[MBB] What was THAT?
An absolute tale of 2 halves. First half was exciting, up-tempo, intense. Everything was going great with this new look Wolverine team. Juwan Howard and his new-look team looked invincible.
Then about a quarter of the way through the second half everything just stopped. The wind came out of their sails for some reason and it looked like they started sleepwalking through the game. X looked unfocused and sloppy. The defense especially, in the paint, was nonexistent. They gave up so many easy layups down the lane. That game was just flat out weird.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:16 PM ^
Livers can catch-shoot but everything else is a mess. Turnover machine and horrid defender
November 5th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
Livers is the least of this team’s problems. The #1 (definitely not the only) problem for Michigan tonight was Zavier Simpson. He was terrible from jump. I can’t recall him ever playing a game as bad as tonight’s.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:28 PM ^
X or Z or whatever he’s called is too inconsistent. And there is no go to player on this team. If Brooks is it then it will probably be a long season.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
Uhh Brooks was pesky on defense and great on offense. I’ll take him being the go-to guy until Franz comes back if DDJ can’t figure it out and X plays like tonight.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:36 PM ^
Another sport in which we're wondering if and when the players are going to be able to figure it out.
"Transition cost" is going to be the phrase of the year in UMich athletics...
November 5th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
Phrase of the 2000’s
November 6th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
These guys haven't played a real game in months and have NEVER played a game in this system. Can we give them more than one bad half to work out some kinks?
November 6th, 2019 at 7:36 AM ^
Simpson looked as if being Mr. cool and throwing crazy passes was the reason he was on the floor. same old nonscorer didn't seem to improve his shooting or anything else over the summer
November 6th, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
DDJ will factor into the point guard position this year heavily. Simpson is a really good defender but his offensive limitations are too glaring. That turnover business started toward the end of last season.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
Please never schedule Appy State for any sport.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
Not even ice hockey?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:35 PM ^
Not even ice hockey.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:44 PM ^
Not even quidditch.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:49 PM ^
Their Seekers are legit. Keeper a little questionable though.
November 6th, 2019 at 9:49 AM ^
Livers had by far the best +/- on the team - the team did BETTER when he was on the floor then when anyone else was on the floor (especially Johns).
November 5th, 2019 at 9:17 PM ^
X and DDJ shouldn’t be in the same lineup. DDJ has the yips when it’s game time or something bc he is not living up to his billing. Neither can shoot at the PG position which is a big problem in modern basketball especially when your coach is from the NBA.
Need Franz back ASAP.
Juwan should keep Johns + Teske/Castleton on the floor bc the big men lineups will DOMINATE 90% of teams.
Nunez and Brooks were surprisingly good imo.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:46 PM ^
Brooks yes, Nunez was just Ok
November 5th, 2019 at 9:50 PM ^
I agree that DeJulius has been underwhelming. I think the problem with keeping Teske/Castleton on the floor together is that Teske became gassed in the second half. We depended on him too much in the first half—he was doing everything on offense and defense—and he didn't have the energy to carry the team on his back in the second half.
Howard needs to find offense without Teske on the floor.
November 5th, 2019 at 11:07 PM ^
Idk if he will get that consistently without Franz being healthy. Buckle up until then. If Nimari is watching, then he should know he'll have ample playing time next year.
November 6th, 2019 at 7:57 AM ^
I definitely agree that Franz could have made all the difference. We need shooters.
November 6th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Castleton was a huge surprise to me. Not world beating but was pretty athletic for a dude his size. I think announcers even mentioned it at some point.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:17 PM ^
An absolute shit show. If that game instills confidence in the outlook of this season, get your head out of the sand.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:21 PM ^
Knew there'd be someone saying something this dumb. Michigan let off the gas in their first game?! This is unacceptable. Probably not even gonna make the NIT.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:28 PM ^
God. I wish you only followed football because all you do is shit on things. This is an unranked team hoping to make the tournament in Juwans FIRST GAME. What were you expecting from the season?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
Good to see you doing something different, oh wait you're being a negative fool again what a surprise. Good to see you're in midseason crybaby mode.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:56 PM ^
Que the overreacting knuckle heads who don’t know their heads from their ass. Relax! Basketball is a long season. Winning this game by 100 or by win 1 means nothing in November or December. I just want to see the team compete before big ten play starts. Why is it every year people overreact after a game criticizing the players or the coach only to praise that same player or coach by the end of the season?
November 5th, 2019 at 11:33 PM ^
Bro. It's Juwan's 1st game. Are you serious?
November 6th, 2019 at 2:18 AM ^
Goodbye then. Don't watch any more games, OK? Thanks.
