Michigan hoops revival triggered by three-point prowess

Coach Dusty May came to Ann Arbor with some serious work to do, rebuilding a proud program that had just crawled across the finish line the year before with a measly three Big Ten Conference wins. Prior to May’s arrival, Michigan was a team that looked outmatched, often confused, and lacking identity every night they took the court.

This was a program that in the last 12 years was a perennial contender for the Big Ten title, winning the league title three times and the tournament title twice. They were also expected to make the NCAA Tournament and were a threat to make a deep run every year. This program had two runners up National Championship showings and seven Sweet 16 runs in the last 12 years. Mediocrity was not something the fan base was familiar with.

Although it’s still early, it certainly looks like Dusty May has turned that around, and he has utilized lethal shooting from 3-point range as a huge weapon in that turnaround.

Harkening back to the Beilein days when Michigan used the three-point shot as a means of shooting teams out of zones and opening up the middle for their big men, May has given his shooters the green light. The three-point shot has revolutionized the way basketball is played, thank you Steph Curry. Teams are shooting from downtown at a pace never before seen in the college or professional ranks.

With Michigan having five of their six leading scorers shooting 36.6% or better from three, they have become a serious problem for opposing defenses. Often, when big man Vlad Goldin or Danny Wolf are benched due to foul trouble, the shooters come out and the Wolverines do not lose any momentum. A team with serious advantages in the post that can quickly pivot to a guard oriented deep shooting team on the fly is one that can position itself to win a conference championship and make a deep run in March.

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