Kam Chatman Staying in Ann Arbor For Summer
Nice article about Kam Chatman by B. Quinn.
Link: http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/03/kameron_chatman_michigan_2.html
While there have been other articles similar about the adversity he's faced throughout his year and season at UM, this article contained an piece of info I haven't heard.
It seems Chatman is staying in AA for the summer instead of going home. He'll go through the same regimen that Stauskas and LeVert did when they stayed for their summers. It's really good to hear that he's making a effort to get better. I'm excited to see how improves next season, and this certainly should help him live up to the hype that came with him to UM.
Also, didn't realize this until now, but Chatman is young. Like almost LeVert young when he enrolled at UM. Chatman is still 18, and won't turn 19 until summer. So if we're looking for bigger leaps throughout their time at UM, Chatman is a prime candidate.
UPDATE: Per Alejandro Zuniga's twitter, Dawkins said he's staying as well for the extra workouts as well as "most of the freshmen", whatever that means. So, that's really good to hear.
EDIT: as a clarification, even though the nominclature seems to be staying for the 'summer', the extra training is actually more in the spring. I believe an old article said this optional training starts in April, the player stays for the spring term, and gets an extra 7 weeks before the rest of team comes for the summer term for required workouts. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:25 AM ^
I have said all along that he is a freshman who played like a freshman. The upside is that he will probably stick around longer than his sophomore year. That's probably the big "silver lining" for this entire season: nobody, including Caris, played well enough to be a legitimate, guaranteed first round pick.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:20 PM ^
March 10th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
Camp Sanderson!
March 10th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
I miss him :(
March 10th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
March 10th, 2015 at 10:27 AM ^
Can he eat one of those mushrooms like Stauskas did?
March 10th, 2015 at 10:30 AM ^
I'm pretty sure the Power Mushroom is a standard diet component in Camp Sanderson
March 10th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
Be careful what you wish for. We definitely do not want our players consuming 'shrooms.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
that would have made the M00N game a lot more interesting to watch.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
+1 for very applicable username/avatar
March 10th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
Maybe not for shrooms but acid totally.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:30 AM ^
Sometimes we get too hung up on these freshman, expecting immediate success. It's a major adjustment, especially someone coming from Oregon. I'd love to see him continue his progress in the BTT & NIT (hopefully), and with staying in AA for the off season we should expect to see a completely different player in the fall. Hope Doyle stays around too.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
I think beyond the obvious physical benefits the guys gain, there are significant intangible benefits. Putting that much work in during the off-season no doubt gives you more confidence since you know you've made big strides. Plus, doing it with the guys from your recruiting class definitely strengthens the team bond, sharing the experience of grueling workouts that are totally voluntary but necessary to win.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
I got that from an authority named Tom Izzo. /s
March 10th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
It was also the fact that he had bounced around several schools before settling in on a HS team. He played his senior year at an extremely low level of basketball, even for Oregon.
Kam was always going to be raw but star rankings mean expectations and expectations mean negativity.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
I really hope Ricky Doyle stays through the summer as well. For big men, the conditioning factor is huge. He put in a lot of work before coming to Ann Arbor, but I bet he can still make huge strides over the coming summer as well. Quickness has been a bit of an issue for him and I'm sure Sanderson can help him with that.
Just looking at Jordan Morgan's transformation from his freshman year to his senior year is incredible.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
he really needs to put on weight and strength.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^
He missed so many opportunities close to the basket this year - just because he could not elevate enough.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
actually his hops aren't too bad--at least in how high he can get. Doyle won a surprising number of jumpballs and there were stray times his elevation was very good. I think his problem is more about quickness--not just laterally, but the ability to get up quickly, and up-and-down-and-back-up-again. Perhaps a difference without a distinction since that to can be improved.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
I wish he could improve his ability to elevate quickly enough to consistently dunk or finish at the rim.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
Agreed. I think the quickness issue was twofold - (1) the up-and-down part you talk about and (2) quickness re: decision-making. There were many, many times this year when he'd get the ball in the post and you could almost see him thinking about what he was going to do. He just took way too long to make a move or two or pass the ball.
I think he will be a great example of the "game slowing down" concept. Although, from his perspective, he needs to speed up and have the game slow down.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^
I agree with you both. Also, there is never a situation where you need or have the time to make 3-5 moves, which Doyle attempted far too often. He has pretty good footwork. One or two moves should suffice--along with decisiveness.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
Second jump on rebounds, when fighting for a rebound and on put backs should be an area of focus. Also, his confidence to go up strong in traffic for a dunk. He is strong enough to fight thru contact.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
YES! I want to PARTY with Kam!
March 10th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
he needs Camp Sanderson more than anyone.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
There is no place like the State of Michigan in the summer!
March 10th, 2015 at 10:38 AM ^
KAMp Sanderson... ehh?
ok, I'll see myself out.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
Something fishy is going on here...
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
March 10th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
"She?"
March 10th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^
came here because Michigan develops players and this summer work is a huge part of it. I think it would be bigger news if someone said they weren't staying.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
All the players are required to come for the 'summer' term and do conditioning and stuff, but they are not required to go for the 'spring' term. Those that do stay get an extra 7 weeks. I know I said 'summer', but it's more like 'spring'. I believe it starts in April. And it's the exception to stay for that; most kids go home. I really only remember Stauskas and LeVert staying after their freshman years doing this recently.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
Derrick and Zak both did it this summer.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
March 10th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
Good for Chatman. He needs to get quicker and stronger. Adding muscle and speed helps more mentally then most would think. Hopefully he takes a huge Stauskas and LeVert leap vs the Donnal hype we were fed most of summer.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
At some point, if it isn't already, JB will make this a requirement when recruiting. Hopefully everyone stays this summer.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
wonder if Camp Sanderson can add something on inbounds passing for these guys too
March 10th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
well since that would be Spike, I doubt it. [I appreciate you were joking]
March 10th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
now you're on to something. maybe in their spare time from Camp Sanderson, they can attend Camp Spike? :)
March 10th, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^
I fretted that he would be a transfer--disappointing season, long way from home etc. Very glad I was wrong. Kam still has high upside.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
Same here. I think Donnal is the next most likely candidate, although it'd kind of screw him since he already redshirted and would have to sit out another year.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
Honestly, that might be best for him. Donnal will, of course, get better. But I think his upside is far lower than Kam's. One defense was that Donnal is really a 4 playing the 5. But the fact that he never got "4" minutes even after our injuries may be telling.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
Can't guard the position, not skilled or athletic enough to play it on O. He is not even at Evan Smotrycz's level.
If he wants to play at Michigan he needs to get tougher, play meaner, more physical, etc. He's always going to be undersized in terms of length, but he's shown flashes of aggressiveness and skill. His upside right now is looking like a Bielfeldt level bench role. He needs to watch film of Jordan Morgan against NBA 7 footers, Zak Novak trying to guard Blake Griffin and so on.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
March 10th, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^
No. No you are not.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
Very low liklihood of Caris coming back, because he's still a projected first round pick(even with the injury).
Next year we should have a good team, but it's way too early to project them being anywhere better than a middling B10 team. The ceiling is kinda high with improvement, but losing Spike will be huge at point.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^