Hoops: If you could pick one senior to come back for next year who would it be and why?
This is assuming Wagner comes back. My pick would be Brooks. He would be solid for the inexperienced back court and a welcomed shooter to go along with a lot of the the unproven shooters coming in and coming back. I thought about Davis to give Hunter help down low but I’m hoping that Diabate and Johns help there. Also Livers because of his versatility but if Wagner is back and with Houstan coming in I feel good there. I go with Brooks.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:15 PM ^
i'll take the guy who scored 20 points today
February 14th, 2021 at 10:21 PM ^
I'll take Mike Smith. You need only look as far as MSU to see how poor PG play impacts a team. Tough question for sure, since I want to see Brooks back too.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:31 PM ^
True on the pg point of view. That’s part of the reason why I went with Brooks is because he can stabilize the guard spots and he also provides great defense.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:32 AM ^
I concur with your assessment-especially given the "Wagner returns" caveat. As attractive as having Isaiah back would be the greater concern for next year is the backcourt. Brooks would solidify both guard positions and be a great mentor. Collins and Bufkin look to be one helluva duo...it would be nice to have Brooks running alongside to get their feet under them.
I do want to plug Aristotle's famous saying with regard to this current team: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." This team's play takes me back to the great Wooden coached UCLA teams.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
Good PG play in basketball is comparable to good QB play in football. To me, it's one of the main reasons Beilein had success and why Juwan is off to a good start.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:27 PM ^
Livers without a doubt. To much offensive productivity to ignore.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:11 PM ^
He's a great glue guy in addition to being a very good scorer
I understand the draft hype Franz is getting but if I had next on a playground Zay would be my first pick.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:33 PM ^
Would like to see Chaundee come back and have the opportunity to be the starting 2 guard since he didn’t get that chance this year. Not saying that would make the best backcourt, just that it would be nice to see him get that opportunity. A starting backcourt of 6-5 Brown and 6-5 Zeb would be interesting defensively. Hope Zeb is ready to play.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:42 PM ^
I’m having fun imagining a Zeb-Chaundee-Franz-Diabate-Dickinson lineup. Good fucking luck, opposing offense
February 14th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
This is what makes this debate so difficult because you can look at it offensively and defensively and come up with different players based on each.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
Sorry. In the real world this is called wishful thinking-among other things. Chaundee and Zeb would leave you with guards that would neither stretch the floor nor break down a defense. While they would likely be very good defensively they would be an offensive disaster.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:33 PM ^
Isn't it beautiful that Eli Brooks is even part of this conversation? A large portion of this fanbase wanted to run him out of town after his first two years. He's matured into a superb defensive player and has elevated his offensive game each year. The quintessential team player on a roster filled with team players.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:47 PM ^
I’ve had my moments with him over the years when I got very frustrated with him but last season and this one I’ve really seen and appreciated his value. That’s why I picked him out of all of them to come back. The Minnesota game showed me exactly how much he means. I think he has thrived much more in Howard’s scheme than he did in Beileins. That could be as simple as game experience though.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
Yeah, he really exemplifies what a senior can mean to a program. He always seems to hold things together whenever they start to look bad.
Brooks would be my choice if we can only have one come back. The value he brings to the team exceeds any single player’s stats or athletic ability. He’s a coach on the court and he always seems to be aware of the situation and how to adapt.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
Fairly or not, I think a lot of that is due to Beilein's reputation for identifying and developing talent. This is a guy that made two-and-dones out of a bunch of players expected to be longer term projects, and for whom most of his recruiting hits were showing their ability in the first couple years (outside of bigs, who with the exception of McGary typically took longer to develop). Which isn't to say that players who stayed for four years didn't improve over that time (e.g. MAAR), or that some players didn't frustrate as their development seemingly stagnated in the middle of their careers before taking off again at the end (Walton, Irvin). But those guys were showing potential early on. Honestly, looking back, I'm having a hard time thinking of any Beilein non-big that panned out but didn't flash in his first year or two.
