Notes on basketball banquet
I had a chance to attend to the basketball banquet tonight, and thought I'd share some of what happened. Spike and Caris spoke, and both did a nice job. Spike said about his parents that "without them I wouldn't be here, literally", and added that Beilein told him when offering a scholarship that "you'll either make me look like a genius or get me fired". Caris was more serious, talking about and thanking his mom who raised him and brother alone after his dad passed away 6 years ago.
The awards included the standard (MVP, most improved etc), and joke awards, the players vote on. In the latter category, Spike got best dressed, DJ was named most likely to get married first, and Kam was voted both the best dancer and the player who talks the most but knows the least.
Zak was named MVP (I thought maybe it would go to Walton) and team leader, MAAR got most improved and the hustle award, and Walton got the rebounding and assists award. Aubrey got best 6th man, which made me wonder how much we'll miss him next year.
The video at end was a good summary of the ups and downs, and included a number of baskets by Ricky and Aubrey which I thought was classy given they aren't staying. And just a general observation is that the players looked like they were having a good time. When Beilein talked about Spike Derrick pumped his fist in support, and overall they seemed to be a tightknit group.
April 13th, 2016 at 10:03 PM ^
I won three different awards that were ticketed for "Underclassmen" because we had five members... and four of them were seniors.
April 13th, 2016 at 10:44 PM ^
of untapped potential.
When folks around here would say we have nothing but role players coming back, I'd point to Aubrey & Mo Wagner as two potential stars with ceilings far above their current production.
Well, now we have one.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^
Aubrey did not display anything this season suggestive of a potential star.
April 14th, 2016 at 12:29 AM ^
Too bad those skills aren't valued in modern basketball
by pointing out the two things he did really well?
Nobody is claiming he's a great player today, but he has skills, just as he has major flaws.
April 14th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
but necessary. The starting point for a lot of stars is being excellent at one thing or more and developing the other stuff or mitigating a weakness. Thus "potential"
I don't disagree with you, but saying being athletic is something he did really well is like saying someone over 7 feet tall did a really great job of being tall. He was blessed with athleticism but unfortunately to this point, he hasn't found a great way to utilize that athleticism.
April 14th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
would also make you a potential star.
April 14th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
As would having superior athleticism. Again, I'm not disagreeing with you; Aubrey certainly has unbelievable athleticism. He just hasn't found a way to put it to good use. Same reason I brought up being 7 feet tall. It is great to be that tall, but if you don't utilize that ability, it really doesn't matter.
April 14th, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
but Dawkins did use it. He hit 50% of his 3s in Big Ten play this year and over the last 2 seasons has a higher 3% in conference than Robinson by a significant margin (on similar volume). He has been the best 3 point shooter on the team.
Obviously there are tons of holes in his game but you can't argue he isn't showing potential when he nails 3s at that rate and throws down jaw-dropping dunks.
He's not a good player today, but that doesn't mean he can't be a great one 2 and half years from now when he's still playing college ball. That's a long time. Dawkins could easily become an all-conference wing player and even get into the NBA as a 3&D guy if he can develops his defense attention, effort, and intelligence.
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April 14th, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^
you love missed dunks.
April 14th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^
he's Duncan Robinson?
April 14th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
But he is a potential star. The part about "potential" seems to be confusing people.
Dawkins is a great leaper, but I wouldn't necessarily say his overall athleticism is elite. His lateral quickness seems a bit suspect.
April 14th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
I have the same impression.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:01 PM ^
April 14th, 2016 at 12:31 AM ^
Last year was up for debate but this year it was pretty clear cut. 3 is damn impressive if it happens.
It's a shame so many have already judged Zak based on the team's struggles the last 2 years and the CPOY-expectations that Stauskas/Burke/Hardaway/Morris created.
He should be healthy next year. It's easy to forget that he wasn't fully recovered this season. Beilein warned us that he wouldn't be and his early season shooting woes made me wonder if he could even be an effective player.
If his back gets to 100%, he should be able to work out through the off season and be in peak form for next year. Definitely has a shot at the 3-peat MVP.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:46 PM ^
April 14th, 2016 at 12:58 AM ^
wilson and wormley were class of '12
That's Jeremy Jackson. Wormley was still in high school then.
April 14th, 2016 at 12:27 AM ^
I think that actually happened. I think.
I'm pretty sure that's Jeremy Jackson and Stephen Hopkins.
April 14th, 2016 at 12:13 AM ^
How about "#Don't BeADick?"
That really had no place in this thread. You should know better by now.
April 14th, 2016 at 10:00 AM ^
I'm hoping the award Kam won regarding talking the most and knowing the least turns into talking the most and knowing what he's talking about and thus allowing him to be a defensive leader on this team. One of the very underrated things about Morgan was that he was a great at communicating on the back end and setting the rest of the defense. While the defense still wasn't great, it at least got them into position and allowed them to be respectable. That same sort of leadership needs to happen with this team in order to turn around the defensive woes. So hopefully he can take that step, considering it's often the most difficult thing to get guys to talk in the first place.
April 14th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
but if it happens, it will be when Kam is a senior in '17-18, because the senior leadership is so clear cut this upcoming season. It's going to be Walton and Irvin's team. They need Watson and Robinson to drain 3s, Wagner and Donnal to finish inside and play with great effort on defense, MAAR to lock down perimeter scorers, and Kam to stay within himself and not make poor decisions.
April 14th, 2016 at 10:12 AM ^
please do this! Unless there is a really good option at the wing, this is by far the best move. We need another guard and we need spike.