A King Without a Kingdom: The Plight of Caris The Green
Joseph Dressler / MGoBlog
An inextricable tenet of common basketball ideology is this: teams - or franchises, in the NBA’s case - become a possessive. The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team. They were once Magic Johnson’s team. The Warriors are Steph Curry’s team; the Cavaliers are LeBron’s team; the Knicks are Carmelo Anthony’s team. The list goes on.
Perhaps no other major American sport (save for professional football and the almighty quarterback) has a construct that elevates a player to the level of king among men like that. In college hoops, there is the Cult of Coaching - that is, the masterminds who attract those leaders are often worshipped far more than are the on-court leaders themselves. John Wooden (the archetype), Coach K, Dean Smith, Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo, and yes, even John Beilein (who has won the degree of job security given to the aforementioned coaches) are the gods and the players are their kings, bestowed with divine right.
As an example, look no further than Michigan’s royal lineage over the last couple of years. The reign of Darius Morris lasted only one jaunty season before he abdicated his throne to journey on towards the NBA; Trey Burke eventually became the best in the country towards the end of his kingship and came tantalizingly close to a national title; Nik Stauskas rekindled the arrogance and bravado of the Morris era and championed one of the most dazzling offenses in recent memory. Caris LeVert was anointed as Nik’s successor -- in basketball parlance, he had next.
* * *
Even though the Wolverines have struggled often this season, Caris has done well (with a few glaring exceptions). Following up Burke and Stauskas -- two former conference players of the year -- was an unenviable task, but Caris has been decent enough and has shown the type of pro potential that makes him a projected first-rounder and an obvious candidate for early entry.
Jamal Crawford only played a partial season as a Wolverine, but the parallels between he and LeVert are too obvious to ignore. Caris’s offensive game -- his only game, really, as his length is underutilized in wing defense far too often (and whether that’s due to a lack of physical maturity or plain indifference is hard to tell) -- is decidedly Crawfordesque: though Beilein’s system typically discourages it, Caris seems compelled to draw into one-on-one battles with a defender, where his length and dizzying array of quick dribbles, crossovers, and jab-steps often allow some space to blow by whichever poor kid is in front of him. It’s a labor intensive process, and too often it seems as if challenging a rotating big man at the hoop is simply too much.
Caris channels the ghost of Wolverine Crawford in other ways: he’s a good shooter with a quick release from outside, either off the catch or off the dribble; he plays well in the pick-and-roll and can sometimes draw both defenders to him and lay it off to the big man; he has plus floor vision at the two-guard spot and makes the tough skip pass to the opposite corner when necessary; and he’s a microwave much like Crawford, building confidence and aggressiveness with each consecutive make.
Ace was kind enough to put together a gif of all of Caris’s makes from the critical win over Penn State:
The first was a simple catch-and-shoot corner three, something Caris will be looked to make often at the next level; the second was a nice pull-up long two that left Shep Garner in the dust; the third, another catch-and-shoot three, this time from the wing; the fourth, a Kobe Bryant shot fake to a smooth jumper that shook Ross Travis; the fifth, a nice drive past John Johnson (after hitting him with an array of quick crossovers) to a floater off glass; the sixth, a quick stop-and-pop that left Donovan Jack with no chance to contest.
Despite his flaws – Caris’s defense is not where it could be, given his length and lateral quickness, and he’s hesitant to attack the rim in the halfcourt when he could be challenged at the rim – he’s a solid prospect. Behind surefire one-and-dones Justise Winslow and Stanley Johnson, he might be the best wing prospect in the upcoming draft because of his plus size at the two-guard spot, his ability to break down defenders with his handle, and his outside shooting. We might only get another three months of LeVert as a Wolverine.
* * *
To state the obvious, this season has been a disappointment. Michigan’s customarily blistering offense has looked stagnant and has been prone to bouts of cold shooting; Kam Chatman hasn’t been able to fill Glenn Robinson’s vacancy at the four; Michigan’s corps of big men have been underwhelming as a whole (even if Ricky Doyle has shown good things); Spike Albrecht and Derrick Walton have been injured and Michigan’s struggled to get consistent production from the point guard spot.
In all fairness, Caris has contributed to the disappointment as well – although, notably, he still leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Against NJIT, he put the team on his back to the tune of 32 points (on just 18 FGA) and Michigan still lost; but in other losses against Eastern Michigan, Arizona, SMU, and Purdue, he scored ten points or fewer, often inefficiently. It’s too reductive to place those losses squarely on Caris, but still, better performances (particularly against Eastern and SMU) might have made all the difference.
There’s another key point: Caris is still extremely young. He doesn’t turn 21 until next August, and it’s abundantly clear that his game is still very much a work in progress. His last name – LeVert – translates into French as “The Green” and Caris The Green is still as inexperienced and immature (physically speaking) as his name would suggest. Development can and does happen at the next level; Caris’s game (and his wiry frame) will grow over the next several years for whichever NBA team is fortunate enough to land him in the draft.
