April 12th, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
Can we say Pittsburgh is racist so he can play right away?
April 12th, 2019 at 10:24 AM ^
Hahahaha
April 12th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
That would be an extremely easy argument to make.
Those Steeler fans have been known to get drunk and chant derogatory anti-Catholic remarks at the Duquesne students. Perfectly good reason to allow this young man to transfer to Ann Arbor, a safe haven for religious dissidents with a good jumpshot...
April 12th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
The Tate Martell waiver is far more egregious... "some personality clashes at the school" and coaching staff turnover were the justification cited by his attorney. If the new bar is that low, I don't see how any waiver is denied moving forward.
April 12th, 2019 at 12:39 PM ^
I'm pretty sure the Tathan waiver doesn't happen without the Fields waiver breaking the damn open. But I agree, any denied waiver at this point is inconsistency from the NCAA. Not that that would be particularly surprising either.
In all seriousness, why wouldn't he lobby for this? The NCAA has opened the door, in part thanks to Shea, for football to be immediately eligible. Why wouldn't basketball players at least try? The worst that happens is he has to sit.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:15 AM ^
There have to be a few guys out there just as good as him that would be eligible next year right?
April 12th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
I dumped it in another post last night, but the staff is also kicking the tires on Charleston Southern grad transfer Christian Keeling. 6'4 guard Averaged nearly 19ppg on 38% from distance last year to go along with nearly 3 assists. Hopefully a visit materializes. Will be eligible immediately
April 12th, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
Matt, thanks as always for the invaluable input you add to this site.
How do you rank the potential transfers (grad and regular) that Michigan currently is kicking the tires with?
April 12th, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
Always a pleasure to bring some inside info and evaluation with my fellow Michigan alums/fans and community in general.
I really can't put these guys into tiers since I don't know much about the grad transfers exclusive of Williams Jr.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
I really like this kid, he was at my high school before transferring to New Haven. Definitely can light it up, pretty certain he had a 40 point game this year. He is definitely a kid that can "go get a bucket". Something that our offense lacked this year. I think Beilein could work some serious magic with this kid. IMO, he compares to Caris LaVert. I really like his game and think that he could be a major player for us, his athleticism is crazy and he can spend a whole year working on his jump shot and hitting Camp Sanderson.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
You're an SC guy? Me too! Williams can definitely ball.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
Probably not from your day, graduated in 2003. I'm a staff member now though and was helping coach varsity girls basketball when Williams played there.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
I read on UMHoops (via Sam Webb) that Williams is seeking immediate eligibility, though I'm not sure on what grounds he would be basing that request.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
He's just going to slap a Tate Martell photo to his forehead at his hearing and say nothing at all.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
*Tathan
April 12th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
He could use the "everybody else is getting approved" argument.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
I was going to ask the question of what makes anyone think that immediate eligibility won't be granted to everyone regardless of how weak the reason just like in football. I thought the NCAA had pretty much gave tacit approval to open it up?
April 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Matt - Sam Webb mentioned a possible immediate eligibility petition here. Any idea on what the argument would be for that?
April 12th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
I'm not going to speak on that, it will likely go public at some point, but there's a reason for the mass exodus at Duquesne. Have no idea how things are going to play out with Williams' eligibility, but it may be possible for immediate eligibility.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
I knew something was up when three players were all transferring for what looked like no reason, on the surface, at least. Interesting to see how it all plays out, if Duquesne doesn't contest it, he should be able to get immediate eligibility, which would be awesome. Matt, I compared Williams to Caris LaVert in my post above. Is that a fair assessment? Do you see Williams game translating well to Beilein's offense?
April 12th, 2019 at 11:22 AM ^
I do think his game will translate to Michigan. 37% from distance on that volume (nearly 5 attempts per game) is legit, so he's going to be an adequate shooter. He doesn't have the on-ball shot-creating ability and shiftiness of a Caris Levert, nor the playmaking ability as a passer, but he's a better functional athlete. That translates to him being able to absorb contact better and get to the rim and finish. The part of his game that is extremely valuable, but not talked about, is the rebounding.
