What needs to happen next year to make another run?
So not many expected this team to win the Big Ten and make the elite 8. If we want to replicate that success next year, what needs to happen? Here are a few of my thoughts.
1. Dickinson needs to become dominant. I think we have seen a guy with potential to be a dominant center, but also a guy who looked like a freshmen a lot this season. Another year under his belt, developing a right hand, and an ability to hit an elbow jumper will go a long way. If he can develop into a guy that averages 17 pts and 9 rebs a game and cut down on turnovers, our ceiling could be high next year.
2 Houstan takes over the Livers role capably. He is projected by some to be a lottery pick after his freshman year. He needs to be a guy that gets 13 pts a game, hits 40 pct of his threes and plays good D.
3. Brandon Johns becomes the senior leader. Johns will never be a star, but if he can hold down a starting spot and be a veteran leader who gets 8 pts and 6 rebs a game, I think we would take that.
4. Guard play. This right now is the big question. I think we saw that it is important in the NCAA tournaments to have a guard that can go out and get a basket. Maybe that guy will be Bufkin, maybe we will look for a transfer, maybe we get Eli Brooks back and he has a big final season. Maybe Collins comes in and is able to run the point right away. A lot of questions without answers right now, but we have plenty of options.
Overall, it’s hard to say if we can be as good next year as this year with this many?’s at the moment. However, in Juwanss first season we lost Iggy, Poole and Matthews and we were performing well above anybody’s expectations.I am confident he will make the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Better reffing, apparently
That was such a bad, tired take. Officiating had nothing to do with it. Plenty of times I thought Wagner or Dickinson could have been called for a foul on defense in the paint but they weren’t. Refs didn’t miss free throws or go 0-for-the-end-of-the-game.
People are really harping on the free throw thing. We were 6-11 for the game. So we missed out on five total points there, but teams don't normally shoot 100%.
A more normal normal game for us would be about 8-11. So two more points for us, in a game decided by one basket . . . but then again, their 91% FT guy (Juzang) uncharacteristically missed at the end of the game, too. So they lost an expected point as well.
In the end FT shooting wasn't that big of a factor.
Well we shoot 78% as a team and they shoot 72% yet we were the one who shot 55% for the game. If we just shot 8 for 11 which is 72%, that is overtime. Yes Juzang missed an uncharacteristic free throw but they also wouldn’t normallly shoot 6/7 either
We shot 76.9% on the season but that total includes Isaiah Livers shooting 87% , and of course he wasn't available yesterday.
It would have been nice to have made a couple more FTs but it was a very marginal factor in the outcome, basically the equivalent of one missed layup.
The much bigger factors were shooting 39% from the floor and committing 14 turnovers.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:02 PM ^
The free throws we should have made were the ones at the end of the game driving the ball while down by 1 in the double bonus instead of a 3pt shot five feet behind the line but what the hell do I know
Really? Did the refs stand in front of Hunter and Mike and cause them to miss 5 or 6 freethrows in what was a 1point game?
Don't think so.
Whoosh!!!
Bro... look one thread down. https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/reffing-was-hit-job-says-one-guy-getting-ripped-his-own-comments
Not exactly, but they were usually within 10 feet or so.
tweet!
foul on transfer portal. two shots.
Typing out reffing is kind of weird. From now on it's reffin'
Effin' reffin'!
XM on the black stripes.
Looking to T you up EQ...
Sorry for the politically incorrect joke. You know I love you!
Focus on basketball.
Hit our goddamn freethrows
Getting one of Brooks/Smith to come back would be nice, but also, Jackson and Williams are wild cards. Can they step up and become key players?
If Johns starts, I could see him score double figures. He's got good form on his shot (see his FT%) and can put the ball on the deck. It's all about confidence with him.
I agree. As we have seen with so many players in the past, I think Johns just needs a little more seasoning and regular minutes and his game should round out accordingly. With his size! Now is his time.
Johns plays such a different role then Livers... so when Livers went out They had to reconfigure their sets. However, by the end, with a reconfigured offense that has sets to maximize his abilities, I became impressed with Johns general level of play. What had been a huge weakness became a strength. An off season of work, and schemes, he could have a biiiiig year.
You can see Johns getting more confident, the more playing time he received. If he's a starter next year, he'll get even better. He needs to work on his first steps to the basket on drives, because he has a tendency to travel. Also, he needs to polish his 3 point shot, while working to be more consistent. Yesterday in the second half, he didn't seem to do much at all after a very good first half.
I definitely like what we saw from Williams. He'll be a clear contributor next year in my mind. Love his chemistry with Hunter. Zeb clearly has potential but looked like a frosh all year. Hope he makes a soph leap.
I have no evidence to prove you wrong. But what evidence do you have that Williams will be more than just a guy? He hasn't shown much offensive range.
A lot of optimism is based on what Terrance Williams did in HS. He has game. But it takes a lot of freshman some time to realize what they can do and can't do at this level.
Someone like Hunter Dickinson is rare. I doubt even the staff fully knew how good Dickinson would be this early in his career.
Johns really needs to work on his 3. You almost can't play with only 3 outside shooters and the lack of spacing after Livers really hurt. Umhoops talked about this. FSU extended their defense so Michigan could still carve them up. Ucla defended the paint and dared Michigan to shoot from outside. They don't need to go back to Beilein but they shot so few 3s lately and didn't make a lot either.
He really just needs to shoot more of them.