It’s tough in the here and now, though. Unfair amounts of criticism tend to fall on a team’s best player, and with Michigan’s rickety path towards NCAA Tournament contention, there might be more noise with each successive loss. The exodus of NBA talent has finally caught up with the Wolverines – it was probably naïve to assume that Michigan would reload with sufficient reinforcements (without recruiting at the type of level that keeps a continual pipeline of NBA talent).
In the end, it looks like what may possibly be the only season with Caris LeVert’s Michigan will wind up in disappointment,as Michigan enters into a brief rebuilding phase after the euphoric highs of the past few seasons. Here’s to enjoying Caris’s particular style in the meantime however, as it might be another decade-and-a-half before another player like him suits up in the Maize and Blue again. Any reprise of the 2011 surge into the NCAA Tournament would only add to his story.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
Any chance he doesn't leave?
January 10th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
Sure. Always impossible to tell though. I think he probably should leave.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
Because his game is NBA-ready?
January 10th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
Is his game going to improve more with a third year of college, with limitations on practice time, working against inferior competition who he can outplay without breaking a sweat. He can spend time going through the charade of classwork for what is clearly going to be a millionare professional athlete. (Not to mention he is playing for 'free' and risks injury.)
OR
He can play professionally. Work hard everyday with trainers and assistant coaches and scouts focused on just him. Practice against the very best in the world. OR, at worst, go to the NBDL and still play at a VASTLY superior level of competition to what he gets in the NCAA. (Not to mention get one year closer to free agency when he'll make far more money than his rookie contract.)
Robinson, Morris, Harris, Hardaway, Stauskas -- the next bad early entry under Beilein will be the first
January 10th, 2015 at 3:18 PM ^
January 10th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
January 10th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
I, too, wonder why Caris does not like contact? In back to back games against Detroit and Oregon, he shot 20 FTs then he stopped.
I do not think Caris' on ball defense is what scouts like. His ability to distort passing lanes and the versatility/footspeed/length to switch on guys 1-3, small guards to small forwards is valuable. He can be good on ball when engaged and at the next level where he will have significantly less offensive responsibilities.
Enjoyed the article.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
If Caris isn't a lock for the first round, he should stay another year and play himself in. Then again, there's plenty of time for him to finish off the season on a high note. This team is playing better than they were a few weeks ago. In Beilein's system, individual players seem to look better when the team looks better.
I think Caris staying or leaving gets "bubble" status right now.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
Even if he slips to the 2nd round (a la Robinson) he'll develop more practicing against NBA players everyday or even in the NBDL than he will with another year in college.
January 12th, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
It's not a matter of developing it's a matter of money and getting on a team. Both are better if taken in the first round. Being drafted highly is really the only thing that should factor in to whether or not to go pro (and if waiting a year can get you drafted a meaningfully higher amount).
January 10th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
Nice work Alex. THANK YOU for crediting Caris for being an excellent player this year. He has come in for far too much criticism this season, when really it's been his teammates who are the problem. Everyone forgets Nik's struggles last year now (e.g., Duke), but he had Caris to pick up the slack - and Caris did so very capably. Nik also had a frontine of Morgan/Horford/GR3 that this team's freshman can't touch.
The Crawford parallel is good. Caris isn't QUITE as off-the-charts athletic, but he's a far better team player. Better coached and more versatile. Crawford felt like he had inadequate support. He COULD pass it, but his underqualified teammates would fumble it or miss. Better to jack the shot, even if it looked 'bad'. And we've reached that point with Caris as well. Imagine if he had a rolling big man or a high flying assist-target....or just remember back to last year.
I firmly believe that Michigan would have 3 or 4 more wins and be a top 20 team if either Horford or McGary or Robinson returned, or if Morgan was magically granted a 6th year.
Nice season synopsis and well put. Let's wait on burying this team as a dissapointment just yet. Rough start - but that's what happens when you lose so much and try to incorporate 6 unheralded freshman at once.
And Yes -- we absolutely should savor watching Caris over the next couple months, while we have him. There's a phenomenon where naturals gifts (size and athleticism) lead to unrealistic expectations (in a way that skill or drive do not). We fans see Caris in the top 10 of the NBA mocks and expect another Trey Bruke - which is no different than expecting another Charles Woodson.
Some of the reactions to Caris this year (and GR3 last year) remind me of people's complaints of Denard. There were calls for him to be benched or moved to WR. Instead of enjoying the gifts he offered, they focused on the negative. While an excellent, entertaining, likeable, and special talent -- he didn't have the supporting cast to win a lot of games. I hope we don't see the same for Caris.
