Men’s basketball questions
First can anyone tell me in recruiting what Juwan looks for in his guards and PFs? It seems like none of these positions have specific skill sets to go along with what Juwan runs.
Can anyone tell me what has TWill gotten better at since he has arrived on campus?? I’m not trying to trash the kid either because I was excited when he signed because I thought by the time he was an upperclassman he would really round into form. He can’t get the basket, his shooting is sub par, can’t post up, and I don’t think he is a particular good rebounder. Maybe I’m not seeing something.
Juwan’s in game rotations?? I’m completely lost at what he is trying to do there.
Juwan runs really good stuff on offense but his roster is a mess.
January 7th, 2023 at 7:22 PM ^
They shoot plenty in practice. Doesn’t look like staff is willing to tweak technique like JB would. Might be biggest difference.
Identifying shooters in the recruiting process goes to JB
January 7th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Yeah, there are enough shooters on the team who have a reputation for it, either from college or high school. Jett, Baker, Kobe, Tschetter and even Hunter were all known for their outside shooting. Nobody is hitting them consistently though, so there is something fundamentally off somewhere. Hell, look at Houstan, be shot well in high school and so far in the NBA he’s at 38%.
January 7th, 2023 at 11:25 PM ^
I'll 2nd this for sure.
January 7th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
Uhhh yeah we did.
Remember the Matthews/Simpson/Teske lineups? Or how about 2015/2016? Chatman never developed as a shooter. We had some bad shooting nights with Beilein. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great coach.
the jury is still out on Juwan. But to say Beilein never had teams that struggled to shoot or were inconsistent is not true.
January 8th, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
You are correct JB had some complete duds in recruiting, but they did a lot of other things way better. One is not turning the ball over.
And that team with those 3 you mentioned suffocated you defensively. That was the age of JB finally getting assistants and giving them keys to implement their defensive scheme.
January 8th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Michigan currently has the lowest turnover rate in D-1.
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/turnover-pct
The point was if Beilein was so great at fundamentals/shooting coaching, why couldn’t he teach Simpson or Matthews to shoot? Why did it take three years for Walton and Irvin to shoot consistently? Why couldn’t Mo Wagner get on the floor consistently when he was clearly the best option at center as a freshman?
The reality is when Beilein lost tons of dudes to the NBA/graduation (most notably Burke, Hardaway, Stauskas, McGary, GRIII, Morgan), the team looked very pedestrian on offense. And defense. Turnover is hard to deal with even for the best coaches.
But sure, let’s just assume Juwan doesn’t coach fundamentals. Franz Wagner didn’t make any improvements in fundamentals right? Career 33% three point shooter Chaundee Brown didn’t turn into a sniper here right? Kobe hasn’t taken a leap this year? Dickinson hasn’t turned into a guy who can hit an open 3?
He needs to experiment a bit more with his rotations but the reality is every coach who deals with this level of turnover struggles.
Remember your boy Jay Wright? They won a championship, lost Bridges, Brunson, Divincenzo and Spellman and next season got the shit kicked out of them at home by Michigan. Fell all the way to a 6 seed. I guess that means he doesn’t coach fundamentals
January 7th, 2023 at 7:36 PM ^
I’ve often been frustrated with his rotations but I thought they were really good today.
Just make shots.
January 7th, 2023 at 8:50 PM ^
The lineup he had on the court in the final 4 minutes of the first half of today’s game allowed MSU to build a 9-point halftime lead. Dickinson was randomly not playing despite not being in foul trouble.
January 7th, 2023 at 10:03 PM ^
He had two fouls in the first half. Also Reed played very well.
I do think playing Jace and T Will next to another big was a mistake and would have preferred Tschetter and/or Barnes instead.
January 8th, 2023 at 12:05 AM ^
Hunter’s two fouls came at the very end of the game.
January 8th, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
That lineup at the end of the half was so bad.
January 7th, 2023 at 7:41 PM ^
I lost count of how many times a lunging Williams had a 3 ball shot in his face. His mechanics just havn’t improved either. Still plays faster than needed.
January 8th, 2023 at 8:50 AM ^
You mean someone with his feet and legs all over the place before he shoots isn’t a good shooter?
January 7th, 2023 at 7:49 PM ^
Not a real good team.
I would switch Tschetter and Baker’s role. Not a big fan of Tschetter’s shot, but not a fan of Baker’s either. To my eyes, Tschetter capable of much more than Baker. Let Tschetter play. His bucket in the post was not a fluke. He’s always had great feet, and a great feel in the post. He hustles too and he’s a bigger body than Baker.
Bufkin is a pro. He’s on a fast trajectory. His shot is so nice looking. Very soft release. He will get nothing but. Better.
Reed already surpassed Cissoko as a basketball player. That didn’t take long
Dickinson like the Black Knight from Monty Python; keeps running his mouth while getting his ass kicked
January 7th, 2023 at 8:09 PM ^
Found Will's account.
January 7th, 2023 at 8:13 PM ^
Men’s basketball questions
My answer? Don't overreact to one game.