So TLDR, one would be excused for essentially writing off Brooks because a Beilein guard that didn't show potential in his first couple years was pretty much guaranteed to be a bust. Still great to see him blossom as a senior, though.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
It's awesome that there are four different candidates listed in the first six comments and there is a good argument to be made for each one.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:55 AM ^
That’s what keeping players around for four years buys you. Beyond the honed skills, each of our seniors in the eight-deep rotation brings maturity and character which forms the basis for our current team. Look at the box score for this game, talent alone didn’t beat Wisconsin. Watching how this coaching staff rebuilds that will be the interesting part of next season.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
You could make a really strong case for Austin Davis
February 14th, 2021 at 10:38 PM ^
I would be happy if any of them came back, but Livers is a top 20 player in the college game, and excells on both sides of the ball. Easy choice.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:38 PM ^
Mike Smith (assuming we aren’t counting Livers for obvious reasons). He’s the straw that stirs the drink on this team. Brooks is the superior defender but the gap isn’t a large as people seem to think. But Smith is the better floor general.
That being said, Eli is an outstanding player and is a close second. If Zeb looked farther along in his development I’d probably go witb Eli. We all saw what happened in the Barn without him.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:40 PM ^
Obviously any of them would be great on such a young team next year. But to me the answer is Mike Smith or Eli Brooks. We need another guard badly next season. I think Smith being the steadying force, elite shooter, and crafty veteran gets a slight edge but you can't go wrong with either. Do I think they will? Probably not.
But maybe Smith, who has a degree from Columbia and is in grad school at Michigan will want to run it back and teach Zeb and Collins a few things next year.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:43 PM ^
Am I the only one that wants to see some more Nunez...oh shoot he's only a Junior... /s
February 14th, 2021 at 11:02 PM ^
haha! making fun of amateur athletes 
February 15th, 2021 at 1:54 AM ^
You're definitely the only one who uses a celebration of how strong this program is to take a shot at a young man who seems to be both humble and an enthusiastic bench mobber
February 14th, 2021 at 10:46 PM ^
Livers 100%
February 14th, 2021 at 10:51 PM ^
After we win the national title this year, I will happily take any seniors wanting to repeat
February 14th, 2021 at 10:57 PM ^
Livers
February 14th, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
Agree Livers for his talent, leadership and old head.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^
I mean it's obviously Livers, but of the realistic options I'll take Smith narrowly over Brooks.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:23 PM ^
Drew Henson
February 15th, 2021 at 2:09 AM ^
He said seniors not juniors.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
Livers and Franz will both be gone next year to the league, but it would be great to get Brooks back no question.
February 15th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
? An interesting and hopefully totally innocent choice of a username.
But just in case it's not, we'll be watching. ??
February 14th, 2021 at 11:34 PM ^
Take Livers out of the equation, because Duh, he isn’t coming back. Franz probably isn’t either. I’d take Smith.
PG: Smith/Jackson/Collins
SG: Bufkin/Jackson
SF: Houstan/Barnes/Howard
PF: Diabate/Johns/Williams
C: Dickinson/Johns/Tschetter
February 14th, 2021 at 11:34 PM ^
Assuming eligibility is expanded another season, I think Mike Smith, Eli Brooks, Chaundee Brown and Austin Davis may all decide to return b/c scholarship limits will be altered.
Imagine that core with another year of Wagner (based on OP''s assumption).
If that plays out, we might be the deepest team in the country.
But to answer the OP's question, I would pick Eli Brooks because he has a HUGE impact on team defense. It isn't readily obvious but the analytics shows the defense plays on another level when he's on the court. (I'm assuming Isaiah Livers will be gone.)
February 14th, 2021 at 11:38 PM ^
That won’t happen for several reasons. One, most teams will not want to carry that many scholarship players, even if allowed. Two, some of those guys will have a chance to make some money overseas and won’t want to play another year. And also, I think “deepest team in the country” might not always be a good thing. You see it with MSU where they are trying to do an awkward rotation of 13-14 players. If all our seniors returned and we added next years class, minutes would be very tight and I don’t think it would work well.
