ignas brazdeikis

a master in chaos [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Previously: Part One, Part Two. If you're looking for the Rutgers preview it's here.

You're definitely going to want to at least read part two of this series, which explains the stats I'm using below and details the 2009-14 seasons, before moving on to the rest of this post. Ideally, you'll read part one, as well.

Now that you're caught up, let's get to it.

2014-15: Bad Wheels

Team Stats: 27.7% pick-and-rolls + passes (#36 in country), 0.911 points per play (#62)

The Ballhandlers:

  P&R Plays (Own Offense) PPP on Own Offense (%ile) P&R Plays (Passes) PPP on Passes (%ile) Total P&R Plays Overall P&R PPP. (%ile) Keep %
Spike Albrecht 65 0.815 (70%) 98 1.276 (92%) 178 1.092 (93%) 36.5%
Caris LeVert 87 0.644 (35%) 58 0.862 (34%) 145 0.731 (28%) 60.0%
Derrick Walton 52 0.635 (33%) 61 0.967 (54%) 113 0.814 (47%) 46.0%
Zak Irvin 60 0.783 (63%) 43 1.395 (96%) 103 1.039 (90%) 58.3%
MAAR 39 0.872 (79%) 19 1.737 (100%) 58 1.155 (96%) 67.2%

The Screeners:

  Pop Plays (%) Pop PPP (%ile) Roll Plays Roll PPP (%ile) Slip Plays (%) Slip PPP (%ile) Overall Plays Overall PPP (%ile)
Max Bielfeldt 12 (36.4%) 1.167 (88%) 19 (57.6%) 1.000 (30%) 2 (6.1%) 2.000 (—) 33 1.121 (76%)
Ricky Doyle 1 (3.6%) 2.000 (—) 26 (92.9%) 1.308 (74%) 1 (3.6%) 0.000 (—) 28 1.286 (90%)
Zak Irvin 9 (69.2%) 1.222 (—) 4 (30.8%) 2.000 (—) 13 1.462 (96%)
Mark Donnal 1 (10%) 3.000 (—) 9 (90%) 1.556 (—) 10 1.700 (99%)

I almost didn't include this season or the next because of Michigan's injury issues, then decided it was useful to see what happens when a team's two best perimeter players get hurt in the same season.

While neither Caris LeVert nor Derrick Walton were producing particularly well in the pick-and-roll before their respective foot injuries, we saw later that these injuries delayed breakouts into effective players—Walton, in particular, eventually became a great P&R ballhandler.

The players that remained were effective but one-dimensional. Spike Albrecht drove to pass. Zak Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman hunted shots off of screens. Irvin, defying reputation, struck the best balance between shooting and passing, and he was a very effective passer. Only MAAR was above-average at generating his own offense off of screens, though.

Derrick Walton's foot injury stunted a developing rapport with Ricky Doyle

Michigan was also working with a limited group of finishers. Ricky Doyle was the best roll man but was a roll man only. Max Bielfedlt(!) ended up with the most plays among screeners even though he was a 30th-percentile finisher on the roll; he salvaged decent efficiency with some pick-and-pop jumpers. If Zak Irvin was setting a screen, it was to pop or slip for a jump shot.

This marks the first season since 2008-09 that Michigan's pick-and-roll usage went down; they also slipped 40 spots in the efficiency rankings. This team was going to drop off with the departures of Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, and Jordan Morgan, then injuries made matters worse. Even if LeVert and Walton weren't high-level P&R ballhandlers at this point, their spot-up shooting could've helped.

Even with all that, Michigan's pick-and-roll offense ranked in the 83rd percentile by points per play. They weren't elite; they were still good. They just couldn't build the offense around it to the extent they had the previous year.

2015-16: Bad Wheels 2

Team Stats: 30.5% pick-and-rolls + passes (#22 in country), 0.923 points per play (#80)

The Ballhandlers:

  P&R Plays (Own Offense) PPP on Own Offense (%ile) P&R Plays (Passes) PPP on Passes (%ile) Total P&R Plays Overall P&R PPP. (%ile) Keep %
Derrick Walton 128 0.711 (44%) 120 1.000 (59%) 248 0.851 (51%) 51.6%
Zak Irvin 149 0.826 (68%) 98 1.306 (93%) 247 1.016 (86%) 60.3%
Caris LeVert 57 0.877 (77%) 62 0.855 (32%) 119 0.866 (54%) 47.9%
MAAR 67 0.910 (82%) 41 0.805 (24%) 108 0.870 (55%) 62.0%
Duncan Robinson 19 0.632 (29%) 17 0.647 (9%) 36 0.639 (14%) 52.8%

The Screeners:

  Pop Plays (%) Pop PPP (%ile) Roll Plays Roll PPP (%ile) Slip Plays (%) Slip PPP (%ile) Overall Plays Overall PPP (%ile)
Mark Donnal 12 (21.8%) 0.500 (12%) 40 (72.7%) 1.250 (60%) 3 (5.5%) 0.667 (—) 55 1.055 (60%)
Ricky Doyle 1 (2.9%) 2.000 (—) 30 (88.2%) 1.200 (54%) 3 (8.8%) 0.333 (—) 34 1.147 (73%)
Moe Wagner 3 (15.8%) 1.667 (—) 16 (84.2%) 1.375 (77%) 19 1.421 (95%)
DJ Wilson 9 (64.3%) 0.556 (—) 4 (28.6%) 1.500 (—) 1 (7.1%) 0.000 (—) 14 0.786 (24%)
Zak Irvin 9 (81.8%) 1.000 (—) 2 (18.2%) 0.000 (—) 11 0.818 (27%)

An unfortunate repeat, as Walton's previous foot injury sapped his ability to finish at the rim and LeVert—who'd improved considerably as a scorer off the high screen—again lost most of the season to a bad wheel.

Beilein increased the volume past where it had been in 2013-14 and the team's PPP slightly increased, though they came out worse compared to the rest of the country. Irvin was easily the team's best P&R ballhandler, continuing to pass at a high level while making enough pull-up jumpers to be relatively effective as a scorer.

some of those jumpers were rather important

MAAR pulled off a tough feat, averaging more PPP using his own offense than when he passed; that's very much a good news/bad news situation.

The roll men remained limited. This was the year Ricky Doyle seemingly lost the ability to catch and finish, so Mark Donnal ended up as the primary screener. Neither graded out particularly well. The center who did: enigmatic freshman Moe Wagner, who scored well as a roll man and flashed the ability to pop out and hit jumpers.

[Hit THE JUMP for Michigan exploring that a bit more.]

1 hour and 47 minutes

The Sponsors

This show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan nobody would get our jokes. Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, the University of Michigan Alumni Association, Michigan Law Grad,Human Element, Lantana Hummus, the Phil Klein Insurance Group, and a possible farewell to Peak Wealth Management, who is going to win our bracket thanks to State winning tonight so I'm not talking to him right now (but you still should).

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1. Speed In Space

starts at 1:00

Too much open practice? We've got families, Jim. The offensive line feels…good? We would take either right tackle—Jalen Mayfield killed a guy. This might be on our DL as well. Sainristil! Also might be on the D. But Black! That's almost certainly on the D. But Gattis and tempo and guys in space…this is real people.

2. Don Brown's Guys

starts at 35:56

Josh Metellus should move to free safety to make way for a hundred Daxton Hills. Backup cornerback is now on the list of concerns. Kemp can't hold up to Cesar Ruiz; maybe that's a Ruiz thing? Sad seeing McGrone on the next year team—had high hopes this year. Stock up: Aidan Hutchinson. Jeter looks fine. Hill and Ambry can't come off the field, unless they find more Dax Hills.

3. Iggy and Poole to the NBA

starts at 1:05:10

Well that sucks. What kind of NBA takes these guys and not Cassius Winston? What does Michigan do now? Can Mo Wagner pay his brother? Can he pay Lester Quinones?

4. Gimmicky Top Five Signs We'd Fly

Starts at 1:27:24

We went for douchey—like in our Twitter mentions for ideas for this douchey.

MUSIC
  • "God, Help Me"—Leah Blevins
  • "Lisztomania"—Phoenix
  • "The Christmas Hippo Song"—Gayla Peevey
  • “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS

It felt awful. It felt stupid. It felt ancient. It felt self-inflicted.

currently being courted by powerpoint [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Charity Bowl! Folks, a new challenger appears.

You know it is your destiny.

If Michigan wins and they go over 100k, Spencer has to mail me a toe! Probably. I haven't cleared this with him yet but he ate cheese so this is nothing. REMOVE SPENCER'S TOE, DONATE.

For the record this was not me. I am a happily married man.

In fact I have never tried to get a date with a powerpoint, largely because I didn't think of it.

Onwenu, placid. Mike Onwenu on the vast changes Josh Gattis is bringing to Michigan's offense:

For the offensive line, meanwhile, things haven’t been much different — at least not according to senior guard Michael Onwenu, who maintained that his role was still, “Blocking the, whatever pass or play, or whatever.”

But he, too, recognizes that things are different with the Wolverines now, and he, too, has embraced it.

“It’s cool and whatnot,” Onwenu said. “Change is inevitable, so you’re comfortable with anything.”

It takes a lot to move Onwenu. Eh? Eh? Get it?

[After THE JUMP: more NBA draft stuff, Cesar Ruiz stiffarm]

sometimes I think amateurism should be abolished, and sometimes I think professionalism should be abolished 

if I told you someone on the team screamed the guttural cry of the scottish warrior you would instantly guess who 

when the opening tip is a neat definition of the game 

Cassius Winston pass over Zavier Simpson

It's insane, but not nearly as insane as whoever picks the real teams.

old school is in session

Charles Matthew and Michigan met halfway, and both are better for it.

if the dudes ever show up at the same place at the same time it'll be quite a crew 

a balanced performance holds off Rutgers, which is Legitimately Feisty 

they booed until they could boo no more 

different day, same feeling that your hair is actually the nodules of an alien beast