Hunter Dickinson Returning!

Submitted by carolina blue on April 24th, 2022 at 6:33 PM

Announced via Twitter

rc90

April 24th, 2022 at 6:37 PM ^

Selfishly, I am happy with the news.

But for HD, this kinda socks, because it suggests he didn't like his likely draft status. I hope he has a chance to improve next year, or maybe the NBA appreciates his skills more.

wesq

April 24th, 2022 at 7:57 PM ^

Re: NIL - Doesn’t it feel good as a fan to know he can come back and make money? It does for me. He doesn’t have to make a call between his education and his career. He can come back and do both. I love the NIL world. It may not be the boon to Michigan athletics and our “money cannon” that many thought it could but it makes it easier for me to support college athletics. 

bronxblue

April 24th, 2022 at 6:47 PM ^

I know there was persistent rumors he had an injury that limited his mobility, especially on defense, so I could see him improve his stock a bit by coming back.  He's never going to be a lottery pick but Garza, for example, went from all offense/no defense guy to someone who at least got a 2nd round grade and is on an NBA roster.  So beyond NIL it does make some sense from a career perspective to give it a go again.

WayOfTheRoad

April 24th, 2022 at 7:26 PM ^

Totally agree. I'm a casual BB fan and I just don't see an NBA player in Hunter. I cannot imagine him guarding anyone his size in The NBA. He's a very good college player that will may get a few years in the league and that's ok.

It would have been crazy for him to go, IMO. Same for Diabate and Houstan. Diabate has the raw athleticism and literally nothing else. He needs time but can get there. Probably the same for Houstan but not now or in the next couple years based on what my casual eyes see.

rc90

April 24th, 2022 at 9:27 PM ^

I thought Jordan Poole was crazy to leave when he did, and I was wrong. And Diabate's physical tools look more valuable to me than Poole 's did, but I certainly could be wrong about that too. Diabate looks like a guy who will make a huge jump if he can work 50 hours per week with professional coaching, which obviously he cannot do in college.

WayOfTheRoad

April 25th, 2022 at 2:35 AM ^

I thought Poole left early, too. However, aside from raw athleticism I'd call Poole much more NBA ready when he left than Diabate is now and even Poole had to work a bit to solidify his place.

Now, it's also unfair to compare them now as Poole left after his Sophomore season. Can Diabate make a huge jump in a hypothetical year 2? I think so and therefore I just don't think he's an NBA guy right now. I think that he's likely a 15-25 pick project even if he goes next year. He's a ball of athleticism that hasn't really got anything else working consistently right now. Houstan is the real wild card for me as I just do not see it with him. He can shoot but even that is very inconsistent. Beyond that he isn't very athletic, a poor defender and doesn't really wanna scrap it up ever. He just kinda hangs out and fires threes...which is fine if you hit them and he seems to be extremely hot or cold from game to game. IMO, he's the least NBA ready of the 3. Then again, freshman are freshman and what do I know. I remember fans hating Brooks when he was a Freshman & Sophmore and the guy was probably the glue of the team the past two years. No Brooks would have been ugly, IMO. Some guys just need time and it's often for things off the court as much as on the court. It's not easy to move across the country, fit in, learn a new city, go to class, etc.

So I openly admit that I'm a novice! I cannot talk basketball the way I can football or wrestling. I'm just going based on what I see through my very casual-fan brain. 

JonnyHintz

April 24th, 2022 at 8:51 PM ^

Hunter pretty much is what he is at this point in terms of NBA potential. The areas he needs to improve upon are physical limitations that he cant improve. He’ll also be a year older so even marginal improvements aren’t going to help his stock. 
 

He’s cemented as a late 2nd/UDFA that’s going to spend some time in the GLeague before hopefully catching on at the end of the bench of an NBA team. Financially, he’ll probably be in line to make as much, if not more, from NIL than he would in the G-League. Looks like he realized that and made his decision accordingly. 
 

Phenomenal college player but the skill set and physical attributes just aren’t there for there to be much upside in the NBA

XM - Mt 1822

April 24th, 2022 at 6:48 PM ^

Well, for all the doom and gloom most of us, myself included, had about next  basketball season that’s pretty huge news. If you get to keep either Moussa or Caleb, we could be doing just dandy next year.

dickdastardly

April 24th, 2022 at 6:49 PM ^

Hunter has the opportunity to write himself into the history books as one of the great Michigan basketball players. I’m looking forward to witnessing it next season 

Perkis-Size Me

April 24th, 2022 at 6:50 PM ^

Absolutely huge for this team. That position was probably going to be the biggest question mark on the team next year had he left. Now it’s a huge position of strength with returning a potential All-American.

RobM_24

April 24th, 2022 at 8:23 PM ^

If the tradeoff is Shannon, you have to be happy about it. With Dickinson back, next year is the main emphasis. Nothing against Bufkin or Barnes, but you want proven players to make a run. It's like trading a top prospect at the trade deadline in baseball for a proven pitcher. The prospect didn't do anything wrong, they just weren't ready when the championship window was there. 

WorldwideTJRob

April 24th, 2022 at 6:54 PM ^

Ant Wright just said on Spotify Live that he would be SHOCKED if Moussa didn’t declare today. Said the fit between Moussa/Hunter on the floor together is not ideal moving forward.