#FreeFrankie
This is a bit of a snowflake post, but what the hell has Jones done this year to deserve the minutes? When Collins is in the game, he is attacking, and either going to the hoop, or kicking out to open players, which gets the offense moving.
Get Frankie some minutes Juwan!
November 24th, 2021 at 9:02 PM ^
Jones looks sloppy, slow and lost out there.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
I don’t know shit about basketball and usually only post about football, but I totally agree. He appears to have no quick twitch to him.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:59 PM ^
I'm at a loss as to why Jones is playing the point. He looks lost, uncomfortable, and shows little to no leadership when on the court. Hoping he figures it out because this team needs someone to step up and be a floor general.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:14 PM ^
I don't want to pile on the kid. I was hopeful things would eventually turn around. They haven't. They don't seem like they will. Crazier things have happened but...have they? I'll leave it at that about his play.
But dear lord, the physical look of him. I've subconsciously thought this from game 1 or 2...but he looks like his knees ache to high hell and he feels like a 48 year-old downtown YMCA veteran. The quick twitch notion as mentioned above...is non-existant. Was he in a car accident this last summer we don't know about?
November 24th, 2021 at 9:22 PM ^
Hate to say it, but it's time to bust out the Banana Peel for Jones. Mike Smith had one for stretches of last season, and I don't recall him ever being this error prone. I was optimistic that he would figure things out, but at this point, I seriously doubt his capabilities to be a lead guard for a team with even moderate expectations. Maybe he has some juice as an off guard, but at that point, he's redundant with Eli who shoots better and is far steadier.
Juwan is coming around to Moussa as a key player, with him getting the critical minutes down the stretch. I think it's about time for Collins and possibly Bufkin as well, to at least get genuine minutes over Jones and to a lesser extent, Houstan. These guys have flashed in their limited time, and Jones is making tons of mistakes as is, so I say ride with the young guys and at least see what they got.
November 25th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
Just classic.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:21 PM ^
Jones is adjusting and it's rough. This is my opinion: Trying to show he's enough of a beast on D to get a shot in the league resulting in a bunch of fouls . He's also not used to passing to taller players. You could see him miming a pass above his head whenever he would drop a bounce pass to a big early this season. He doesn't know when/where to shoot. Frustrating but he and the team have a month+ to figure it out.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:26 PM ^
Since game 1!
Even when they looked alright he still seemed like a 3rd stringer in there. Versus Buffalo I figured it was first game jitters. Now its 6 game jitters....Has he made any notable plays?
November 24th, 2021 at 9:02 PM ^
Yep. Pretty much sums up my thoughts. That and why the hell did Nunez come in before Bufkin? I trust this team will get better but the substitution patterns have been maddening.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
Bufkin got no run at all. Discipline or sick? Where’s Zeb?
Jones will drive everyone crazy by end of the year
November 24th, 2021 at 9:21 PM ^
"by the end of the year"?
Its happening now...he's lucky he didn't have a handful of more turnovers....he's horrible out there...its beyond me why he's getting so much run...
We are running Eli ragged....and against tartelon st....
November 24th, 2021 at 9:35 PM ^
Zeb has been out with some unspecified illness all season, but he’s been warming up the last couple of games, so presumably he’s getting back in shape.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:44 PM ^
From what I saw at one game live, Zeb is out there for warmups but didn’t do any of the drills and didn’t shoot.
Once he’s healthy I want to try a lineup of Eli at 1 and Zeb at 2. I think that he was pretty erratic trying to run the offense in mostly garbage time last year but 1 he’s big and athletic enough to defend the 2 very well, or even a 3 if Houstan is having trouble, and second when he committed MattD said he has “a legit stroke from beyond the arch as a scorer.” so I think he could provide some scoring that this team seems to need.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:18 PM ^
Collins at point.
Eli at the 2.
