Dick Vitale: Five players who need to step up (Jordan Morgan)

Well we hopefully have depth. McGary should be very good (Glenn Robinson Jr and Stauskas also) but none of them have played a minute in college yet.

It's a little different than football in that freshmen are able to compete much sooner in basketball but right now there is only potential.

If Morgan, McGary, Horford, and McLimans can step up and push each other we could get a huge increase in big man production.

Lots of danger but also lots of opportunity and I do think Beilein is a very good X's and O's coach and has a lot of talent to work with.

I don't even think he really needs to step up/improve statistically for UM to have a great year. Bringing back both Burke and Hardaway and adding some talented freshman (including McGary who should be a huge inside presence), I think if Morgan plays at the level he did last year UM would be fine.

Dick Vitale needs to step his game up...(Not a fan).

Morgan needs to finish at the rim more, put it down big man no layups.

Morgan is a better overall defender than Horford has been, though JH missed essentially all of last year, so who knows.

Michigan needs some inside scoring in order to cause problems for defenses in the half court game.  Morgan is one possibility.

away (if one of his ed. assistants isn't telling him this to begin with).

First, Morgan HAS stepped up, past all original expectations for him. He's a great defensive player. Without him M has no Big Ten championship this past season; it's a little annoying to have someone infer he hasn't. (The occasional misses of his first year were largely erased.) Second, he's going to improve in all aspects, but he is never going to develop an outside shot, or even feature in a way that he works other teams' bigs underneath for baskets (although he has demonstrated this ability at times, as well as a baby hook). Who he plays with (paired with McGary, etc.) and for how many minutes are really up for grabs. And don't rule Horford or Bielfeldt out; we've got some power underneath, and I won't be surprised if Beilein is still experimenting even as M enters Big Ten play, playing quite a deep roster, unlike in previous years. 

What I am really excited about it how this team will be able to run--look for Burke to have both JoMo and McGary available for thunderdunks sometimes, as the first two down the court. 

as a player that UM needs the most to step up.  Morgan is consistently solid and will give you decent production almost every game. 

Obviously it would be great if he could take it to another level, but I think this team's chance at greatness rides mostly on Hardaway.  Burke can't do it himself and everyone else who can is a freshman besides Hardaway.  Time for him to be the all B1G caliber player he capable of being.

Not gonna lie i was so hype for Mcgary then his season progressed and everyone was so down on the kid but im just excited to have another legit big.

I'm not being sarcastic....

JB needs to step up his game.  He's NEVER HAD this kind of talent on a team before.  He has expectations and pressures he's NEVER seen.  He has a team with, probably, 4-5 future NBA players on it.  He has had defenses and offenses for decades based on lower-talent guys (compared to the top 10/ top 20) running very precise, scripted plans.  He has found ways to win with less.  Now... he has MORE, not less.  I don't think it means, everything he's ever done automatically translates to this new team.  I think there are going to be challenges and issues he hasn't seen before, which the Roy Williamses and Coach Ks and John Caliparis of the world know about but most college coaches don't.

I'm 100% positive he'll step it up, but the fact is, this is new territory for him.  It must be SO exciting for him... like he's been driving Fords and Chevys for decades, and now someone handed him keys to a Ferrari (which at the push of a button becomes a Range Rover).

I don't really think they do, though. Horford is still a liability on defense, and McLimans proved last year to be a bit of a liability on both sides of the court. We may have some servicable depth at the 5 (Morgan, McGary, McLimans), but at the 4 Michigan is quite limited. This is where losing Smotz really hurt this team. I don't believe McGary is what JB wants in a 4, and Morgan really isn't, as neither have the shot to spread the defense. Horford could be alright, but he's probably not starter level, so now your hinging depth at the 4 on Bielfeldt and GRIII (the 4 not anywhere near his natural position either).

I'm not that concerned about the 5, though I do think Morgan needs to step up and be more consistent and hit the easy ones he missed last year, but at the 4 Michigan is quite the question mark right now. Leadership and having servicable PFs to stretch the floor and allow Burke and co to cut, pick and pop, pick and roll, etc., are probably the two keys to this teams ultimate success or lack-there-of.

