Hunter Dickinson returning to Michigan for junior season

Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines just received major news, as center Hunter Dickinson has announced he is returning for his junior year in Ann Arbor.

Dickinson confirmed to Maize n Brew he received feedback last offseason that included improving his post presence with his right hand and showing improvements, especially from range with his jump shot. Both areas were vastly better than his freshman campaign which saw him as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, an All-Big Ten First Team nominee and a Second Team All-American.

Despite those improvements, no recent NBA mock drafts had Dickinson in the first round, and some of them didn’t have him in there at all. With some huge NIL cash likely headed his way, it may be financially better for him to return to college than to head to the NBA anyways.

This season, Dickinson led the Wolverines with 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He was once again one of the best players in the conference, earning a position on the All Big-Ten Second Team. He shot 32.8% from deep after not attempting a three-pointer last year.

The Wolverines played much of their offense through Dickinson, who was well adept in dealing with frequent double-teams. Not only was he constantly a threat to score, but he also was keen on finding an open player.

Dickinson quickly become one of the fan favorites on this team a year ago. He took a little more of a villain role in the nation’s eyes throughout the course of this season with his post-scoring celebrations and comments made about Big Ten opponents watching Michigan from home after their Sweet 16 berth.

Dickinson has already cemented his legacy as one of the best big men to come through Ann Arbor in quite some time, but he can continue to build upon his already stellar career for at least one more year.

Welcome back, Hunter.