Michigan Basketball: Factors That Will Make or Break Wolverines in 2014-15

After getting to the NCAA championship in 2013 and reaching the Elite Eight last year, the Michigan basketball program will be facing some make-or-break factors this year in determining if it can have another successful season in 2014-15.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

No doubt, the Wolverines return some prime talent (think Caris LeVert, Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr.), but they have also lost some serious manpower with the departures of Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary, Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford.

Michigan is bringing in a quality six-man recruiting class to offset the personnel loss, but its inexperience is still a bit of a question mark.

We have seen head coach John Beilein take teams not expected to do much before and coax them into winners. So this year should be no different. However, there are still obstacles he will have to deal with and the following factors could make or break the Wolverines in 2014-15.

How Will the Freshmen Play?

The play of the six-man recruiting class, plus the addition of redshirt freshman Mark Donnal, will significantly impact how the 2014-15 season will play out. How good they can complement the core of LeVert, Irvin, and Walton Jr. will go a long way in defining the success the Wolverines will have this year.

Donnal and prized recruit Kameron Chatman figure to be starters at the 5 and the 4 spots, respectively. After that, Beilein will have some promising freshmen to turn to in Ricky Doyle, D.J. Wilson, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Aubrey Dawkins and Austin Hatch off the bench.

Doyle and Wilson will provide some height down low, while Dawkins and Abdur-Rahkman will bring some versatility to the backcourt. And despite all his heroics after coming back from life-changing events, Hatch doesn't figure to be a part of the rotation this year.

Considering how much the freshmen will be a part of the makeup of this team, Beilein will have to do one of his better coaching jobs this year to put the Wolverines in contention for another Big Ten title and a deep tournament run.

Depth

This kind of goes hand in hand with the play of the freshmen, as they figure to receive the bulk of minutes off the bench.

As previously mentioned, Doyle, Wilson, Abdur-Rahkman and Dawkins figure to see a lot of time. However, don't forget that the Wolverines return Spike Albrecht and Max Bielfeldt.

Albrecht figures to be a staple off the bench for his instant offense and ability to dial it up from deep. Bielfeldt meanwhile, despite short on talent, does at least offer some size and experience along the front line.

Between the freshmen, plus Albrecht and Bielfeldt, these players will have to step up or else it will be up to LeVert, Irvin and Walton Jr. to carry the load. That's something Beilein could be dreading.

Sporting News's Michael Bradley (h/t Brendan Quinn of MLive.com) sums up the uncertainty surrounding the Michigan program this year:

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"The rest of the league [beyond Wisconsin] is tougher to figure. Substantial losses at Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State will force players who were complements in previous seasons to emerge as standouts this year," Michael Bradley writes.

For Michigan, those former complements represent junior guard Caris LeVert, and sophomore guards Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr.

In U-M's team preview, the program is described as having "talent on campus, but its unproven nature makes it unlikely Michigan will be a threat throughout the year."

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Rebounding

This is where the loss of Robinson III, McGary, Morgan and Horford will particularly sting.

Outside of the seldom-used Bielfeldt, there is zero experience along the front line. From the looks of how things went down in Italy, this is where Donnal and Doyle will help. They did a good job in Italy rebounding the ball, with Donnal averaging 6.5 rebounds and Doyle even better, as he averaged 8.0 rebounds on the trip.

Beilein doesn't need Donnal and Doyle to be stars initially, they just have to defend the post, grab some boards and occasionally contribute on offense. Donnal and Doyle will do the job if they average, say, a combined 13-16 rebounds a game.

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