hoops game recaps
2014-15 arizona
in the face

Arizona 80, Michigan 53 Comment Count

Ace


In the face. (GIF via Vice Sports.)

For a reeling, young, undersized Michigan squad, Arizona represented one of the worst possible matchups.

It showed.

The Wolverines fell in a laugher, unable to deal with the Wildcats' imposing combination of size, skill, and athleticism. Michigan's inability to generate shots inside the arc or hit them from beyond it led to an early deficit that only grew as Kameron Chatman and then Zak Irvin found themselves in foul trouble.

At one point in the first half, John Beilein threw out a lineup of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Caris LeVert, Aubrey Dawkins, Max Bielfeldt, and Mark Donnal; Beilein subsequently relented on his usually rigid foul policy and reinserted Irvin late in the half despite his two fouls.

The situation only got more dire in the second stanza, as M failed to score a point until the 14:55 mark; the Arizona faithful stood until that moment, displaying impressive adherence to tradition. The Wolverines remained unable to get into the paint, get out on the break, grab offensive rebounds, or defend the interior; adding to the blowout, Arizona got numerous second-chance buckets after failing to record an offensive rebound in the first half—not as much of a surprise as it may seem, as they only missed nine shots in that span.

The individual issues are barely worth noting; such is the nature of a bloodbath. Zak Irvin's shooting woes continued, and a mental lapse of some sort earned him a benching from Beilein mere moments into the second half. Caris LeVert, repeatedly denied even a sniff of the rim, couldn't carry the offense as he has in the past. The bigs were helpless against Arizona's impressive front line of Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Kaleb Tarczewski.

Without context, this game may not be cause for sounding the alarm; after all, this was an extremely tough matchup—especially for a young Michigan front—against a very good team in the first true road game of the season. Coming off back-to-back upset losses at home, however, it's time to acknowledge the possibility that the Wolverines will have to claw their way into the NCAA tournament picture, even with Beilein on the bench. This team is better than it looked today, but it's also got a long way to go.

Comments

Buddy the Wolverine

December 15th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^

Ricky Doyle has shown some flashes of being a strong finisher around the rim, but does not command the attention of the defense allowing an easy hedge on Levert/Irvin. That being said, our current conundrum of not having strong, capable bigs will only be perpetuated if the staff does not make a conscious effort to involve the position more on offense. Why would a capable post scorer and interior presence want to come play in this offense? Big Mitch was able to carve out a substantial roll due to his unique playmaking ability allowing him to create his own offense, but the prototypical big will not get enough touches. We need to start to posting up for posting up's sake or more posts like this will continue to be posted. 

Joined: 01/04/2014

MGoPoints: 298

DonAZ

December 13th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^

The day here in Tucson dawned ominous -- dark clouds, then heavy rains. 

It's clear now ... just as there'll be better days for Michigan's BBall team as the season progresses.

Joined: 12/05/2011

MGoPoints: 16679

93Grad

December 14th, 2014 at 5:35 AM ^

Football has fallen and will only get better if Harbaugh comes. Otherwise I predict doom. Same with hoops. Recruiting on the hard court has lagged and this years results will only sink it further. You just can't win without a constant talent influx and we will never have that in hoops.

Joined: 07/26/2011

MGoPoints: 13587

MaximusBlue

December 13th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^

Morris had it. Novack had it. Burke had it. Stauskas had it. THJ had it. Nobody on this team has it. Someone has to say "fuck it, it's on me". I know it's early and we're young and we have Beilein, but it's going to be a rough season. Losing to the New Jersey Institute of Technology and EMU is embarrassingly awful.

Joined: 07/31/2012

MGoPoints: 9765

Buddy the Wolverine

December 15th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^

Not as consistently as the guys you pointed out, but the swag, that dawg, the eye of the tiger is not lacking on this team. Hopefully this will come out to the forefront in B1G play and the team will come into its own. Unfortunately, the ceiling may be limited due to the lack of depth, experience and athleticism at the 4 and 5. 

Joined: 01/04/2014

MGoPoints: 298

atom evolootion

December 13th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

They're over forty percent from three as a team. What are you talking about? The problem isn't a lack of shooters. The problem is cohesiveness as a team on offense and defense and being too small or too inexperienced in the paint. Please, don't argue that Irvin, LeVert, Walton, and Albrecht can't shoot. You'd come off sounding foolish.

Joined: 11/03/2013

MGoPoints: 1069

True Blue Grit

December 13th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^

Their expectations for this year.  We'll be very lucky to make the NCAA tournament.  This team is so weak on the inside, unless we fix the outside shooting woes, wins will be hard to come by.  Long term, Beilein needs to recruit bigger and better front court players.  Doyle will be fine eventually.  Donnal needs to get much, much more aggressive.  Wilson is a year away at least.  Sigh.  The last two years have been special but it's back to reality for awhile.