For now. Until Zeb shows what he can and cannot provide.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
These guys are a hard watch right now. He should just start from scratch and play the guys that deserve to play, regardless of stars or class. Johns shouldn't even be playing, let alone starting. Jones is just bad. Outside of Brooks and Dickinson this team is lost.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:19 PM ^
I thought Brandon played okay. He was involved in some mistakes, but he was involved in some good plays as well. Everyone had mistakes; this team is still working things out.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:13 PM ^
It must be the ages old Michigan tradition of rewarding the upper class players even though they have no business playing in front of younger players. The problem with Jones is he makes freshman level mistakes, doesn't lead the offense, turns the ball over way more than a B1G PG should, takes awful fouls and is in foul trouble every game. He hasn't been shooting particularly well either. So what is the point in playing him other than he has more experience than his more capable backup?
November 25th, 2021 at 12:46 AM ^
Are you slow? How many UPPERCLASSMAN do you see? Gtho with that amateur crap. Young team still growing,”period!”
November 25th, 2021 at 1:18 AM ^
Slow? Amateur crap? I think the only person that understands WTF you are trying to say is you.
My comment was about Davante Jones getting more minutes than Frankie Collins. And it is adding to and agreeing with the OP. Jones is an UPPERCLASSMAN the last time I looked and he is getting more minutes than his freshman backup which I believe is a detriment to the team at this time.
Maybe all this PT will help Jones round into form soon. I sure hope so but who knows? I would rather take the chance on the freshman with the higher ceiling and give him the PT advantage over Jones.
November 25th, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
Your post makes no sense since the one guy most people are complaining about is an UPPERCLASSMAN!!
November 24th, 2021 at 9:02 PM ^
Poor damn Davante. He is having a hell of a time getting anything positive done so far
November 24th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
Jones is a spaz
November 24th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
I have never seen more turnovers in a game in my life that didn’t involve the Harlem Globetrotters
November 24th, 2021 at 9:18 PM ^
You never watched the Amaker teams?
November 24th, 2021 at 9:55 PM ^
I'll raise you the Ellerbe teams. Vs Duke.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:25 PM ^
I find myself calling for 1/2 court hook shots. Man, the Genereals sucked.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:04 PM ^
I think it’s absolutely fair to start asking some serious questions about this team and to lower expectations pretty substantially. We lost a lot this off-season but yea, this team needs a reboot and pretty quickly before the wheels fall off.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:06 PM ^
This is incredibly premature. Two returning starters and FIVE potential contributors who have been on campus for almost no time at all...Honestly, give it a minute before you freak out.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
Appreciate that take. I don’t share it but I appreciate it. This isn’t a one time thing now. It’s a pattern at this point. They are replacing a ton as both of us said but my point being, it’s pretty obvious this isn’t the potential final four team many had in mind. At this point it wouldn’t shock me that we are closer to the bubble than the final four.
but it’s a long season and we both want the same thing. Go Blue!
November 24th, 2021 at 9:11 PM ^
6 games into the season. It's not a pattern. It's just a multi-game process. We have no idea what this team is yet. Patience.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:10 PM ^
I’ll give you that thought against Arizona and maybe Seton Hall (which got beat by Ohio St) but not Tarlenton St. This was horrendous across the board and Juwan + staff deserves criticism for his roster management and the teams lack of fundamentals.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:18 PM ^
I'm not denying that it was bad. I'm simply saying trust the process. It is six games into a season that is a near-complete reboot. No Livers, no Wagner, no Brown—replaced by Freshmen and a transfer. There could be some clunkers, but they could also click. My point is we don't know.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^
I get what we lost and I’d love to trust the process but it’s obvious Juwan isn’t seeing the absolute clusterfuck out there. The fact that Nunez even plays and Jones played the whole second half doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies for the rest of the season. I hope you are right and we click but I don’t see youth, I see lack of fundamentals, low energy and upper classmen who are playing more than they should.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:37 PM ^
I think it's absolutely outlandish to suggest that Howard doesn't see what's not working. Do you honestly think that we're noticing things, and a guy who was heralded as a brilliant basketball mind BEFORE coming here is just missing 'em? Get real.
He's tinkering with lineups to find chemistry. Fundamentals will come with coaching and development, especially for new players.
I'm certainly not enjoying these crap games, but I will be *shocked* if this is how the team looks in January.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
Kobe not playing a second and Collins not playing a second of the second half was not a result of Howard tinkering with the lineup. Keeping Jones in the game despite his obvious struggles was a legit coaching mistake and it’s okay for fans to point that out.
