Next year's team/lineup
I hate to be critical of any kid after such a great year but it's obvious to me that after tonight that next year's lineup should be the following:
1 - DeJulius/Z
2- Poole/DeJulius
3 - Matthews/Iggy B
4 - Livers/Johns
5- Johns/Castleton
It may not look like this in Nov/Dec but by January it should.
As much as Z improved, he's limited. He can't shoot from the perimeter and he can't shoot free throws. His defense was great at times, but he also looked real bad against some elite athletes. This offense is eons better with a true scorer at the 1.
Teske had a couple of good games for us this year, but again, he's limited. His lack of athleticism is too much to overcome for what he offers. He should never be more than a backup at Michigan.
Johns might not be a natural 5, but hopefully he can play both the 4&5 in Beilein's system.
While I think Mo is gone, I don't think it would be crazy for him to return. He needs to be alot more consistent before he does anything productive in the NBA. Of course if he's being told he's in the lottery that changes everything.
This is a dumb thread. I think Wagner comes back and if not Teske is the starter. Simpson is starting and will be one of the best PGs in the game next year. Freshmen big men and freshmen point guards are rarely capable and need time under Beilein's system. they also don't replace great solid returning players at their positions.
God I would love it if he did but I just don't think it happens.
If that ends up being the lineup tha that means those freshman must be a whole lot better than I expect them to be.
by the end of the year.. Give Beilein time and he'll get them ready. He always seems to.
So we're going to beat every team 45-40 next year like UVA ?
Poole and Matthews better make some gargantuan leaps unless Livers is hiding something from us.
Beilein has not shown a knack for player development. Poole and Livers will not be better than they were this year as freshman.
It's like the OP watched one game this year against the national champs and is extrapolating the results for the rest of next year.
Also, too bad we never saw Teske play basket for basket against elite talent like Haas. Just like McGary immeadiately started over Morgan, it will be the same next year. OP is a dope.
Absolutely. Look at the leap Simpson made this year. Poole can be a star next year.
Well Poole is already a good offensive player as a freshman. All of next year's freshmen are known for their scoring and Matthews and Simpson can drive to the bucket although they are not known for being superstars. It is definitely a better roster going into next winter than what we had going into this winter.
As we just saw, having more than a couple guys have the ability to score 15 on any given night is imperative to making these runs.
This team will be freaky athletic next year. Just wondering who will take over after Poole/Matthews.
Teske won't replace Wagner. But the combination of him and Livers could be enough.
When was the last time a freshman really contributed offensively under Beilein? Poole has done the most we've seen since Trey.
Beilein has started & given huge minutes to freshmen throughout his entire career, and many played a hell of a lot more than Poole. How about Stauskus McGary GR3 Hardaway Irvin Dawkins... We've been more experienced of late buy Beilein has gotten a ton out of freshmen in his Michigan career.
He just held the NPOY to 4/13 shooting and 9 points... anyone who sees Simpson as a negative is ignorant. His offense isn't fantastic, but his defense is already worth him starting
He just held the NPOY to 4/13 shooting and 9 points... anyone who sees Simpson as a negative is ignorant. His offense isn't fantastic, but his defense is already worth him starting
I'll like this double post twice. Simpson was so good against Brunson last night. At one point I said out loud, Brunson is the best player in college basketball? No way. Simpson is just that good on defense.
No chance Ignas isn't a starter. That lineup needs more offense and Poole needs to really improve on Defense and with his decision making to crack the starting lineup.
a lot of playing time. He's the real deal.
I think Z struggles offensively but we haven't seen DeJulius yet. Defense can only carry you so far and we have to get better guard play and shooting next year. We should be a top 5 team if everyone comes back sans Wagner.
Yeah, only as far as the championship game.
We're still lacking scoring.
Who's gonna score on this team?
Poole and Matthews?
One of DeJulius, Iggy, Johns, or Nunez is going to have to be a superstar as a freshman.
If the unthinkable happens, and Mo decides to return, this team wwould be unbeatable. If he is actually predicted to be a mid-2nd round selection, he could conceivably decide to come back for unfinished business. Highly doubtful, but one can dream.
Poole is my dark horse for Big Ten Player of the Year. I think he's gonna take a Stauskas-esque jump next year. You can already see how much slower the game moves for him in regards to making the right move when he attacks the hoop. Livers will improve. And Iggy is the real deal. He's gonna get buckets.
I think what we're lacking is consistent scoring. Too many players will seem to get hot for a game (or two), and then grow cold for several. Granted that made the team extremely interesting to watch- it seemed like a different heroes just about every game down the stretch. I realize some of that may have had to do with how different teams were defensing Michigan and the mismatches created with switching.
I realize that there is some tradeoff for the increased energy expended on defense- a tradeoff that has proven worthwhile for the most part, and hopefully with more talent and depth that situation will be improved, Simpson is never going to be a great offensive player, but what he brings to the table with his defense, running the offense, leadership, basketball intelligence, and even rebounding(!), more than make up from his weaknesses shooting threes IMO.
Michigan needs more scoring from more guys simply playing up to their potential in any given game; and certainly more consistent shooting from the free throw line- which we all thought would be our undoing.
Unfortunately, for most of the tournament, only one or two guys seemed to have particularly good nights shooting- and it seemed like it was different guys each time. In some ways, that made this one seem like a team of destiny. But I mentioned before the game that I had the feeling they would need at least three guys to shoot well (especially from three) to beat VU, and they didn't get that. Wagner was great the first few minutes and then in patches; MAAR for much of the game. At least Simpson got 10. But far too little from Mathews, Robinsoon, Poole, Livers to win. And there were too-long stretches when Michigan was not scoring at all- ice cold. 3/23 (13%) from three will lose most games no matter who you play, made worse when you are being out-rebounded. Not doing a good enough job on the defensive boards and allowing too many second-chance points can also be demoralizing.
In one of the interviews after the B1G tournament, Beilein was questioned about the need for Matthews and Z to shoot free-throws (the reasoning was about importance in the up coming games). Beilein said they'd practice them but they need to break down their whole shot. Said they'd do this in the off-season, esp. Matthews. I suspect this covers shooting in general, not just FTs. I trust Beilein's ability to work with shooters; Z will be fine.
Disagree about Mathhews' form. It isn't horrendous and can easily be corrected with a ton of gym time, but his stroke needs to be more compact. On his 3 point attempts, he catches and then dips the ball. He needs to get rid of that dip and make the movement more compact. Moreover, he has a tendency to move the ball from his shooting hip and brings it every so slightly to the left before coming back to the right and launching. Its subtle but there. That's why he is wildly inconsistent from outside.
Teske has a 99 percent chance of starting. I think Johns can start over Livers at the 4 though.