Jett (expected) and Kobe (?!) now projected 1st Round NBA picks = sigh.
So, I’m generally a glass 1/2 full dude, and the Atlantic article is fairly balanced and evaluates Jett as I presume the majority of the board does (offense good; defense and rebounding bad) but I hadn’t realized Bufkin was drawing 1st round vibes too. If both are gone, basketball could get ugly (uglier) next year.
https://apple.news/AKq3qaJAATtOTWu1mHlJQLw
February 16th, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
Calm down.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:15 PM ^
So much talent and so many losses. A massively disappointing season.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:38 PM ^
Not much experience outside of Hunter, though.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:54 PM ^
A lot of teams win with little experience. The 2013 Michigan team was led by 2 juniors (Hardaway, JMo), a sophomore (Burke), and a bunch of freshmen (Stauskus, GRIII, Spike, McGary, Levert). Experience may be a valid excuse for not winning a conference or the national title, but it’s not for missing the tournament entirely. Especially with 2 potential first rounders on the roster.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:31 AM ^
That 2013 Michigan team was special and a rarity. For one, it had the National Player of the Year.
The overwhelming majority of Final Four teams, the vast majority of #1 seeds, and many high major conference regular season champions have 3 upperlcassmen starters. Experience matters at all levels of sports but it's amplified in college athletics. Think of how much better junior and senior MAAR or Zavier Simpson or Eli Brooks were than when they were underclassmen.
In our case, all 3 starting guards are underclassmen with 2 being freshmen. That's brutal.
That said, I agree that this Michigan team should be better. Our biggest weakness besides the inexperience is the weak 4 position. Terrance Williams has not developed into the player I thought he could be. Losing Diabate to the NBA - specifically the 2nd round - sucked. A sophomore Moussa Diabate alone changes a lot for this Michigan team. I think this Michigan team would have at least 5 more wins with him in the starting lineup. 19-7 is a heckuva lot different than 14-12.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Doesn’t this team have 2-3 McDonalds all Americans too?
February 17th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
Doesn't it just have one (Bufkin)? I think we lost at least two (Houstan and Diabate) and I cannot remember if Frankie was also. I didn't think Jett was.
February 17th, 2023 at 5:11 AM ^
I love Kobe, but he doesn't look like an NBA player to me. At least this minute. I'm not sure what his besr attribute is. He's a gamer for sure, but he isn't a bucket getter.
February 17th, 2023 at 6:00 AM ^
I would agree. If Kobe is NBA caliber, he should have been able to ensure a win against Indiana. An NBA player would have been able to either get past his defender and at least get the shot off in which case it either goes in or Hunter gets the rebound from the weakside and puts it back for the win. Instead, Kobe gets stopped and has to kick it way back out to Jett. At that point, Jett should have gotten it back in to Hunter immediately so that he can take a turnaround. Neither happened.
I get how the draft works. It's based upon potential, but neither of these guys are ready for prime time, or they would have made better plays in the clutch. Hopefully, they both stick around for another season to work on improving their game as well as our team.
February 17th, 2023 at 6:39 AM ^
They'll work on their game in the G league and not have to worry about classes and limited practice time and get paid handsomely to work on their game.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
Thought the G League only paid a moderate 5 figures.
February 17th, 2023 at 7:08 AM ^
If Kobe is NBA caliber, he should have been able to ensure a win against Indiana
It's a team game. He's been the least of our problems lately.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:27 AM ^
I mean absolutely no disrespect to the young man. I'm very pleased with his game overall. I'm just saying that if he's going to take his game to the next level, he will be faced with 27 year old players that can defend at least as well. Then, he should develop and learn all he can at this level before trying to take on the next level.
Whatever the endeavor may be, it's always best to be properly challenged. No one learns when they are clearly superior because the challenge isn't there to develop. There are a handful of one and done each year that fit into this category. Similarly, it is very difficult to learn when you're in over your head. Unfortunately, I think there are way too many of these that live out their career in Europe because they left early and didn't develop properly as opposed to not having the ability.
