A year ago, Kameron Chatman arrived as the highest-ranked freshman in Michigan basketball’s six-man recruiting class.
Standing 6-foot-8, he was supposed to be the versatile wing who stepped right in for Glenn Robinson III at the forward spot.
Instead, after starting the first 14 games, he was relegated to the bench with far fewer consistent minutes.
Somehow that seemed to help, as he improved from 27% shooting in the non-conference season to 39% in Big Ten play. It still wasn’t enough for big minutes, but the improvement showed and spilled into the off-season.
“With Kam, he understands our offense, he kind of is the oil that makes it go because of his vision, his length, his passing ability,” U-M assistant Jeff Meyer said on WTKA-AM (1050) last week.