January 7th, 2023 at 8:52 PM ^
OP’s concerns have been present throughout the season, though. They’re the reason the team had no big victories and 1 Q4 loss (and we’re lucky it was just 1) in OOC.
January 8th, 2023 at 8:52 AM ^
Yes they have Ham. I’m amazed so many don’t want to have a real discussion about this basketball program.
January 7th, 2023 at 8:13 PM ^
Only thing this team is missing is a good PG!
January 7th, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
Said this before but it’d be nice if Christian Anderson would jump to the 23 class. That kid can shoot the ball.
January 8th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
And get thrown into the 3rd row in the B1G.
He can shoot for sure but he has a long way to go to be able to actually perform in the B1G. Maybe sophomore year at some point you start to see it.
January 7th, 2023 at 9:15 PM ^
Until unequivocally proven otherwise, Howard’s teams are consistently inconsistent.
January 7th, 2023 at 11:31 PM ^
Today against MSU I saw a lot of stagnation on offense. Guys standing around. There was movement on the perimeter, like the weave beyond the 3-point arc which is whatever. Lots of shots seemed forced and out of rhythm of the play. Credit MSU for taking away rhythm, I guess. And lots of bad misses too. Thankfully we picked up the defensive intensity and didn't let MSU get too far in front.
I wish we had more answers for the doubles on Dickinson. We need to punish teams for sending an extra guy on him down low. HD is one of the best big man passers in the country and he does well to get the ball out if he has no shot. But it seems like a set play would be in order where if he gets a double then instead of forcing up a shot, he immediately kicks out and the ball (somehow) finds itself in a high leverage situation.
How stupid would it be to play Tarris and HD together for maybe 6 or 7 minutes per game? Basketball geniuses please chime in.
January 7th, 2023 at 11:38 PM ^
TWill is going to be great leading the 2nd unit. He needs to play selfishly, needs to put his head down and drive to the basket. Right now he's playing too tentative from the perimeter.
Baker should start at the 4. He's played big time ball, the spotlight isnt too bright for him. Tschetter isnt ready to start or play over TWill.
Not sure why Juwan gets stuck in his rotations, but I think he's really loyal to his starting 5. The 4 spot needs an adjustment, and I'd tell TWill to attack the basket, even if it ends up in a couple offensive fouls per game.
January 8th, 2023 at 8:55 AM ^
The problem with him attacking the basket is he has one move. Put head down, go right, then try a fade at the rim to get ball up over help.
January 8th, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
I'd have TWill work with Baker on the shot fake. Joey's turned that into a weapon for setting up a drive. And then add in a spin move if help comes over. I guess I just feel like TWill is going to reach his upside when he's attacking the basket consistently. Might take another year, but you want him going downhill, finishing at the basket & in position for ORebs. Also opens up the perimeter for the rest of the team.
January 8th, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
Anyone going to bite on a pump fake with a non shooting 4?
January 8th, 2023 at 10:05 AM ^
Twill tried to make a one leg, turnaround fade away on the baseline yesterday that may have been the most comical shot attempt he's executed. And apparently, that was just fine. That wasn't one of Juwan's vaunted sets.
January 8th, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
He has shot this before and it’s clear he works on this in his own time. Doesn’t seem like a great use of skill time but who knows.
January 8th, 2023 at 1:46 PM ^
I think we are being a little hard on the team for losing a game at Breslin. They weren't favored in the game and lost by about the predicted margin. Made a game of it in the 2nd half when they could literally have been blown out.
We are in a good spot in the BigTen. 3-1. Schedule sets up that we should be competitive for the title well into the season. I am not predicting a title but it still can be a fun and competitive season that sees us sneak into the NCAA.
The big change right now is that we need to find another shooter or else other teams will continue to replicate the formula of double or triple teaming Hunter and counting on the resultant 3-point shot being missed. Despite his game yesterday Baker remains our only +40% 3-point shooter and just is going to have to see more time at the 4.
January 9th, 2023 at 3:45 AM ^
Very few of the three point attempts were desperation heaves or shots put up early or out of the flow of the offense. Other than the last 7+ minutes of the first half, when they were forced to improvise given that their two primary ball handlers had picked up two fouls, the offense ran properly. It generated a boatload of wide open, uncontested threes, usually from passes from Dickinson or another inside player out of a double team. The shooter just missed the shot. Over and over again.
This is not Juwan Howard’s fault, other than the argument that he should recruit better shooters. However, these guys, plus the Duke transfer, were considered good outside shooters prior to coming to Michigan. For whatever reason, we were utterly incapable of making these good shot opportunities.
Not everything in football or basketball is a result of poor strategy or coaching. Many times, you can call the right play, have it executed to perfection, but the wide open shot clangs off the rim or the QB overthrows the wide open receiver.
Yesterday, our guys just couldn’t make shots. It wasn’t bad coaching. It wasn’t a result of being “out toughed” by MSU, as the idiot Detroit newspaper scribes maintained. If we only make 25% of those three point attempts, we win the game.