February 15th, 2021 at 12:24 AM ^
IF another year of eligibility is granted, some schools may opt to go over the limit while others may simply say "nah".
But in our case, players like Isaiah Barnes and Will Tschetter will likely need time just like Terrance Williams is simply playing back-up minutes. Likewise, I prefer that Frankie Collins and Kobe Bufkin aren't thrust into action and forced to play starter minutes from day 1. I would rather they play behind experienced vets like Mike Smith, Eli Brooks, and 2nd year Zeb Jackson. Continuity would allow for a more seamless transition when Collins and Bufkin are ready to become starters (hopefully in 2022-23 season). Most freshmen are not ready to play at a high level from day 1.
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But your point about depth potentially/probably being a hindrance is well taken. I remember the 2015 Kentucky team had awesome depth (because some players from the 2014 national runner-up team returned to chase a ring) so Calipari went to a platoon system where he could throw waves of talent at opponents to wear them out. Ultimately, Calipari settled on his best 8-9 as a rotation iirc.
February 15th, 2021 at 1:04 AM ^
The awkward rotation at Staee isn't because they have the problem of not enough minutes to go around for 13-14 players; rather, it's because Tiny Tom is desperately grasping at straws with a dysfunctional team that lacks a competent point guard.
That's why I would keep Mike Smith over any of the other options, despite all the upside each of the other seniors bring.
Wow, what a tough question!
My guess is that it plays out something like this: Livers will almost certainly go to the NBA (and because of this I didn't consider him an option) and both Smith and Eli Brooks return for another year. I would love for Austin Davis to also return because he's the perfect complimentary player to Hunter Dickenson but I just don't know if there's enough room.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:12 AM ^
If you "need" to play more than an 8 man rotation your team is in big trouble. You need 3 guards, 3 forwards and 2 centers. The rotation options that Juwan and staff have built is perfect...though there is (injury) vulnerability at the guards if Brooks or Smith go down.
February 15th, 2021 at 12:13 AM ^
I was going to say Foster Loyer but I think he is a Junior.
February 15th, 2021 at 1:12 AM ^
Assuming Livers is going to say bye-bye. The first of Brooks/Smith that commits to coming back, you take. Then, you tell Davis, the other guard, and Chaundee that they can come back too, BUT that you are going to play them no more than 10 minutes per game. Basically, you turn them into player/coaches. Of course, you tell the younger guys of this plan also. This would ensure the opportunity and development of the younger guys, maybe even enhance it with the older guys as mentor, like Davis is now to Hunter.
Depth would be out of this world. Can you imagine the practices?
February 15th, 2021 at 2:17 AM ^
Youre going to decide players minutes and starters before players are even on campus?
February 15th, 2021 at 2:30 AM ^
Easy, Livers...did you see him yesterday?
February 15th, 2021 at 7:54 AM ^
I saw the Minnesota game where I noted Brooks absence and how crucial that was. I saw other games where either Hunter, Wagner, Brown or Smith led the team in scoring when Livers was struggling. I’m all for Livers coming back but the others play a vital role as well.
February 15th, 2021 at 6:05 AM ^
CJ Baird, bc his 3pt misses are more fun than Liver’s makes.
February 15th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
If you’re going to make inane comments, at least get the apostrophes right.
February 15th, 2021 at 6:10 AM ^
3J Baird, not even close.
Quintessential 3 & D guy. Terrific shot blocker.
February 15th, 2021 at 6:53 AM ^
Since the AARP uses 50 as a qualifying age to be a senior, I'm going with Glen Rice.
February 15th, 2021 at 7:06 AM ^
It is Brooks or Smith for me. We need one more year of one of those guys to allow our young guards to ease into college.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:02 AM ^
Which freshman do you think will have the best opportunity to start next year? I have seen Houston, Diabate, and Collins play on TV. Only highlights for the other incoming freshman. Assuming Livers and Wagner are gone and Dickinson comes back, what do you think the front court will look like? Who starts at the 4, John’s or Diabate? To me, Houston looks ready to start at the 3 from the moment he arrives in Ann Arbor.