condiment songs
MGoTheater 3000 Note: Michigan vs. Kansas, 2013 Sweet Sixteen, tonight, 8 pm ET, here on the front page and at twitch.tv/mgoace.
Today's basketball mailbag, as the title indicates, contains some indispensable information. I got enough questions to break this into two parts, so if you don't see yours here, there's a good chance it's running later this week.
Which team wins:
— Koernelius (@DJKoerndawg) March 24, 2020
Five Nik Stauskas's vs Five Mo Wagners
I hoped by sleeping on this question it'd be easier to answer. I was very wrong!
I assume we're going with the best version of each player while they were at Michigan. Wagner obviously has the edge in size while Stauskas gains an advantage in athleticism. Both can really shoot; Stauskas is the better outside marksman while Wagner has an array of post moves. The team of Stauskases (Stauskae?) will move the ball better and base an offense around isolations and a lethal pick-and-pop. The Wagners offense won't be as pretty, though it'll still feature some pick-and-pop.
It comes down to this: will the greater offensive skill and ball movement of the Stauskae overcome a rebounding advantage for the Wagners? In the end, I think the Niks are a half-step too quick.
Five Duncan Robinsons?
— Jonathan Moore (@jadamsmoore) March 24, 2020
Today's Duncan Robinson would make this really difficult—or perhaps not, he may just take it—as he's developed into one of the NBA's most dangerous shooters in Miami. While he was undoubtedly a great shooter at Michigan, he didn't possess the ability to hit shots on the move that he does now—he was a pure spot-up guy.
Since I'm, uh, sensing a theme, let's lean all the way into it. Top Ten White Guy Fives rankings since the start of the Beilein era:
- Nik Stauskas
- Mitch McGary
- Moe Wagner
- Iggy Brazdeikis
- Zack Novak
- Franz Wagner
- Duncan Robinson
- Stu Douglass
- Jon Teske
- Spike Albrecht
Being particularly large or small is a disadvantage here, with apologies to Teske and Spike. Mitch McGary may not have the outside shot of his counterparts, but his combination of offensive skill, defensive disruptiveness, and ability to bring a high level of energy put him above Wagner for me. If he played a little more in control, I'd have him above Stauskas, but the latter made too few mistakes.
Franz Wagner has the potential to move up very high on this list, which is an essential one indeed.
[Hit THE JUMP for more silliness, then some actual basketball analysis, then maybe a little more silliness.]
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