Tag: Brandon Johns

Michigan basketball F Brandon Johns reveals transfer destination

Best of luck to him! But forever #GoBlue

A prominent Michigan basketball player is on the move.

Former Wolverines forward Brandon Johns Jr., who came to Ann Arbor despite being a four-star from East Lansing, never quite solidified his status as a star player for the maize and blue. He excelled when coming off the bench for two years, taking over for Isaiah Livers either in spot duty or when Livers was injured. But he got his turn as a starter in 2021-22, his fourth year with the program, but ultimately was supplanted by freshman Moussa Diabate.

After the season, Johns entered the NCAA transfer portal. And on Wednesday night, it appears he’s heading out of state.

Johns posted to Instagram that he’s heading to the DMV as he’s committing to VCU.

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Michigan basketball veteran in NCAA transfer portal

The senior will look for an opportunity next year away from Michigan basketball.

The Wolverines ended up making a decent run in the NCAA Tournament, despite a not-so-stellar regular season, and while the maize and blue are expected to be pretty good next year, it will have to do without one player who big things were expected from as early as this year.

East Lansing (Mich.) forward Brandon Johns Jr. came to Ann Arbor as a four-star recruit after spurning local MSU. He was primarily a reserve, waiting for his opportunity while Isaiah Livers matriculated through the system. Though, Johns did look stellar when he got the opportunity to play when Livers was injured — as he was through much of the 2019-20 season, and again in the NCAA Tournament in 2021.

However, when Johns got to finally be a starter in 2021-22, he never really got going, and ended up ceding his starter position to freshman Moussa Diabate.

And on Wednesday, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Johns spent four years with Michigan basketball, and still made a contribution in nearly every game — albeit often on the defensive end this past season, as his offense sputtered.

He’ll have one more season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 exception for 2020.

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5 takeaways from Michigan basketball’s victory over Nebraska

Michigan basketball sure dominated Nebraska on Tuesday!

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Michigan basketball is back. Well, it appeared to be back in full force on Tuesday after the Wolverines destroyed Nebraska, 102-67.

The maize and blue have now won back-to-back games in big ways. Michigan beat a typically stout San Diego State team on Saturday, and it now has beaten the Cornhuskers. While Nebraska may not be an elite Big Ten team by any means, it still shows good signs for this young Michigan team that looked to be in some disarray just a week ago when North Carolina blew the Wolverines out the door.

Michigan got off to a quick start on Tuesday night against Nebraska and just never looked back. Everything went the Wolverines way against the Huskers — Michigan cold hit inside the paint and outside from 3. The maize and blue played great on the defensive end of things as well en route to their first Big Ten win of the young campaign.

Here are five takeaways after Michigan thumped Nebraska on Tuesday.

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Five takeaways: Wolverines roll Nebraska on ‘Senior Night’

Five takeaways from Michigan’s 82-58 blowout win over Nebraska. The Wolverines celebrated ‘Senior Night’ with Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske.

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Michigan was riding high at this time two weeks ago, in the midst of a surge in the Big Ten standings and looking like a dangerous team posed for March.

Then, after back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State, the Wolverines’ momentum was suddenly and abruptly halted.

Thursday night provided a chance for Michigan to celebrate their program leaders, Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske, for Senior Night. It also provided an opportunity to work out the kinks from last week against a Nebraska club that entered the night having lost 14 consecutive games.

The Wolverines took advantage of both those opportunities with an 82-58 victory over the Cornhuskers.

Michigan got off to a fast start, opening the game with an 11-2 run and appearing poised to cruise to an easy victory. However, the Cornhuskers took advantage of the Wolverines poor shooting to close the gap to 32-28 by halftime.

It was all Wolverines in the second half, however. Michigan shot the ball much better after halftime, and got contributions up and down the roster to roll past Nebraska.

