The 2008–09 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in competitive college basketball during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I season. The 2008–09 season marked the team's ninety-second consecutive season as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Big Ten Conference. The team finished the season with a 21–14 overall record and a 9–9 conference record. The 9–9 conference record tied for seventh place in the 2008–09 Big Ten conference standings. Michigan was seeded seventh in the single-elimination 2009 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament where it advanced one round. They were seeded tenth in the South Regional bracket of the single-elimination 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where it also advanced one round before losing to the Blake Griffin-led Oklahoma Sooners. Jevohn Shepherd and David Merritt served as team co-captains, and Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims shared team MVP honors.

The 2008–09 season marked a turnaround for the team for several reasons. The team rebounded from a 10–22 overall record and a 5–13 conference record during the previous 2007–08 season. The season was highlighted by the team's first two wins in eleven years against teams ranked among the top five in the AP Poll, and by the team's first trip to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament since the 1998 tournament. Although the team had appeared in the 1998 NCAA tournament, the last appearance in the NCAA tournament that had been recognized in official NCAA records as not having been tainted by the University of Michigan basketball scandal was their 1995 tournament appearance. The team was in its first year off scholarship probation, which following the scandal had restricted the number of available scholarships. However, the team continued to be prohibited from affiliating with implicated athletes (Chris Webber, Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor, and Louis Bullock) until 2012, which meant, among other things, that the players could not help the university recruit. The team began the season unranked, but in December 2008 it earned its first place in the top 25 since February 2006. As the season progressed, the team adopted the slogan "Queme los barcos", which is Spanish for "burn the ships", as a reminder that there was no turning back.

For the forty-second consecutive season, the team played its home games in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the Crisler Arena, which has a capacity of 13,751. John Beilein was in his second season as head coach with the team during the 2008–2009 season. At the conclusion of the season, guard Manny Harris was named to the All-Big Ten first team, and forward DeShawn Sims was selected by the Big Ten media to the second team and chosen by the Big Ten coaches for the third team.

Preview

Their 2008–09 pre-conference schedule included Atlantic Coast Conference members Maryland Terrapins and Duke Blue Devils, who went on to win the 2009 ACC men's basketball tournament. The team also played against geographical rival Eastern Michigan and the preseason #2 ranked Connecticut Huskies.

Unlike conference rivals Michigan State, Purdue, and Wisconsin, Michigan was not ranked in the top 25 by either the Associated Press or the ESPN/USA Today preseason polls. In fact, the team did not even receive any votes, like rival Ohio State, in either poll. Pre season reports described the team as a contender for fifth place in the conference. Although the team was building from a 10–22 record, it won five of its last ten games the prior year. A poll of 22 members of the media published in the Detroit Free Press ranked Michigan eighth in the conference. The Sports Illustrated 2008 College Basketball Preview issue did not select the team as one of the five predicted Big Ten teams (the four mentioned above and the Minnesota Golden Gophers) to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Roster

On May 5, 2008, sophomore Ekpe Udoh, the Big Ten's top shotblocker, decided to transfer for his final two years of athletic eligibility. Beilein attempted to replace Udoh with Robin Benzing, a member of Germany's national youth team. However, Benzing failed to meet the NCAA's initial-eligibility guidelines and did not play. Beilein was able to partially solve the problem of complimenting Manny Harris by luring point guard Laval Lucas-Perry to transfer from Arizona. Perry became eligible to play at the conclusion of the fall semester. The team anticipated relying on freshman center Ben Cronin to make up for the loss of Udoh and Ron Coleman, who averaged over 21 minutes each of his four seasons. Including Cronin, the team had three incoming recruits.

Michigan granted two of its scholarships to fifth-year redshirt graduate students C.J. Lee and David Merritt in September. Lee and Merritt had both been 2007–08 Big Ten Academic All-Conference selections. The varsity roster included fourteen players, thirteen of whom saw live game action. In December, the Wolverines made the decision to redshirt Ben Cronin after only 10 minutes of play. He had hip surgery on January 14.

