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Michigan 102, Charlotte 47 Comment Count

Ace


Moe Wagner may be the #2 center. [File photo: Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Moe Wagner scored 19 points on 8/9 shooting. The German freshman hit all manner of up-and-under layups, fought through contact for and-ones, and even knocked down his only three-point attempt. His only miss came on, of all things, a botched dunk.

Yes, Michigan had a good night.

Eleven Wolverines tallied points against a hapless Charlotte squad, with Caris Levert, Zak Irvin, and Aubrey Dawkins joining Wagner in double figures. A day after Michigan couldn't find their range against UConn, they sniped 12/23 three-pointers, taking full advantage when the 49ers played a soft 2-3 zone.

By the time Mark Donnal found his way off the bench to score seven points, including a triple to get M to the century mark, Seth Davis was scolding viewers for still watching.

We'll learn much more from Michigan's consolation contest against Texas tomorrow (7 pm, AXS TV) than anything we saw tonight. The hope is Wagner's breakout is for real, Irvin continues to settle in, DJ Wilson's threes keep falling, and the Wolverines can come close to replicating this defensive performance against a team with a pulse.

Comments

badbundy

November 26th, 2015 at 11:40 PM ^

Cam and Mark are not good at basketball. I'm sure they are good human beings but we need much more talented bigs. I enjoyed watching Mo, I hope he continues to develop. Now let's go beat Texas!

Joined: 01/09/2014

MGoPoints: 12

MLaw06

November 27th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^

Kam has a lot of potential.  I mean he was the #25 ranked recruit in the country for a reason.  It hasn't translated entirely to the college level, but he has great size and athleticism.  I think he settles for jumpers when he can take it in for layups, but he has pretty good hops and speed for a bigger 4.

Joined: 02/29/2012

MGoPoints: 6223

MLaw06

November 26th, 2015 at 11:50 PM ^

AXS is Cuban's channel.  I think it used to be HDNET before.  Apparently, if we beat UCONN, the next two games would have been on ESPN, but oh well.  Tomorrow should be a good matchup.  Beilein took apart the HAVOC defense last time... let's do it again!

Joined: 02/29/2012

MGoPoints: 6223

bronxblue

November 26th, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^

It was a good outing, but its probably about as illuminating as yesterday's game with UConn. If UM can score consistently, then the defense can be more aggressive with the perimeter and rebounding becomes less an issue because teams are shooting farther away. Texas will be interesting, but this is still a good win however you slice it.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171035

Franz Schubert

November 27th, 2015 at 7:01 AM ^

very well may have won the game if JB didnt disqualify Levert for over 8 minutes. Michigan led by 1 when he was pulled, and Michigan outscored Uconn with Levert in the 2nd half, Michigan was +3 for the game with Levert. It revealed that Michigan very well could have won the game if Levert was not taken out needlessly, and this despite Irvin and Robinson shooting 1-19 on 3's.

Joined: 07/20/2009

MGoPoints: 4453

BlueinLansing

November 27th, 2015 at 1:05 AM ^

in game thread, its declared Mortiz Wagner isn't ready for this level of basketball and should never have burned his redshirt.

 

On page 4, he's the answer to all our prayers.

 

Well done Michigan fans, well done.

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 23520

badbundy

November 27th, 2015 at 1:12 AM ^

Yes he had 8 boards against a bunch of 6'4 kids... They basically had 2 bigger players who quite obviously aren't very good. He doesn't seem explosive at all and doesn't have the size to be very effective, imho. Donal just seems to get lost on defense leaving the locker room...

Joined: 01/09/2014

MGoPoints: 12

San Diego Mick

November 27th, 2015 at 1:37 AM ^

After Xavier and UConn, things seemed grim at best but after this game things look much rosier, albeit against a very inferior opponent. Nonetheless tonight's game has given me some hope afterall.

I was really glad to see Beilein go with the rotation he did tonight, Wagner and Wilson need to play a lot more and get crucial experience moving forward.

Wagner splashed some nifty moves around the basket, something we sorely need and Wilson showed some offensice abilities as well, both guys are raw but I think they could actually become something special.

The rest of the line up looks to shape up too, we need Zac, Walton, Spike and Robinson to play at their best or close to it to help Levert make us a solid ball club, I think that could actually happen now, we'll see.

With Dawkins and MAAR we look to have a nice 9 man rotation, just keep Doyle, Chatman and Donnal on the bench except for eating some minutes here and there or for garbage time.