1. a night to celebrate simpson, teske

Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske have experienced many highs and lows throughout their college careers, on their way to the most career wins by any individuals in a Michigan uniform. In their final home game, the seniors came to play. Simpson, who played his 145th career game to surpass Muhammed Ali-Abdur Rahkman for the most by a Wolverine, finished with 11 points, 10 assists and 3 steals. Teske, meanwhile, played one of his best games of the past couple months with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. These are guys who helped Michigan win back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles, and were part of the national runner-up team in 2017. Their senior season has been inconsistent, but Simpson and Teske’s careers will live on in Michigan lore.

2. Livers struggles early, comes alive in 2nd

Isaiah Livers had a tough week against Wisconsin and Ohio State, shooting just 5-of-21 combined in those two outings. On Thursday, the junior’s struggles bled into the first half as he shot just 2-of-10 in the opening 20 minutes. Yet, despite the early struggles, Livers ended up leading Michigan to victory with 18 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal. It wasn’t his most efficient performance — Livers ended the night 7-of-18 from the floor — but it was good to see him break out a bit in the second half. If the Wolverines have any sort of run in them in tournament play, it will be on Livers’ shoulders.

3. Wolverines much better defensively

Any improvement that comes at the expense of the Cornhuskers needs to be looked at with a reasonable level of scrutiny. With that in mind, Michigan looked much better on the defensive end on Thursday night. The Wolverines limited Nebraska to 36 percent shooting from the floor, including 21-of-58 from the three-point line. In addition, Michigan forced Nebraska into 22 turnovers. Admittedly, many of those could be classified as giveaways by the Cornhuskers. Again, this performance should be taken with a grain of salt, but after the struggles from a week ago, maybe this was a step in the right direction.

4. balanced scoring up and down the roster

The Wolverines had five players reach double-figure scoring in Livers (18), Teske (12), Simpson (11), Franz Wagner (11) and Brandon Johns Jr. (10). Wagner and Johns Jr. were efficient, combining to shoot 8-of-15 from the floor. In addition, Michigan got solid contributions from Eli Brooks and Austin Davis. Brooks looked much better than he did against Ohio State, scoring 8 points and hitting two triples in his second game in the protective mask. Davis, meanwhile, added 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting and added 4 rebounds. The Wolverines need multiple guys to contribute, like they did tonight, when tournament play arrives next week.

5. a massive road test on the horizon

Michigan will play one of its toughest games of the year on Sunday to close out the regular season. The Wolverines travel to Big Ten co-leader Maryland, who have lost just one time at home this season — last week against Michigan State. Let’s be honest, it’d be a surprise to see Michigan pull off the upset in College Park, but this is the last preparation game for the Wolverines before tournament play begins. The mindset for Michigan should be to go in and fight toe-to-toe, on the road, against one of the best teams in their conference. If the Wolverines play well on Sunday, it’ll give them the confidence that they can compete with anyone in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

 

Five takeaways: Wolverines fall to Buckeyes at home

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s 61-58 loss to rival Ohio State at Crisler Center, dropping the Wolverines to 12th in the Big Ten.

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Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes started the 2019-20 season hot, earning spots in the AP Top 5 back in December. However, the month of January was unkind to both programs.

Michigan (13-8) and Ohio State (14-7) both went 2-5 last month and now find themselves unranked and in the bottom tier of the Big Ten standings with 4-6 records in conference play.

Both teams traded scoring runs in a low-scoring first half that saw the Buckeyes shoot 41 percent from the floor while the Wolverines hit just 31 percent of their shots. Ohio State led 28-27 at the break.

The second half was five-point window, with neither team able to gain any advantage over the other. It was a 12-round fight of a game, but the knock out punch was delivered by the Buckeyes with a 61-58 final score.

1. Another loss at crisler center

Once again, the Wolverines failed to defend their home court in a winnable game. Michigan had already dropped home games to ranked opponents Oregon, Penn State and Illinois, and now you can add Ohio State to the list of visiting opponents to steal a game in Ann Arbor. Going unbeaten at home is not the expectation, but teams that are on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth need to take advantage of their home games against quality opponents. Michigan has failed to do so on numerous occasions this season.

