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Michigan basketball's depth excels, shows Juwan Howard's messaging is paying off

Orion Sang
Detroit Free Press

With just over seven minutes left in Friday night's 103-91 win over Iowa, Michigan basketball needed a bucket.

An unlikely source provided two.

Center Austin Davis set a screen, cut to the rim and dunked off a pass from point guard Zavier Simpson. The Wolverines got a stop, and then Davis dunked again, off an identical feed from Simpson.

The sequence was emblematic of No. 5 Michigan's win over the Hawkeyes. Iowa was led by center Luka Garza, who scored a game-high 44 points and drew countless fouls. The Wolverines had six players score in double digits, and Davis nearly became a seventh with eight points on 4 of 6 shooting in 10 minutes. Michigan may not have been able to stop Luka Garza, who had a game-high 44 points, but it had more depth — and that proved to be the decisive factor in the Wolverines' conference opener.

"I saw great production out of (the bench)," Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. "Playing with a lot of energy, and ton of effort, and just playing inspiring basketball. It was great to see that."

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Michigan forward Brandon Johns Jr. defends Iowa guard Joe Toussaint during the second half Friday, Dec. 6, 2019 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

More:Michigan's Brandon Johns brings the energy, has breakout game vs. Iowa

According to Howard, the team has a motto that says, 'Stay ready so you don't have to get ready.' Howard went so far as to say that he "would get mad" at players who didn't get a chance to play if "they just settled with just not playing."

"They all are competitive," Howard said. "And if you're okay with not playing, then maybe we need to give that spot to somebody else."

The Wolverines tested Howard's motto in the first half. With just under 14 minutes left, backup center Colin Castleton substituted in — but left the game after just 1:41 because of a blow he took to the face. That led Howard to call upon Davis, who had played just 15 minutes through the first eight games.  

Later, Teske came back in the game, but picked up his second foul. Once again, Michigan brought in Davis — and he largely did his job. Davis was even better in the second half, scoring six points while pulling down two rebounds. In all, he and Castleton combined for a plus-minus rating of plus-5  — a solid number, considering they played 17 total minutes and had to deal with a red-hot Garza. 

"This is their team," Howard said. "Every man is going to have a part of our success. Cole Bajema, he's a part of the team and Adrien Nunez he's a big part of the team as well. But every guy, 1 through 15, we're going to need each and every man."

Davis and Castleton, who scored four points in seven minutes, weren't the only bench players to make the most of their playing time. Sophomore forward Brandon Johns made a huge impact as the backup at the 4-position, scoring a career-high 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting and adding eight rebounds (five offensive). Johns' hustle and ability to crash the glass created numerous extra possessions for Michigan's offense; He scored 10 points in the first half and was a big reason why the Wolverines led by 12 entering halftime, despite 27 first-half points from Garza. 

One of the early characteristics of Howard's first Michigan team has been its depth. While the star trio of Simpson, Teske and wing Isaiah Livers serves as the team's engine, anchoring the offense and defense, the Wolverines still go eight or nine deep. Players like Eli Brooks, David DeJulius, Castleton and Johns have all grown by leaps and bounds since last season and have been valuable members of the rotation. Friday night, Davis joined them  and helped prove Howard's messaging has paid off.

“We have a really good team," Johns said. "I think a lot of people kind of put us down for how much depth we have. But I think we have a lot of depth on this team. Everybody can play. I believe in us.”

Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.