Let's reset the scene.

With 11:23 to play on Sunday, Michigan trails Oakland, 49-45, in what would be one of the most shocking upsets of this young college basketball season. Juwan Howard inserts his freshman center, Hunter Dickinson, to see if he can crack a zone defense that's flummoxed the Wolverines into a turnover-plagued evening. He wouldn't come off the floor until the Wolverines pulled out an overtime victory. Some numbers from that stint on the court:

• Michigan scored 36 points. Dickinson scored 19 of them himself, going 6-for-7 from the field and 7-for-9 from the line.
• Dickinson also had three assists in that span that accounted for six more points. In other words, he had a direct hand in 25 of Michigan's final 36 points.
• Add in Dickinson's steal that immediately led to a Chaundee Brown fast break layup and you can up that number to 27. He didn't get an assist because Eli Brooks acted as an intermediary.
• His only missed shot came on the broken play to end regulation.
• He didn't commit a turnover.
• He went +14 in that 16:23 time on the court.

This was the best performance we've seen from a true freshman center since 2013 NCAA Tournament Mitch McGary, competition level be damned. Dickinson's presence transformed Michigan's offense in ways that'll be sustainable against better teams, even if he's not necessarily playing a major role in generating 75% of the team's points. (That bit is, uh, less sustainable.)

feeding the beast [Campredon]

Since I was taking clips of almost every Dickinson touch down the stretch, let's take a look at his impact plays against Oakland, what he did well on them, and what they portend for the future. I've also gone through his touches against Bowling Green and will sprinkle those in to show this isn't just a one-game, zone-driven outburst.

Against a zone defense, knowing how the defenders are going to shift around the court is paramount, as is maintaining a high activity level as the offense (ideally) keeps the ball moving side to side. Dickinson was constantly moving from the moment he got on the floor and showed a great understanding of where to place himself to create passing angles and seal off defenders. His first offensive possession is easy work; Michigan will go back to this quick-hitting set repeatedly:

The post defense here is poor; regardless, that's a nice entry pass from Terrance Williams, and I like seeing Dickinson default to finishing with an authoritative two-hand slam.

[Hit THE JUMP for post scoring, post passing, a bit of defense, and more.]

Dickinson is never going to be confused for an elite athlete, but it's obvious he put in a lot of strength and conditioning work over the offseason to slim down and add mobility. He earns his way to the line by beating his man down the floor off a defensive rebound, then hits both free throws.

His next highlight play comes a whole two possessions later. Dickinson sees the play develop and works his way into the dunker spot, then threads a gorgeous bounce pass to Williams:

You can see the constant work again here; Dickinson fights for an early post-up before the offense gets into its play, then works his way into position to get the ball and make the pass to Williams. There's zero hesitation between catching the ball and passing, then he puts it right where Williams needs it to go straight up for the layup.

On the next trip, Dickinson again never stops moving, this time working his way to the basket to tip in a missed three despite getting fouled on the putback. He converts the and-one at the stripe. We then get to see some of his defensive potential when he walls off a drive and still steals the pass to his man, leading to a layup the other way:

While he's still getting comfortable on defense, his active hands and tremendous size are a very good starting point. Oakland mostly went with iso-ball, but he showed his pick-and-roll defense potential against Bowling Green when he stuck with a guard in drop coverage and easily swatted away a layup. He's more of a shot-alterer than shot-blocker right now and he sometimes goes for blocks that he can't get to, which has led to some putback opportunities, but that's not at all uncommon for young big men and can be coached out.

Dickinson's next bucket features more good off-ball movement and a nice feed from Williams. Those two played together growing up in the DC area and their chemistry is apparent; Juwan Howard has also taken notice:

“I think we just had chemistry doing this for a long time and Coach Howard said that in the locker room. You guys have been doing it since the (AAU) Team Takeover days and since elementary school. That's why he put us both in at the same time to get the good high-low in, make the right play, make the right pass.”

I love this next possession. Dickinson is directing traffic up top—not something you see out of every freshman center in their second game. When the floor is spread, he dives in the paint, posts up twice, then slips out of the way to give Brooks a passing option when he drives:

Two hands for safety.

Before we get to Dickinson's next play, a quick flashback to the opener, when he threw a dart from the post to Livers for a wide open three after the defense collapsed in on him:

Dickinson's size and post scoring ability are going to draw the attention of multiple defenders; his passing really puts those defenders in a bind. Above, they're late to close out and give up the open triple. Now, below, we return to the Oakland game. Dickinson draws two defenders even though he gets a pass in a relatively non-threatening position. He quickly fires a cross-court bullet that's so on-target Livers is essentially in his shooting stance on the catch, and when the defender closes out too hard, he has a lane for a dunk:

Everything about this pass is damn near perfect: the court vision, the timing, the speed on the ball, the accuracy, the unguardable nature of it coming from a 7'2 center, everything. This is Dickinson's most advanced skill.

Dickinson then helped force another turnover by being huge and knowing that's sufficient. He was noticeably less jumpy in the Oakland game than against Bowling Green and that'll be an important adjustment for him going forward; he can impact a lot of shots and stay out of foul trouble without ever leaving the ground.

His next assist, finding a cutting Livers out of the low spot in a high-low set, may be a carbon copy of the earlier one to Williams, but I still feel the need to embed it because the pass is so damn good:

Sheesh. Once again, note how Dickinson makes himself an easy target for the entry pass, too. He's not ambling into the post, he's flashing into the post. That makes it hard for anyone, let alone an undersized zone defender with his eyes on the ball, to prevent a 7'2, 255-pounder from establishing good position.

In the last couple minutes of regulation, Michigan either went with other options or, in the case of the final possession, couldn't get the ball to Dickinson in good position. Incidentally, they couldn't hang onto a late two-point lead. Dickinson rectified that by winning the overtime tipoff and playing the finishing role in what had become the team's go-to set, posting up when Livers cut from the paint after initially showing a Horns look:

While Michigan's wings on these sets only had to make a simple post entry to Dickinson for these plays to succeed, there are a lot of variations we could see against defenses more multiple and talented than Oakland's "we had three days of real offseason practice" zone.

The Grizzlies resorted to hacking Dickinson in the post the rest of overtime, which gave us a chance to see another one of his high-level skills: free-throw shooting. After posting strong marks in high school, he's 10-for-13 from the stripe so far this season, and you're damn right I'm about to post a gif of some free throws because the stroke looks good:

What a game. My main concern about Dickinson heading into the season was whether he'd be able to handle a heavy minutes load while maintaining his effectiveness. Seeing him play a 16-minute-plus stretch at such a high level alleviated a lot of those concerns, and I imagine they did for his coach, too.

Michigan entered the season with question marks at point guard and center. After two games, the latter is now an exclamation point.

Bonus Bowling Green Plays Because Why Not

Exploiting a mismatch, making a tough catch while keeping the ball high, and finishing between three defenders:

Check.

Reverse layup because he hunts a mismatch early in the shot clock:

Check.

A sweeping lefty finish when he posts up after setting a high screen:

Check.

An Unseldian outlet pass that leads to a three and running the floor to be in position for the putback if it doesn't fall:

Check.