The Wolverine

November 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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NOVEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 41 2018-19 BASKETBALL PREVIEW "There's a whole bunch more things than being a shooter, and he's going to be a great shooter," Beilein noted. "He's making great progress." COLIN CASTLETON Castleton brought the double whammy into Michigan's trip to Spain. The four-star addition signed on with the Wolverines as a 6-11 performer who at 210 pounds needed more than a few cheeseburgers, to borrow a pet phrase of Michigan football defensive coordinator Don Brown. Rivals' No. 89 overall player and No. 7 center in the 2018 class broke his hand in the offseason, and has been healing up the past few weeks. He's been cleared to play, but the Florida Mr. Basketball finalist — who averaged 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.6 blocks per game at Father Lopez Catholic in Daytona Beach as a senior — has the luxury of learning behind the 7-1 Teske and 6-10 red- shirt sophomore Austin Davis. "Colin's length inside will bother people," Yaklich added. "His ability to stretch the floor with his shooting ability will help us." For all of Michigan's freshmen, get- ting some time in overseas is making a difference. Beilein and his assis- tants were able to notice the impact as soon as practice started. "It's a great group of guys," Yak- lich said. "The Spain trip really helped them. It's sped up the learn- ing curve." ❏ John Beilein certainly hasn't been afraid to play rookies in his 11 previous years at Michigan. Some have contributed greatly not only to Big Ten championships, but also deep NCAA Tournament runs. Here's a look at the top five freshmen for Beilein and Michi- gan since he took over the Wolverines prior to the 2007-08 campaign: 1. G Trey Burke, 2011-12 — Burke earned honorable men- tion All-America honors as a frosh at Michigan, garnering second-team All-Big Ten notice and making the All-Big Ten Freshman squad unanimously. He was the media's choice as conference Freshman of the Year, after leading the Wolver- ines with a 14.8 scoring average. He earned Michigan's Bill Bun- tin Most Valuable Player Award, guiding his school to its first Big Ten championship in 26 years. Along the way he connected on 57 three-pointers, while lead- ing the team in steals (31) and blocks (13). 2. G Nik Stauskas, 2012-13 — Stauskas proved a standout in a freshman class that helped usher the Wolverines to their first Final Four in 20 years. He played in all 39 of Michigan's games on the way to the NCAA title contest and started in 33 of them. Stauskas averaged 11.0 points per game, shooting 44 percent (80 of 182) from three-point range. He also recorded 52 as- sists and 22 steals for Michigan. His highlight moment involved going 6 for 6 from three-point range in an NCAA Tournament win over Florida and boosting the Wolverines into the Final Four. 3. G Tim Hardaway, 2010-11 — Hardaway made an im- mediate impact for Michigan, prior to Burke and the Class of 2012 arriving on the scene. He averaged 13.9 points per game, leading the Wolverines with a 14.9 scoring average in Big Ten games. Hardaway also picked off an average of 3.8 rebounds per contest and ranked ninth in the Big Ten in free throw percent- age (76.5). He made the All-Big Ten Freshman team (media) and garnered honorable mention for All-Big Ten honors. 4. F Glenn Robinson III, 2012-13 — Robinson rode the freshman wave all the way to the NCAA title game, starting all 39 of Michigan's games. He and Burke were the only ones to accomplish that feat. Robinson averaged 11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, with 43 assists and 39 steals. He made the All-Big Ten Freshman team (coaches) and garnered Michigan's Iron Man Award. He underscored that designation, playing 42 min- utes in the Wolverines' shock- ing comeback victory against Kansas to reach the Elite Eight. 5. C Mitch McGary, 2012-13 — Many forget that McGary only started two games as a freshman prior to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. They 'll never forget what he did once he arrived there, though. McGary averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in the six-game run through the tournament, dominating the opposition and becoming an emotional leader for the Wol- verines. That effort put him on the NCAA Final Four All-Tourna- ment Team as well as the NCAA Tournament All-South Region Team. For the year, he averaged 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, earning him three Michi- gan honors: the Steve Grote Hustle Award, the Loy Vaught Rebounding Award and the Sixth Man Award. The fact that all five of Michigan's top-five freshman seasons under Beilein came from five players who performed on the same roster says plenty about that 2012-13 team. It wound up going farther than anyone in college basketball in 2013, among teams not winding up on NCAA probation. — John Borton John Beilein's Fab Five Freshmen Trey Burke shined as a freshman, earning All-America honor- able mention and Big Ten Freshman of the Year laurels from the media, before he became the national player of the year and a top-10 NBA Draft pick the following season. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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