April 10th, 2020 at 12:29 PM ^
Dejulius was the backup looking for more PT and notoriety. Smith had this PT and notoriety, but at an Ivy League school. He probably wants a shot at playing for a bigger program, even if it's in a smaller capacity.
Also, DDJ was a sophomore this year while this is Smith's 5th and final year.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:46 PM ^
If all goes well he'll be the Mike Danna of basketball.
Dejulius should go to Syracuse. He can be Orange Dejulius.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:30 PM ^
Smith probably wants to be on a P5 team for his final year with a chance to win at a high level. His ceiling at the P5 is more of a backup PG for 15 min a game role, and he's okay with taking that.
DDJ wants to play. His ceiling is a guaranteed starting role at a high level P5 school (he's not there yet but could get there with playing time and development). He decided he'd rather go somewhere where he's going to be guaranteed/have a much better shot of major playing time rather than the probable 20 MPG he'd get here. Which makes sense if he wants to go pro long term.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
Generic name of the century!
Right up there with Tom Jones.
...and "Mean Joe".
The uncle of Mike Jones.
...nope! Honor goes to former great Cornhusker rb I.M.Hipp!
April 10th, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
We are one move away from having a preseason top 5 team. Not that preseason polls matter, but I would find it hard to believe that if Michigan has: Christopher, Wagner, Livers, Todd, and several other good role players, that they would be anywhere below #5.
It would definitely be ludicrous if they aren't top 10.
"Not that preseason polls matter"
Then...
"It would definitely be ludicrous if they aren't top 10"
?
There's a difference between them mattering and them being bad. Also, I never said they didn't matter to me personally. I probably care about them than I should
April 10th, 2020 at 12:37 PM ^
Coming from Columbia, there should be no question at all regarding his academic credentials (as with current walk-on and Columbia transfer Jaron Faulds).
April 10th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
I watched video on Smith from You Tube clips. He’s very quick side to side and has a very good step back inside the lane. He is a very good free throw shooter and can shoot the 3. He protects the ball very well and because he is stop and go and stop and go, he gets in the lane at will. I think he is a much better shooter from the lane than Simpson. He will draw a ton of attention from defenders when he starts getting into the lane. He shoots the 3 better than Simpson so defenses won’t be able to sag back towards the basket as much as they did the last couple of years. Just my perspective. Looks like a good player. Don’t kill me for this but his game is a lot like Cassius Winston.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
That was quick!
April 10th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
Looking great.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:50 PM ^
Can he put on 150 pounds & play DT?
April 10th, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
Asking the real questions
Juwan prefers positionless 300+ pounders.
April 10th, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
22.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 30 games (all starts) for the Lions in 2019-20.
One can only believe that Juwan is building a roster with a must win-now mentality, knowing that turnover is the only thing you can count on in the college game. Because he will be replacing most if not all the component parts of the team he is currently assembling to play next season.
The departures of Caselton and DDJ suggest this coach is not in the future development end of the coaching business, which only makes sense given his own background and college experience. But winning is about meshing the right talent with the right attitude to perform well together with the best chemistry possible in the short term. And we should have no illusions this is the direction of the program whether you like it or not.
The portal giveth and the portal taketh away. Welcome to the squad Mike!
At worst he’s another Jaaron Simmons, who played a vital role in a NCG run. Best case? He’s our starting PG allowing for Brooks to play more off ball and shoot 40% from 3.
I agree with you here with one major caveat: Simmons did not have a vital role in the NCG run. Just did a quick check and he averaged 8 mins, scoring 1.5 PPG. If we used a scholarship on Smith and he averages these kinds of numbers next year, I would not call that a success. I think we make the 2017 run with or without Simmons.
Simmons may have saved the Montana game. I think we were down 10 and he made three straight buckets.
We probably win but certainly played a key role Z in the bench most of the 1st half.
Just did a quick check and he had 6 points in that game in 14 mins of play. I suppose you could say he had some effect on that game but he literally had two games in a Michigan uniform with 6 points or more: that game and the last game of the regular season, in that blowout win over Maryland.
Point being, if what we got with Simmons is what we get with Mike Smith, I think we could do better. But hey again, maybe he'll end up being awesome and then we all win!
DDJ this year > Simmons.
I think losing DDJ was a bad thing. I thought his next two years were going to be fun to watch him grow his game. He had some nice flashes.
Here is hoping Smith is an upgrade.
Hell it turns my stomach but he would likely start at MSU next year. They are in serious need at pg.
Totally agree with that. I respect DDJ's decision but I'd much rather have DDJ and not Smith. At least with DDJ we know what we're getting. But I'm naturally a pretty risk-averse person.
MSU didn’t make his top four. Loyer probably black balled him.
If smith shows he can play defense , that would already be a step ahead off DDJ after two years . Love DDJ , but the way Juwan wants to play defense wasn’t what DDJ showed at times
2020-21 Lineup (assuming Livers comes back)
1: Brooks/Smith
2. Christopher
3. Wagner
4. Livers
5.Davis/Dickenson
(Livers stays in draft Todd starts at the 4)
Off the bench you will have:
Brooks or Smith at PG and maybe a little Zeb
At the 2/3 you will have Brooks/Smith, Bajema, Nunez
At the 4 you have Todd, Johns, Williams
At the 5 there is Davis/Dickenson
This is a NC level team
I don’t see anyway Todd is gonna come of the bench considering how much theoretical upside he has. That’s why my logic is Todd is waiting to see what livers decides. If livers leaves Todd stays if livers comes back I think he gone. Either way we really don’t need both guys with johns as a legitimate backup. Obviously it would be wonderful to have both. My hope is that livers gets drafted and receives a well deserved contract and Todd comes in and shines!
Not unhappy about a PG that shoots 81% free throws. Juwan it, jugot it!!
GO BLUE!!
Does he realize he can’t buy paint?
Year 2 and this team will be almost entirely made up of Juwan Howard recruits. Not ideal to happen that quick but considering the talent coming in I’m not in the least bit concerned. Christopher commits on Monday and we are set for 2020-2021