Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Next Year's Expectations

Michigan basketball is being restored to it's old glory by new head coach John Beilein. Wolverine fans are starting to remember the "Fab Five" days, when Michigan had winning seasons and was a very good basketball team. 

After years of being down, Beilein has really helped improve this program through his coaching and recruiting abilities. Well, the University of Michigan has taken notice and is now plan on renovating the basketball facilities. 

Michigan is returning most of its players from last years team, with the key departures being Jevohn Shepherd, C.J. Lee, and David Merritt. 

Lee and Merritt both played guard and were not huge contributors, and I'm not sure either ever started with Harris and all the other guards. They will be easily replaced by the two new incoming freshman. 

Shepherd was supposed to be a major contributor this year, but I didn't see him doing that much. Anthony Wright should fill his hole just fine and with the two other freshman forwards coming in, so he won't be missed much.

The Wolverines' top five scorers from last year are returning—most notably Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims, and Zack Novak. All of their starters from at least one point in the season are returning, and not much was lost, especially considering the freshman who signed.

Michigan should end getting around 25 wins and should definitely be in the top three in the Big Ten conference. I look for the Wolverines to win the conference, but it's always a tough one.

The Wolverines will make it to at least the Sweet 16 this year, and probably will make it to the Elite 8. I'm not sure if they're quite ready for the Final Four, but the good news is they still will have most of them back in 2010-11.