Michigan basketball taking notes from Illinois on handling adversity as a team
It’s no secret the Michigan basketball season has been full of adversity.
Before the season, the Wolverines found out they’d be without their head coach, Juwan Howard, as he recovered from a serious heart surgery. Upon his return, he got into an altercation with then-strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, who has not been with the team since. Then, most recently, Dug McDaniel has been suspended indefinitely from road games as he works through academic issues.
The varying circumstances have appeared to get the better of U-M on the court, as Michigan (7-10, 2-4 Big Ten) is off to its worst 17-game start since the 2007-08 season.
But the Wolverines aren’t the only team dealt adverse conditions.
The Fighting Illini have been without All-Big Ten guard Terrance Shannon since late December, when he was charged with rape after an alleged incident in September. Shannon, the team’s leading scorer at 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, has not played since a Dec. 22 victory over Missouri, when he scored 30 points, his second highest total of the season.
There's no timetable for his return. No. 14 Illinois is 3-2 without Shannon. The ability to stay together even when times are tough is something Howard has noticed.
“It starts with Brad (Underwood) ... great coach, amazing culture there at Illinois,” Howard said. “The success they have, year after year consistently ... overall you can always expect you're going to play against a tough-nosed, physical team in Illinois.”
These days, Illinois (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten) is led by Marcus Domask, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Southern Illinois who has averaged 24.8 points per game over his past four contests.
He's far from the only talent: Howard also singled out Quincy Guerrier. The forward who joined this offseason from Oregon is averaging 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds. There's also Coleman Hawkins, one of the frontrunners for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, who is averaging 10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.
"Missing one of their key guys, but they have guys who've stepped in and filled that void," Howard said. "Quincy has been a big pick up, as has Marcus. ... It shows you the versatility they have on that roster, so we expect this team is going to come in with a lot of energy, lot of toughness."
Illinois has proven to be the toughest nut for Howard to crack. He has beaten the 12 other Big Ten teams during his five-year tenure in Ann Arbor but is 0-6 in six games against Illinois; the last meeting was a 91-87 loss in double OT.
Surgery for Jackson? Close eyes on Llewellyn
Graduate transfer forward Tray Jackson has missed each of the past two games and is listed as "out" while under concussion protocol. But head coach Juwan Howard revealed on Wednesday there’s even more to it than that.
Not only did Jackson suffer the brain injury in last Sunday’s game against Penn State, but he suffered a broken bone in his face which may require surgery.
“Tray has been suffering an injury that’s very delicate,” Howard said. “What I’m speaking of is his nose; he has a small fracture on his nose with the possibility of surgery on the table.”
Jackson, a 6-foot-10 Detroit native who transferred to Ann Arbor from Seton Hall, has played 15 games this season and averages 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds. It hasn't been the homecoming Jackson had hoped it would be; he has scored more than eight points just once, when he scored 17 in 21 minutes in a November loss to Long Beach State.
Jackson isn't the only player the staff is monitoring.
In addition to Jace Howard, who is being eased back into the rotation and just played eight minutes in his season debut in Monday's win over Ohio State, Jaelin Llewellyn is being closely watched by the staff. Llewellyn had ACL surgery last January and has rehabbed his way back in the year in between; though he missed the beginning of the year, the point guard returned in early December vs. Oregon.
After three games back, Llewellyn missed two game in concussion protocol; in the first five games he played this year, he only topped 10 minutes once. Last week vs. Maryland, when the team was without Dug McDaniel, however, he played 33 minutes which nearly matched his total (44 minutes) from those first five games of 2023-24.
He only played one minute Monday vs. Ohio State. It might appear Howard is saving him for the road games when McDaniel is not available, but the U-M coach said it's a game-by-game process.
"We're monitoring his health as well, want to be very respectful of the injury that he's dealing with from last season," Howard said. "With the minutes he experience in the Maryland game, thought they were great minutes, hadn't played that many minutes in a very long time.
"That knee is something we do not want to cause any flare up where it could set him back because we need Jaelin and we need a healthy Jaelin."
White-out vs. Illini
For the first time at Crisler Center, there will be a "white-out" as all fans are encouraged to wear their white Michigan gear for Thursday's game (9 p.m., Peacock) vs. No. 14 Illinois.
The Wolverines have done days focused around their primary colors "maize" and "blue" in the past — next Saturday's game vs Iowa will be a "blue-out" — while they also have an annual pink-out game for breast cancer awareness (scheduled for Feb. 3 against Rutgers). This is the first time U-M will do a white-out.
A program spokesman said the Wolverines had planned one last year, but the unnamed opponent (that team from East Lansing, perhaps?) had white as one of its primary colors, so the Wolverines ultimately opted against it.
Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball taking notes from Illinois on handling adversity
