ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan basketball got some great news Tuesday: All-American center Hunter Dickinson is returning for another season. With him in the fold, the Wolverines will have a stacked roster again this winter.
Dickinson announced that he will spend one more year in Ann Arbor, joining Coastal Carolina transfer DeVante’ Jones, who also went through the NBA draft process and ultimately chose the Wolverines.
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One last ride… pic.twitter.com/obx1fqbxqE
— Hunter Dickinson (@H_Dickinson24) July 6, 2021
Dickinson, Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns form a strong returning trio from a team that won the Big Ten regular season title in 2021 and marched all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. They fell one point shy of a trip to the Final Four, but now Juwan Howard has built another roster with enticing potential.
Though the Wolverines lost four critical components of last year’s team -- Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers, Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith -- the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation should help soften the blow.
Howard landed a pair of five-star prospects in Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate. Four-star Kobe Bufkin gave Michigan a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans.
Frankie Collins is a top 50 recruit, and Isaiah Barnes is a four-star just outside the top 100.
Will Tschetter is a three-star prospect who rounds out the six-man class.
Terrance Williams and Zeb Jackson played lesser roles on last year’s team and could see increased playing time in 2021-22. Both were four-star recruits in the 2020 class.
Jace Howard and Brandon Wade could also factor into the rotation at some point.
Michigan’s starting five will likely include Jones, Brooks, Dickinson, Houstan and Johns -- one of the best units, on paper, in the Big Ten. If the freshmen and sophomores develop, this roster will be deeper than last year’s.
Juwan Howard hasn’t missed a beat since taking over for John Beilein two years ago, and it appears this program is built for even more sustained success.