There were times he looked like Michigan’s best player even though he’s 18 years old. He spent the majority of the Wolverines’ pre-Europe practices running with sure-fire starters Darius Morris, Douglass and Novak. The ‘it’ will almost certainly place him in Michigan’s rotation in the fall. He seems to be coming on the court with a knowledge that is a real healthy knowledge for playing time. “I wouldn’t say it’s rare but it’s typical of freshmen who have success early. “He really has an understanding for the game,” Beilein said. arrived - save for the rare John Wall or Carmelo Anthony-type player, coaches never really know - but so far, he’s been pleased. The fourth-year Michigan coach wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when Hardaway Jr. It is part of what he likes about Hardaway Jr. Called for a charge, his face read exasperation. He’s shown prodigious skill, but Beilein said he’s trying to be a bit too perfect.ĭuring a free-flowing scrimmage last Sunday, Hardaway drove the lane with the ball, laid it in and the whistle blew.

The first thing he said after finishing Michigan’s last practice before Belgium was how tired he was. This isn’t to say everything has gone well for Hardaway Jr. “I took that to be a competition to know that I could get past that and it worked out.” “I thought it was going to take me like three weeks to get the offense down pat and how everybody was talking about how hard the offense was going to be. “I thought I was going to be a little fatigued,” Hardaway Jr. Those fears disappeared by the fifth practice in preparation for Michigan’s trip to Europe. When he was in Florida, he also worried about the intricacies of John Beilein’s offense. He said earlier this year he thought the first week would be difficult, the conditioning would be unlike anything he’d gone through before. The confidence is something Hardaway knew he’d have before he came on campus.

He’s very assertive and very confident in himself.” “So yeah, I definitely underestimated that. “I thought he was like a two-guard and he gets here and has the same reach as Blake (McLimans, a 6-foot-10 forward),” junior guard Stu Douglass said. By the time he arrived, he was 6-5, his arms grew longer and he was faster and more athletic than any of the Wolverines remembered. The last time he was in Ann Arbor prior to his arrival for summer school, Hardaway Jr. Part of that has to do with his upbringing. Novak and many of Hardaway’s new teammates say the same thing - he’s good and more advanced than they were as freshmen. Novak is a junior and the unquestioned leader of this year’s Michigan team. “He’s probably better at some of the things than us already.” “He came in and was doing, just skill work, kind of, the way he was finishing around the basket, stuff that we’ve been working on,” junior forward Zack Novak said. It’s a tutelage that helped him average 31.7 points a game as a high school senior and, once he arrived at Michigan this summer, made an instant, eye-opening impact. He grew up around the game, his father and other NBA players constantly offering advice or even a chance to run in pick-up games. Still, it is easy to see where the pedigree comes from. wasn’t going to try to be his father’s son. Then he ran in the humid 85-degree heat with his new teammates, trying to break a 5-minute mile, and they understood. When he transferred to Palmetto, he didn’t know what to expect - especially when it came to basketball. Classmates didn’t look at him as the son of Tim Hardaway. He spent his freshman year of high school at Palmer Trinity, a private school in Palmetto Bay, Fla., before heading to Palmetto High School, a public school, for his sophomore year. “I really didn’t take it that well when I was little.”Įventually, he learned. You’re going to be horrible, you’re going to be garbage.’ That’s just criticism you have to take. “But it was also hard because I had to go through people saying ‘Hey, you’re not that good. “It was a great experience,” Hardaway Jr. When you’re 12 or 13, it isn’t that easy.Įven if it is kind of cool to have a dad like that. That father, NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, told him not to worry about it. When your father is an NBA All-Star, one of the better point guards in the history of basketball and the inventor of a move alternatively called the ‘ UTEP Two-Step’ and ‘Killer Crossover,’ you almost have to brace yourself for that. You’re growing up, emotions and hormones run wild and jealousy sets in. Middle school kids can be cruel, at least that’s how Tim Hardaway Jr.

forged his own basketball reputation, but he learned a few things from his father, too.

Tim hardaway jr dad