Smith and Brown reward Howard’s vision in season opener

For much of the second half of Wednesday night, Michigan operated in acceptable but uncomfortable space. His lead never diminished to less than two scores but hovered between 10 and 15 points. A season opener win over Bowling Green has never been a certainty.

And then, five minutes to go, senior winger Chaundee Brown hit his fifth scorer with 3 points of the game with an assist from fifth-year point guard Mike Smith. Seconds later, Smith orchestrated a quick clinical pause, finding lead forward Isaiah Livers in an alley-oop.

Before the Falcons could catch their breath, Michigan had made its decisive mark on a possible 96-82 win. And in the process, the Wolverines synthesized Juwan Howard’s vision for this year’s squad.

Livers and Franz Wagner are the unequivocal stars of the team. But after Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske graduated, Howard didn’t have a freshman all-star class to immediately take their place. Only center Hunter Dickinson recorded double-digit minutes among freshmen, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds.

So instead, Howard went to the transfer portal. There he saw a pair of players who could fill in his squad’s biggest holes and smack the 2020-21 Wolverines.

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