Caleb Houstan might be an example of this. He was selected early in the 2nd round. He's making $2M/yr with $4M guaranteed, but he's struggling a bit at the next level at 4.2 ppg on a team that is not going to make the playoffs. He could be waived after 2 years if things don't pick up.
How would Caleb's game have progressed at UM this year? He averaged 10.1ppg last year. He would almost certainly have improved upon those numbers this year. The 20th pick last year is making $3.1M/yr with $6.2M guaranteed. Don't get me wrong. It's easy for me to gamble with his life, but I think he very likely might have gotten a better contract after this year and be better prepared for a long term career in the league with another year of preparation.
February 17th, 2023 at 8:17 PM ^
Agreed. I think he could be with more development, the thing is, as we here have (should have) learned by now is the nba drafts on potential
February 17th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^
If it was a 3v3 league, I get it. We'd dominate. Unfortunately, not much talent / experience at #s 4 through 8.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
Many championships are won with only 3 good players.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:32 AM ^
They won as much as anyone for a decade and people here still griped constantly that they wanted to get recruits like the teams that didn't win as much were getting. They got what they wanted.
February 17th, 2023 at 1:44 PM ^
Be nice if we could get about 10 guys to transfer/go pro/go to Europe/whatever so we can get an entirely new transfer portal team.....only kinda kidding.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:16 PM ^
One man's apple keeps the trash treasure away or something.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:17 PM ^
Pretty half empty post, you'll be fine.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:20 PM ^
2 games above .500 with them. I get it, but let’s keep perspective. Gotta recruit, gotta hit the portal, gotta coach. #ItsMichiganfergodssake
February 16th, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
Sounds like college basketball
February 16th, 2023 at 10:28 PM ^
The glass half full is that Juwan developed Kobe not to mention Jett. He’s good with bigs now he just has to recruit in the 75-100 range so they stick around.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:35 PM ^
Maybe not. Reed looks to be a monster, Tschetter is showing some signs. I've seen stranger things, and the players might come together when hero ball is gone. I do think we need a few more guards in the portal, however
February 16th, 2023 at 11:29 PM ^
Hate to be a downer, but what signs is Tschetter showing? I love his energy, but he's yet to show any above average skill
February 16th, 2023 at 11:44 PM ^
I think he can be a solid fourth or fifth option on a good team, like a Jordan Morgan level player. I would say he has below average quickness, average ball handling and finishing and he can shoot in practice but has not shown it in game. His rebounding feels like it has not been great and his defense is not good. He could potentially develop into something, but he feels more like a no name Wisconsin or Iowa tallish guy who can get hot occasionally.
February 17th, 2023 at 7:52 AM ^
Tschetter makes an impact. His plus minus is some of the best on the team and he’s still just a RS freshman
February 17th, 2023 at 10:05 AM ^
He lacks athleticism.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
People said the same about Stauskas
February 17th, 2023 at 7:51 AM ^
If Bufkin and Dickinson come back and we add a solid wing transfer, then along with sophomore Dug at PG, it’s not too hard to squint and see us being a solid team
February 17th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Tschetter will be a much more effective player with another year or 2 with the strength and conditioning staff. (And, of course, with the accompanying additional playing time.)
February 17th, 2023 at 12:42 PM ^
Not sure why the Netflix show reference is in there but ok.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:37 PM ^
Bufkin getting late round buzz is encouraging in the sense he went from a complete non-entity last year to this current state. I do think another year and he plays himself into the lottery but wouldn't be shocked if he left.
February 17th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
I at the point where I am shocked if players stay, not if they leave.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:07 AM ^
The lottery? No
Kobe will get a decent shot at being an NBA player, but not by becoming a lottery pick. Good sized wings are dime a dozen at that level and there are 100 more coming up right behind him.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:54 PM ^
Time to just recruit 3 stars and guys who will never sniff the NBA other than a rare kid who blows up. The college bball product hasn't overall been great for a while but lately it's really gone down hill. This year especially.
I wonder how the team kamaradrie truly is. If Dickinson comes back to theoretically take the bulk of the load again I could see those guys just leaving and not bothering trying to showcase lottery pick skills with the offense revolving around a diminishing 7footer.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
You need good point guard play and good defense to win in college.
We have neither this year.
