2015-16 Season Preview: Men's Basketball
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 28, 2015
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2015-16 OUTLOOK
Michigan looks to improve upon last season in which it finished with a 16-16 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the Big Ten. John Beilein, in his ninth season as head coach, hopes to guide the Wolverines back to a winning season free from injuries this upcoming year.
Senior Caris LeVert and junior Derrick Walton Jr. return from season-ending foot injuries, giving the Wolverines a much-needed boost to their backcourt. Without Walton and LeVert in the lineup, the Wolverines went 5-9 last season. LeVert and classmate Spike Albrecht are the only two seniors on the team.
The Wolverines will welcome two newcomers this season: Moritz Wagner from Berlin, Germany, and Brent Hibbitts from Hudsonville, Michigan. Wagner averaged 16.8 points per game and posted 15 double-figure scoring games in his prep career. Hibbitts as a senior in high school averaged 17.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, 33 percent on three-point field goals and 76 percent from the free throw line.
U-M will be welcoming back the rest of a loaded roster that includes Zak Irvin, Kameron Chatman, Aubrey Dawkins and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, the last three of whom all gained valuable experience as freshmen lasts season.
STUDENT-ATHLETES TO WATCH
Spike Albrecht -- Following an offseason surgery on both of his hips, Albrecht is ready to build off his junior season in his final campaign. Last season, he tallied 991 total minutes after playing 862 total minutes in his first two seasons combined. He averaged 7.5 points per game and scored in double figures 12 times, including a career-best 18 points at Michigan State (Feb. 1). Prior to this season, he had just two total double-figure scoring games. Last season, he led U-M with 121 assists (4.3 apg) and was the Big Ten leader with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (121 assists, 41 turnovers, ranked 15th in the nation).
Caris LeVert -- LeVert returns to Michigan for his final season and will lead the chase for one more Big Ten title. After missing the final 14 games last season due to a foot injury and subsequent surgery, LeVert is ready for a strong senior season. He has started 56 of 88 career games and needs just 177 points to become the 49th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points. Before his injury last season, he was leading U-M in scoring (14.9), rebounds (4.9), assists (3.7), steals (1.7) and minutes (35.8). At the time, he was just one of six to lead their team in all of those categories and the only one from a Power 5 conference.
Left: Spike Albrecht // Right: Caris LeVert
Zak Irvin -- In early September, Irvin underwent a back procedure, and it is anticipated he will return sometime near the beginning of this season. Last season, Irvin averaged 14.3 points per game, scoring in double figures in 27-of-32 games, including a career-best 28 points at Northwestern (March 3). He led U-M with 77 triples (2.4 per game, fifth in the Big Ten) and tripled his rebounding totals from 49 in 2014 to 153 in 2015. He finished the season with three double-doubles, including two in the final four games. Along with Spike Albrecht, Irvin shared U-M's Bill Buntin Most Valuable Player honors.
Derrick Walton Jr. -- After spraining his left toe vs. Villanova, Walton Jr. played with the injury for the next 15 games. It eventually led to a larger injury that caused him to miss U-M's final 12 games. Prior to the injury, he averaged 10.7 points per game and scored in double figures 11 times, including a career-best 22 points in the season opener against Hillsdale (Nov. 15). In addition to his scoring, Walton averaged 4.7 rebounds per game, which was second best on the team. He grabbed five-plus rebounds in 11 games.
Left: Zak Irvin // Right: Derrick Walton Jr.
KEY COMPETITIONS
Friday, Nov. 6, vs. Le Moyne
U-M's lone exhibition game will feature a father/son matchup after coach John Beilein's son Patrick took over the Dolphin program in the middle of the summer.
Friday, Nov. 20, vs. Xavier
U-M will take on the Musketeers in the inaugural Gavitt Games, which will feature an eight-game series featuring the Big Ten vs Big East.
