I think I can speak for most Michigan Basketball fans right now when I say this team has been a pleasant surprise so far. With head coach Juwan Howard being out for the time being due to open heart surgery, Phil Martelli has been the acting head coach and has been doing a great job so far.
The team is off to a hot 3-0 start against some pretty solid opponents in UNC Asheville, Youngstown State, and St John's. While those teams are not elite, they could all be possible NCAA Tournamnet caliber teams come March. The offense to me seems to be much improved from last season averaging 93 points per game so far. It feels to me as though the ball is moving a lot more in the offense and the shooting has improved since last year. We have really seen the emergence of Dug McDaniel in the first 3 games as he is averaging 21.3 PPG, 3.7 REB, and 6.3 AST. He looks like he has been working on his game in the offseason and is ready to establish himself as one of the top guards in the Big Ten Conference. That will be huge for this team because good guard play is something the Wolverines have been lacking for a couple of seasons now and to win in college basketball, you need to have good guard play.
I also really love the edge and confidence this team is showing so far. They look like they've been playing together for years despite all of the new transfers and freshmen like Tray Jackson from Seton Hall, Nimari Burnett from Alabama, Olivier Nkamouha from Tennessee, and George Washington III the freshman. Last year's team didn't play with quite the same energy or chemistry like this one does. I'm not sure if it's becasue last year's roster just wasn't too compatible together with Hunter Dickinson and Jett Howard or what. But the ball doesn't really stick in one place anymore and it's a lot of fun to watch.
Next week in the Battle For Atlantis they will face off in their first game in the tournament there against Memphis. This should be a good measuring stick game for the team early on here. They also have a road matchup with Oregon and will face Florida in the nonconference as well. If they perform well in these games, I think we could be able to put Michigan in the conversation as one of the best teams in the Big Ten. While I am trying to not get too ahead of myself, I am feeling prettty optimistic about this and I look forward to watching more basketball this year! Go Blue!