Dan Dakich offers strong opinions on Michigan basketball, Hunter Dickinson

Dan Dakich played and coached for Bob Knight at Indiana and has always brought strong opinions when asked. He recently joined the Huge Show’s Bill Simonson and offered some on the state of Michigan basketball after a disappointing season in which the Wolverines failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines will play Toledo instead in the NIT Tuesday night in Ann Arbor. 

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The last two regular seasons are the first time since 2000-2002 that Michigan has lost 15 games in consecutive seasons. Former head coach John Beilein, of course, took the program to elite heights during his tenure. Howard has had his own success with a Big Ten title and an Elite Eight appearance in his second season among them. 

Now, Dakich said, it’s about sustaining. 

“It’s the Mike Davis rule,” he said of the former Indiana basketball coach. “Mike Davis took over for Coach Knight, and for two years he had the discipline of Bob Knight …. he had the organization, all that kind of stuff, which was pretty damn good, whether you liked Coach Knight or not. And then all of a sudden that wears off, and Mike struggled.

“Well, you know what? Juwan Howard followed about as good a coach as there was in college basketball in John Beilein. And he’s got to fight that. He’s got to establish his own deal. He’s got to make sure his stuff is disciplined … that his stuff is the right stuff.

“You get a lot. People always say, ‘it’s hard to follow a legend.’ Yeah, it is … about year three. But if that guy went out with his culture intact, which John Beilein did, and you inherit one of the great cultures in college basketball like Howard did … now, he’s got to figure it all out.”

Davis never figured it out at Indiana, Dakich continued, and it “overwhelmed him.” He resigned in 2006. Howard isn’t in the same situation, he said.

“I don’t think it’s going to overwhelm Juwan for a couple reasons, one of which he’s a different guy. He played in the NBA for a long time,” Dakich said. “He’s used to all the nonsense. I don’t think Mike was.

“But No 2, Michigan, while a great basketball school … it isn’t the passion. Football is the passion. 

“But they’ve got to get going. They’re wildly inconsistent. They looked good sometimes, looked incredibly disorganized (against Rutgers).”

Dakich questions Hunter Dickinson motives 

Hunter Dickinson brought it against the Scarlet Knights, though, one of the few bright spots in a 62-50 Big Ten Tournament loss. He scored 24 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and notched 3 blocked shots. 

Still, Dakich had harsh words about the first team All-Big Ten center.

“I felt like Hunter Dickinson was never playing for Michigan. I felt like he was playing to be either a voice or a caricature or some kind of thing other than being a team guy,” Dakich said. “When Romeo Langford was at Indiana, I called him a ‘shoe guy.’ He wasn’t playing for Indiana. He was playing for Nike. He had a nice contract with Nike that was getting ready to be signed the minute his season was over. 

“That can’t happen. You’ve got to figure that out. And Juwan’s got to figure himself out. What the hell is he about? What’s his culture? What’s his recruiting? Because that culture with Beilein is gone now. He’s got to figure out his.”

To be fair, the Wolverines were one of the least experienced teams in the country this year, and they improved dramatically down the stretch. They also lost guard Jaelin Llewellyn for the season with a knee injury along with three players in Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate, and Frankie Collins who should probably still be at Michigan. 

And the Dickinson criticism, in particular, seems harsh. Yes, he’s outspoken, perhaps too much at times. But he seems to love Michigan, and you can tell up close after losses how much it hurts him. 

The same can be said for Howard, whose tears during his introductory press conference and “I can’t fail here” attitude were and are genuine. 

Next year is a big one, though, to get everyone rowing in the same direction … and from the outset, no matter who stays or leaves. You can’t play to the level of your competition, even against the lousy teams (as Central Michigan proved in a stunning upset). That’s unacceptable, and proof that December games can cost you an NCAA bid.

But for all the criticisms, this season might well have been an aberration, too. The NIT won’t prove it either way, but next season is a big one to get things back on track. It starts with a great offseason, whether that starts Tuesday night or after an NIT championship.