The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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selves and be in amazement." He paused. "But it's unbelievable," he added, and gives the Wolverines one more shooter to stretch the floor and create room for the guards to move. Irvin, for one, should be able to play three positions next year thanks to his im- proved ball handling, and Dawkins is making strides in that area, too. The Wolverines' showing in a Big Ten Tournament loss to Wisconsin — they trailed by two with four min- utes to go before fading down the stretch — had Beilein excited for the future. "I know it will be very competitive next year for positions, and that will be good for everybody," he said. A DANGEROUS TEAM NEXT SEASON All of the freshmen plan to stick around this summer and work out with strength coach Jon Sanderson, freshman center Ricky Doyle said, to improve their bodies. Those who have in the recent past, including Stauskas, LeVert and Irvin, have made huge strides the follow- ing year, and Beilein believes one in particular — Kameron Chatman (3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game) — will benefit greatly from a body transformation. Chatman, a former five-star, has shown flashes and has a world of untapped potential. Red- shirt freshman Mark Donnal, (3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game) should consider it, too, if he wants to see the floor in the near future. Should LeVert and Bielfeldt both return, Beilein will have 11 scholar- ship players with significant play- ing time vying for positions. Add- ing Wagner could give him a dozen capable bodies, but he won't take anything for granted. "As you try to survey the recruit- ing landscape, it would be really dumb if I just said everybody's going to come back and we don't need any- body for next year," Beilein said. "We always keep an eye on that. Now that the NCAA opened up the fifth year transfer, a number of transfers will be out there. There are quite a few guys that have still not signed. We wouldn't go for somebody if we already had that position and felt good about that position, so there's a lot to it. "It's a poor analogy, but it's like free agency out there — who's going to go, who is going to stay. I think we'll have great retention … but you never know." He does know, though, that he'll have plenty of pieces to work with. His biggest challenge might be try- ing to keep everyone happy with playing time, something that might have seemed unfathomable only a few months ago. His players show his excitement. "Just knowing that we're going to have some dangerous weapons and I'm going to be at the hand of the ship is exciting," Walton said. "It's the vision we all saw coming. It took some time to roll around, but it's here. "Going forward, I'm really excited. I just can't wait to get back out there — we're going to be a dangerous team." ❑