UM Hoops BTT 5 take aways
Good read from Dylan over at UM Hoops 5 takeaways from BTT (I'm sure many of you have already been there). Here's the cliff notes version:
This wasn't that unexpected
- M was 2nd in B1G in efficiency metrics, which are a good indicator for neutral court games, where M is 6-0 (5-0 against NCAA tourney teams)
DJ at the 5 is here to stay
- At halftime DJ tells Beilein "I want Happ"
Derrick is Kemba-ing
- Already plenty of comparisons to 2014 UConn and Kemba Walker (see previous thread)
Zak is back
- Last five games: 14.8 ppg, 22-31 on twos, 9-22 on threes, best defender
Definsive improvement is legit
- 265 defensive possessions in BTT, 258 points allowed (0.97 points per possession)
These all bode well for the NCAA tourney.
Edit: fixed title
until that windmill dunk... i mean layup that he pulled off at the end of the game... ;)
That was..weird. Also weird: His alley-oop layup that Irvin tossed up for him. Crazy athletic that he got that to drop.
I thought the alley-oop lay-up was impressive--it didn't look like he had any chance to put it in. The announcers were weirdly nonchalant about it. I was wondering if maybe I had overestimated the degree of difficulty, but on replay it still looked like a tough, tough shot.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^
I know! Did they even raise their voices? They were just like, "And there is DJ Wilson again, doing the little things."
March 13th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
I think it probably didn't look as difficult as it was from the floor. The TV angle showed how far past the basket he was when he let it go.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
That's probably right. On TV it was clear that his momentum was taking him past the basket and the pass was a little late, so he had to twist his body for the awkward lay-in. Both that shot and the aborted dunk looked pretty awkward, and in both cases I was pleasantly surprised that the ball went in the hoop.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^
If you want to talk about development, I don't think I've seen a player at UM make the jump like Wilson did from being almost non-contributory to what he is today, a legit NBA prospect. Of course Trey, Stauskus, GRIII, etc made huge strides, Wilson is the most impressive difference to me.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^
one thing being more consistent. He still has quiet games where you hardly notice him and that can't happen next year. It looks like yesterday he was making progress with putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hoop. If he develops that part of his game, watch out.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
I want what's best for him, of course, but "at least" is what the UM fan in me is hoping.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
You know, he is beginning to inch into that class of players where I am pretty sure he'll be approaching 30 years old and I'll still be sitting here saying, "No, one more year - I think there's still some room for improvement". It's not necessarily a bad problem to have so long as you can find Hummel-esque ways to extend eligibility that do not involve injuries.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
Being a prospect and needing another year to develop aren't mutually exclusive.
I don't think I've seen a player at UM make the jump like Wilson did from being almost non-contributory to what he is today, a legit NBA prospect.
No "almost" about it - as a freshman he averaged 0.4 ppg and shot 25% from the floor in less than five minutes per game, before being shut down for the season.
If we look again at the much-criticized 2014 recruiting class, all five of those guys (Wilson, MAAR, Dawkins, Doyle and Chatman) have been starters for us. Three did end up transferring. Still, Wilson and MAAR are two valuable pieces to the puzzle.
As for the 2015 class, it consisted of Wagner and Robinson (transfer) - two more quality players.
Beilein may not sign that many top 50 recruits but his recruiting classes usually end up pretty respectable in retrospect.
Good post.
Now if he could just speed up that development a little bit.
Wilson has made the largest jump but Caris made a quantum leap as well. And it's easier for guards to contribute early than big men. As a freshman he only played 10 min a game and average 2.3 ppg (while shooting a massive 31% from the field) and much of that was concentrated in about 8 games.
What's nice here is this is the first "big man" we are seeing this jump from - yes other guys improved but not like this. Most of Beilein's blossoms have been guards/wings. Granted he is not your tradional big man but this has a frank Kaminsky feel to it .. a big man with a legit outside game - he who averaged 1.8 ppg as a freshman and blossomed.to 13.9 as a JR and 18.8 as a SR.
Wagner, too.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:29 AM ^
I understand that he worked with our big men, and Wagner/Wilson are the main difference between BTT champs and being a #1 seed in the NIT. Does this mean Bacari brought them a long way before his departure or was he a hindrance? I'd like to think they wouldn't be where they are right now without Bacari's coaching before he left.
