Michigan4Harbaugh

March 31st, 2019 at 10:33 PM ^

Thanks for sharing. Excited to see how he fits in next season. Would love to see him be a force for us off the bench. We need shooters!

ijohnb

April 1st, 2019 at 8:11 AM ^

From what I have seen of him, I am surprised that Wilson is not considered a five star prospect.  I have only watched one full game, but have seen various other videos of his play, and he is a complete package player right now.  He has a pure stroke, a great first step and handle, is a good and willing passer, plays to get the ball to the rim and can score through substantial contact, and could play several positions in college.  Certainly I know he is in for a massive step up in competition, but I expect him to play right away.  Put it this way, at this point I think that Jordan Poole is going to have to step his game up to hang onto his position for the full season next year.

Champeen

April 1st, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^

He is solid at everything, but not great at any single thing.  His athleticism will provide a lower ceiling too.  Definitely not a 5 star, but also definitely inside the top 100.  I think he is ranked right, but i will say this.  If he has improved his shot this much in his senior year, he could provide some playing time right away (i originally thought no way he plays significant minutes).

I still think Bajema has more upside.  Kid could be really, really good.  But he has a higher chance of not providing anything of value also.  Wilson is a lock to at least be a 2 year starter providing valuable playing time IMO.

Jordan2323

March 31st, 2019 at 11:23 PM ^

Anyone think that him and Bajema come in and at least get in the rotation? I ask this with the caveat that Iggy and everyone else besides Matthews stays. Starting lineup will most likely be Z, JP, Livers, Iggy and Teske with DD,  Brooks, Johns and Castleton off the bench. Nunez could factor in as well. 

Mr. Wizard

April 1st, 2019 at 12:01 AM ^

Bajema reminds me a bit of Levert. Good shooter likes to drive the ball, but needs some Sanderson to add a few pounds. I think Wilson is ready now. He's put on quite a bit of poundage since last year and the kid is on fire from deep right now. He's a really good replacement for Mathews. Maybe not as good as Mathews on the defensive side but definitely an upgrade on offense. If you can find some of his more recent games (I searched YouTube) this year you will see why.

ijohnb

April 1st, 2019 at 8:32 AM ^

He is not remotely the same kind of player as Castleton.  He is slight but that is just how he is built.  Watch some video of him.  He does not play "skinny." 

There are a lot of questions with our roster.  Not in the "do we have talent" sense, but in the "how do these pieces fit together sense."  I think another year of very limited DeJulius is a mistake, and I know I will draw negs and will nonsensically be called a troll and draw comparisons to Maizen for this, but I think that DDJ will have wondering eyes this off-season toward other programs if he is going to ride pine again.  That runs into the "Brooks question" and that question is, what is Brooks?  Can he be a player?  If not, [looks at him like Bob from Office Space], what is it, you would say..... ya do here

As happy, satisfied, frustrated, irritated as I could be with the play of this Michigan team, the constant in the back of my mind was that our rotation was ill-fitted, both in terms of immediate success and for roster management purposes.  Honestly, the fact that is not any better understood what kind of role Brooks is supposed to play than it was on the first day of the season is a kind of indictment on our staff this year in terms of their overall picture.  And it is a microcosm of what I believe eventually doomed the team this year.  When it boiled down to it, nobody knew what role they played when the going got tough.  I don't think it is a question of a lack of "mental toughness" as many have chalked it up to, I think it is an issue of a fundamental lack of clarity.  I think some of it falls on the players, but that an equal if not greater share falls on the coaching staff.

njvictor

April 1st, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^

I'm not worried about DDJ. He seems to be following the usual trajectory of a Michigan PG. Gets a few minutes his freshman year to get his feet wet, gets 10-15 minutes his sophomore year and then gets the starting role as a junior. Brooks I think is the biggest transfer candidate. He showed a few flashes as the end of the year, but he doesn't really have much place on the team anymore. He's a PG-sized SG. And with X and DDJ at the PG next year, and with most likely Poole, Nunez, Wilson, Bajema all maybe getting time at the SG, he doesn't really project to ever get significant minutes on this roster

Michigan4Life

April 1st, 2019 at 2:44 PM ^

Trey Burke, Derrick Walton were forced to play as a freshman because they lost Darius Morris and Trey Burke to the NBA. Z didn't have that luxury because he sat behind Walton. Same with DDJ with Zavier in front of him

I'm not worried

egrfree2rhyme

April 1st, 2019 at 5:48 PM ^

I think you are incorrect about past Michigan point guards under Beilein.  Darius Morris - started as a freshman.  Burke - started as a freshman.  Walton - started as a freshman.  Simpson - became a full-time starter in January of his sophomore year.  Spike - was never a starter other than when Walton was hurt (or the one time Trey was suspended for one game).  There hasn't been a single Beilein-recruited point guard that became the team's starter his junior or senior year.  Not one.  Also, every guy that I just mentioned played significantly more than DDJ as a freshman, scored significantly more, and shot a much higher percentage from 3.  Even Simpson's 3 point % as a freshman was 4 times higher than DDJ's.  And that was Simpson's worst year in terms of 3 point percentage.

I'm not saying that DDJ won't have a good career at Michigan.  There have been guys that played other positions - DJ Wilson, Wagner, and Teske being the most notable - that had extremely quiet freshman seasons and then improved greatly.

But your take that DDJ is following the typical Beilein point guard trajectory is 100% incorrect.

