I Dig Dug
Great game tonight with a balanced team riding the hot hands, excellent second half adjustments, and a lot of good offensive sets. Really think this team, already, has a much different vibe and is gonna win some big games this year.
Dug looked AWESOME tonight in almost every facet of the game. He reminds me of a shorter Tyrese Maxey (not at that level of shooter yet) and just moves so fluidly and plays like a much bigger dude than he is. Michigan is universally more fun when we have a true court general PG and hoping Dug continues to build that confidence all season.
What’s your hot take tonight?
November 13th, 2023 at 10:28 PM ^
Maxey and Immanuel Quickley are good guys for him to mold his game to. Hopefully he can develop a floater like those guys. It's a small sample size, but Dug's handles are some of the best I've ever seen.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:54 PM ^
C'mon, there isn't really a player named Quickly.
I am sure there is, but sounds fake.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
Maxey, Quickley, and now Duggie.
November 14th, 2023 at 7:26 AM ^
Dug has an excellent floater.
November 14th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
There are floaters, then there are Maxey/Quickley floaters. They hit them at an insane percentage, and can use them all the way to the FT line. It's amazing.
November 14th, 2023 at 7:34 AM ^
He has a floater. He just isnt shooting 3s like Maxey yet.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:37 PM ^
Exceptional gif play
November 13th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
Hell yeah, clicked the link just to see something like this.
November 14th, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
Nice! I would rock Dig Dug at Starworld in Portage on $5 all play day.
Not the ticket games of course, that would be insanity.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:30 PM ^
Love Dug’s confidence. We have also had a lot of spread on our offense. The key this year so far is we can defend. My hawt take…….this team will finish in the Top 20 at year’s end (3rd in the B1G)
November 13th, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
it's not really a hot take that they're a top 20 team and 3rd best team in the B1G.
My hot take is they're a top 10 team and the 2nd best team in the B1G. I don't think 2nd best team in the B1G is a hot take tbh.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:41 PM ^
Compared to what they were projected and it only being 3 games into the season……it’s a hot take.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:57 PM ^
Not a hot take when Michigan dominated the first 3 games. They're already the 2nd best team in KenPom and jumped to 23rd. That's with preseason expectations built into it. They're top 15 without the preseason expectations.
Michigan was projected absurdly low and I knew that 11th would be underrated.
November 14th, 2023 at 12:30 AM ^
They havent really played anyone. Lets see how they do against Penn St.
November 14th, 2023 at 8:13 AM ^
I just lol’d
November 14th, 2023 at 6:15 AM ^
It’s a hot take. We lack a ball handler. Dug is the only one. I don’t think Burnett is a primary ball handler, and Washington is going to take a bit to get up to D1 pace. As awesome as Dug has been, we still need Llewelyn back.
November 14th, 2023 at 8:33 AM ^
Would have been a hot take to say that BEFORE the season.
Now that Michigan is 3-0 and looking good, not a hot take to say that now.
November 14th, 2023 at 7:18 AM ^
They weren't even projected to make the dance a couple weeks ago! They're definitely exceeding expectations!!
November 14th, 2023 at 7:44 AM ^
I wouldn't mind matching up with Kansas in the tournament and taking them out.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:34 PM ^
Beware of Dug.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:34 PM ^
He consistently comes away with four, five rebounds.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:36 PM ^
Watching three games of Dug has upgraded my expectations from NIT to undefeated national champion.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:38 PM ^
Dug is a straight up baller. I was really impressed how quickly he went from deer-in-th-headlights freshman, to a guy that could be sensational at times, but still showed his (naturally) lack of experience as a freshman.
3 games in this year it looks like he's maintained his explosive playmaking ability, but also looks much more composed and consistent over the course of a game.
My hawt take: Dug will be the best point guard in the league this year, and this Michigan team will be much better than last despite losing 2 first rounders and an All-American center. This will be a case study on why team chemistry can be as equally important to individual player talent.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:38 PM ^
Bball might be a pleasant surprise to pay more attention to. Seems crazy but maybe Jett and Hunter WERE that bad of cancers on the team
November 13th, 2023 at 11:21 PM ^
Last year’s team underachieved but I don’t think it’s fair to call any individual player a “cancer”.
November 14th, 2023 at 3:01 AM ^
I came here to write a similar take. Maybe Jett shooting everytime he got the ball was detrimental to our current “team” approach. Now, Hunter, I can’t explain. Maybe his play was holding these other active young bigs on the bench too long.
Either way, go blue. Enjoying this team this year. Expectations were low. But my interest is piqued.