2. a physical game with few whistles

This was one of the more physical games we’ve seen in recent memory at the Crisler Center, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the box score. The two teams combined to shoot just 19 free throws, despite the fact the style of play from both clubs defensively included impeding off-ball movement and hand-checks/body bumps on ball-handlers. This was the epitome of an officiating crew “letting the teams play”. Some on-lookers enjoy that type of play, while other (Jay Bilas included) are frustrated by it. In the end, the team willing to play tougher won, and that was Ohio State.

3. Simpson and Teske Disappoint, again

Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske are the senior captains of this team. Entering the year, both were coming off strong junior campaigns and expected to lead a young roster through the coaching transition from John Beilien to Juwan Howard. However, in my opinion, that hasn’t been the case. What I’ve seen from both seniors have been disappointing. Yes, Simpson is near the top of the country in assists, but his perimeter defense has taken a step back, his turnovers are up and he still struggles to score consistently. He also served a one-game suspension due to a violation of team rules, and cost his team tonight with a flagrant foul late in the game to give the Buckeyes two free throws at a key moment. Teske, meanwhile, has not been a good rim protector this season like he was a year ago, his three-point shooting has regressed, and he has consistently underwhelmed with his rebounding efforts.

4. Austin davis has a career game

Junior Austin Davis had perhaps the best game of his career on Tuesday night. He finished with 11 points and went 4-of-4 from the floor. He also had 3 rebounds and a blocked shot. Davis is limited as a player, but he’s played well at times this season as a backup to Teske, and the points he contributed tonight kept the Wolverines in the game.

5. Another opportunity coming Saturday

Michigan will host their other rival, Michigan State, this coming Saturday in a contest that provides the Wolverines another opportunity to add to their postseason resume. The Spartans — currently tied atop the Big Ten standings — will obviously be favored in that matchup, but if Michigan can defend home court and pull off the upset it would be a big boost to their bubble status. It’s hard to imagine the Wolverines winning that game with the way both teams have played since the turn of the calendar year, but you never know in college basketball.

Halftime Analysis: Michigan vs. Ohio State

Halftime analysis of Michigan basketball’s matchup with rival Ohio State at the Crisler Center as conference play rolls on in the Big Ten.

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After dropping four straight games late, Michigan has rebounded with back-to-back wins entering a rivalry showdown with Ohio State tonight.

Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes started the 2019-20 season hot, earning spots in the AP Top 5 back in December. However, the month of January was unkind to both programs.

Michigan and Ohio State both went 2-5 last month and now find themselves unranked and in the bottom tier of the Big Ten standings with 4-6 records in conference play.

Both clubs struggled to score in the early-goings, but the Buckeyes began asserting themselves to take a 16-9 lead with around 9 minutes remaining in the half.

The Wolverines fought tough to take a 22-21 lead with 3 minutes remaining, but enter the locker room trailing 28-27.

POSITIVES:

  • Brandon Johns Jr. continued his recent hot streak in the first half tonight. The sophomore has 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Johns Jr. has also pulled down 3 rebounds and had a block that led to a fast break bucket for David DeJulius. Johns Jr. is playing really good basketball right now.
  • Franz Wagner really struggled with Rutgers’ physicality on the boards, but perhaps he was challenged by the coaching staff in the days between that game and tonight’s against Ohio State. The freshman was extraordinarily active on the glass in the first half, grabbing an incredible 8 rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

NEGATIVES:

  • Michigan got quite a few clean looks on offense to start the game, but was unable to take advantage. The Wolverines opened the night 3-for-15 from the floor, and just 1-for-8 from three-point range in the opening ten minutes. Michigan closed the half shooting just 31 percent overall and 25 percent from three-point range.
  • Michigan got sloppy with the ball towards the end of their win over Rutgers on Saturday, and that trend continued into the first half tonight. The Wolverines had 5 turnovers in the first 11 minutes and finished the half with a total of 6. Ohio State scored 8 points off those turnovers.
  • Michigan struggled to defend the Buckeyes’ best player, Kaleb Wesson. The Ohio State junior got several open looks from three-point range and hit 3-of-5 attempts from deep. He’s up to 15 points already. It’s inexcusable to give one of the better shooting big men in the Big Ten the amount of good looks that the Wolverines allowed Wesson. That will need to be addressed quickly in the second half.