The most interesting thing about this season will be how the post-players are sorted out as the season goes on. 

• Morgan - He has a ton of experience, fits well into the flow of the offense, makes most of his shots, and defends well despite being undersized.  He also no longer has to worry about foul trouble since we have depth.  But yet he has zero post game of his own, blows 1-2 easy layups per game instead of finishing strong, and doesn't block shots.  I think he'll be the de facto starter at the 5 all year though his minutes will be reduced from the past.
• Horford - I'm not sure where the criticism of him is coming from since he's played so rarely.  As a true freshmen everyone said he shouldn't play because he was too skinny, yet he mixed moments of competence with moments of being over-matched.  Last year he barely played before the injury, but did have a good game or two.  In my opinion, he's the closest to a true-center we have given his size, athleticism, and shot blocking ability.  For defensive purposes I think he's actually good, but the big question remains his offense and health.  I think he can hit a medium range shot (something I'm not convinced Morgan or McGary can do), but he has to show that consistently.  I think he'll play decent minutes and is a total wild-card that has a decent upside.
• McGary - I'm really excited to see how good he can be.....as a sophomore.  As a freshmen you see a lot of post players that are slow to contribute and I think he'll be a rotation player for much of the year.  His energy, size, and rebounding will earn him minutes, but I'm not sure he knows what to do in the offense yet.  I am not convinced that we'll see him play much PF unless Beilein changes his system based on the roster.
• Beilfeldt -  No clue what to expect, but I'm guessing he doesn't play much.  I could see him rotating in at PF a little against bigger teams but probably not much of a contributor this season.
• McLimans - Love the Darko victory cigar analogy.
• GR3 - Even though he's a little shorter (6'6") than some of his scouting reports suggest, I think you'll see him play a lot of PF this year.  Most college teams are small and Beilein likes to spread the floor.  I also think he's going to be one of the most talented players we have. 

I'm excited for the front-court depth this season since it has been ages since we've had that around this team.  But I feel a little nervous that it will be like having Borges coach a spread-option QB in that Beilein normally doesn't have a bunch of post players in his system and is really going to miss having someone like Smotrycz around. 

With that being said, my prediction for rotation:

PG - Burke

SG - Hardaway

SF - Vogrich early in the season, GR3 or Stauskas by B10 season

PF - GR3 gets the most minutes, post guys rotate in

C - Morgan starts and plays 20 minutes, Horford/McGary split back-up time at PF/C

I would be willing to bet Dick Vitale didn't have a clue who Jordan Morgan is until somebody showed Vitale what was going to be in his article. Vitale is truly clueless.

To me the premise of Jordan Morgan stepping up is ridiculous. Morgan is what he is; A nice college player with limited upside. With the influx of talent on M's frontline, Morgan will be asked to do less, not more, he just needs to do his less more efficiently.

He could improve as a postman

I haven't read through this entire thread, but I almost want to say it's unfair to Jordan. I went to a few games last year and I have to at least try to defend him for a second. Especially the Indiana game, he was wide open I think around ten times right by the basket and Burke never passed him the ball. Then twice Burke threw it out of bounds when Jordan was open. Now, I'm not saying Jordan doesn't need to step it up some, and yes I only named one game. But there were other times when Jordan had opportunities that he just didn't get looks. But like I said, especially that IU game. It was pretty bad to say the least, he was doing work underneath and they would not give him the ball.

I just looked up his stats and he was 6-7 for 12 points and 9 rebounds. I literally mean it when I say I counted 10 times that he was open, that they didn't give him the ball. Plus those two bad passes by Burke. If he only makes half of those that's 11 for 17 for 22 points. See the difference it makes? Now, he does need to step up. But he also needs to get more looks when he's doing work and playing hard. It's not fair to say he needs to score more if he's not given the opportunity when he is trying to get the ball.

With that said, he still can improve his game and I know he's not perfect. But, I think he'll be fine this season. I also think it will help that Trey has a full year in the system, so he'll be more aware of Jordan and everyone else.