The NBA is taking note of a young Michigan basketball star

Juwan Howard has seen his ups and downs as the head coach of Michigan basketball; in year two, Howard brought home an outright Big Ten Championship and led the Wolverines to an Elite 8 appearance. Still, despite last year’s Sweet 16 berth, Michigan has been underwhelming at times.

Now, Michigan basketball sits at 13-10 and is coming off of two impressive wins; most recently, Howard’s Wolverines defeated Ohio State at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. After Michigan’s win over Ohio State, it appears as if a significant NBA writer has taken note of Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin, who had a stellar game against the Buckeyes on Sunday.

One of the issues that Juwan Howard has faced with Michigan basketball is retaining talent. Nearly all of his four teams have looked entirely different from year to year — much of this is because of his ability to haul in high-level talent, though another part is because they are NBA-ready after just one year at Michigan.

Ideally for Michigan basketball, Kobe Bufkin — the latest prospect that the NBA community has taken note of — does not leave the program early. The high turnover rate has been a thorn in Howard’s side thus far, and is an issue that needs to be resolved if the Wolverines want to be a threat in 2023-24.

The Athletic has high praise for Bufkin

On Sunday, Michigan basketball earned its 13th win of the season with a 77-69 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Wolverines were bolstered by junior center Hunter Dickinson (26 points), though gained some extra steam from sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin, who added 13 points of his own.

During the win, Kobe Bufkin went 5/10 from the floor (50%) and 2/4 from 3-point range (50%). Additionally, Bufkin his one of his two free throw attempts and gave the Wolverines eight rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal.

Though Bufkin has been struggling as of late, he has shown flashes of greatness throughout the season and caught the eye of John Hollinger — an NBA writer for The Athletic. “Overall, Bufkin looed every bit of a first-rounder on Sunday,” Hollinger wrote. яндекс

Kobe Bufkin isn’t on many draft lists yet, @johnhollinger writes, but he absolutely needs to be in there.

And not at the bottom.

Scouting the @umichbball sophomore: https://t.co/8AO2x4uKr3 pic.twitter.com/AkMpnt21b6

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) February 7, 2023

Tonight, Michigan basketball will look to get one step closer to NCAA tournament contention as they host the struggling Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI.

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