Physically, Williams Jr reminds me a bit of former Michigan standout Bernard Robinson Jr., with a better shot but less playmaking ability. I think Williams is likely a 2/3 at Michigan and a guy that would be a good fit as a 2nd/3rd option and perhaps a late shot clock guy since he can hit jumpers off the dribble.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
Matt D... been trying to page you... lay it out for us, who are the best two guys to take?
Pierce, Williams, Wagner, Quinnones, Beverly and everyone else, who do we take assuming all three guys for sure gone? Whats the pecking order and do you take a "less impact next year" guy vs a guy who has to sit out and contribute down the road? What is your estimation of most likely?
April 12th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
I don't know anything about Pierce and Williams, so my take is limited to Beverly and Quinnones.
Both Beverly and Quinnones would be great pickups for late Spring adds. I've never thought of Beverly as a particularly good fit, he basically has the skill of a SF in the body of a SG. He's average/slightly above average in a lot of skill facets (ballhandling, playmaking, shooting), but he is a very good athlete. The issue is that he doesn't handle it or playmake well enough to play the 1, doesn't shoot well enough to be the 2, and may be undersized for the 3 spot. That said, I've always been high on his defensive abilities and we could do a lot worse for a Spring add.
Quinnones is a much better roster fit considering his shooting and floor-spacing ability. He's not a shot-creator off the dribble and isn't a very good athlete, but he does have solid positional size and a defined role. I'd prefer him over Beverly a this point, but would be pretty happy with either as a late Spring pickup.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Thanks Matt
Thoughts on Wagner? is he a top 50 recruit? better for shot creation?
April 12th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
Much like Quinnones, Wagner is a good shooter with nice positional size. Much like his brother, he isn't a very good athlete and doesn't appear to be an on-ball shot creator. He'd be a nice pick-up, just don't know if there would be a ton of available minutes for him considering we have Teske/Castleton at the 5, Johns/Livers/Wilson at the 4, Livers/Wilson/Bajema at the 3. More of a long term project type IMO.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:24 AM ^
He is an offensive rebound machine with hops ! Him and Romeo seems together at New Haven were tough to beat
Not to thread jack, but what about looking at Jordan Brown, the 4/5 star kid from Nevada that just announced he is transferring. He was a High School All American, and at 6'10, could step right in at Center, something this team is sorely lacking after Teske. Didn't play a lot as a true freshman, but is immensely talented.
Hell, it appears Nevada's whole team is in the transfer portal, I believe its 5, even with Alford being announced as the new coach.
I'll take Castleton for JBs system.
And that is fair but after Castleton, what do we have at the 5? Chances are the Nevada kids aren't going to get that waiver, so he would have to sit out a year (but then again, who the hell knows with the NCAA).
But a 5 star caliber big man, why would we not go after that? What if Castleton doesn't develop the way we want? What if this kid is just flat out better than CC? Competition brings about the best in people, we shouldn't just anoint CC as the next guy, he needs to earn it. Not to mention, we have NO ONE behind CC....Earliest would be the 2020/21 season which would but us back in the situation we had this year, experienced 5 with a true freshman back up that probably isn't ready. Brandon Johns is not a Center..
We can talk about JB's system all we want, but the fact is as this years team proved, when the 3's aren't falling, we need to go inside, and we had no answer for that. Watch this kids tape, he has several moves down low and is also a willing passer. Far more advanced with his offense than Big John (not a slight against Teske, just is what it is). We can still play 4 out with a player like Jordan Brown, but now with a legitimate big man scorer down low, keeps from doubling our shooters and we would take advantage of the switching, something we didn't do against State and TT.
Just saying, Beilein should really take a look at this guy instead of another wing....
We don’t dump it down low for the big man to make post moves. So this kid makes no sense with the system.
Looks like Harlond Beverly is trending big for Georgia right now. Weve got some serious holes to fill this offseason, so hopefully we can pull in a few gems. With Quinones leaning Memphis and Beverly leaning Georgia, that is cutting down our targets down bigtime.