Jones practiced with the team in Indy today.
Good news. Hopefully with him back and Collins' confidence Brooks won't have to play almost 40 minutes for the win on Saturday.
Username does not check out.
Hides the anger very well.
Okay, we need this move recreated in Indy. EVERYBODY now...!
You KNOW I'd be first to join you but, unfortunately, I won't be there.
Founded by the Germans in 1904. IN-DIAN-AHPOLIS means. . .
Land of the Sad Volunteers?
March 18th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
Fantastic news.
Out of Thursday's feared chaos was born the revelation that we just may actually have a viable point guard in Frankie Collins, and the depth required to survive and advance now that the return of Jones tomorrow is likely.
Go BLUE!
From adversity, growth.
I'm absolutely sure I've been predicting Frankie's emergence for weeks, months! (Take my word for it. No need to check my past comments.)
After hints in earlier games, it was wonderful to see Frankie in full Frankie-mode.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
This is good news. The only issue I can see is that Juwan is..... set in his ways. This is not necessarily a criticism of him but I can see a scenario where Collins is simply relegated to spot duty to back up Jones now. Jones is a good player, he should play a lot. But Collins is clearly good and needs to see the floor.
Both of UT's guards are quick and can get to the rim. I think Frankie's speed will be needed tomorrow. Also wonder if Jones will be in a mask? Some guys struggle with that. Obviously great news to have him back, and I think he can body both of UT's guards.
Did he get hit in the nose?
Collins has been averaging like 10 minutes per game since January. Yeah, he usually plays a lengthy stretch in the first half to spell Jones, which I think is the real issue, but that is more than “spot duty”. He’s played real, meaningful minutes when Jones has been healthy.
He does see the floor. He averaged 8 minutes a game in the six games prior to this one. That's quite a bit for a backup guard.
Juwan sets his rotations based on hundreds of hours of practice and a lot more game minutes than just one game.
Frankie played outstanding yesterday. He also came into the game with a 79 Ortg, one of the worst in the big ten. Juwan isn't going to make drastic changes based on a small sample.
Best case, Frankie is more confident during the 4-5 minutes he gets in the first half (which has been a regular thing) and plays better than what got him the 79 Ortg and then parlays that into Juwan being able to trust him for another similar stint in the second half.
Tennessee will present a much greater challenge than CSU.
Michigan is prone to debilitating scoring droughts that can last for long stretches of time. Collins is a very good penetrator who has shown he can finish in traffic and generate his own offense.
He has also shown to be a good on ball defender and Tennessee has two very quick guards who get into the lane and create opportunities all over the floor.
Yes, I do think it is a mistake if he plays only two 4 minute stretches in the first and the second half. Particularly with Jones coming off a concussion and being thrown cold into the tournament after Collins already played a game.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
Great News!
Boom!! DJ and Frankie make quite a 1-2 punch!
Please still play Frankie in spurts for change of pace!!
Obligatory whenever i see the word "practice"
Brooks won't have to play almost 40 minutes for the win on Saturday.
He will regardless. He's averaging 35.8 minutes per game this season, and that's including some blowouts where he rested at the end. In our last six games of the regular season (with Jones in the lineup), Brooks played 40, 37, 38, 40, 40 and 38 minutes.
That said, he won't have to shoulder as much of the ballhandling burden if Jones plays, and that might help the rest of his game.
I know. Howard is a lot like Beilein. He likes to ride his starters.
Brooks is the only real iron man on the team. The other starters' minutes aren't especially heavy.
Dickinson - 32.2 mpg
Houstan - 32.1 mpg
Jones - 29.3 mpg
Diabate - 24.9 mpg
Brooks is just very important to this team. We need his steadying influence.
He rides Brooks because Brooks is so steady on both ends of the floor and clearly has the stamina to handle the minutes.
He doesn't typically ride starters to some extreme degree though.
Yep, I was going to post almost the exact thing. Brooks will play 38+ minutes unless it's a blowout. He's the glue, the steadying force on both ends of the court.
And I don't think we'd play Collins and Jones together. So the only guy coming in for Brooks would be Bufkin.
Great news! Without Jones, we are paper-thin at guard. We'll need the depth against the Vols, Kennedy Chandler can be a handfull.
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For a second there I thought you were able to post your Wordle score to MgoBlog and thought to myself, “Dear god, please not here. It’s everywhere already, not my precious blog!”
But it’s not, so here’s an upvote!
Frankie needs to be the guy. If for no other reason than he can keep his man in front of him on defense.
Happy Jones is back. We will need him if we want to make a run but please Juwan, do not revert back to 5-8min a game for Frankie. It’s March. He’s no longer a freshman. He belongs.
Did you just stop watching Jones in like...December?
He has come so far this year. We straight up would not be dancing without Jones.
What does that have to do with reverting back to giving Frankie 5min a game?
There's a lot of grey area between "needs to be the man" and "not five minutes." I think that Frankie WILL be relied on for increased minutes. But believe me, if Jones can start, he will.
And playing him 30+ minutes will be a mistake.
So you would like Frankie to get 10 minutes as opposed to 5-8? I'm fine with that.
Your original post was disparaging Jones and his defense. His D has absolutely improved throughout the year, as has his command of the offense. He will be the starter and get the starter's minutes.
Having Frankie blossom late in the year like he has is super exciting and could be pivotal for a run. He won't start over Jones and at this point shouldn't.
Has Juwan used a backcourt of Collins and Jones very often or at all? I'd like to run the offense through Collins and use Jones to attack off the wing. This might take some of the pressure off Jones if he isn't 100%.
I would absolutely love to see a lineup of Jones-Frankie-Eli-Houstan-Moussa when Dickinson needs a rest. I think that spreads the floor for Moose to work down low and gets Houstan in his more natural forward position.
Agreed that smaller lineup with ball handlers may be needed. Though I'd be fine with Moussa and Hunter out there with Fulkerson & Plavsic. Hunter has a chance to dominate the paint against Plavsic, who I think is a pretty soft big guy. He falls down all the time on minimal contact, just seems clumsy.
That would be problematic on defense, the 3 would be someone 6'1", and lacks outside shooting.
The problem with that lineup is it pretty much has all of our guard depth on the floor at once.
Hail yeah!!!
Great news 👍
Going to need everyone to get by the vols.
Go Blue 🏀🏀🏀
For those with a subscription to The Athletic, they posted an article just a short time ago about today's return to practice by Devante' Jones.
Coach Howard reportedly stated that whether Jones plays tomorrow is a game time decision.
Hopeful we see some Jones, Frankie, Brooks lineups If need be when Houstan sits. Important Frankie gets solid minutes if he’s playing well like yesterday.