Joined: 05/11/2011

MGoPoints: 50554

MGoBender

November 27th, 2015 at 9:48 AM ^

Yeah, we are.

You'll point to Walton, Spike, LeVert and Irvin and you're right... except three of those guys have been hurt.

Wilson, Wagner, Doyle are all extremely raw and we need at least one of them to play a large role.  MAAR and Dawkins are still young as well.

Joined: 03/26/2010

MGoPoints: 15128

Michigan Fan L…

November 27th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^

I'll give Wilson a "youth" pass because he didn't play at all last season.  He may look awkward at times, but at least he's giving effort out there. 

And Wagner might be young but I don't think that will hinder him.  I'm sure in his mind he remembers that his German teammates also called "young."  He proved himself then and he's ready to prove himself now.  He's hungry.  He has skills and he will be great - this year.

But MAAR, Dawkins, and Doyle have to turn in their "youth" cards.  Trey Burke, Caris Levert, and Nik Stauskas set the standard for the "leap" we now expect from our players between years 1 and 2.  The "leap" does not take place in November when the season begins.  The "leap" is a product of all the hard work put in during the offseason. 

All we're getting from Dawkins is 1 or 2 highlights per game, just like last year.  This from one of the most athletic players in the country.  And Doyle?  He's playing at exactly the same level he played at last year.  MAAR?  He will provide 1 or 2, maybe 3 drives to the basket per game, just like last year, but that's it.  And I won't even mention Donnal.

I'm proud of the team for last night's victory, but please let's not go into Brady Hoke mode and use "youth" as a reason for our struggles.  How about somebody just grab a freakin' rebound?

Go Blue!!!

 

 

Joined: 08/06/2015

MGoPoints: 198

JayMo4

November 27th, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^

Hopefully this performance by Wagner is a sign of things to come.  I'll be the first to prematurely inflate expectations:  He's got some Frank Kaminsky in him.  Light on his feet and moves well for a big man.  Once he gets comfortable in this offense, I think he'll do very well.  No other big on this roster is gonna take guys off the dribble from up top like him.

Wilson shot well last night because he got good looks and had his feet set.  Ditto for Robinson, who seemed to rush everything too much against UConn and settled down a lot more this time around.  How much of that was the level of competition vs Robinson's own decision-making, we'll find out as the year progresses.

 

I think this team improves as Irvin and Albrecht get healthy.  We're never going to be a great defensive team, and our rebounding is likely to vary by opponent.  So we have to be efficient on offense, and those are two guys that are going to have to carry a big part of that load.  We need Irvin's shooting and penetrating (he's improved as a passer, but is going to be more dangerous as his ability to drive returns,) and we need Spike's facilitating - No one on this team is better at creating easy scores for his teammates.

Joined: 04/19/2013

MGoPoints: 12070

champswest

November 27th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^

from day one. You can see that he has ability and high basketball IQ. To follow up on the Kaminsky comparison (that I agree with), what do you recall of Kaminsky's freshman year? Not much, right? He didn't even play much. Same for Valentine, who was very erratic and wild. Many around here expect freshmen and sophomores to be finished products, just because some of the better players have been able to do it. We need to give these young players a chance to develop.

Joined: 10/04/2009

MGoPoints: 25910

Michigan Fan L…

November 27th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^

I said 2 days ago that I would like to see more of Wagner and Wilson.  Their efforts might not be pretty sometimes but you can tell they're giving it their all. 

Wagner showed flashes of McGary.  I'm tired of watching our big men to through the motions, standing at the elbow or top of the key, catching and passing the ball from one side to the other with no freakin' threat of scoring.  Sheesh. 

You can probably tell that I'm frustrated.  I was spoiled by the McGary era, as shortlived as it was.  McGary (and Wagner last night) showed us what a big man is supposed to look like in Beilein's system - not a conduit, but a participant and a freakin' threat to score.  Thank you Mr. Wagner.  My coffee tastes a little bit better this morning.

Go Blue!!!!

Joined: 08/06/2015

MGoPoints: 198

champswest

November 27th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^

more of those two as time goes by. Doyle and Donnal are the two most experienced bigs, so naturally they got the most minutes in the early games. As Wagner and Wilson continue to get more comfortable, their minutes will increase. I look forward to the day when Donnal can move to the 4 to give us spot minutes as an outside shooting threat.

Joined: 10/04/2009

MGoPoints: 25910