Mark Donnal article in DetNews
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140429/SPORTS0201/304290001
Interesting comparison midway through the article, comparing him to Frank Kaminsky and Adriean Payne.
April 29th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
hope he can add another 15 pounds this summer.
April 29th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
How big are his calves?
April 29th, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^
April 29th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
Not fair to expect him to be Mitch McGary 2.0, but I think Donnal's importance to next year's team is criminally understated. If he is as good, and his game as diverse, as media reports have indicated, the ceiling of this team raises exponentially. I for one think he will be a strong starter and challenge for 3rd team All B1G next season.
though. If that is the case, why are the coaches still using phrases like "should get meaningful minutes in a Division 1 team." Like, uh, yeah, he pretty much has to start next year.
April 29th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^
Kaminsky is a funny one. He was like Caris 12 months ago - a sort of nobody except maybe to the home fans. Then a year later is an all conference type of performer. Kaminsky was a guard in HS and had a massive growth spurt hence was able to bring those skills to the 4/5 positions. But even with that, he was more or less a nobody the prior year.
As for your comment - is there a system a top end player is not suited for?
I was thinking Donnal would be a stretch 4 eventually but just looking at the way the roster is shaping up, he is going to be the 5 for at least his first 2 years... and any move to the 4 will be determined partially by if the 2015 recruiting class can get a 5 who can contribute meaningfully by Donnal's junior season. Otherwise he probably is going to be the 5 his whole career here (or at least 75% of it).
April 29th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
“In our system, you are who you can guard. Mark is in the situation where he’s trying to explore what he can bring the most consistency to,” Alexander said. “Initially, he would be a guy who would start at the five, and as he continues to improve his conditioning and lateral quickness, he could migrate out to the (big forward).”
April 29th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
I really wish the team would staff a competent hairstylist...
first it was Stu as a freshman with the bowl haircut.... then Niks little boy haircut, now Beilfeldt's and Donnal's happy-to-be-me haircuts.... we need some STYLE
April 29th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
“As the game slows down -- at times, it moves pretty fast for him -- and once he finds smooth air in terms of the pace in which college is played and his natural abilities can come to the surface, you’ll find a guy who is a tremendous rebounder, an underrated passer and a high-level shooter." - Bacari Alexander on Donnal
Between this potential and the "nasty edge" that Alexander talked about, it would be interesting to see what Donnal can do in some actual minutes given that statement. It was also nice to hear that he has been working hard in the weight room - Bacari said he was the only person to have consistent multiple-day lifts throughout the weeks going back to last summer. It has been discussed in a few threads, but Beilein's is a system that seems designed to maximize the talents of a wide variety of players, so I am admittedly intrigued to see how Donnal fits in.
Considering the number of times that we've seen the 5 sit at the top of the arc completely unguarded, it will be nice to have a guy who can hit a 3 in those situations. It will force the defense to respect him and open up opportunities for others.
April 29th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
this Donnal/Doyle Kool-Aid is delicious!
Yeah but the sugar crash can be wicked.
Yikes, I was hoping he was the frontrunner for the major minutes at the 5.
It's hard to believe he's anything other than what you hoped he was.
have a point though. Reading that article, the takeaway is "a monster with a versatile skillset" who "may play some next year due to attrition." The article and the quotes are at odds with each other.
I agree -not only is it coachspeak there is literally no other option.
Options outside Donnal getting 22-24 minutes a night
- Doyle: A guy you'd probably redshirt if Horford OR Mitch came back and has zero months on campus as opposed to Donnal's year.
- Bielfeldt: All 6'7 of him
- Bacari Alexander
Michigan regularly has at least 2 bigs on the court at the same time. It seems since Beilein has been here, that has happened very little due to a variety of reasons. Going forward, it looks like we may be able to do that assuming guys stay longer than 2 seasons and Cole ends up coming here.
I loved Morgan, but other than his ability to get wide open off the pick and roll and jam it home he had very little skill on the offensive end. I'm sorry but Horford was horrible on the offensive end. Doyle is a traditional big man with soft hands and an ability to score in the post and from what I've seen and heard of Donnal he's strengths are a mixture of Morgan, McGary, and GR3. He can rebound, score in the post, and shoot it from the outside. I'm excited for both of these players and am looking forward to seeing them develop throughout the season. Hopefully they can play some defense or our biggest weakness once again will be the inability to not get dominated down low by teams with a strong front court.
very least, I think Donnal will have the footspeed to guard guys like Kaminsky out on the perimeter. Key will be adding enough lower body strength to not get ripped aparts by guys like AJ Hammons.
Reading that article makes me pretty excited to see what Donnal can do next year. I really liked the quote about him having a nasty edge. It wlll also be awesome to see him knock down a few threes!
we heard similar glowing reports about McLimans during his redshirt year. I treat these stories like spring football fluff, with gaurded optimism.
the difference here is that McLimans came in as a generic 3* whereas Donnal came in as a top-100 recruit. Talent level is different, as are the reasons they redshirted.
that Donnal can be a quality starter next year at 5 and I don't think I ever had that hope for Blake. Of course, we really won't know for sure until we get into conference play. Thankfully the Euro trip will be a nice cram session/ wake up call for what conference play will be like.
should be just what Beilein needs in the frontcourt. Wish it was at the 4 instead of the 5, but I think we'll see production similar to Smotrycz's sophomore year, hopefully with more rebounding.
Like many I thought Donnal was probably going to be the "stretch 4" in a year or so once we got through AttrititionGate but if everyone actually stays 3 years at UM (what a concept!) you have a pretty amazing lineup potentially in a few years with him as a 5 - potential starters
5 Donnal RS JR
4 Wilson JR
3 Huff (if he comes) SR
2 Chatman JR (Chatman in theory could play anywhere from 2 to 4, and maybe even 1 in a pinch)
1 2015/2016 PG recruit
I know - just a dream to have multiple upperclassmen on the team, but having a Donnal Doyle rotation at the 5 seems ok as it is much easier to recruit impact 4s than 5s if you are not at a school named Kentucky Kansas Duke et al. This lineup would feature 6-8 to 6-9 size at every position outside the 1. I don't see Donnal Wilson or Huff as leaving early (it would only be Huff's second year with team) , maybe Chatman will but bigger picture, I think our days of bemoaning size are soon to be in the rear view mirror.
Let me dream man
B1G Freshman of the Year race will be between 2 (if red-shirts are eligible): Donnal and Kameron Chatman. Nice problem to have.
I doubt Chatman ever plays the 1 or 2. Doesn't have the footspeed or lateral quickness.