A few quibbles with the storyline
- The HIS TEAM lineage has to trace back to Manny Harris. Even though he wasn't recruited by JB he really carried JBs early teams. Manny pushed JB to change his philosophy and strategy - rebuilding his offense around a premier athletic talent. Sims was there but was definitely the 'Robin'.
- Nik didn't rekindle 'arrogance and bravado' -- if anyone ever earned that descriptive, it was Trey Burke. Nik carried the flame onward.
January 10th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
I haven't been that impressed with Caris this season. He's been too inconsistent and mediocre for a big chunk of the season. In the 6 games prior to PSU he was 22-66 from the field and his assist:turnover was just above 1 (18:17).
January 10th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
I hate being a Michigan fan because of the company it brings me in association with.
January 10th, 2015 at 3:38 PM ^
I just read your comment above mine. I don't go to the open threads very much anymore. Almost never because everyone is way too histrionic. So I don't know the criticism you're talking about. This was on the front page, and I felt it was overly complimentary. Maybe it was just to balance the other stuff you mentioned.
More to the point on Caris. He's a good player and has had some great games. He has potential, which makes him attractive to the NBA. Do you think he's a better player than Nik, Trey, or Hardaway? He can't find open guys in transition. He takes bad shots and dribbles into bad spots routinely. I gave some stats above. I don't think his overall numbers this year are representative with his only games where he scored 20+ were Hillsdale, UD, Nicholls State and NJIT (I was working during that one and didn't search hard for a replay).
You said that he doesn't have anybody around him. He has 2 PGs that shoot the three really well and can get into the lane (just don't ask them to make a lay-up this season). He has Zak, who is usually pretty deadly from behind the line. He has guys on the frontline that were a lot more highly recruited than Morgan and Horford. The rest of the team admittedly has flaws, but they're not getting called a 'King' on the front page.
January 10th, 2015 at 4:24 PM ^
You do realize that Levert has a higher a:t and ast % in transition than Stauskas last year?
Zak is shooting less than 35 % from 3. Not deadly.
Did you seriously compare this years frontline to last years? LOL
And yes, Caris' length and versatility means his game translates better than Nik, Trey, or Hardaway.
January 10th, 2015 at 4:43 PM ^
That's fine. Did you compare them at the same point in the season? Nope. A:T for Nik was 2.32 (51:22) through 3 games into the conference schedule. Ast% I don't know.
Zak isn't getting the the open transition 3s this year for whatever reason. 35% is an eFG% of ~52%, which is still okay and should get better.
Re: Last year's front line. If we just compare the 5's:
Horford, Morgan, Bielfeldt: 11 ppg and 10.3 rpg
Doyle, Donnal, Bielfeldt: 15.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg
Translates? I don't care about the NBA.
January 10th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^
It shoud actually read 18 AST %
Now go crawl back into the hole you came out of
January 10th, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^
with that guy.
The guy who nitpicks Barry Sanders for taking too many risks and sometimes losing a yard.
The guy who says Denard Robinson should be benched because he's not a great passer.
The guy who can't enjoy Brandon Graham because's he's on a terrible football team that loses every meaningful game.
All you can say is - you are missing out.
--------------------
Nik's supporting cast included 4 NBA players: Levert, Robinson, McGary, and Horford plus a perfect role playing 5th year center in Jordan Morgan. AND he had Walton and Irvin and Spike.
Even if you ignore all the NBA losses - what does Caris have that Nik did not? Doyle? Dawkins? Chatman? Doyle is bordering on good but is still learning. The others are barely playable.
It's a night and day difference. And you know - Nik had his struggles too a year ago. He really kicked it into high gear in the second half of conference play.
January 10th, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^
I certainly was not any of those guys. Thanks though. Didn't miss anything.
This has gone on too long. Michigan won today. I'm happy.
EDIT: I guess I couldn't let it go because it's really what I've seen this season. Caris will be a fine basketball player and representative of my university. I'm not going to make your argument for you. Here are some selected quotes from UMhoops game recaps this season (each is a separate game and the last one is from game 1,):
LeVert still wasn’t perfect, and I thought he forced the issue far too often in transition...
...he also hasn’t been able to find any consistency. Michigan needs more than 8 points on 2-of-8 shooting
Say what you want about his supporting cast, LeVert simply didn’t play well on Saturday. He finished 1-of-8 from the floor and turned the ball over five times.
He’s taking bad, early shots and he’s missing them. constantly settled for off balance jumpers just outside the paint.... and we’ve seen a lot of it this year.
....he had more turnovers (3) than assists (2) and was just 4-of-12 from the field.
...took a few shots down the stretch that might not have been the best LeVert hit an array of ridiculous turnaround and fading shots around the paint.
LeVert took a few eye brow raising shots He just couldn’t find the bottom of the basket with his jumper
…he’s so effective pushing the break and finding people in transition.