November 14th, 2023 at 7:06 AM ^
There is a very pleasing aesthetic difference without Hunter. Hunter forced a halfcourt game on both ends as he ran the floor poorly. For his size, he was a below average rim protector because of his lack of mobility. Last year, the inside out game was less effective because we didn't have enough guys on the floor at the same time capable of consistently knocking down threes. They could sag a guy or two on Hunter in the post while laying off the two or three guys we ran out there who weren't consistent from three. It was frustrating to watch.
Dug's hard work to improve his ability to finish at the hole and hit the three makes him a dynamic point guard and major threat with the ball in his hands (so far in three games). That was not the case last year. Tschetter is playing under control and within the offense. HIs energy off the bench was always great, but it is controlled this year (so far). Love his improvement. The three transfers are much more athletic than the guys they replaced and they can all handle the ball and finish on the break. I believe Reed is a better rim protector than Hunter as he can move his feet to disrupt shots. Nearly every guy outside of Reed is an average or better threat from three.
This team has been, and will be, fun to watch!!!
JMHO
November 14th, 2023 at 7:21 AM ^
Watching Hunter Dickinson on a good Michigan them was absolutely beautiful, just saying. But yes, this year's team is much better and more fun to watch than last season.
November 14th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
Jett wasn’t a cancer on the team and I think hunter just simply showed up last season. Neither, imo, along with houstan, looked to be a team player first, and superstar second, and as a result they never gelled with the other players and never got the opportunity to really show up and out in any of the ganes.
As the poster above said, this season could/will be a case study of team chemistry vs the one and done team makeup and how it just makes everyone a better player.
November 14th, 2023 at 10:33 AM ^
To add what’s maybe an unpopular opinion these days: if I were 19 years old and had a legitimate shot at the NBA, it would be very difficult for me to reject the siren song of “hero ball” in favor of a team-first approach. As a fan, I much prefer the ball this team is playing. As Jett/Caleb/Hunter/Kobe, I’d almost certainly choose to get mine. So no shade to them.
What I think we’ve seen repeatedly is the best college teams have a mix of selfless stars and veteran leadership. Guys in the top 100 recruits but not at the very top are some of the most attractive. With Nimari (38) and Tarris (40), we have a couple of those guys. A bunch of other guys were just outside the top 100. Let’s hope the good times keep rolling.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:39 PM ^
All 8 rotation players play hard and bring consistent defensive effort. It helps that most of them are talented athletes on D - and those that aren't still give what they can. Completely different team than last year. Much less first round NBA talent, but much more sweet 16 looking team talent. Going to be yet another Michigan team that vastly exceeds preseason expectations. I have been enjoying that kind of energy from the bball program for over a decade now.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^
Hot take? Martelli will be on the short list to be a head coach next year.
Not really but he is doing awesome.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
You do realize he has >400 wins as a D1 head coach, don’t you?
November 14th, 2023 at 6:38 AM ^
I'm fairly confident I remember Martelli saying in an interview or podcast that he wanted to be done with head coaching due to the stress and time commitment. Saddi and Eisley are the up-and-comers.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:45 PM ^
More like Eisley and Saddi after the way they got these guys ready to go.
November 14th, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
Saddi turned down a few coaching opportunities from the MAC school including his almamater, WMU. I think he'll take the job if the right school comes along.
November 14th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
It's funny how winning changes the viewpoint
Weren't those 2 guys on the coaching staff last year for that "disappointing" team?
November 14th, 2023 at 7:29 AM ^
More to the point is that Martelli is doing a fantastic job in Juwan's absence. I am still waiting to see how this team continues to perform as the competition gets better. But so far, the team is performing much better than I expected.
November 14th, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
Guy is 69 and in an excellent spot for his swan song. Keep going Martelli!
November 13th, 2023 at 10:54 PM ^
Depth is definitely a concern but damn Dug has already exceeded my expectations this year
November 13th, 2023 at 11:12 PM ^
He’s a poor man’s Iverson. I’ll take it.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:16 PM ^
Duggie Buckets. Put it on a shirt.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:55 PM ^
Unfortunately, they did already. For Doug McDermott at Creighton
November 14th, 2023 at 1:46 AM ^
Dougie Buckets? Looks too much like Dookie Buckets. We are talking Duggie Buckets!
November 13th, 2023 at 11:31 PM ^
need an i dig dug shirt stat
November 13th, 2023 at 11:53 PM ^
Watching the highlights I think I realized one of the contributors to Beilein retiring.
He probably watched all these players taking stepback threes and kept fainting.
November 14th, 2023 at 12:21 AM ^
Said this in the game write-up, but Dug's handle reminds me so much of AI, I started calling him, "The Response."