Michigan freshman Evan Smotrycz is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds a game.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

CLEMSON, S.C. - The Clemson public address announcer butchered the pronunciation of Evan Smotrycz’s last name as he ran out for the starting lineups in South Carolina on Tuesday night.

By the end of Michigan’s 69-61 win on Tuesday night, everyone in Littlejohn Coliseum was familiar with the freshman from Reading, Mass.

He was the most heralded freshman in Michigan basketball coach John Beilein’s recruiting class this year and in his first true road game, after five games of inconsistent play, Smotrycz showed why he creates high expectations.

“For me, big,” Smotrycz said. “I think it’s just another step that I had to take in order to do everything I can to help the team.”

He looked and said he felt comfortable in the college game, something that taken him all of six games and one month to accomplish.

The 6-foot-9 forward scored a team-high 18 points. But it wasn’t his raw statistics that mattered most for Michigan (4-2), which next takes on visiting Harvard on Saturday (1 p.m., Big Ten Network).

It was how he got the points.

He shot well from outside, going 2-of-2 from the 3-point line. He also showed he can be more than just a long, lanky jump shooter who is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds a game while shooting 42.9 percent from the 3-point line as he pump-faked and drove the lane against Clemson.

“Yeah, I think I’ve been pulling the trigger a little too frequently (from the outside),” Smotrycz said. “Trying to get myself going a little bit more, getting to the rim rather than the outside shot sometime.”

Although redshirt freshman Jordan Morgan has established himself as Michigan’s center, Beilein is trying to work Smotrycz into the rotation there, too.

The goal is simple. Make him versatile.

“We got him in more playing both as a four man and a five man,” Beilein said. “We’re trying to make him multi-positional if we can.

“He’s still learning.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of 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