#NameHeightWeightPositionClassHometownPrevious Team(s)0Zack NovakGFr.Chesterton, IndianaU.S.Chesterton Senior HS1Stu DouglassGFr.Carmel, IndianaU.S.Carmel High School2C.J. LeeGSr.Pittsford, New YorkU.S.Manhattan College3Manny HarrisGSo.Detroit, MichiganU.S.Redford HS12Anthony WrightFSo.Sterling, VirginiaU.S.Oak Hill Academy15David MerrittGSr.West Bloomfield, MichiganU.S.West Bloomfield HS22Jevohn ShepherdFSr.Toronto, OntarioCanadaWest Hill Collegiate Institute23Corey PersonGFr.Kalamazoo, MichiganU.S.Kalamazoo Central HS30Eric PulsCFr.Alpena, MichiganU.S.Alpena HS31Laval Lucas-PerryGFrFlint, MichiganU.S.University of Arizona34Zack GibsonFJr.Grand Blanc, MichiganU.S.Rutgers University34DeShawn SimsFJr.Detroit, MichiganU.S.Pershing HS35Ben CroninCFr.Syracuse, New YorkU.S.Henninger HS44Kelvin GradyGSo.Grand Rapids, MichiganU.S.East Grand Rapids HS – denotes class status adjusted for used redshirt eligibility.

Incoming signees

The incoming class had no four- or five-star recruits. However, it included three players that Rivals.com listed as three-star recruits. Only Ben Cronin was also listed as three-star by scout.com.

Mid-season transfer

2009–10 team recruits Incoming recruit Darius Morris and two Division I recruit teammates led Windward High School to the California Division V state title. Darius Morris received MVP of Olympic League, CIF Division 5A Southern Section Player of Year, and CIF Division 5A State Player of Year. Also Darius was awarded a John Wooden High School Player of the Year Award, received by Jrue Holiday the year before and the likes of Jason Kapono and Tayshaun Prince in the past.

Matt Vogrich won the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year award, following in the footsteps of Derrick Rose and Jon Scheyer. Unlike Scheyer and Rose, he did not win Illinois Mr. Basketball. Kelvin Grady announced his intent to transfer at the end of the season.

Rankings

Playing style Over the course of the season, they developed a reputation for shooting a lot of three-point shots and for not turning over the basketball. The team ranked among the national leaders in three-point shots made per game. The ballhandling ability was a function of the Michigan lineup which often employed four guards and one center/forward, which meant that at any time the team had several adept ballhandlers on the court. By the end of the season, the starting lineup usually included four players or shorter and Sims who is . As a team that relied on the three-point shot, it was streaky and was susceptible to hot and cold stretches. The team relied on a deep bench and had 10 players who averaged 10 minutes per game. Even the eleventh player averaged 9.6 minutes. The offense used patient ball movement with backdoor cutters and slashers, which necessitated that defenses chase shooters and peel off picks. The offense resulted in a shot mix that employed three-pointers for about 48% of its shots.

On defense, the team was known for employing Beilein's trademark trapping 1–3–1 halfcourt zone defense, which required opponents to be skilled at perimeter passing. The zone defense was generally employed after made baskets and dead-ball situations. After offensive misses or turnovers, the Wolverines relied on man-to-man defense. Depending on the matchups the team also used a 2–3 zone defense because the team did not have the type of athletes necessary to play on the wings of his 1–3–1. It employed the 1–3–1 less later in the season, and about ten percent of opponent possessions altogether. In total, the team used some sort of zone defense about 40 percent of the time. The team was also among the top 35 (of over 300) in the nation in terms of three-point shot defense.

Accomplishments On December 13, 2008, the team tied Dartmouth's current national record for most different players to make a three-point field goal in game set in 1993 when 9 players made three-point shots against Eastern Michigan. The team also set the current Big Ten Conference single-game three-point field goals attempted record of 42 on December 22, 2008, against Florida Gulf Coast and the conference games record of 40 on January 7, 2009, against Indiana. Over the course of the season the team set the current Big Ten Conference single-season three-point field goals attempted record if 912 as well as the single-season conference games record of 471. The team led the Big Ten Conference with 151 three-point field goals made in conference games.

The team set several school records. Its single-season total of 305 three-point field goals made surpassed the 1998 school record total of 260. This record was surpassed by the 2013–14 team. The team's single-game total of 16 three-point field goals made against Eastern Michigan on December 13, 2008, surpassed the school record 15 made on February 22, 1998. The team also established the school's single-season free throw percentage record of 75.7% (412–544) surpassed the 75.4% set in 2002.

Season

Preconference

Although the Big Ten Network had a two and a half hour special that featured Midnight Madness events from several Big Ten campuses on October 17, 2008, the Michigan Wolverines were not a featured part of the show. Michigan began the season with Ben Cronin suffering from a torn acetabular labrum (hip joint) and considering redshirting. The team started its season as the host of a 2K Sports College Hoops Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic tournament regional in which they defeated the and at Crisler Arena. Manny Harris won the second Big Ten Player of the week award of his career for his performances during these games.