Five takeaways: Wolverines win at Madison Square Garden

Five takeaways from Michigan’s 69-63 win over Rutgers in Big Ten play at Madison Square Garden. The Wolverines have won back-to-back games.

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Michigan traveled to New York City on Saturday for a Big Ten showdown with Rutgers at Madison Square Garden.

The Scarlet Knights, one of this season’s biggest surprises, entered the game winners of 10 of their last 12 games and ranked the 25th-best team in the nation.

The Wolverines recently snapped a four-game losing streak with a 78-69 over Nebraska earlier this week. Starting point guard Zavier Simpson sat out of that game due to a violation of team rules, but returned for Saturday’s game.

Michigan got off to a strong start and built a 27-17 lead in the early-goings, but Rutgers battled to within 37-34 by halftime. After the break, the Wolverines once again started hot, and rebuilt it’s lead to 60-46 with under ten minutes to play. Once again, the Scarlet Knights fought to within three points, but Michigan prevailed with a 69-63 victory.

1. An ugly, but important, win

After 40 minutes of play, the Wolverines had more points. At the end of the day, that’s ultimately what matters. However, when Michigan watches the game film it may question how it was able to pull this one out. The Wolverines finished with 16 turnovers, including several down the stretch in crunch time. Rutgers took advantage, scoring multiple times off the miscues. Yet, Michigan managed to finish on top anyway, and when the selection committee looks over the resume at the end of the season, all they’ll see is another win over a ranked opponent for the Wolverines.

2. poor rebounding effort

In addition to being loose with the basketball, Michigan was abused on the boards in this game. The Scarlet Knights bullied their way to 26 offensive rebounds, an absurd number, and it’s really the only reason why this game wasn’t a Wolverine blowout. Rutgers shot just 33 percent from the floor, but multiple opportunities helped them keep it close. Michigan won’t survive another showing like that on the defensive glass however.

3. Brandon Johns Jr. career-high

Earlier this week, Brandon Johns Jr. set a new career-high with 16 points against Nebraska. That mark didn’t last long, as the sophomore eclipsed it on Saturday with a 20-point outing against the Scarlet Knights. Johns Jr. was huge for the Wolverines in this game, especially with how he contributed from outside, hitting better than 50 percent of his three-point attempts. The sophomore has been up-and-down this season, but if this is a sign of him settling in to Big Ten basketball, it will give Michigan a big boost down the stretch.

4. wolverines find the range

The Wolverines finally found their footing and knocked down their open looks at a decent clip. The month of January was unkind to Michigan in terms of shooting, but the Wolverines bounced back on Saturday with a much better shooting performance, hitting 47 percent of their shot attempts. It was just one outing, but perhaps Michigan will gain confidence from this game and shoot the ball better moving forward. That will determine how competitive the Wolverines are to close the regular season.

5. rivalry games up next

Michigan has won back-to-back games against Power 5 conference opponents for the first time since winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament back in November. It’s a good time to end that drought, with big rivalry games coming up next week. The Wolverines will host Ohio State on Tuesday, Feb. 4 and then host Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Wolverines will have to play better than they did Saturday to defend home court against the Buckeyes and Spartans, but make no mistakes, these are opportunity games for Michigan. It’s hard to overemphasize how big two wins next week would be for Juwan Howard and company.

Halftime Analysis: Michigan vs. No. 25 Rutgers

Halftime analysis of Michigan’s matchup with Rutgers in Big Ten basketball action at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

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Michigan and Rutgers meet today at Madison Square Garden for Big Ten basketball action.