He's a career 35% 3 point shooter.
It will all come down to guard play, I think. The increase in talent should largely mitigate the loss of experience everywhere else, I think, but not at guard. I am rooting hard for Smith and/or Brooks to return.
Smith, Brooks, AND Chaundee would be perfect.
problems solved.
You want all the freshman + Zeb to transfer?
Win the Game.
Rinse and repeat
For once, I'd encourage a Michigan athletic team to keep the status quo. Really need to work on the leadership of Zeb or whoever is going to run the PG spot should Smith leave. Should be gravy just about everywhere else.
Barring major injuries or sudden transfers, those who stay on this team will certainly be champions along the line. Feels good not to have to worry about the future of program. Football on the other hand...
Getting a transfer guard who can be "Mike Smith, but bigger & better."
That is a tall order (no pun intended) as Smith absolutely exceeded expectations until the last 5 games of the year. I mean, if you're a guard who is able to create his own shot, defend bigger guards, and make good decisions, you're likely 1) already on a very good team and not transferring or 2) declaring for the draft. The pickings will be slim.
Can Zeb Jackson make the leap and at least replace Brooks, if not Smith? Why not? He's quite talented. But we still need at least a solid PG.
More likely, we need to dominate and overwhelm with athleticism, size and good coaching -- essentially Florida State but better. I think that is certainly possible, but the freshmen will have to grow up fast, as they'll have a lot of responsibility.
Brendan Quinn dropped a tidbit that an all-B1G caliber guard has reached out to Michigan for transfer. The only one in the portal that makes sense is Marcus Carr. That would be an amazing get for Juwan if Carr wants to play there and if he can get through college credits for Michigan. That would mitigate the need for Frankie to be the man at PG immediately.
Feels like that's too good to be true but that would be amazing and a great fit. Still would be plenty of minutes for Zeb and Collins between the 1 and 2 and gives us a very good PG. Make that happen and I think we are right there in the group of B1G contenders.
That would be an absolute best case scenario -- he has some size and can create his own shot (occasionally to a fault).
Would need to get him back to last year's form, as shooting 31% from 3 point land, with volume, won't cut it and his ASST/TO was also a bit high, but if he's willing to buy into Juwan offering:
"Want a chance to win the B1G and a national title? You can, if you're willing completely buy in and average about 15 points a game and, most importantly, run my offense to make sure all the other talented players on the roster are involved."
then...yes please.
if he's willing to buy in
That's the big if for me that I'd be nervous about
I’d bet if he didn’t buy in he would find himself on the bench and maybe in the portal again. I’d say watch film of Mike Smith who was the man at Columbia and then see how he was used at Michigan and if you agree with that then come on.
I didn’t see this but he could have meant “a guard that plays at an all Big Ten level” rather than a guard already in the league.
Regardless, not sure he’s a fit, unless Juwan wants a more guard dominant team next year. Carr isn’t going to come here if Juwan wants a facilitator who is a secondary scoring option
Marcus Carr averaged 4.9 APG this season and 6.5 APG last season. His assist rate is 31.5% this season and 35.6% last season so he can be a distributor if he wanted to. His usage rate went up because the surrounding cast around Carr is a tire fire. Kalscheur got hurt and apparently forgot how to shoot. You see Gach, Johnson, etc. and you suddenly understand why he is who he is at Minnesota.
I'd be all in with Carr. Juwan may be smart to consider the transfer portal to upgrade several positions assuming some guys don't come back. Carr would be an upgrade I think. And I can see Juwan looking for a quality backup center to replace Davis. The portal is so huge this year and there are a lot of quality guys in there. Michigan should be a highly desirable destination for certain players.
Juwan currently has 1 roster spot open (Franz) so he can't recruit any more players unless a player transfer.
"all-B1G caliber guard" is definitely an interesting phrasing. Carr would make be great, but I would be scared that he wouldn't be able to embrace a more team oriented role in Michigan's offense
Could be Jacob Young from Rutgers too. Depends on how loose he is being with the phrasing.
I think we take a step back next year, still a top 5 team in the B1G, but definitely a step back. The team will have a lot of youth and lose production on both ends of the floor.
We said the same thing last year, that this team was going to be very average and lucky to get in the dance.
This team SHOULD take a giant leap FORWARD next year with the massive influx of talent, another year with Howard at the helm, and probably some good returning players.
If they fall backwards, I'd be bummed. Asking them to win another B10 title may be difficult, but this team should have F4 aspirations.
It's 2021. Youth is no longer an excuse. Plenty of teams have elite freshman.
At times, it felt Michigan was winning with a lot of smoke and mirrors this year.
It seems reasonable to assume that the team will not start out next year where it ended this year. But they could certainly improve a lot as the season progresses.
What's a "giant leap forward" from a Big Ten title and Elite Eight appearance? A national title?
Be realistic. We will almost certainly have some growing pains next year as we form a new rotation and get a lot of freshmen accustomed to college life. Hopefully we can get through them by March.
F4.
And a team that can realistically win the whole thing.
There was only a brief moment in time this season when I thought Michigan was capable of doing so. This team has been knocking at the door so many times of winning a title- it's time to take that step.
I spent much of the season thinking that we were one of the top 4-5 teams and definitely had enough to win it all. We may have more sheer talent next year but it will be undeveloped talent. Remember we are losing (presumably) two NBA players, plus three other very talented seniors, four if you count Davis. That's tough to replace.