john beilein is diplomatic

THE ESSENTIALS

WHAT Michigan (15-5, 5-2 B1G) vs
Rutgers (6-14, 0-7)
WHERE Crisler Center
Ann Arbor, Michigan
WHEN 7 pm ET, Wednesday
LINE Michigan -22 (KenPom)
TV BTN
PBP: Joe Davis
Analyst: Jon Crispin

Right: Sadly, this was still less mean than including a picture of actual Rutgers basketball.

THE US

Caris LeVert still won't be in the lineup tonight, but John Beilein told the media yesterday that there's a timeline—one he won't reveal—for his return:

"Caris has had more testing," he said. "Things continue to go in the right direction, but he is not ready yet. We hope it is very soon, but he is moving in the right direction."

LeVert has not met with local reporters since sustaining the injury. Beilein has repeatedly declined to expand on the specifics, other than to say the program is being "overly cautious" and that it's a "lower left leg injury."

 

Of the aforementioned timeline, Beilein would only say, "For the first time we met and said, 'OK, let's start looking at this date.'"

Michigan plays Penn State at Madison Square Garden on Saturday; ideally, he could work his way back in that game and return to his normal role for next week's home games against Indiana and Michigan State, but that would be a best-case scenario at this point.

THE LINEUP CARD

Projected starters are in bold. Hover over headers for stat explanations. The "Should I Be Mad If He Hits A Three" methodology: we're mad if a guy who's not good at shooting somehow hits one. Yes, you're still allowed to be unhappy if a proven shooter is left open. It's a free country.

Pos. # Name Yr. Ht./Wt. %Min %Poss SIBMIHHAT
G 3 Corey Sanders Fr. 6'2, 175 80 26 Not Really
High usage, high turnover rate, decent outside shot, poor finisher.
G 5 Mike Williams So. 6'2, 190 68 23 Yes
Takes most threes on the team, hits... 28% of them.
G 2 Bishop Daniels Sr. 6'3, 185 64 24 Kinda
44/30/70 shooting splits, most attempts from two. Turnover-prone.
F 1 DJ Foreman So. 6'8, 230 65 19 Yes
Only 47% shooter, draws a ton of fouls but only makes 58% of FTs.
C 35 Greg Lewis Sr. 6'9, 245 52 17 Very
Decent rebounder and shot-blocker shooting woeful 37% FG, 45% FT.
G 31 Omari Greer Gr. 6'4, 180 46 18 No
A legit shooter! 44% from beyond the arc.
G 10 Justin Goode Fr. 6'2, 185 37 8 Yes
Tiny usage, pretty much only shoots threes, has made 6/26 on the year.

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