February 16th, 2023 at 10:59 PM ^
2 mildly productive guys left last year; so why not expect 2 more effective 3 & D guys to leave this year?
February 17th, 2023 at 9:14 AM ^
I think calling Bufkin and Jett 3 & D guys is quite a stretch.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^
What D?
February 16th, 2023 at 11:12 PM ^
Whenever any Michigan players are even sniffing the 1st round of the NBA Draft, or even the 2nd round, they always end up leaving as soon as possible (I dont believe Hunter was on many (any?) draft boards, so thats why he stayed). So, Bufkin and Jett are guaranteed to leave after this year. It's just one of the curses that Michigan bball has. I mean, Diabate and Houstan leaving last year showed me that most players just don't care about college ball... they just want to leave as quickly as possible, even if it means playing in the G league for years.
February 17th, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
Yup, which is why I don't follow college basketball anymore. Yeah, I know this thread, but I thought I'd point out that there's a cost to that attitude and I'm probably not alone.
I'm sure my interest isn't missed, but I don't care.
February 17th, 2023 at 4:30 PM ^
McGary and Robinson stayed an extra year, plus Trey stayed for the 2013 season which was huge. Franz played himself up for sure, but there was some high upside stuff where he absolutely could have gone freshman year.
But yeah, it does feel like they get burned more often than not. Still can't believe Stauskus was only a 2 year player.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:23 PM ^
Could be a real interesting roster next season. My meaningless thoughts on who might not be wearing maize and blue next year.
90% Jett. Been getting 1st round draft buzz all season. Be surprised if he came back.
70% Llewellyn. I think he could get another year due to injury but doubt he wants to come back to play back up minutes to Dug.
65% Baker. He's a shooter on a team that lacks shooters and doesn't get many minutes or many sets to get him good looks. Wouldn't be surprised to see him looking for a team promising him minutes and shots.
55% Dickinson. A lot of the fan base has turned sour on him and I think he could transfer to a team that will try to showcase him. Could possibly get a big NIL promise if looking around too. Knows he has no NBA future so he needs to make as much money as possible now.
45% Williams. I'm sure he's well aware after every game what gets said about him and his play here. Regression this year. Could see him look for a fresh start elsewhere. But seems guaranteed to get plenty of play staying.
40% Bufkin. This is the first 1st round buzz I've heard for him. If he believes he will go 1st round he is gone. Could be a monster for us next year if he makes another jump but does he want to be the dude on a team that feels multiple years away?
10% each Barnes and Glenn. Seems like there's always a young guy not happy about playing enough nowadays and bolts early.
I don't think we have a lot of roster stability but hope I'm wrong. Our teams used to be real fun to watch and the players used to look like they were having much more fun. Remember the bench mafia? This team is admittedly hard to watch.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:29 PM ^
2 first round draft picks and a Wooden Award mid season watch list player
14-12
Great job Juwan
February 16th, 2023 at 11:47 PM ^
NBA drafts guys primarily on their potential. While Jett and Kobe have flashed abilities that appeal to NBA teams, they currently are pretty much just average major conference starters. It's not like they are All-Americans. Jett is a bad defender right now, Kobe isn't consistent offensively. But scouts see how young they are and anticipate them improving in those weak areas.
Michigan is one of the least experienced teams in the country, much less the Big Ten. At the college level having solid veterans with little NBA value is often a better recipe for success than having raw young future NBA prospects.
February 17th, 2023 at 12:08 AM ^
Case in point, 2nd place Northwestern. They have a junior and senior in Buie and Audige and not much else.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:37 PM ^
Man, it's worse when Michigan and the Pistons aren't good, but it's really made it difficult to watch basketball in general when guys 20 years ago would have stayed for 3-4 years in college are going to the NBA after 1-2 years now. You never really get to watch guys fully develop in college, and then the NBA becomes a more watered down product.
February 16th, 2023 at 11:58 PM ^
Truly surprised Bufkin projected to go first round. I don't see it but what do I know. I do think the potential is there.
Just sucks from a standpoint if he leaves once again we lose an underclassmen who didn't dominate in college.
February 17th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
The potential is what they draft for.