I'll send a letter to the UP and let you know how the season turns out.
November 6th, 2019 at 6:25 AM ^
I saw a lot of good things, mainly everyone but the 1's.
The only thing I would have liked to see is Juwan get in their faces when they were blowing a 30 pt lead. I'm not sure if he did, but I didn't see it.
Simpson was downright awful but I assume he will get right and when Franz returns this could be a pretty good squad, possibly Top 20ish or more.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:17 PM ^
Have to agree. And I thought I was ugly.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:20 PM ^
First game jitters in new system. Said the same thing in Gattis system. Come along way since first game. I went see how this team is in February. Take win and move on to next one.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:25 PM ^
We didn't show too many jitters in the first 30 minutes of the game though.
We had lots of games like this under Beilein too, especially early in the season.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:27 PM ^
Nah dude. Beilein teams never struggled Nov thru Jan don’t ya know? They went undefeated. This is all Howard’s fault. Not the fact that the roster has 0 shooting/shot creator.
/s
November 5th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
It’s basketball, not a scrape exchange.
New system in basketball may mean more ball screens, post ups, movement, 5 out, etc. It’s not that hard to play help D or set screens
One hand passes, poor help defense, and really only 1-2 players who can dribble may make for more “new system” talk to excuse some long stretches of bad hooping.
It’ll be an interesting year
November 5th, 2019 at 9:20 PM ^
DDJ looked so bad all night. Lost on offense and defense. Big time mental collapse to end the game. Not a good feeling for the players. Yikes.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:26 PM ^
It was nice to see Nunez make some shots, but he's a problem on defense.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:42 PM ^
He was a human pinball machine on defense
November 5th, 2019 at 9:48 PM ^
Someone get DDJ a sports psychiatrist this week. How do you go 7/8 in a closed off scrimmage but absolutely look this lost in your two public outings.
November 6th, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^
All it will take is one game and he will be off and running.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:20 PM ^
Several things happened
- Xavier Simpson did a body swap with the worst point guard I have ever seen for 10 minutes
- Coach Howard is new so does not have a go to play out of a timeout when you need some points
- Juwan is definitely learning on the job. Some chewing out was probably appropriate but never happened.
- Organization on transition defense is still very much a work in progress, which you would expect at this point.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
I’m grateful that we’re moving on with the dub. We looked great for the majority of the game.
That said, you are definitely right about us needing Franz. We ran a 7-man rotation (excluding Johns, who wasn’t 100%), even when we had a lead of 30, which might be part of why we had trouble closing tonight.
Does anyone know if Cole Bajema is redshirting this year? Is it possible that he could crack the rotation and give us some much-needed depth until Franz is healthy?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:36 PM ^
A new coach? You are high. I saw him call plenty of plays but he wasn’t the one out there trying to execute them. Unless you’re a coach I suggest you watch the game a little closer! We went to Teske a couple of times RIGHT OUT OF A TIME OUT. And he blew it both times. Howard has forgotten more about basketball than you can remember. They played flat in the second half period. It happens. We will learn a lot from this one game. Go Blue and naysayers too.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:56 PM ^
I agree with all of your points except #2. Howard likely has some go to plays (I saw a nice inbound to Livers in the 1st half) but he may not have a go to scorer when he needs a bucket.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:21 PM ^
DeJulius and Simpson were horrible all game. Howard needs to make a call right now to a point guard that can shoot. I thought Simpson was going to be a little better shooter this year. Wasn’t impressed tonight. Looked like the same old Simpson.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:26 PM ^
Same old Simpson is completely fine by me. That would mean he's one of the best players in the country. As long as he doesn't regress I'll be happy
November 6th, 2019 at 2:07 AM ^
Simpson was not nor is close to being one of the best players in the country.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:36 PM ^
Not sure why you thought Simpson would be a better shooter this year. He is what he is at this point. I was surprised by how careless he was with the ball. When you’re that bad of a shooter, you have to be better with the ball.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:21 PM ^
Good: Brooks may be a legit 2; feeding Teske works; defense (maybe?)
Bad: Not feeding Teske all second half; Zavier turnovers; free throws; Johns; need Franz in at the 3 ASAP
Indifferent: “It’s a win” cliche
November 5th, 2019 at 9:22 PM ^
Game 1 - expected issues. Although, this team is still plagued with the ‘get lost for periods of time’ syndrome from last season. Only now - the D May not be as resilient to bounce back. They will need more scoring to offset, and the targeted #1 scorer is on the bench injured. Expect growing pains this 1st half of the season.