But in order to answer that question this season, the Wolverines will need a leader.
It’s clear what Michigan’s goals are. Ask any player on the team and they’ll say they want to win a Big Ten championship and an NCAA Tournament. “The hardest working team in America” is a common phrase to hear from any member of the program.
The challenges facing the Wolverines transcend any of their opponents this time as the pandemic will have unpredictable effects on the team this year.
Wednesday marked the Michigan women’s basketball team’s first practice of the 2020-21 season. It’s a season no one was sure would happen — and they still aren’t.
Rauch hopes to build off of last season, in which she averaged just over 10 minutes per game, and continued to improve as a player. When senior forward Kayla Robbins suffered a season-ending knee injury, Rauch stepped up to fill in.
It’s not often you find a group of people that are diehard women’s college basketball fans. Much less a group of women who went to school when they could only play basketball at lunch time in their bloomers. And these three women might just be the biggest women’s basketball fans out there.
The junior guard started every game and led the team in minutes played last season. On a team with four new freshmen, her experience could pay dividends for the Wolverines this season.
From the beginning to the end of the season, Varejão showed tremendous growth — in skill and in playing time.
Most players ask their coaches for a lot of things: playing time, different practice schedules, new offensive schemes. Stars like junior forward Naz Hillmon don’t usually have to ask coaches for much.
The Wolverines have areas to improve on in the upcoming season if they wish to rise from relative mediocrity to the top of the conference. The Daily breaks down three of the weaknesses that Michigan struggled with last year.
In every aspect of the recruiting process, Michigan excels, but its specialty lies in Barnes Arico’s East Coast roots, ability to win Midwest recruits over regional competitors and excellent coaching staff.