For an athlete, starting for any sports team normally reflects a coach's confidence in that athlete relative to other players. But starting for the Michigan men's basketball team — not so much. The first five on the floor aren’t always the best five, especially with Michigan coach John Beilein’s unconventional approach to using his roster.

For the Wolverines, the most important question revolves around who should get the most minutes, not who should start.

Sophomore Darius Morris has started at point guard. However, Beilein has occasionally swapped Morris in and out with junior Stu Douglass, who Beilein says runs the floor for the ‘Maize team’ — another way of saying the ‘B’ team. At other times, Douglass is on the floor with Morris at the two guard spot, instead of the one. I prefer this second option.

Morris is arguably better than and at least as capable as Douglass at running the point guard position. But if Morris plays point guard instead of Douglass, Douglass can be the Wolverines' main shooting guard. This means Michigan’s two best ball handlers are on the court at the same time. Both can push the floor, which is what Beilein wants his offense to do. As a result, Douglass can focus more on his shot, relieved of having to worry about point-guard duties.

“Stu seems more like a natural two (guard),” redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan said after Michigan’s win over South Carolina Upstate last Saturday. “And Darius may be better at pushing the ball. So with Darius in the game Stu will be more comfortable shooting the ball.”

In that game, Douglass played both positions. But he scored all eight of his points when Morris was playing the point because he had more time to concentrate on getting in the best position to score.

“Darius is really good at penetration,” Douglass said on Saturday. “Darius is really good at running the break and finding the open man. I benefit a lot off of that.”

There is a drawback to Morris and Douglass being on the floor at the same time. It limits the opportunities for junior Zack Novak and freshman Tim Hardaway Jr. to play at the same time. But this isn't the end of the world.

When Beilein wants to run a four-guard offense — which he did often last year — Hardaway Jr. and Novak can play at the same time, no questions asked. But when there needs to be a big man presence, Hardaway Jr. and Novak can be swapped. In that first game, Hardaway Jr. was more of an offensive threat than Novak. He tallied a game-high 19 points against South Carolina Upstate, while Novak had just seven.

On the other hand, Novak creates more of a burden for opposing teams on the defensive end. Beilein has said that Novak struggles as a forward in the four position because he is undersized. Likewise, Beilein says that he is at a slight disadvantage at the two-guard because many guards are quicker than him. His natural spot, then, is the three guard. It's a haven where he can just tower over his counterparts and rebound like he’s playing against his younger brother.

“For so long (last year), I was under there battling with the big guys,” Novak said after collecting a team-high eight rebounds against the Spartans. “I know how it is, so I was just going in there and trying to help them out. Those little rebounds, they’re just right there. They can barely get me. If I can just come and get them uncontested, I’m going to do that and try and make their job easier.”

Ultimately, with Morris running the point, Douglass’s shot benefits. Since he doesn't have to worry about running the floor, the Wolverines benefit from the dual threat of Morris and Douglass both pushing the ball and taking shots. And then Novak and Hardaway Jr. step in when their specific skills are most suitable for the position Michigan is in. In the end, everyone wins.