Getting a grip on just how much Jordan Morgan has developed hasn't always been easy.

Since arriving at Michigan, the 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman center has struggled to get his body right. He has dealt with nagging injuries and, for much of this season, with trying to remain on the floor and out of foul trouble.

At times, Michigan basketball coach John Beilein has become angry, telling Morgan he can't live up to his potential if he is spending as much time on the bench as some of the Wolverines' assistant coaches.

That certainly wasn't the case Wednesday night when Morgan paced Michigan's 75-66 win over Northwestern with a career-high 27 points and, perhaps more importantly, signs that he is inching closer to becoming the complete Big Ten post presence Beilein always envisioned.

"He is active in impacting the game both offensively and defensively," Beilein said. "He's got this NFL linebacker body -- he's 6-8, he's 240 and he can run. He's learning when he does it more and harder, he's pretty effective."

Morgan certainly did in his breakout performance against Northwestern. Despite grabbing only two rebounds, he scored on 11 of his 13 shot attempts, blocked three shots and provided a solid defensive presence while picking up only two personal fouls.

Morgan was aggressive in defending Northwestern's Luka Mirkovic and came up with a key blocked shot with Michigan leading by only three with less than 2 minutes to play. He helped cap the victory with a lay-up on the ensuing play after his block that extended the Wolverines' lead to 71-66.

It was all part of Morgan's complete performance.

"He had a really good focus on both ends," Michigan guard Darius Morris said. "Usually if he has a really good offensive game, the defense might suffer or he gets winded. Today, he was just really focusd on both ends."

Much of his offensive production came via Morris and Tim Hardaway, Jr., effectively using the screen and roll to put himself in position. He made several difficult catches and and finished with several powerful dunks, showcasing the abilities Beilein first saw in him as a high school junior at Detroit Jesuit.

For Morgan, Wednesday night's effort -- his third 20+-point output of the season -- was a result of months of hard work.

"It wasn't so much waiting (for a breakout game), it's just kind of realizing that it's there and just pushing myself to do the best I can on every possession," Morgan said. "It's just showing people that I can play."

For much of his Michigan career, that fact has remained in question. Morgan showed up heavier than Beilein would have liked and then immediately suffered a knee injury. Once healthy, he showed glimpses of solid play, but struggled to build any rhythm.

With the struggles came doubts from outsiders that only motivated Morgan to prove his detractors wrong. Wednesday's showing not only demonstrated how far he's come, but also what kind of potential he has when he finally puts his game together.

"It just kind of got rolling. It was just kind of what was open," Morgan said. "We're moving forward to the point where we're not looking for the first shot. We're looking for the best shot and a lot of times it just happened to be on the roll and I just did a good job of finishing."

His final finish came on an emphatic dunk off an alley-oop from Morris on a play Beilein questioned could be properly executed. Beilein admitted he isn't sure his team is ready for such theatrics on a regular basis, estimating the Wolverines were somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-for-20 on similar attempts this season.

On a night when everything else went right, Morgan said he just felt like the play would work.

"We knew it was right there," Morgan said. "We had momentum going and we just wanted to put the icing on the cake."

What Morgan showed in Wednesday's win wasn't only what Beilein knew he was capable of, but also what his teammates have been waiting for. In a game Michigan needed to keep its faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive, Morgan came through with his biggest performance of the season.

"He's playing with tremendous concentration and he's just battling down there," Hardaway said. "I don't think none of this was possible without him."

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.