Last season, Manny Harris was one-dimensional.

The then-freshman guard would slither around defenders and slash to the basket with amazing moves. He led the Michigan men's basketball team in scoring in 21 of 32 games, including nine of its 10 wins.

Harris was a pure scorer, but not much else.

One year later, and 20 games into the season, the sophomore forward has settled into his new position with a different mindset.

"Last year we won 10 games," Harris said at Michigan Media Day on Oct. 14. "I was in full-attack mode, and it wasn’t enough. So this year, I'm just getting my teammates involved and believing that they can knock shots down because they can."

Despite a recent shooting slump — 3-of-18 in his last two games — Harris has become the versatile threat Michigan coach John Beilein wants out of his star player.

At this time last season, Harris had 61 assists and 91 rebounds.

Entering tonight’s matchup with Ohio State in Columbus, he’s bumped those figures up to 91 and 152, respectively, while still contributing a larger percentage of offense than this time last season. Against Oakland on Dec. 20, Harris had 13 assists and was one short of tying Gary Grant’s 1987 single-game school record.

"We expect some great things from him," sophomore point guard Kelvin Grady said of Harris on Oct. 14. "But at the same time, we've got players around, too, that he'll make better. We'll make him better, but he'll make us better, too."

And the Wolverines will need to be at their best for the next two weeks. After Ohio State, Michigan plays No. 16 Purdue, unranked Penn State, No. 2 Connecticut and No. 9 Michigan State in a 14-day span. The five opponents are a combined 79-18.

The Buckeyes (3-4 Big Ten, 13-5 overall) play a 1-2-2 zone defense that can easily collapse on a player willing to drive to the basket.

The Wolverines struggled against the system when the two teams squared off just 11 days ago in Ohio State's 65-58 win. Once again, Michigan (4-4, 14-6) will rely on Harris to find his teammates when he gets double-teamed.

But even is he doesn't put up huge scoring numbers, Beilein knows Harris's presence will be felt.

“You see these matchups on TV, (which player) is leading the Big Ten, all that,” Beilein said. “That should not be a stat that's relative. It should be, 'Are you winning?' ”

Beilein emphasizes assist-to-turnover ratio as the trademark of a winning team, and he praises the “little things” like the assist rather than the basket.

And when Beilein’s grooming his next crop of players, he’s not looking at the scoreboard, either.

"When I recruit a kid, after a game, I say, 'How'd you guys do?' " Beilein said at his weekly radio show on Jan. 26. "He'll say, 'Well, we won.' I never ask him how many points he has unless he brings it up.

"I'll say, 'How many assists did you have? How many rebounds did you have? What'd you think you did well in the game?' That's the way you do it because that's the common thing. ... It's winning the game that everyone has to realize is the real deal."

Although former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker recruited Harris, the Detroit native has bought into Beilein’s philosophy, even if he doesn't reach double figures.

“I've had 20-something and we lost,” Harris said. “The biggest thing is we're winning. I'll get mine soon. I'm not worried about that part.”

— Alex Prosperi contributed to this report.