MBB Hello: Ibi Watson

Submitted by Tate on

A little out of the blue, but I'll gladly take a SG from Pickerington:

I'm extremely blessed and excited to announce that I'm officially committing to the University of Michigan!! #GoBlue #MichTape

— Ibi Watson (@ibi_watson_2) July 28, 2015

247 Player Profile

MGoBoard

JClay

July 28th, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^

6'4" SG out of Pinkerington. Class of 2016. Was considered huge Indiana lean and may not have had Michigan offer officially until today.

EDIT: Whoops, missed OPs link to the 247 profile page.

Joined: 09/14/2010

MGoPoints: 13753

ypsituckyboy

July 28th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^

He's got the tools, just hoping he can elevate the motion of his jump shot. Low motion can really hurt you against taller and more athletic guys. Ask Zak Irvin.

Joined: 06/22/2009

MGoPoints: 30512

BlueRy

July 28th, 2015 at 3:54 PM ^

That and there are a lot of unnecessary double-clutches when he drives the lane.  Those layups will get eaten alive by college level bigs.  However, that's not uncommon when you're used to physically dominating your competition at the HS level.  JB will correct it.  Ibi's a solid pickup.  He's skilled, has good size (and wingspan) and definitely plays with bravado, for what that's worth.

Joined: 10/16/2011

MGoPoints: 278

BlueIsland

July 28th, 2015 at 6:21 PM ^

Very rarely did Irvin get his jump shot blocked or had a hard time getting it off. His problem with blocks lies in attacking the basket. He doen't (well as of last season) use his body well in shiedling the defender. 

He needs to drive into the chest of the defender more instead of sliding around or falling away for layups.

Joined: 04/17/2015

MGoPoints: 150

BrotherMouzone

July 28th, 2015 at 5:42 PM ^

Do you mean be a ball hog and make our offense unbalanced? Sorry but watching Caris can be frustrating a lot of times. Hope he learns how to play off the ball better. Our offense seemed to flow a lot more once he was injured. Cant wait to see a full healthy squad though. Now that other guys have developed their games Im guessing we will be a lot more balanced this year.



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Joined: 07/17/2015

MGoPoints: 2087

BrotherMouzone

July 28th, 2015 at 7:17 PM ^

Its just that he tried to create on his own too much and over dribble, which forced a lot of forced shots. I wish he would swing the ball around a little more, move like Rip/Reggie, then get off a quality shot while the defense cant key on him so much. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice player.



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Joined: 07/17/2015

MGoPoints: 2087

BigBlue02

July 28th, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^

New starters and no legitimate big man is why he has to create his own shot. The offense looked better when he was out because it was later in the year and freshmen were playing less like freshmen and Doyle got better at the pick and roll. He will move better without the ball when his teammates learn spacing better, which they should know more now that they aren't true freshmen.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: -1003

MotownGoBlue

July 29th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^

I'd like to see Caris dribble the ball a little less and pass a little more, though he has to have open players that can handle it for that to work. It'll definitely be an interesting year. All of our soon to be sophomores need to take a significant step forward (some more than others) *cough Chatman cough.*

Joined: 08/09/2014

MGoPoints: 25343

ypsituckyboy

July 28th, 2015 at 2:57 PM ^

From what the paysites are saying, he's willing to reclassify. But, I don't think he'll have to because even if UM gets Winston there will most likely be attrition. Not anyone in particular in mind at this point, but that's just how college basketball is these days. It's the rare offseason when a team doesn't lose someone early due to attrition, NBA, etc.

Joined: 06/22/2009

MGoPoints: 30512

BlueIsland

July 28th, 2015 at 6:27 PM ^

Nothing like Lenzelle in my opinion. Lenzelle has exteremley long arms and big hands that allowed him to play bigger but was not a big time athlete, this kid has legit bounce. Not as polished, but I like the comparison that was made earlier to Deangelo Russell.

Joined: 04/17/2015

MGoPoints: 150

MgoTX

July 28th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^

Welcome Ibi! I like the pick up. Seems like a good fit for JBs system. Can't wait to see his development with the coaching and camp Sanderson. Any chance he can play some point?

Joined: 07/17/2015

MGoPoints: 391

ak47

July 28th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^

Hope he is good.  In video posted his handles don't look great and quality of competition seems lacking but if Beilien likes him then hopefully that is good enough.

Joined: 05/05/2011

MGoPoints: 33614