Answering questions next to Eli Brooks, Caleb Houstan and DeVante' Jones a day before Michigan's clash with Villanova in the Sweet 16, Hunter Dickinson had made it through most of a 10-minute press conference without flashing the receipts stashed in his pocket.
And then came the last question, whether Dickinson or any of his teammates take note of the fact that of the nine Big Ten teams that made the NCAA Tournament, Michigan is one of the last two standing. As an 11-seed on the heels of a 17-13 regular season.
Dickinson nudged Jones as if to say I got this and smiled as he leaned toward the microphone.
"Yeah, this season was definitely not the best, (didn't go the) way that we wanted it to and other fans definitely let us know that, particularly Michigan State, Illinois -- who else? -- Ohio State. Who else?" Dickinson asked again, looking toward his teammates. "There was another team in there, who was it? There was one more. Oh, oh, the team down in Madison, the red and white team. They definitely let us know how they felt about our season. We heard those 'NIT' chants. They were hurtful, they definitely hurt, but it's funny how they’ll be watching us on Thursday back in their cribs."
Satisfied, Dickinson leaned back from the microphone as Brooks, Houstan and Jones laughed and shook their heads: He really went there. He always goes there. This is the same Hunter Dickinson who tormented Michigan State with such pleasure in a dominant win for the Wolverines a few weeks ago that Michigan coach Phil Martelli said the 7'1 second-team All-Big Ten center has a career waiting for him off the court.
"If it does not work out in basketball, I dare any of you to deny me this fact: he will be a WWE villain," Martelli said. "He won’t be a good guy, but he will be a villain. And he will sell a lot of tickets for WWE."
Like it or not, Dickinson has a right to run his mouth. He put up 48 points in the first two games of the Tournament -- the most by a Michigan player since his coach, Juwan Howard, scored 62 in 1994 -- plus 17 rebounds, five blocks and five assists. He was the best player on the floor in the Wolverines' come-from-behind upset of 3-seed Tennessee. And after an up-and-down season, Michigan finally looks like a team that was ranked No. 4 in November.
Villanova was also ranked No. 4 in November -- and spent most of the season inside the top 10, closing at No. 6. Naturally, here's how Dickinson described the 2-seed Wildcats, a three point-shooting team that lacks size in the paint.
"Like a more disciplined Iowa team," he said. "Because Iowa, they’re really free-flowing. They have a couple sets, but it’s mostly them just making up their own sets and free flowing. Villanova is really disciplined. They run their sets and Coach Wright has them really trained to do the Villanova system. But both teams have a lot of shooting, both teams don’t have that 7’0 big man that the rest of the Big Ten has, but they have really good talent, really good shooting and can really space the floor."
Dickinson does have a point. Iowa, which lost in the first round of the Tournament as a 5-seed, made the 12th most threes in the country this season and its tallest rotational player was 6'9. Villanova has made the 11th most threes in the country and its tallest rotational player is 6'8 forward Eric Dixon. That's who Dickinson will see the most of Thursday night.
If he and Michigan come out on top, surely he'll have nothing more to say.