially in extremely stressful tournament games, but Glen Rice did it.
Rice finished his Michigan career with a school record of 2,442 points. Rice adds elite shooting to Michigan’s all-time starting five and would be the go-to scorer if really Michigan needed a bucket.
Side note: I was thinking about putting him at the shooting guard position instead, but he’ll remain as the starting small forward because of Trey Burke.
Chris Webber, PF
Another Fab Five member that needs no introduction, and one who’s finally on great terms again with Michigan is Chris Webber.
It only took Chris five games into his freshman season in ‘91 to leave his mark. Even though Michigan basketball lost, he scored 27 points in a nationally-televised game against the defending champion Duke Blue Devils, and therefore, was born as a future star.
Every team needs a post-scorer, guys that can just win with finesse and brute strength, and Chris Webber had it all. He was quicker than people thought at 6’9, but also athletic enough to hang with pretty much any player.
He was also a dominant shot-blocker as well. He averaged 17.4ppg, and 10.0 rebounds per game, on Michigan’s back-to-back title game appearances.
Juwan Howard, C
The final spot in the starting five goes to the man who is the current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Juwan Howard.
Juwan is sometimes forgotten amongst the Fab Five, as when people think of the Fab Five, it’s generally Jalen Rose or Chris Webber, but Juwan was very dominant in his own right.
As he was at Michigan in the 90s, Juwan Howard will still be the perfect complement to Chris Webber at PF, and the rest of Michigan’s team at center with his elite footwork and touch around the rim.
As a junior, Juwan Howard broke out as the team leader with 20.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, so you know he will bring his A-game, blocking shots and rebounding the basketball.
Summing up the starting five
This starting lineup has to be a top-5 starting lineup out of any school in Division I. I’d put this lineup against any other college all-time starting five, and I think Michigan can win, and in most instances, would win comfortably.
This has to be one of the tallest lineups out of any all-time starting five, as no starting player is under 6’0 in Michigan’s starting five.
The only concern I’d have is with Trey Burke’s defense. We all know he can score the basketball, but would he be able to at least be an average defender at 6′? Bigger guards would abuse Trey Burke, but other than that, I don’t really see any major flaws with this starting five.
Shorter and quicker teams could give Michigan some issues, like a Georgetown with Allen Iverson or a team like LSU with Shaquille O’Neal at 7’2 would be a load for Juwan to handle, as he is undersized for the center position, but I still think Michigan could get the job done in the end.
The next stop is the bench.
Rumeal Robinson, PG
For the sixth man, I decided to go with the Yin to Glen Rice’s Yang on the ’89 championship team, the guy that hit the game-winning free throws to seal the one-point victory over Seton Hall.
I put Rumeal as the sixth man, because he is just Mr. Consistent, and he always seems to make the right play. He averaged 19.2ppg in his last season in A2, his junior year, so Michigan basketball is getting that version of Rumeal.
He also averaged over six assists per game, so in regards to choosing him over Jamal Crawford and Louis Bullock, those are the reasons. Oh, and by the way, he shot 41.2% from three his junior year, so there’s that too.
He’s a little shorter at only 6’2, but that’s not terrible size, and again, the dude can flat-out shoot the ball, so I feel that makes up for his height.
Got to have a sniper you trust as a sixth man off the bench.
Manny Harris, SG
For Manny Harris, we’d be getting his junior year (last year in Ann Arbor) as well. He averaged 18.1ppg, mainly as a mid-range shooter, as he only shot 30% from three in his final season in Ann Arbor.
At Michigan, he was a 2008–09 first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection, a 07–08 second-team All-Big Ten selection, and a 2009–10 third-team All-Big Ten selection.
Harris also earned Big Ten Academic All-Conference honors as both a sophomore and a junior after the ’08-’09 and ’09–10 Big Ten Conference regular seasons. Harris began the ’09–10 NCAA Division I men’s basketball season by recording the second triple-double in school history.
Harris is one of only five Big Ten Conference basketball players to have finished in the top ten in the conference in scoring, rebounding, and assist average in the same season and prior to Evan Turner’s ’09–10 season, Harris’ ’08–09 season was the only time a player had finished in the top six of all three categories.
So…yeah, this guy is a nice addition to the bench to backup Trey Burke.
Nik Stauskas, SF
Simply put, Nik Stauskas is a sharpshooter from three. He has limitless range, and, along with Rumeal Robinson, makes up a pretty deadly bench unit from three.
We don’t need to go through all his stats. All of you already know how much he dominated the Big Ten, especially as a sophomore when he made a tremendous leap from year one to year two.
Just for nostalgic purposes though, here’s a little refresher from the 2013 Elite Eight game against the Florida Gators, arguably his best game in a Michigan basketball uniform.
Nik doesn’t play the best defense, he’s serviceable, but you can’t deny his offense, and he is also a very underrated passer. The 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year will be a nice addition to the bench.
Moritz (Moe) Wagner, PF
To be honest, I don’t know if there’s been a more dominant power forward at Michigan than Wagner since Chris Webber.
