#FreeFrankie
This is a bit of a snowflake post, but what the hell has Jones done this year to deserve the minutes? When Collins is in the game, he is attacking, and either going to the hoop, or kicking out to open players, which gets the offense moving.
Get Frankie some minutes Juwan!
November 26th, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
Yup. Was responding (or meant to respond) to the reply saying it was about Castleton not wanting to sit behind Dickinson (remember, Dickinson didn’t even start last year, it wasn’t a guarantee, and Castleton would have gotten plenty of minutes, especially with his ability to defend 4’s/play on perimeter on D).
I agree with your statement tho
November 24th, 2021 at 9:24 PM ^
Jones is not a Big Ten guard. Juwan is better going with the young guys
November 24th, 2021 at 9:59 PM ^
Agree. Play the youth. Let them learn Ave next year's team will be so much stronger
November 24th, 2021 at 9:26 PM ^
Yeah, I'm glad someone else beat me to it. I dont see Jones contributing anything that Frankie couldn't match. We also need to start Diabate over Johns.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:27 PM ^
It is funny how all you guys think you know more about basketball then Juwan and his coaching staff. Yes D. Jones doesn't look good but he also was a potential candidate to make it to the NBA last year. He has talent but also I think he is having a hard time adjusting to his new role. I hope over this little break they get some things sorted out. out. ZEB needs to play he has length and can shoot and has great athleticism. We have a long way to go before tournament time. Look at UCLA last year barely made the tournament and was a hail Mary away from going to the championship game. So all of you guys thinking you are better at knowing this team the Juwan gtfo it is absurd. Everybody on here was praising how good he was then the season start and he all of sudden isn't a good coach. We lost a stud defensive player having a great rookie season. Another great player who was a senior and was drafted. Mike Smith and Brown both on two way contracts. Smith might not be anymore but he was. So that is 3 great 3 point shooters and 3 of the best defensive players every to play at Michigan. I thought Jones would be better than Smith but so far I am wrong. Jones need to quit making stupid fouls so he can get some run and get use to playing with these guys. Also it doesn't matter who starts it matters who finishes and plays the most minutes.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:38 PM ^
sorry, but jones can barely make it up the court when pressed. that is not going to get better. he is too slow to play PG. this team's only hope is for collins or jackson to take over PG asap and be ready to play quality bball come january. giving starter minutes to jones will only slow the process and lower this team's ceiling.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
This is my favorite response so far. Yes, we are underachieving, but there is a long way to go. I know it wasn’t perfect but I was happy to see Houstan filling make some shots and record a double double. Some of these freshman just need to see first hand how D1 ball is played. We may not be a 1 seed team this year but we are far from panic mode.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
I do think Jones has talent. But it’s telling that he thrived last year in an off ball role. He’s a better shooter off the catch than pulling up and he’s better at getting downhill with a simple read against a rotating defense than trying to run an offense. He’s not natural PG; if he was best off ball in a worse conference, why would we expect him to be better on ball in Big Ten?
Let him play the MAAR off the bench. Defense, slashing from off ball, occasional PnR’s. You can even play him starter’s minutes. But right now asking him to run the offense just doesn’t seem like a great fit for his skillset
November 24th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
Yes, thix team can still be very good, but not with a serious come-to-Jesus adjustment of minutes by Howard. Collins should start and play 15-25 minutes, and Jones shouldn't play more than 15 minutes until he proves he values the basketball; if he doesn't, give more minutes to Collins or Jackson.
Houstan played fine, with 14 pts on 7 shots, along with 10 rebounds. Still, 30 minutes should be his max; I have no idea why Juwan is giving him elite player minutes. Diabate -- at least 25 minutes, and more if he's not tired.
The pieces are there; Juwan just needs to be more rigorous about putting them together.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:56 PM ^
Let's be honest, if he were a real NBA talent he would not have trouble adjusting to this role in the way that he has (panicky turnovers, loose ball handling, clumsy fouls in no-mans-land, etc.). No one is suggesting they can coach this team better than Juwan. That said, it does appear the coaches' decision making related to minutes have to be based on preconceived notions, because it can't be based on what has happened on the court. Devante Jones has been a liability since the Seton Hall game. So has Johns and so has Houstan. Other guys deserve a longer look, especially Frankie Collins, who proceeded to play zero minutes in the second half tonight. It's reasonable to question that without asserting any random poster on the blog could coach this team better.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
I do agree that Collins not playing in the second half was confusing and keeping Jones in for the whole half was odd. Think he might have been trying to get Jones some confidence but if Jones continues to play this way then Juwan needs to make a change with the point guard. Just use this time to see who the best players are then after the New Year he should have a more permanent rotation. But John's has talent but his problem is all mental. Our expectations before the season we're to high and that is why we are disappointed. We were ranked to high coming in thinking we could replace those 4 players without any drop off. Those guys were just special and awesome and lacked no confidence.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
Does the NBA offer roster spots to PGs who turn the ball over and spend a huge amount of time on the bench in foul trouble?
