Juwan Howard names three captains for 2022-23 Michigan basketball team
Michigan Wolverines basketball has its three captains for the 2022-23 season, the program announced Wednesday afternoon. Junior center Hunter Dickinson, junior forward Terrance Williams II and junior guard Jace Howard will lead head coach Juwan Howard‘s fourth U-M team.
Michigan had just one captain last season — fifth-year guard Eli Brooks. The Maize and Blue chose three juniors this time around, which isn’t a huge surprise given the makeup of the roster. U-M has just two players that are seniors or graduates in point guard Jaelin Llewellyn and forward Joey Baker, but both are newcomers, having transferred in from Princeton and Duke, respectively. Seven of Michigan’s 13 scholarship players are new to the program.
Dickinson was a team leader last season as just a sophomore. He led Michigan in scoring and rebounding for a second straight season, averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 boards per game. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after being named a first-teamer and second-team All-American as a freshman in 2020-21.
“With Hunter since last spring, what I’ve been amazed at is the vocal approach that he’s taken,” Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli said on the Defend the Block podcast earlier this month. “Now, he had a vocal approach. Of course, for two years, it was comedic. He wanted to be a heel. He wanted you to say, ‘Wait a second, he said what?’ I just think that once he was settled in and knew he was coming back and I think he knew for a long time.
“He was interested in Caleb [Houstan] and Moussa [Diabate], wanting them back [instead of opting to enter the NBA Draft]. Once that all kind of shook out, he’s been a guy where there have been times where you will see, he’s going to say it so the coaches step back. This is what they want and he’ll direct it to his teammates.”
Michigan’s do-it-all wing, Williams is set to take on a larger role on the court and in the leadership department. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season. Williams started all three exhibition contests during Michigan’s trip to Europe in August and is a projected starter heading into the campaign.
Howard has been one of the most vocal and energetic Michigan players as a reserve the past two seasons. The son of the head coach — one of two on the team along with his younger brother and freshman guard Jett Howard — has been mentioned by his teammates as someone who has taken charge this offseason.
He played in 14 games off the bench a year ago and totaled 16 points and 7 rebounds for the season.
Michigan began practice Monday, Sept. 26, and opens the season Nov. 7 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