I mean Isaiah Livers was good, Moe’s brother Franz definitely had his moments, Glenn Robinson III had his moments too, but Moritz was always consistent, and Michigan would be getting the ’17-’18 version of Moe, his last year, and also Michigan’s last title appearance version.
Moe shot 39.4% from 3-point range his last season in Ann Arbor as a 6’11 power forward, and that is absolutely a weapon to have off the bench, as Moe is a serious stretch-four that could also be flexed to the stretch-five in certain sets or lineups.
I don’t know how many power forwards would be able to keep up with Moe to be honest, as he had good handles for a big man, and could also pass the ball too.
I’m sure you could name some guys that were more dominant at other schools, but for Michigan, he more than passes the eye test, as he averaged 14.6ppg his last year in Ann Arbor.
Give me the 6’11 stretch-four, a definite mismatch for most opposing teams.
Hunter Dickinson, C
As if there could be anybody else? Hunter Dickinson is definitely the most dominant Michigan basketball center since Juwan Howard, and it’s not really even close.
Although Hunter’s story hasn’t been written yet, as he is still in school, we do know that regardless of this year, he’s already had more success and accolades at Michigan than any other center besides Juwan.
Hunter has an old-school game, where he thrives down in the post, wearing down his opposition, glass cleaning, and finding the open man out of double teams that inevitably come his way eventually.
No, Hunter isn’t anywhere close to being an athletic specimen like Juwan Howard was, or Hunter won’t ever be a dominant shot-blocker like Juwan was either, but he will at least provide Michigan basketball with more size and scoring opportunities down low.
We also can’t forget to mention that Hunter has added a little midrange and three-point shot to his game, so people have to at least start respecting his shot. He won’t ever be a 40+% three-point shooter, but 33-35% is feasible.
I will say though, just like Juwan, Hunter is susceptible to taller, and bigger-bodied centers, as a Shaq would give him trouble, and plus guys like Kofi Cockburn, who Hunter really struggled against throughout his career.
For now, Hunter’s sophomore season version will be the backup center behind Juwan Howard.
Bonus, third-unit
So, usually, rosters have 15 players, in college and the professional leagues, so I will quickly list my last five players who won’t get much, if any playing time because they are buried on the depth chart, but still deserve to be on the roster, at least in my opinion.
Feel free to disagree though.
Jamal Crawford, PG
I put him on here because the guy has insane court vision and insane handles. The PG’s duty is to make everyone around him better. Jamal did this, and he could score too an added bonus.
Louis Bullock was very good when he played for Michigan basketball, but again, Jamal just had elite court vision and handles for days allowing him to shake and get by any defender.
Honorable mention: Darius Morris, Derrick Walton Jr., Louis Bullock
Eli Brooks, SG
I don’t care what anybody says, Eli Brooks deserves to be on this roster. He played the most-ever games in a Michigan basketball uniform (which probably won’t ever be broken), was automatic from three when called upon, and was a good defender.
No, he wasn’t the best player to put on this list that I could’ve put at this spot (not even close) but I don’t know if I would trust anybody more to come in for Manny Harris or Trey Burke and hold down the fort.
Yes, again, I understand recency bias might play a major factor here, and most of you probably groaned or winced at this pick, but remember, these guys barely get in anyways, so it’s really not that bad.
Honorable mention: Jimmy King, Daniel Horton, Dion Harris, Caris LeVert
Tim Hardaway Jr., SF
Michigan has had so much talent at the small forward position that it was hard to find a spot for Tim. Tim was never a superstar at Michigan, but he was a superstar in his role, as he did everything well, and sometimes, that’s all you can ask for in a player, especially one at the very end of the bench.
I know everybody would probably argue LaVell here, but I’m sticking with Tim.
Honorable mention: Ray Jackson, Bernard Robinson, LaVell Blanchard, Ignas Brazdeikis
Franz Wagner, F
A big “what if” pick here, but Franz’s length and cutting ability can’t be denied. Also, his floor stretching ability too, just like his brother Moe.
No, Franz wasn’t refined in college at Michigan, but I like his length to at least disrupt defenders, as he routinely altered or blocked shots, and he could stretch the floor (although he was hot and cold with that).
Honorable mention: Robbie Reed, DeShawn Sims, Maurice Taylor, Glenn Robinson III
Robert Traylor, C
You could argue Robert deserved to go ahead of Hunter because of his defensive presence as a dominant shot-blocker, but I still value floor-stretching and scoring over defense, which is why I picked Hunter instead, as he at least showed he can hit the midrange and the 3-pointer.
Honorable mention: Mitch McGary, Maceo Baston, Courtney Sims, Ekpe Udoh
Final Thoughts
I know some guys I picked you won’t agree with, or you want them flip-flopped, and that’s fine, but this task is so hard, with so many players seemingly deserving a spot, but it is limited. I feel like this is as balanced of an all-time Michigan basketball team as you can get.
You can’t only have all offense-minded guys and not pick any defensive-minded guys or else the team would be blown out night after night. Keep that in mind with these picks.
Michigan fans, what do you think of this All-Time Michigan basketball rotation? What did I get right? What did I get wrong? How dominant do you think this team would be in real life? Sound off in the comments below!