November 25th, 2021 at 11:47 AM ^
I agree, but people here have to loudly express their frustrations, even if they don't understand. Same as all the shit Harbaugh has caught the past few seasons, very few "fans" are capable of thinking critically. It is what it is, they will never learn... just react. Then when proven wrong, they find something else to bitch about.
Unhappy fools.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:28 PM ^
This team isn’t good, and the ceiling is middling, but I sure as hell hope they get there. Everyone sees the issues out there, save the head coach. Either you will see the rotation move or then will be quite bad and possibly lose a guy in the portal who watches guys make error after error without getting any run in their spot
November 24th, 2021 at 9:37 PM ^
Still gave you an upvote because I agree with the second half of your post, but Howard sees this too, I wonder if he is trying to get the experienced player to gel thinking it leads to more success later? But the ceiling is above middling, not sure we will see it at this rate though. Keep working boys and go blue
November 24th, 2021 at 9:28 PM ^
Him and Kobe need to play WAY more. Another disturbing thing I've noticed is that in every game pretty much, Michigan has not been able to dictate their style on the opponent, every team does whatever they want and Michigan tries to weather it.
Frankie needs to be developed since he seems to facilitate better than Jones and he'll improve much faster than Jones.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:30 PM ^
Jones is not a Big Ten guard. Juwan is better going with the young guys
November 24th, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^
walk ons CJ Lee and David Merritt were better than jones.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:35 PM ^
No kidding! I was texting my friends this all night. I understand experience but Frankie played a great first half, no reason he leave him there specially while the lead shrunk to 3. I understand the growing pains, and maybe it will be jones by season end, but Collins deserves run right now. Also, why did bufkin have a healthy scratch?
November 24th, 2021 at 9:37 PM ^
If Frankie the new JJ McCarthy? /s
i have to imagine Frankie hasn’t shown enough in practice for Howard to trust him in high-leverage situations. But he’s the only natural PG on the roster.
A couple of years back, a talented Michigan team sputtered out of the gate, including a blowout loss in Chapel Hill. They also had no certainty at PG, with a sophomore Zavier Simpson, a freshman Eli Brooks, and grad transfer Jaaron Simmons all getting minutes.
The team improved when Simpson put a stranglehold on the position. And like Collins, he was a natural PG who could run PnR and score. I actually think Collins is already a better shooter, but he has similar dynamic ability in pick and roll that Jones just lacks. This is the bigger issue to me than the foul trouble. They will get Jones to play smarter on D, but the inability to beat pressure defense and run sets is a more glaring issue.
And as much as I love Eli, he’s better suited to play off ball. Not only does this play to his strengths and not force him to constantly create against athletic POA defenders, but it gives Michigan more spacing due to his shooting ability.
Michigan’s best hope is for Collins to take over that position.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:45 PM ^
I also think some of the hate towards Houstan is misplaced. He still had some defensive lapses but he had a big play on defense late, switching onto a guard, staying with him (one of the few times I’ve seen him get in a stance, it’s no coincidence) and come up with a huge block. Also got open for a three in transition but Jones missed the simple read and dribbled to nowhere and a TO.
When Michigan can run offense and get him the ball he will look much better. He’s also one of the few people capable of throwing an entry pass. He wasn’t perfect but he wasn’t the main or even secondary reason Michigan struggled tonight
November 24th, 2021 at 10:02 PM ^
he's a freshman and he must get big minutes. we need him to get to the level of his ranking in order to have any realistic shot at making a good run.
November 25th, 2021 at 1:01 AM ^
Houstan will improve but he's been awful. He has lapses on defense constantly, he fell asleep on defense in the paint and let the guy cut straight to the hoop for an easy lay up. He's really bad defending on the ball, and his rotations are terrible. On offense, you're right he is a good passer. He also passes up open catch and shoot 3s to dribble and turn the ball over. When he does shoot 3s he misses, a lot. He will get better, but that's also not saying much because he's been terrible.
