Michigan team confident Frankie Collins, others will step up for Jones
INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan will be without DeVante’ Jones for Thursday’s game with Colorado State and possibly more if the Wolverines advance. U-M already had question marks heading in — now, the team will be without one of its top players and leaders.
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Michigan won three straight games only once this year, and last won two in a row Feb. 8 & 10. Asked what made them think they could win the six in a row needed to capture a national title, sophomore center Hunter Dickinson didn’t flinch.
“We’re due for it, I guess,” he said with a chuckle.
And they just might be. There’s no question there’s talent on the team, but they haven’t put it all together.
Several will get a chance to see what they can do with Jones’ minutes Thursday. Freshman Frankie Collins will likely get the start in his place. He’s averaged 2.5 points and 1.4 assists per game in 9.6 minutes, but he’s had his moments.
“We have good players behind [Jones],” fifth-year senior shooting guard Eli Brooks said. “… Frankie, and we have Kobe [Bufkin]. We have depth. It’s just being able to trust the people throughout the year that have made sparks for us in the past and see how that goes.
“[For Frankie] it’s just running the team, getting people in their spots. He’s grown in that area. Since DeVante’ has been playing so well, you guys haven’t seen that as much. But Frankie is a good leader at the point guard position, getting everybody in their spots. So, it will be nice to see that.”
But he’s not the shooter Jones is, having made only two of 13 triples this year. Odds are Colorado State will pack the paint and make Michigan beat them from the outside, paying more attention to Dickinson and freshman forward Moussa Diabate.
Jones wasn’t elite from outside, but he had been the straw that stirs the drink, especially in the second half of the season. It was a fluke injury that sidelined him, the latest gut punch in a strange season.
“He will not be able to suit up on Thursday, unfortunately,” Howard said. “It’s a bummer, because here is a young man who has been a part of Coastal Carolina, had a lot of success there. Now he has the opportunity to play at the University of Michigan and led our team. He’s also a big reason why we’re here.
“When you go out and practice, competitive practices where guys are competing … [it was] an inadvertent elbow as you drive into the lane. He got elbowed in the nose area. And [we’re] looking at it day by day. I’m sure he’s going to be healthy soon, [but] take his time. We’re not trying to rush him back. We want him 100 percent healthy, DeVante’. Frankie is going to get an opportunity; so will Kobe [Bufkin] and Eli. So we have a very good, balanced backcourt that’s able to step in and do whatever they can to help the team compete at a high level.”
It’s not just his offense they’ll miss, Howard noted. He’s also improved on defense and has been key in getting guys into the right areas, etc.
“There is going to be a focus, as well, as far as how can we get stops versus Colorado State, a team that’s capable of putting up high numbers offensively,” Howard said.
It will be “next man up” on both ends, Howard said (as he always does). That might entail more Brooks at the point.
If so, he’s ready for the challenge.
“I think there is more communication between me and coach, getting the play to other people,” Brooks said. “That’s the only thing that changes. Making sure everybody is organized.”
And then hope to get Jones back for a Saturday day tilt, likely with Tennessee, in round two. There are no guarantees, but it sounds like there’s at least a chance they could see him in Indianapolis.
Until then, it’s time for others to step up in his absence.
