The wait is over; the Michigan men’s basketball team kicks off its season tonight against a UNC Asheville team that returns most of the same players from an NCAA tournament squad.
We’ve had plenty of offseason content about this team for you, including the best quotes from Michigan’s Media Day, Michigan’s new approach to situational practices, Terrance Williams ll’s improved jumper, player profiles about every scholarship player, and more.
To wrap up our preseason coverage, here are 5 bold predictions heading into the 2023-24 season.
Dug McDaniel will lead the team in scoring
The obvious choice to lead the team in scoring is grad transfer Olivier Nkamhoua; he was really good at Tennessee, he excels as a modern big, and he can lead these team on and off the floor as a captain.
That said, I think a leap is coming for Dug McDaniel. He flashed a lot of potential last season, and was one of Michigan’s best players during a three-game winning streak for the Wolverines in mid-February, scoring 18 points against Michigan State, 16 points against Rutgers and a season-high 20 points in the overtime win over Wisconsin. Simply put, Michigan was playing its best basketball when McDaniel was excelling.
Defenses will be more keyed on him with a year of tape and all the departures from last season; even so, McDaniel stayed in Ann Arbor all summer to work on his game and his body. His work ethic is off the charts, and I think he learned a lot from watching Kobe Bufkin grow into an NBA player.
Will McDaniel make as big a leap from freshman to sophomore year that Bufkin made? Probably not, but I still think he makes a big one and leads Michigan in scoring.
George Washington III will be the lead scorer in at least two games
The Wolverines will start the season without Jaelin Llewellyn and Jace Howard, so whether he’s ready or not, George Washington III is going to get a lot of minutes at the guard spots off the bench.
Washington is one of the best shooters — if not the best — on this team. Once he gets settled within the offense, I think he goes off for 15-20 points off the bench a few times. Much like McDaniel last season, I think opposing defenses will be sleeping on him
All three transfers will be in closing group
This is probably the least bold on this whole list given how this roster is made up, but I think Michigan’s five to close in most tight games will be McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, Tray Jackson, Nkamhoua, and Tarris Reed Jr.
Nkamhoua is a lock to be out there given his experience. If Reed gets in foul trouble, which he did struggle with in limited minutes last season, Nkamhoua likely slides to the 5.
Additionally, Michigan is going to need Burnett’s defense and scoring, and Jackson’s shooting ability to keep opponents guessing. I could see Washington or Terrance Williams II working their way in, or also Llewellyn once he’s healthy, but for now, I’d guess all three transfers are in Michigan’s closing group.
Michigan outperforms preseason expectations from the media
As Nkamhoua brought up unprompted at Media Day, the Wolverines were picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten in the annual preseason media poll done by The Athletic and The Columbus Dispatch, which would be three spots lower than they finished last year.
As a member of the media, I can confidently say that we are wrong a lot when it comes to predictions. Not to mention, this is a team that has a lot of college basketball experience and a chip on their shoulder. There was definitely the sense of ‘Nobody believes in us’ when talking to players at Media Day.
I think the contributions from the transfers combined with improved sophomore seasons from McDaniel and Reed will help this team finish eighth or ninth in the conference. The Wolverines went 11-9 in conference play last season, and I predict they finish one win better than that this season.
The Wolverines make it back to the NCAA tournament…and advance to the Round of 32
For the returning players on this team, not making the NCAA tournament last season was a tough blow, especially given the expectations with an All-American center and two first round NBA draft picks.
I think the pain from missing the tournament last season lights a fire under the returning players, and the team also picked up three players in the transfer portal with a lot of college basketball experience, which matters a ton late in games, in conference play, and in conference tournaments.
I predict the Wolverines win just enough big games — perhaps upsets against Purdue, Michigan State at home, and at Maryland — to earn a spot in the tournament. Once there, I think they win a game and advance to the Round of 32.
What are your bold predictions ahead of the 2023-24 Michigan men’s basketball season? Let us know in the comments.