The article does a good job of giving credit to Billy Donlon for tweaking the defense to be much more effective. Not only does Donlon deserve credit for defensive improvement (less than 1 per possession for the tournament is ... pretty damned impressive), he deserves credit for his hops.
His run-and-bump (i.e., back-to-back or shoulder tap) elevation was impressive for a 40 year-old. You could see that the players really like Donlon, and he's done great work with a squad that early in the season underwhelmed with its defense.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
find a coaching job somewhere. He was unfairly fired at Wright State after winning 20 games. I'd imagine that he'll be on a short list for most of the mid-major schools.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
If I just fired a coach and had a flailing program, I'd certainly look at him now. What he's done for this team is top notch big league coaching.
The growth of our defense within the span of a single season is remarkable. We all saw what this team looked like in the non-con and early part of the Big 10 slate. Under 1PPP in the Big 10 tournament playing teams like Purdue and Wisconsin? You've got to give credit.
And I'm so happy to see Irvin back. 21 points on 9 shots yesterday is awfully efficient. If he's playing that well Fri/Sun, Michigan becomes awfully difficult to beat. There's no one on our offense that can't hurt you when Irvin's shots are falling.
I was at the game, our defense was great. Especially our perimeter defense. Every kickout was instantly defended with a hand in the face and a hand around the ball.
There were not a lot of easy looks for Wisconsin off of post kickouts, which is how teams like Wisconsin and Purdue usually kill us. Many of Wisconsin's shots that did go in were tough shots under duress. Nothing you can do about those.
March Michigan versus January and even February Michigan on defense is like night and day.
This team is (finally) fully operational.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^
March 13th, 2017 at 11:05 AM ^
to the rest of those in attendance for the tremendous noise and cheering. I really think the fans there made a difference for the team.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
Happ really wasn't a factor because Michigan's team defense was very good
FIFY
GO BLUE!!!
It appears that everyone has grasped and now knows their role within this team. I am not going to list the whole team but a couple guys are Derrick Walton, Mark Donnell, MAAR, and DJ Wilson.
Since the Minnesota game, Walton has taken his game to a whole new level and accepted the role as this teams leader. Mark Donnell, although not always offensively effective, has grinded in the post and given opposing bigs a hard time during his limited minutes. MAAR seems to be our "steady eddie" making the right cuts, drives, and playing good D on 1,2, or 3s. Lastly and most importantly, DJ Wilson has evolved into arguably our best player. At 6'10" 240, the man child has all the skills to be one of the best in the B1G.
Obviously, each has flaws as well but damn... I like this team.
Go Blue!!! Beat OSU!!!!
Was at all 4 games this week, and while Walton deservedly got a lot of the props and the tourney MVP award, the leadership emanating from Irvin was palpable. Two great seniors who wouldn't let their team be denied
They couldn't prevent Minnesota from getting to the rim. I think they're lucky Minnesota is a craptastic outside shooting team.
That was also the 3rd game in three days. Which end of the court do you expend more energy on, offense or defense?
I like how this post denigrates Michigan's defense in a game where Minnesota gave up 1.20 points per possession by allowing their opponent to shoot 54% from the floor and 68% from two.
But yeah, Michigan was lucky to win.
The Big Beautiful Tournament?
March 13th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
...yes it was a Big Beautiful Tournament.
Thanks, fixed the title. I should not have posted after midnight, because nothing good ever happens after midnight. lol
March 13th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
Noteworthy: The team did a great job defending while staying out of foul trouble, especially in the post. I'm not sure anybody finished with even 3 fouls.
We weren't having to play 20 minutes without Wagner and Wilson.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
Refs let both teams play, which definitely worked to our advantage. There was a lot of contact down low that went uncalled on both sides. That's what's frustrating about officiating, we could've played that exact same game and both Wilson and Wagner would have been in foul trouble the entire second half.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
March 13th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
"Michigan played 265 defensive possessions in Washington D.C. and allowed 258 points. That’s just .97 points per possession and that’s a hell of an effort for a team that looked so defensively challenged a couple of months ago."
That is the reason we won the thing. The defensive pressure we put on teams broke them down. We apply that to the NCAA and we can beat nearly any of the teams in the tourney