January 10th, 2015 at 9:06 PM ^
So you took a few out of context quotes from his bad games and this is indicative of what? You can do this with any player.
January 10th, 2015 at 9:46 PM ^
That's actually from 10 out of 15 games this season (It got messed up when I pasted it from Word). 9 are bad. They were out of context, but in line with my criticism. Go ahead then and prove to me that my original post was so far off base and don't use last years stats.
January 10th, 2015 at 9:47 PM ^
Caris has not had 9 bad games. If you expect him to play a perfect game then sure but if that is the case, Stauskas never had a good game since he was awful defensively every game.
January 10th, 2015 at 9:58 PM ^
You said they were just his bad games. I didn't. The comments were only from his play on offense. Why this comparison to Stauskas?
January 11th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
Is context.
Stauskas was playing with LeVert, Robinson, McGary, Morgan, Horford. There were a lot of games where he struggled and Caris had to pick up the slack. And Caris did.
Caris is playing with Chatman, Doyle, Dawkins, Donnal, and Bielfeldt. He is often tasked with the most difficult defensive assignment and draws the toughest defender without having any great release valves.
We can sit here and debate wether Nik or Caris are better, but comparing this year's alpha stats vs last year stat's doesn't tell you the story.
Calling Caris mediocre is laughable, insulting, arrogant, and ignorant douchery.
Good players are sometimes on bad teams. It's equivalent to the "How many rings did he win" critique of Marino, Barkley, etc. Surround Caris with an NBA supporting cast and a bunch of veterans who have been to final 4 and the results are going to look a lot better.
Anyway -- he is playing well. He is carrying this team. Maybe he's not meeting YOUR expectations, but he's playing at an all-conference level. Nowhere near mediocre.
January 10th, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
Doubled
January 10th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
He had a thumb brace on his shooting hand for 4 of those.
January 10th, 2015 at 6:26 PM ^
I was about to mention that. Take a look at LeVert's shooting numbers for the games when he hasn't had his right hand in a brace and they look pretty good. The hand injury seemed to really affect his shooting.
January 10th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
Caris is far from ready to contribute in the NBA. Chad Ford clearly does not watch Michigan games.
Caris has made himself in to a good college player. That's it. Its a stretch to call him a star at the Big Ten level. He is skilled, and tall, which is a very good starting point. He is not where Stauskas was a year ago, and Nik, after being drafted in the lottery, is not making a meaningful contribution to the Kings right now. Caris would not fare better.
Caris has some huge positives: skilled, very tall/long, and seems like he has the work ethic and attitude of a great kid. He is infinitely better off returning to Ann Arbor both for his game and his academics. 6'7" and skilled or athletic is not a predictor of success in the NBA. 6'7" and skilled is average in the NBA. His first contract will be the only guarantee he gets.
I enjoy watching him play, but we are all a little drunk with the Wolverines-to-the-NBA run of the last few years. Lets see Caris become a star, and a very good college player over the next season and a half, and then wish him well in to the NBA.
January 11th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^
January 10th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
Great read! Caris is a boss, but seems to take a few too many contested shots, though at times it is necessary because no one else can create their own shot like he can.
January 10th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
Very interesting and thoughtful piece
January 11th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
With all due respect, John Beilein has not earned the type of job security that Izzo, Krzyzewski and Boeheim have. He's a fabulous coach and there's no way Michigan is going to kick him out the door even if we somehow end up having a couple of down years, but Krzyzewski could pull a Petrino and not be fired. Maybe a little gentle behind-the-scenes pressure from the athletic department to see himself out. But he's won four titles. They named the court after him. He's never going anywhere unless he wants to. Same for Izzo, same for Boeheim (just with fewer titles).
If Beilein for some reason goes 15-15 for four years in a row or gets caught having an affair with a grad assistant, he's skating on very thin ice. If (when! insh'allah) we win a national championship, then you can start to have the conversation about lifetime job security.
January 12th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^
I don't know why, but for some reason, Caris seems to engender extreme love or disappointment (I won't say hate). There are a few peeps over on UMHoops for whom Caris can never do wrong. For others, they don't like his frequent one-on-one forays and the fact that his D might not be as good as originally advertised (I cop to the latter).
But the dude is gone--cuz he is going in Round 1. His middle game is almost unheard of these days in the college game. He is also an above-average 3 point shooter. He doesn't get all the way to the hole often enough--but that will come with more strength and confidence.
I too don't like it when Caris seems to force the action. But without a Morgan or Robinson upfront, and Zak and Walton struggling, Caris likely feels he has to do what he can.
And defensively, Caris' length alone suggests he can be an above-average defender at the next level--particularly with added strength.
Caris is more ready for the next level than Hardaway, GRIII and Morris for certain. And he has probably has more upside than Nik and Trey.......and Jamal (pretty one-dimensional) Crawford.
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