I understand playing him so much because you need him to get better, but there's no reason to play him that many minutes, because he's not doing anything with it. His first game was his best game and he's had multiple games where he's shot under 20%. That's not just bad for a freshman, it's bad for a top 10 guy playing with multiple 1st round picks for years and the best high school basketball in the country.
I think he will figure it out on offense eventually, I don't know about his defense because he was never a good defender in scouting. At the moment he is awful and he doesn't do anything well except pass, but that's not worth the amount of minutes he plays.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:48 PM ^
Jones makes me miss Mike Smith so far. It's early.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:55 PM ^
I completely agree with everything people are saying except the idea that Juwan somehow isn’t seeing something after multiple practices and game film that we’re somehow seeing after several cocktails and one watch of a game or two.
I assume there is some kind of method to the madness or theory of player development that Juwan is practicing but there is no doubt that Johns and Jones appear totally lost.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:56 PM ^
What Juwan's doing is trying to show faith in the upper classman he brought in to run the team. But the time could come, and quickly, where he just has to let Frankie, Kobe, and Moussa play, even if it means losing some games, or a less-than-hugely-successful year. He's consulting with some people who are far smarter than you and I about that, though. I'll defer that decision to Mr. Howard. :)
November 24th, 2021 at 9:58 PM ^
The bright side to DeVante's slow start is we answered the question of who should be the backup PG.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
Could not agree with this more. This team desperately needs a point guard to run our offense successfully. As it stands right now, Jones will not get us to the tournament. Unless their is vast improvement soon, I would go with the two freshman. Also, why didn’t Bufkin play at all?
November 24th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
Posted this under the other thread. Jones can't dribble or pass. Might as well play Frankie. He may develop throughout the season and he already brings more energy ,speed and bounce. Might lose some tough games through the season , but we are definitely going to do that with Jones. If Howard and staff can't see this it's a big problem.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
Lol. Fuck Ohio bball too. Tough break.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
Florida had a fun victory over OSU. Alley-opp to tie it with about 37 seconds left and then a 28-footer at the buzzer to win.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
I think the team is in a funk, but reading some of these comments…Jesus, did anyone watch the Oakland game last year?
November 24th, 2021 at 11:19 PM ^
Yes and that game was bad. But as bad as it was this team looks waaaay worse. And jones is completely lost out there in a way that Smith never was.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
This team is clearly not last year’s team. Plus, this team already has 2 losses. Last year’s team didn’t lose until January. Last year’s team wasn’t destroyed before the Oakland game. Last year’s team had outside shooting. Last year’s team could get the ball to Dickinson.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:02 PM ^
33% from 3 still not good . We flat out can’t shoot from outside
November 24th, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
I don't understand the guard rotation at all. Even if Jones improves and becomes the guy we all want him to be we still need two more guards. Having them on the bench mob doesn't seem helpful. As to Caleb, he's the only perimeter wing we have so we'll just have to hope he can play through it.
November 25th, 2021 at 1:10 AM ^
Jones should have the Simmons role at best. I don’t doubt his effort, he just isn’t the level of player Michigan needs at the point. We’ve been extremely lucky to witness elite PG play for a decade.
November 25th, 2021 at 7:51 AM ^
I agree with Craig Ross that this team may struggle to make the tournament. Yes they have time to fix things, but that time is getting shorter and things are not trending in the right direction. Where’s the leadership right now is a serious question that I have?
November 25th, 2021 at 7:52 AM ^
Has Jones even had a competent 5 minute stretch of basketball through 6 games? I feel bad for him. He is off to an absolute nightmare start.
What's worse is why then is he playing so many minutes?
November 25th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
By B1G play the lineup will (should) be Collins, 3li, Houstan, Diabate, Dickinson.
Jones can play stretches, so can Johns but neither are capable B1G starters.
November 25th, 2021 at 3:26 PM ^
One thing about college basketball is its a guards game and specifically a point guards game. Poor pg play will make everyone look bad. Houstan shooting is down because he doesn't play with a guard who gets him the ball in his shooting pocket. Dickerson can't get shots because the guards can't post feed at all. When the pg play picks up, the overall team performance will as well.
November 25th, 2021 at 3:55 PM ^
Jones continually floats passes. Against teams like seton hall and tarleton that just play relentless defense is just a recipe for disaster.