Joined: 01/21/2011

MGoPoints: 32362

dragonchild

December 13th, 2014 at 8:47 PM ^

It looks like Beilein can only do so much to compensate for the team's lack of size.  Michigan has been thin on bigs for the past few years.  You can't replace Horford, Morgan and McGary with Young & Younger and make up for it with coaching & perimeter play.

I think everyone had their expectations skewed by Beilein coaching M to a B1G championship the year after going to the NCAA finals, thinking he could coach his way out of hell.  Fact of the matter is, this is a terribly depleted team that isn't reloading so much as rebuilding.  It's better than it is right now, but only because it has potential.

Joined: 10/13/2011

MGoPoints: 60850

uofmfan_13

December 13th, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^

Front court bigs who have skills and great athleticism out of the gate are hard to come by, hence the high demand for them.  But to your points you're spot on.  Beilein just has not been getting even true "projects" at the 4 and 5.  Blake McLimans?  Donnal?  This just isn't good enough.  There are plenty of athletic, raw big men that will come to Michigan.  I see them all the time at other schools.  Time to recruit them John.  We need rebounding.  We need junkyard dogs.  Not at every position, just one.

Joined: 01/27/2011

MGoPoints: 2975

Buddy the Wolverine

December 15th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^

Will we start integrating post play into the offense and become a viable destination for talented big men? Or will recruit talented big men allowing us to run through the post? Time to modify the offense a tick or continue to rely on outside shooting/NBA level isolation players. 

Joined: 01/04/2014

MGoPoints: 298

blueball97

December 13th, 2014 at 9:03 PM ^

This is a team that will also be the same over the next three seasons and could return the entire roster. Soooo, lets play Beilein's famed 1-3-1, take our lumps doing it and master the shit out of it. Or at the very least let's start using it. We can not stay in front of anyone, and the reward for blowing by our back court is a front court with no shot blockers and an inability to gain position for a charge. We alter shots in no way. At all. Levert is trying to hard, Irvin can't hit the ocean, and Walton is dinged. The element of surprise with Spike is gone and his energy is useless because he plays so damn much. Having said all of that, I believe a few days off will help, and Beilein and crew will right the ship. We will make the tournament.



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Joined: 02/19/2012

MGoPoints: 629

uofmfan_13

December 13th, 2014 at 10:51 PM ^

Have you seen Wisconsin?  Maryland?  Ohio State?  Iowa?  Even Minnesota?  How about Illinois?  They all have big, athletic, skilled front court players.  We won't beat any of them.  Can't see it happening.  Not unless Michigan has a lights-out shooting night.  We will not be making the tourney this year and that's fine.  It should hopefuly light a fire into this coaching staff to get better frontcourt players.  It will mean Levert, Walton and probably everyone else will return, so we'll be more experienced.

Overall, next season is shaping up to be a good one.  Sucks to say it, but it's true.  This ain't the year.  Lost too much.  Beilein didn't recruit well enough to fill holes in the frontcourt.  He also didn't bring in raw talent to develop in past classes like he should have.  Donnal was always a "4" in this sytem.  Definitely not a "5". 

 

Joined: 01/27/2011

MGoPoints: 2975

maizeNblueisGREEN

December 13th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^

I hear a lot of people saying that next year will be the one. How so?

LeVert is currently a top-14 pick if he were to leave for the NBA draft. Of course this is assuming he continues to play well and doesn't suffer any injuries. Have you seen our recruiting class for next year? We have ZERO commits. I hate to say it but we're not going to improve enough to fill the gap left by LeVert especially if we don't have any recruits.

Am I missing something about next year shaping up to be a good season? Please enlighten me.

Joined: 02/04/2014

MGoPoints: -10

uofmfan_13

December 13th, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^

Beilein's system is both amazing at times and enraging at times.  It is amazing because it spreads the floor, forces you to defend 30-40 feet at all times, and can really give shooters open looks when it is hitting on all cylinders.  But it is enraging because it seems like they rarely bring the ball into the post on O (outside the base pick and roll), and it seems like Coach B has an allergic reaction to playing two legit 4s and 5s (two bigs) at the same time.  Even for 10 minutes.  I remember when Michigan was ranked #1 overall (for all of one week) in the magical 2012-2013 year.  We could've had McGary, Horford, Morgan, on the floor at the same time (again, for just 10 minutes) and we never used it.  Never. 

This three game skid is understandable, but no less embarassing.  Michigan will most likely not make the tourney this year and that should force Beilein to step up his recruiting game.  It is time to make moves and get real athletes at the "5" in his system.  Like someone said before: we need a legit 6'10 banger at this position, always.  Or at the very least, a Jordan Morgan type.  That guy was amazing and is sorely missed.  In this system, DJ is going to be a good "4" because he's tall and rangy, but he's 1-2 years away and that's why they want to redshirt him.

