While the casual hoops fan is focused on traditional Big Ten Conference powers Ohio State, Michigan State, and Indiana again this season, they might be forgetting about another once storied program from the conference that is primed to make a run at the Final Four.
Most haven’t really given the Michigan Wolverines much thought ever since the Fab Five era back in the early 1990’s when future NBA stars like Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Juwan Howard once helped lead the program to back-to-back Finals appearances.
The fact is that the Wolverines have been building something special over the past few seasons behind one of the best backcourts in the nation consisting of SG Tim Hardaway Jr and dazzling PG Trey Burke, making it to the at least the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament 2 out of the last 3 seasons.
Behind a stellar recruiting class featuring elite level big man Mitch McGary and coached by former West Virginia Head man John Beilein, the Wolverines are poised to make a run at not only the Big Ten crown but potentially an NCAA Championship, something the program hasn’t tasted since the 1989 season.
Hardaway Jr, the son of former NBA star Tim Hardaway, is undoubtedly an NBA prospect in his own right and can be virtually unguardable when he puts his mind to it. He’s a highlight reel finisher and has range to well beyond the 3 point line.
The explosive scorer reached an important milestone recently as, in amassing 25 points in an opening night win over Slippery Rock,
Tim passed the 1,000 point barrier, becoming only the 49th player in school history to accomplish such a feat.
Check out some highlights of Tim Hardaway Jr vs Slippery Rock:
Tim Hardaway Jr Dunk vs Indiana(2012):
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
