The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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year." From a strictly developmental standpoint, former Michigan center and current college basketball ana- lyst Tim McCormick said, losing Wal- ton and LeVert was the best thing that could have happened to Irvin. "When those two were on the court, Zak might be scoring more points, his field goal percentage would be higher, but he would not have developed the more diversified set of skills that he has," McCormick noted. "He's 20 or 30 or 40 percent better as a ballplayer than he was at the beginning of the season, when he was strictly a catch-and-shoot guy. "That bodes very well for him in his future as he chases his pro dreams, but more importantly, it's really going to pay dividends next year. If everybody returns healthy next year, with all of the depth that they're developing from this fresh- man class, next year Michigan will be a darn good team." McCormick predicts a top-three finish in the league, with a team still filled with sophomores and juniors. GROWING TOGETHER When Beilein first arrived in Ann Arbor, assembling teams that would stay and develop was his blueprint for success, not winning big and be- coming an NBA factory. The player development has been so astound- ing, however, that the Wolverines are consistently one of the conference's youngest teams. Michigan's 15 seniors over the eight years of Beilein's career are a Big Ten low for that stretch, while U-M is one of just three schools with fewer than 20 from 2008-15, joining Rutgers (16 seniors) and Indiana (18). "It's been a wonderful challenge because I've had to see guys grow quickly," Beilein said. "Aside from this year, I think we had the best Big Ten record over the last three years going into this year despite that lack of seniors." Next year's group will also be un- derclassman-heavy. Senior Max Bielf- eldt wants to return, but he's waiting to see if a scholarship will still be available for him. One could open if senior-to-be Caris LeVert opts to go pro, but he won't announce until April 26, the last day underclassmen can declare. U-M has extended a scholarship to German big man Moritz Wagner, too, for 2015. If he accepts — and he's not expected to decide until at least May — there might not be room for Bielfeldt, even though he was argu- ably Michigan's best big man down the stretch. There are others with higher ceil- ings, though, waiting in the wings. Freshman D.J. Wilson is redshirting following a knee injury, but the 6-9 forward has skills. And 6-8 Williams College transfer Duncan Robinson, sitting out this season due to transfer rules, has shattered all of Nik Staus- kas' shooting records in practice. Dawkins called him the best shooter he's ever seen, while Biel- feldt marveled at his ability to get open or his deadly jumper. "I'm not going to spoil that [for the fans]," Walton said with a grin. "I want everybody to see all by them-