Beilein is going to get his pass on this year because he nearly took U-M basketball to the mountaintop in 2013.  But, what's happening right now is still embarassing and makes us look like a fail school that can't do anything right in the two main sports.  There is too much talent coming out of Michigan / Ohio / Indiana and Chicago for this to be the norm of Michigan's recruiting classes.  We must do better in the future.  

Joined: 01/27/2011

MGoPoints: 2975

Shop Smart Sho…

December 13th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^

Am I just looking for issues, or does the heavy use of Spike create problems for the offense?  When he is on the floor, it seems like 2 of the 5 guys on the floor aren't useful in the offense.  He and whichever center is out there don't seem to fit with what the rest of the team is capable of.

I love the kid, but 28 minutes a game seems to be a stretch for him.  With that many minutes, he isn't really providing a "spark", and his limited size and athleticisim make him a bit of a liability, especially on defense.  They might be talking about him having a lower body injury, but over the last three games, almost every time the camera is tight on him you see him looking at his right hand.

I would be intrigued by a line-up of Walton, LeVert, Dawkins, Irvin, Chatman at this point.  The centers are all so offensively limited (with and without the ball in their hands) that it doesn't seem like it could hurt.  That group gets your 5 most athletic guys out there, so why not give it a shot?

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 9602

maizeNblueisGREEN

December 13th, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^

...after this year. He is currently a lottery pick on every single mock draft I've seen so far. If he stays a lottery pick contender by the end of the year he will leave for the NBA considering he is already a Junior and will not likely risk injury from an extra year.

Furthermore we have 0 (ZERO) commits from the class of 2015 (according to ESPN that is). So basically next year we will be left with this same team plus some improvement, minus LeVert. 

Thing's are not looking to bright :(

Joined: 02/04/2014

MGoPoints: -10

BleedsBlue

December 13th, 2014 at 11:30 PM ^

is a victim of early entries, ncaa pot issues, 5th year departures. Basically areal young team learning to play together, getting their asses kicked in the process.They'll get better and be a bubble team.

Joined: 07/27/2012

MGoPoints: 371

HollywoodHokeHogan

December 13th, 2014 at 11:44 PM ^

Gotta say, I think the value of a stretch big is being oversold by Michigan's staff. True hoop had a feature on classifying bigs, and most stretch bigs had their offensive improvement offset by their defensive liability. That was at the nba level, but think it holds at the college level too. Kamenski is the exception instead of the rule. We have bunch of guys who are (supposedly) skilled on the outside and can't rebound, defend the post, or block shots.



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Joined: 02/12/2011

MGoPoints: 20444

BursleyHall82

December 14th, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^

This Saturday, Arizona.

Last Saturday, NJIT.

The Saturday before that, Ohio State.

The Saturday before that, Maryland.

You have to go all the way back to our second bye week to find a good Saturday.

Joined: 07/14/2013

MGoPoints: 26991

taistreetsmyhero

December 14th, 2014 at 1:09 AM ^

if you go through every position, we just don't have the same talent that we had last year.

walton has of yet not made the sophomore jump. levert is not as good as stauskas. irvin is not as good as levert was last year. the bigs aren't as good as jmo/horford. chatman isn't as good as gr3. our rotating sixth man isn't as good as irvin was last year in that role.

Joined: 08/08/2012

MGoPoints: 39396

Kfojames

December 14th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^

Taistreetsmyhero is absolutely right. While other notable top 10 teams have recruited well and most importantly recruited higher end bigs JB just hasn't recruited well enough or put enough onus on post players. I'm sorry but I've said it before and I'll say it again that to be a top 10 team year in and year out and have deep tourney runs you HAVE to continually recruit quality post players. It's really the only reason we had te runs we did is due to McGary, Jmo, Horford. And two of those guys weren't elite coming in. Not saying it's the only ingredient but it's a big one! I think that's the biggest knock on JB that I have is not putting more emphasis on the post. I understand we've had extreme attrition from last year but still, what are we doing with Max Beilfeldt? I love the kid but he'd be better suited playing for Grand Valley. JB has to start recruiting better Power forwards and centers and a few more of them. I know they come at a premium and he has his certain type of big but even Donnal is just not where he needs to be from a physical standpoint. It's also a little worrisome that there is no apparent semi high level recruits that we seem to be in on for 15'. This is a project/rebuilding type year! If everyone returns and we can add someone like Wagner and Duncan comes in and adds a spark I think that will help. But it's going to be a struggle this year!

Joined: 09/15/2013

MGoPoints: 180

Michigan9

December 14th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^

Yes, we are not the same team we used to be, but we will be fine. We had a nice run with pro-ready players. It's a different group of kids. They are going to grow in the system and have one of the best coach's to develop their game. Growing pains!

Joined: 10/13/2014

MGoPoints: 3476