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Posted on Wed, Dec 22, 2010 : 4:23 p.m.

Michigan guard Jordan Dumars waits to hear when he can finally play

By Michael Rothstein

Jordan Dumars has watched and cheered from the bench for a year, waiting to be eligible to play for the Michigan basketball team.

Before Dumars, who transferred to Michigan from South Florida midway through his freshman year, can become eligible, his first-semester grades must be posted. As of Wednesday afternoon, he and Michigan coach John Beilein were waiting.

“I’m e-mailing (the professors),” Dumars said earlier this week. “Making sure. It’ll be either (Bryant) or the Purdue game.”

When Dumars is eligible, it isn’t clear how he’ll figure in to Michigan’s plans. A 6-foot-5 guard who is known primarily as a shooter, he might struggle to find minutes in a rotation filled with guards Darius Morris, Zack Novak, Stu Douglass, Matt Vogrich along with swingman Tim Hardaway Jr.

The sophomore guard is also recovering from a knee injury he suffered before the season. At South Florida, he played sparingly,, averaging 4.5 minutes in six games before transferring.

“Whether he plays or not will be dependent on the conditions of the game,” Beilein said.

Dumars, the son of Detroit Pistons general manager and former player Joe Dumars, is merely excited to be wearing a jersey again. He said his entire family will attend his first Michigan game, be it Bryant on Thursday or for the Big Ten opener against Purdue on Tuesday.

“I can’t wait, man,” Dumars said. “As it’s gotten closer, it’s been a little bit harder to go to sleep because it’s been on my mind.”

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.