ItOffishul

April 1st, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^

I think Bajema looks a little more in control on his drives and has better form on his shot. Not saying he'll be better than Caris but it looks like Cole understands angles really well and has an efficiency of movement that Caris didn't have. Which is perfect for the Beilein system to put pressure on the defense without being all squirrelly and stuff. 

Mr Miggle

April 1st, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^

Forecasting an 11 or 12 man rotation is always a mistake.

Will next season's team have more players capable of providing good minutes? If everyone but Matthews returns, yes.

We have some attrition almost every year. When only 6 players have gotten consistent minutes,  I'll be surprised is everyone else does return.

bluegary

March 31st, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^

We need all the help we can get. I looked at the stats from our freshman other than Iggy. Horrendous. I saw a lot of freshman playing in the NCAA tournament. We were 3 for 34 from deep with our freshman. This was suppose to be Beilein’s best recruiting class. 3 years ago he took Simpson over Winston. Not sure that was a wise decision. Let’s hope these guys make big strides next year. Purdue OSU MSU are going to be good.

TheCube

April 1st, 2019 at 12:57 AM ^

I don’t think he took him over Winstom. More so panicked after Battle decomitted to Syracuse. I think this was right after Brown went to Cal so Beilein wasn’t about to get strung along by Winston. 

In retrospect, the thought of having both Winston and Langford with the good guys just makes me sad. Sigh

Mr Miggle

April 1st, 2019 at 8:55 AM ^

Panicked is certainly not the word I would use.

He didn't want to wait indefinitely for a guy who appeared to be stringing him along. All along MSU and Michigan were considered to be neck and neck for Winston and Michigan invested a lot of time in his recruitment. Winston said he was close to a decision, then canceled a planned visit here days after visiting MSU.

Simpson came in his place and was ready to commit, to Wisconsin if not here. Anyone that would second guess Beilein's decision to take Simpson in those circumstances would certainly have also second guessed turning him down if Winston didn't come. "Writing was on the wall" would be thrown around for sure.

It's not panic. Coaches have to make those decisions all the time. Beilein has been very consistent in not wanting to wait too long for a recruit before moving on.

4th phase

April 1st, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^

Also a year ago, we were in the final 4 and everyone was glad we had Simpson instead of Winston. Cassius was turnover prone and not really much of leader. He really upped his game this year, so credit to him. Probably helps your leadership skills when you no longer have 2 misused NBA 1st Rd picks on the team.

So now that MSU made the final 4 people are mad we have don't have Winston. Would last year's team have made the final 4 with a sophomore version of Cassius? 

Gentleman Squirrels

April 1st, 2019 at 1:42 AM ^

Winston kept flirting with Michigan but never actually committed. I think the writing was on the wall and Beilein didn't want to get caught without a PG in that class.

As for the rest of the big ten, it'll be interesting how some of these key players can be replaced. Purdue has a decent player in Ryan Cline, but he's no Carsen Edwards. I think they take a step back offensively just because of that. OSU is young and will keep getting better. They started off great this year, but then completely broke down halfway through the year. Not sure what the make of their potential. MSU is a completely different team without Winston. I'm curious if Winston will stay after this year or take his chances at the draft. He's not really starter quality in the NBA, but I can see him being an excellent backup PG. With the year that he's having, I can see him jumping to the next level. 

Naked Bootlegger

April 1st, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^

Regarding Purdue, I have complete faith that Matt Painter will adjust to life without Ryan Cline (he's a senior) and maybe Carsen Edwards (Junior, but 6'1" shooting guards are not a precious NBA commodity - interesting to see how NBA scouts view him).  

Remember, they lost Vince Edwards, Dakota Mathias, and Isaac Haas from last year's squad, yet shared a B1G regular season championship this year and were a hair's breadth away from a Final Four appearance.  Wheeler, Hunter, and Stefanovic all showed signs that they will contribute positively in the coming years.  

JamieH

April 1st, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^

Edwards stock is most likely at an all time high after that last game.  He was just drilling 3-pointers from way beyond even the NBA line.  

In the tournament he averaged nearly 35 PPG and shot 28-61 (46%) from 3.  All while everyone knew he was going to shoot almost every-time down the floor.  Those are historically good numbers--there are only a handful of guys in tournament history who put up stats like that. 

I realize he's short for an NBA scorer, but I think it would be crazy that some NBA team can't figure out a way to at least make him a 6th man gunner off the bench for instant offense. 

 

remdog

April 1st, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^

I am very excited to have him on board next year!  He has a solid all-around game and that should allow him to contribute and compete for minutes in his first year.  I would expect him to compete with Livers and Brazdeikis for minutes off the bench initially.  But I think he's a bit underrated by those who place a premium on "athleticism."  He seems to have all the athleticism he needs with elite skills.

It looks like we will have plenty of sharpshooters to improve our shooting next year - Wilson, Bajema, Nunez and DeJulius.  Livers should add another great perimeter threat to the starting five, an upgrade over Matthews (although maybe a little drop off defensively).  I think this will help spread the floor better and get better looks for Poole who's probably our best shooter if he's more open.  Simpson and Teske are probably never going to be great shooters but should improve further.  

poppinfresh

April 1st, 2019 at 1:50 PM ^

agree with most here on dynamic of shooting improvement next year

the question is how many creators will we have next week

yes hitting catch and shoot threes is good, thats level one, level two is guys that can also get to the hoop, level three is first two levels plus passing to open shooters, level 4 is doing the above plus hitting shots between three point and getting to hoop

if we have 1-2 level 4 guys, then we're gonna be a great team, ideally 2 you can use in PnR situations together