Wed-Fri., Nov. 25-27, at Battle 4 Atlantis
U-M travels to the Bahamas for one of the premier holiday tournaments. The Wolverines open against UConn (Nov. 26) and will face either Charlotte or Syracuse (Nov. 26) in their second game. The tournament features Texas, Texas A&M, Gonzaga and Washington in the other half of the bracket.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, at North Carolina State
U-M travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play the Wolfpack in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Tuesday, Dec. 8, at SMU
U-M heads to Dallas, Texas, play the Mustangs at Moody Coliseum.
Saturday, Feb. 6, vs. Michigan State
U-M faces the Spartans only once during the regular season, a Saturday matinee on Feb. 6 at Crisler Center.
Sunday, Feb. 21, at Maryland
U-M will play the preseason No. 1 Terrapins at Xfinity Center.
Sunday, Feb. 28, at Wisconsin
U-M faces the Badgers only once during the regular season, in the penultimate game of the regular season on Feb. 28 at the Kohl Center.
Saturday, March 5, Iowa
U-M closes the regular season and will celebrate Senior Day for Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert as it hosts the Hawkeyes at Crisler Center.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach John Beilein
On looking at this season ... "We are approaching the beginning of the season with great excitement and enthusiasm. We have a team, and I mean a true team. With Caris LeVert, who is obviously a spectacular talent, we have moved forward together. Right now, he is one of the greatest teammates you could ever have and sees his role as being a leader on this team. And everybody else -- Spike (Albrecht), Derrick (Walton Jr.) and Zak (Irvin) -- help set that tone, and we just love going to practice every day. The mentality is terrific. So now we've just got to continue to try to get better, stay united as a team, and who knows what can happen this year."
On dealing with all the injuries last season ... "As you know, it is painful to go through that. It is painful for them as well. We had a lot of close losses, and right now you can see the effect has been terrific. They're hungry. But we make no mistake about it and say we're not close. You know, we're not going to talk about it. We're a few wins here or a few wins there. No. We have a lot of gap to make up with this young team. But without question, now that we look back on it, it was very beneficial for all of us, including the coaching staff."
Senior Spike Albrecht
On offseason progress ... "The guys have all made tremendous strides not only in their game, but physically. They've all gotten a lot stronger and put on weight. You can see it on the court now, we're a lot more physical, playing through contact, rebounding the ball and things like that."
On rehabbing his hip injuries ... "The physical rehab itself was tough, it was a grind. But being a leader on the team and not being able to be out there this summer with the team was brutal. After the season we had last year, I wanted to be out there and push everyone and help everyone grow, and I wasn't able to do that. Now I'm full-go, but I'm still trying to shake off the rust a little bit and get all of these muscles back working because you haven't played for five or six months it leaves you pretty quickly."
Senior Caris LeVert
On the decision to return for his senior season ... "One of the main things is to graduate and get my degree. Another thing was to go out on a good slate and win some games. It was really 50-50 down the middle. People were saying stay, people were saying go. It was really up to me, what I felt was best. Coach (Beilein) was with me each and every step. He supported what I did either way, so I really thank him for that. A lot of coaches in that situation would have really pressed me to stay, but he wasn't really like that."
On the team's improvement ... "First and foremost, we're more mature this year. We kind of went through those live bullets; we've taken those losses, we've taken those overtime losses, and we know that each possession means everything. We're not really taking anything for granted."
2014-15 RECAP
U-M finished with a 16-16 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the Big Ten last season. The Wolverines had highlighted wins last season over Oregon (70-63; Nov. 24) in the semifinal of the Legends Classic; Syracuse (68-65; Dec. 2) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge; and a home win over Ohio State (64-57; Feb. 22). However, the Wolverines were plagued by injuries, which caused their lineup to change multiple times over the final two months of the season. Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. missed the last 12 games. Michigan played a total of five overtime games, which produced a 1-4 record. Those five OT games tied the U-M record for most in a season. The Wolverines held opponents to 63.9 points per game, including 10 games in which their opponents failed to score more than 60 points.