November 24th, 2021 at 11:14 PM ^
I agree with BostonWolverine here. And I disagree that it's a "legit coaching mistake." Maybe Juwon is convinced that Jones needs more PT to improve? Maybe he's trying to encourage him? Maybe he's seeing things in practice we don't know about? Coaching can't really only be about seeing a player make mistakes and immediately benching him.
I understand, Jones is really struggling. But coaches need to think about not destroying a player's confidence as well -- particularly a player who you're counting on to play a significant role later in the season.
Howard got us to the win, with a team that -- we absolutely all agree -- is really having a hard time. And if you want to suggest that, in your opinion, we'd be better served with Jones on the bench, fine. But geez, the confidence reflected in your flat rejection that there can be any value to leaving him in is pretty impressive.
(Personally, I'm still hopeful that Jones will adapt and start to click with this team. I don't think you can do that from the bench, and in my opinion, these are exactly the kind of games you ride with him (and Johns) to try to help him figure some things out.)
November 25th, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
My guess is that a game against Tarleton St is exactly the game where Juwan plays a lot of Jones and a little of each of guys like Collins and Nunez because he can still win despite tinkering. So that he figures out exactly what he’s got.
So I’ll give Juwan the benefit of the doubt and assume that after this game he recognizes that Jones just isn’t a high major point guard, can’t protect the ball and can’t create for others (he was a non-shooter scoring guard in a mid major conference, which is great for him, but not remotely what this team needs him to be).
And that Nunez, whose one skill should be 3s, is not cut out for real game time. So from here you ride Collins, Bufkin, Zeb and see if the youngsters can emerge.
THAT is the development that needs coaching, not a guy like Jones who is what he is and only here a year.
November 25th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Unfortunately , Our starting point guard has no chemistry with anyone or anything ( THE BASKETBALL) in particular. He is not the answer. Missing on him is a big problem. Don't compound that problem by letting him take minutes away from Collins. Collins needs playing time. Jones will take us nowhere. Frankie Eli and Zeb should be our guard rotation.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:36 PM ^
Also no Austin Davis to inject some offense into the post when Dickinson goes into an offensive funk or gets in foul trouble.
The improvement we had at center last season has completely evaporated away.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:22 PM ^
Hot seat
November 24th, 2021 at 9:38 PM ^
Somone posted they miss Beilein coaches kids
100% agree, this team is fundamentally horrid
November 25th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
This is a dumbass take, sorry. Neither Dickinson nor Wagner was a Beilein-coached guy. Mike Smith and Chaundee weren't, either.
It would be fine to say they miss Livers, but don't bring Beilein into it.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:11 PM ^
This team is bad. They could get better, but how? Do what the poster you responded said. Tear it down, and start from scratch.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:12 PM ^
I don’t know, man. You’d have a legit point if this post was made after Seton Hall or Arizona, two teams who may have been unranked but are still tournament quality teams in just about any given year.
But this was Tarleton State. A team that has only been playing D1 ball for two years and has never won a road D1 game. This was baaaad.
They won, and that’s what matters. But this game was a serious “come to Jesus” kind of game. As it stands right now, this is not a tournament team. Now that of course can change over the next few months. But right now? They are not a good team at all.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:19 PM ^
Luckily, we don't decide who makes the tournament in November. This team isn't good right now, but it needs time. The turnovers are bad. I'd be willing to bet the coaches know that and MIGHT focus on it a little bit.
November 24th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
It’s funny you should mention good teams, because Kansas and Wichita State we’re only up 8 and 7 at the half respectively. WSU was only up 9 with 6 minutes to go and while Kansas pulled away late, they were only up 11 half way through the 2nd half. Just because they haven’t been playing D1 very long doesn’t mean they haven’t given good team fits this year.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:19 PM ^
Also, keep in mind that Zeb Jackson hasn’t played yet. He’s been out with an illness but is close to returning.
November 24th, 2021 at 9:46 PM ^
He's not much of a shooter either, so what will he provide?
November 24th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
He’s supposed to be improved as a shooter. Even if not, if he can help cut down on turnovers that’d be nice.