So many things made Michigan men's basketball special a year ago.

And two of the primary pieces showed themselves as Michigan tried to reclaim that form in the win over San Diego State on Saturday inside Chrysler Center.

First things first, Hunter Dickinson.

Dickinson was a freshman All-American.

He came in as a preseason national All-American, but he struggled against North

Carolina, largely due to foul trouble. He did not play a whole lot in that loss to the Tar Heels.

On Saturday, he was his best this season and one of his best performances as a collegiate player.

23 points, 14 rebounds, but he showed off some of the other aspects of his game.

Some of the things that he has tried to work on that NBA scouts wanted to see in particular,

three of three from deep.

He also added three assists, did not turn the ball over, and played a career high 39 minutes.

Hunter talked about it during the offseason.

The coaching staff deliberately kept him in longer than normal in practice, trying to get that

stamina up. And with Musa Diabate leaving due to illness in the first half, Dickinson needed to

be leaned upon and he was ready and willing to do just that.

The other aspect that made Michigan such a dominant team last season was it didn't matter what the other team's strengths were.

Michigan could evolve.

They could differentiate how they had success on the floor.

They could beat you at your best game.

And San Diego State coming in was an elite defensive team.

They have been in the last few years, in the last few decades, under Steve Fisher and

now Brian Dutcher, of course, very familiar names to Michigan fans.

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