The Wolverines ended their four-game losing streak last time out with a 79-68 road win over Nebraska, which came without starting point guard Zavier Simpson. The senior returns today after missing just the one game due to a team suspension.

The Scarlet Knights enter the game ranked No. 25 in the nation and 10-2 in their last 12 games, with both losses coming on the road by five points or less.

The two teams traded blows in the opening ten minutes of play, which saw Michigan hold a slight 16-14 lead. The Wolverines stretched their advantage to as many as 10 points, but Rutgers rallied to end the half and cut Michigan’s lead to 37-34.

POSITIVES:

  • Brandon Johns Jr. had a nice performance against the Cornhuskers, and he kept it rolling in the first half of this game. The sophomore got several good looks from three-point range, and he took advantage hitting 3-of-5 from deep on his way to 15 first-half points. Johns Jr. also had a tip-in as time expired to give Michigan a boost going into the locker room.
  • The Wolverines enjoyed one of the better shooting halves they’ve had in a long stretch, shooting 12-of-23 from the floor and 6-of-11 from three. After a poor shooting month of January, Michigan hopes February yields better results, and so far it has.
  • Zavier Simpson returned from his one-game suspension and appeared to be pressing a bit to start the game. However, the senior settled in an made an impact with 5 assists and hitting 3-of-4 attempts from the free throw line. Simpson needs to remain composed and continue to play within himself in the second half.
  • Head coach Juwan Howard has emphasized better defense in recent games, and the Wolverines answered the call in the first half today. Michigan limited the Scarlet Knights to just 33 percent shooting in the first half. Rutgers did hit 5-of-8 attempts from three, so the Wolverines may need to adjust their defense accordingly in the second half.

NEGATIVES:

  • The Wolverines did a poor job boxing out and grabbing rebounds in the first 20 minutes, as Rutgers enjoyed 10 offensive rebounds. The Scarlet Knights out-toughed and out-hustled Michigan in stretches of that first half, and that’s why they were able to stay in the game. The Wolverines are fortunate that Rutgers has managed to only score 7 second-chance points with that many opportunities.
  • Michigan’s free throw shooting was lousy in the first half, or they would have been able to maintain their early lead. The Wolverines were just 7-of-13 from the foul line in that half. That won’t get the job done in a tight game.

Five takeaways: Wolverines back in the win column

Five takeaways as Michigan ends it’s four-game losing streak with a 79-68 victory over Nebraska, the Wolverines first true road win.

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With four losses in a row, the season has taken a sour turn for Michigan basketball. The situation grew only more dire when starting point guard Zavier Simpson was suspended for a violation of team rules.

The Wolverines, who started 0-5 in true road games this season, were in desperate need of a change to the current narrative when they traveled to Nebraska on Tuesday night.

The game was tight throughout the first half, but Michigan controlled the game for the majority of the second half to pull away for their first road victory, 79-68.

My five takeaways as the Wolverines end their four-game skid:

1. A step in the right direction

With the four-game losing streak, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament destiny was suddenly in doubt after a 7-0 start to the season. The Wolverines won’t impress the selection committee with this victory, but it was a much-needed step in the right direction. Michigan has several “resume-building” opportunities left on their schedule, one of which comes this Saturday when they host No. 25 Rutgers. It’s good that the Wolverines will enter that game with a little confidence coming off their first road victory.

2. Brooks, Wagner, Johns Jr. all step up

No Zavier Simpson. No Isaiah Livers. Michigan needed guys to play big in this game, and multiple guys did. Eli Brooks led the Wolverines in points (20), rebounds (9) and assists (4) in an exceptional performance. Franz Wagner shook off a slow start shooting the ball to finish with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The freshman added 8 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. Finally, Brandon Johns Jr. played one of his best games in a Michigan uniform with an efficient 16 points (5-of-6 from the floor, 5-of-7 from the FT line) and added 7 rebounds.

