Fab Five: Takeaways from Michigan basketball's exhibition win over Wayne State

Michigan basketball handled Wayne State, 87-54, getting out of its exhibition game with a win.

Here are our five biggest takeaways from the game, with the caveat that it was an exhibition game, meaning there’s not always a ton to glean.

Two Wolverines Did Not Play

Michigan basketball was a bit shorthanded in the backcourt, with freshman Frankie Collins (groin) and sophomore Zeb Jackson (illness) being unavailable. Neither figure to be huge parts of the rotation, at least at the beginning of the season, but both were expected to play significant roles in the exhibition game and will undoubtedly see time throughout the course of the year.

Michigan’s starting guards, fifth-year seniors DeVante’ Jones and Eli Brooks, each played 27 minutes, more than they likely would’ve if there was more depth.

Michigan Basketball With A Semi-Slow Start Before It Became A Blowout

No, the game was never in doubt, but Michigan did get out to a bit of a clunky start, and only held a 17-14 lead with 10:49 to go in the first half.

We attributed some of the sluggish start to the constant substitutions — something that obviously won’t happen in a regular-season game — with 10 players seeing the floor within the game’s first 10 minutes. Howard actually slowed down the substituting in the back half of the first stanza, which helped guys get a bit more comfortable, it seemed.

It didn’t help that sophomore center Hunter Dickinson missed his first three shots, either, before exploding to make four of his next five. He was the catalyst for a 21-0 run and ultimately a 31-7 surge to close out the first half with a 48-21 lead.

What We Learned About The Rotation

Collins and Jackson being out hurt our ability to learn what exactly head coach Juwan Howard wanted to do with the rotation in the backcourt, but here are some quick hits on the substitutions.

• The starting lineup was what we expected it to be: Jones, Brooks, freshman guard/forward Caleb Houstan, senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. and Dickinson.

• Freshman forward Moussa Diabate was the first player off the bench, replacing Johns at the four position. No surprise there. Diabate played center, too, and even saw some time playing alongside Dickinson in the front court. However, that came in the second half and wasn’t one of the first things Howard tried. Spacing will likely be an issue if those two are on the court together, but due to numbers the combination will have to be used at times this season.

• Senior guard Adrien Nunez was the first backcourt player off the bench, but we don’t believe that will be the case in the regular season. Not only were the Wolverines shorthanded, but Howard tinkered with his lineups quite a bit in the exhibition game two seasons ago (there was not one last season), doing some things that were not predictive of what occurred once the games started to count.

• Freshman guard Kobe Bufkin was next up in the backcourt, and he entered the game at point guard, before sliding over to the two and seeing time at both spots throughout the game. A combo guard, he appears to be the favorite to be the primary backup at both spots. Bufkin also saw some time on the wing, playing alongside Brooks and Jones.

• Freshmen Will Tschetter and Isaiah Barnes came off the bench at the forward and wing spots, respectively, at the end of the first half.

• All told, 13 Michigan basketball players saw the floor.

Quick Hitters On Michigan Basketball Starters

• DeVante’ Jones — Michigan fans are going to love Jones … if they don’t already. He plays an exciting brand of basketball, coming from Coastal Carolina, which played at the highest tempo in the Sun Belt last season according to Kenpom. He scored 1.15 points per possession in transition last season, per Synergy, and he got out and ran in this one. Jones did it all, scoring 10 points (3-6 FG, 1-2 3PT) and adding four rebounds, seven assists, three steals and one block. He did notch four turnovers. He’s very active defensively and will make things happen, though he did gamble on a couple plays.

• Eli Brooks — Brooks was his steady self, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. A 39.6-percent three-point shooter last season, Brooks looks like he improved his shot during the offseason, having nailed all four of his triple tries. His defense was great per usual, and the only knocks on him were his three turnovers.

• Caleb Houstan — Known as a shooter, Houstan’s attempts from deep weren’t falling (1-for-4), but he impacted the game in other ways. A natural running the floor on the outside, he scored multiple times in transition off the catch. He wound up with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and three turnovers in 24 minutes.

• Brandon Johns Jr. — He was aggressive, but still missed a few shots and failed to finish at the rim once or twice, though he did earn two foul shots on one occasion. Johns finished with eight points, five rebounds (three offensive boards) and one turnover.

• Hunter Dickinson — After a slow first few minutes, as discussed above, he wound up scoring .609 per minutes he was in the game. He posted 14 points on 5-of-8 from the field and nine rebounds, with three assists and one block. Overpowering the smaller Wayne State bigs, this was not much of a challenge for the reigning second-team All-American.

Moussa Diabate Has Big Game, Still More Work To Do

Diabate was stellar, registering 14 points, five rebounds, three blocks and one steal. He, like Dickinson, frustrated the Warriors with his size. But he still has a ways to go before he’s an elite college basketball player, as you might expect. He had four turnovers, including a couple travels and errant passes. His offensive moves need some work, and his free throw shot isn’t pretty. However, he’s going to do a lot of nice things for the Wolverines this season due to his athleticism, high I.Q. and skills (which are mainly on defense right now). And he’s only going to get better by the game.