Looking Ahead to 12/30: Michigan at UCF

A closer look at Michigan’s best players prior to playing UCF on Thursday.

Marc Miceli | Dec 26, 2021

Looking Ahead to 12/30: Michigan at UCF /

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After the Knights’ 11 point win over the North Alabama Lions, Head Coach Johnny Dawkins and the Knights will take on the Michigan Wolverines this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Addition Financial Arena on the campus of UCF.

Led by former Miami Heat Assistant Coach and former 'Fab Five' member and Wolverine himself, Head Coach Juwan Howard and his team have seven wins and four losses on the season.

While the Miami Heat were in Michigan to play the Pistons on December 19, some of the Heat coaches went to the Crisler Center to watch the Wolverines take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. Following the Wolverines’ win, current Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra spoke with the Wolverines team praising their head coach.

High praise from one of the greatest coaches in basketball, the @MiamiHEAT’s Erik Spoelstra.

〽️🏀 | #GoBlue | #ForCompetitorsOnly pic.twitter.com/CUjEYOxvbc
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) December 19, 2021

With the Knights set to take on the Wolverines barring any cancellation, here is a look into some of the key players on the Wolverines.

Center Hunter Dickinson

Coming out of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD, Dickinson was a four-star recruit who had offers from Michigan, Duke, Florida State, and Notre Dame among others. Fast-forward to his sophomore season and he leads the Wolverines in points per game, rebounds per game, and blocks per game, with 15.6, 9.1, and 1.1 respectively. His frame is a large reason why he is successful.

Dickinson’s 7’1 260-pound frame gives him the ability to be a force on the defensive end and back down defenders in the post at a high level. In addition to that, he has shown he has the ability to knock down shots as he has a field goal percentage of 60%.

One of Dickinson’s best games this season came against the San Diego State Aztecs, where he finished with his season-high with 23 points and 14 rebounds. He did that shooting 9 for 15 from the field and making 3 three-pointers. Neutralizing Dickinson should be one of the main priorities for Coach Dawkins and UCF's defensive efforts.

Guard Eli Brooks

Brooks, a senior guard, has been with the Wolverines for the past five seasons. During that time, he went from playing 10 minutes a game his freshman year to playing 34 minutes a game this season. He is one of the leaders for Coach Howard’s team and earlier this year Howard praised him saying, “(Brooks) is our anchor, just his presence — we saw how we missed his activity, we missed his energy, being able to guard guys and attention to detail when it comes to the scouting report.”

Brooks’ ability as a defender is evident as he is averaging 1.3 steals per game, which leads the Wolverines. Averaging 12.6 points per game, Brooks is the second-leading scorer for the Wolverines despite shooting 42.6% from the field.

A notable game for Brooks came against the UNLV Rebels where Brooks scored a season-high 22 points, where he shot 6 for 11 from the field, making 4 of 7 three-point attempts. He also had two games where he recorded 3 steals a game against the Seton Hall Pirates and the San Diego State Aztecs.

Guard DeVante’ Jones

Following four years at Coastal Carolina University where he averaged 16.7 points per game, the senior guard, Jones, transferred to the Michigan Wolverines. He became more of a facilitator for the Wolverines as he leads them with 4.1 assists per game.

It’s the season of giving! 🎁🏀🔔❄️

〽️🏀 | #GoBlue | #ForCompetitorsOnly pic.twitter.com/VpyzfCY920
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) December 24, 2021

Transitioning from the Sun Belt Conference to the Big Ten, Jones struggled earlier this season recording two games where he had five turnovers but since then he has found his role in their offense. Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Jones had a season-high of eight assists as the Wolverines beat the Cornhuskers 102 to 67.

Currently, Michigan is ranked 5th in the Big Ten and unranked according to the AP Top 25.

You can follow me on Twitter @MarcMiceli_