3. This is what Michigan’s offense is

The Wolverines have played 20 games and are nearly halfway through their Big Ten schedule. It’s safe and fair to say that what we’ve seen on offense from them since returning from the Bahamas is what they are. Michigan is not a good shooting team. Tonight, the Wolverines shot 29 percent from the three-point line. Michigan did shoot 50 percent from the floor, but that came against what is, statistically, the worst defensive team in the conference. The key to success for this Wolverines squad is good ball movement and getting as many guys involved as possible, which is what they did tonight.

4. Dejulius struggles replacing Simpson

Sophomore David DeJulius filled in as the starting point guard with Zavier Simpson out, and he struggled to fill those shoes. DeJulius finished with just 5 points on 1-of-7 shooting while handing out 3 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. Simpson has had an up-and-down season, but if Tuesday’s game against a relatively weak Big Ten opponent is any indicator, the Wolverines need their starting point guard back on the floor soon. That may not be fair to DeJulius, after all, it was his first career start, but the back-half of the Big Ten slate is vital to Michigan’s NCAA Tournament chances, and the Wolverines will need Simpson to earn a bid.

5. resume-building games ahead

As mentioned above, Michigan is in a fight for their NCAA tournament lives as the calendar shifts to February. The Wolverines let some resume-building opportunities at home slip away earlier this season against Oregon, Penn State and Illinois, but there are plenty more ahead. After hosting Rutgers on Saturday, Michigan still has home games against Michigan State and Indiana — two of the better teams in the conference — and will have ranked road games at Rutgers and Maryland. Sprinkled in are future contests against Purdue and Wisconsin that can serve as solid wins due to the strength of the Big Ten this season. Opportunities await, but the Wolverines need to finish the season strong.

Michigan points to lack of communication as culprit in yet another loss

The Wolverines can’t seem to replicate recent defensive successes due to one simple thing.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  Michigan stunningly broke down early and often against Penn State on Wednesday evening, losing at home, 72-63.

While the offense struggled, consistently missing open looks on one end, on the other, it was consistent in another way: that it was inconsistent.

Moments after the game, WolverinesWire asked forward Brandon Johns what went wrong, and he didn’t indicate an offensive problem as much as a defensive one.

“We just couldn’t get consistent stops. We need to be better on defense,” Johns said. “I think our communication could have been a little bit better. We just need to be solid on the little things on defense, for sure.”

In every loss this season, head coach Juwan Howard indicated that the breakdown was defensive in nature, and that said breakdown came from a lack of communication on that side of the floor.

So, how does that happen more than midway through the season? At this juncture, the team should know what it has to do, and just as importantly, what it can’t do.

Yet, time and time again, the defense doesn’t communicate, and teams manage to get the looks they want and the makes that Michigan can’t seem to get on the other end.

“Some people just get in their heads,” Johns said. “Everybody gets in their own heads. It causes us to stop talking. So, I think when we’re in the hardships of the game we need to be consistent and talk.”

What did Howard have to say about it? Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with the fact that guys are still not talking.

As a matter of fact, he was flabbergasted by it.

“They got too many open looks and that’s because of a lack of communication on the defensive end,” Howard said. “It’s January 22nd. We talk about we have to communicate on defense, be physical, don’t be surprised. We have a great scouting report. We watch film on every opponent. We see guys’ tendencies as well as their strengths and who can shoot the ball and where they shoot the ball from. So there is no surprises. I don’t understand why guys get open looks. It tells me because of lack of communication on switching.

“At times, I thought we were lazy on our switches. We switch up on our shooters, not back or assuming that a guy has the man and unfortunately that particular guy is not guarding him or if your hand’s down versus a shooter, for example Curtis Jones who was lining us up and shooting it right in our face, that’s unacceptable. So you have to own it, you have to be able to do your job.

“But they’re gonna see it tomorrow, for sure.”

Michigan will have a chance to redeem itself on Saturday as it hosts No. 21 Illinois, a team it already lost to in Champaign.