Men's BB v App State - brief observations
Some brief observations/opinions about the App State game last night:
Happy with my Juan Howard bobblehead! Mden is selling them for $25.
Good crowd for a midweek non-conference game.
Team looked great for 30 minutes and then the wheels fell off. Like using Teske in the post. I thought Teske and Castleton together actually worked well. Hopefully we have seen the emergence of Eli Brooks, another (assuming Livers continues as well) 40% 3-point shooter would be very helpful. DeJulius will be a nonfactor unless he starts to show something. Don't know why Nunez is starting over Johns.
Howard is a very laid back (so far) coach. I don't think he said one word to a ref and doesn't seem to micromanage the game.
Jalen Rose seems like a great guy. He signed every hat and posed for every selfiie that the fans asked for. I almost thought the ushers should protect him a little bit and let him enjoy the game.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
I really like Jalen Rose.
I also hope he will not be shooting tee shirts into the crowd at every home game.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
I actually thought Jalen was the best tshirt bombardier I've seen at Crisler. They usually shoot the whole load into one or a few sections. At least Jalen spread it around the whole arena.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
I think the cannon was malfunctioning...
November 6th, 2019 at 3:04 PM ^
Yes. Some cannons have that issue
November 6th, 2019 at 3:38 PM ^
I've been to Rutgers twice and I don't their's works.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:10 PM ^
I usually shoot my whole load into one section as well, and I don't think its due to a cannon malfunction
November 6th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
and usually the same 4-5 sections
November 6th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
Coach Howard's first game he got the win...well done. He is going to grow into the job and evolve as he gets to know his players and what buttons to push. I feel we have a great guy and it'll be fun to watch his style develop.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
I think Hoke has changed the tide on the rivalry. Hell people in Ohio are starting to believe him. Never in a million years I would have thought that. Selling Michigan jerseys is a good start.
[This post is not a knock on Howard, who I like very much. It just brought up a bucket from the memory well.]
November 6th, 2019 at 12:33 PM ^
Looked like our guys are better at passing down low to the bigs. Seems like they put Teske and company in better position to get to the basket.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:44 PM ^
Did you notice how often Jalen stood up and intensely watched the game? I like him and I'm really happy he and Jimmy came, it was really neat - just an observation that I found humorous.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:54 PM ^
Did they announce Jimmy? I missed that he was there.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:28 PM ^
They showed Jalen and Jimmy standing together on the BTN broadcast
November 6th, 2019 at 5:50 PM ^
Yeah, I didn't see him past the tipoff, but he was definitely there. He was also at the scrimmage so I expect to see him a lot. Juwann said to expect Ray and Chris to make it out this season too.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
Last year people were expecting Brooks to transfer because he was lost and Michigan was too big a stage for him. He emerged last night as a key component. I predict that DeJulius will be this year's Brooks. He'll look awful for most of the season then start putting things together at the end and emerge as a leader and force next season. We'll have to put up with growing pains with him, just like we've had to do with every Michigan guard not named Trey Burke.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:19 PM ^
People need to cool their heels on DeJulius. IIRC that's really the first significant playing time he's had in a real game. No surprise that he looked tight when attempting to score, but he did handle the ball quite a bit with zero turnovers.
November 6th, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^
People are really off-base on DDJ, IMO. I expect to be a really good player here.
November 7th, 2019 at 7:52 AM ^
Idk his career is mimicking Cam Chatman’s atm who we all thought would put it together eventually too especially with the IU buzzer beater.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
Zeb will be here next year. [and the growing pains for Beilein point guards is over-stated, see, Morris, Walton and sophomoreSimpson]
November 6th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
More hot takes:
- Got the win with fortitude at the end !
- Showed some flash with the Bigs
- Brooks can shoot ? Damn good
- X looks lost in this offense - no drives to the hoop and can't make 3s, so made too many frustrated turnovers and early foul trouble
- Coach Howard needs to master the art of a well timed time-out and momentum changing "words of encouragement" (sternly talked, of course)
- Need Wagner healthy for the B1G season
But overall, a fun game to watch especially when Teske was on-fire.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
I only saw highlights ... But to me it is quite evident, a few things.
Howard's effect on big men has paid huge dividends. Teske finally looked the way I wanted. Teske just made alot of money with this hire and will get drafted high. Am looking forward to see the other bigs develop.
That Brooks can in fact, play. Been saying this for years.
That we will really miss Yaklich and his D.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:59 PM ^
I've also been saying that about Brooks for the last year. I've always thought he can play - he just needs more minutes on a regular basis to get comfortable out on the floor. He doesn't seem to do well as a bench guy who comes in for some instant offense and then goes sits again for a while. If he gets ongoing solid minutes, even if it's not near 37 minutes, most fans will be pleasantly surprised.
November 6th, 2019 at 3:02 PM ^
I love Teske but he is not getting drafted high if at all.
November 7th, 2019 at 8:16 AM ^
I agree that it won't likely be a high pick, but I think he is very likely to get drafted.
Since exploding in the B1G tournament a couple of years back and then following it up with enough shooting and D to be serviceable, a guy at his height who has shown he does not have cement in his shoes is going to find a long-term role in the league.
My hope is that Howard is able to continue to improve his 10 feet-and-in game on O. He's active enough and has enough D that I think GMs will see a lot of value there in round 2. I'd feel very good drafting him as a 10 year (likely career backup) 4/5 in the second round.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
I only saw highlights ... But to me it is quite evident, a few things.
Howard's effect on big men has paid huge dividends. Teske finally looked the way I wanted.
That Brooks can in fact, play. Been saying this for years.
That we will really miss Yaklich and his D.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
DDJ will not be this bad all the time. He will be a shot creator and scorer (PLEASE!). Maybe Wagner, too. Does he create his own shot? I have not watched German basketball.
I'm a little concerned that Zavier will be lost in the new offense. It might take him time to settle in and figure it out.
Livers still needs more usage.
Johns is ascending.
Teske and Castleton will obviously benefit the most from this coaching change.
We need to reestablish whatever our D was last year as much as possible. Of course Yak is gone and so is Matthews so maybe we can't.
We'll be good, not great.
November 6th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
I thought most of the guys we needed to look good looked good. Brooks, Johns and Castleton all look like players. They should get better and better as they get more experience. DDJ didn't do much in a lot of minutes, but he didn't do much bad either. Even Nunez who I've assumed would end up behind Brooks, Johns, Castleton and DDJ showed something to earn some minutes (best or near best shooting stroke on the team and defense that was not horrible).
Downside was growing pains from Simpson and Livers struggling some when we needed them to carry us to victory. This will come as they adapt to their new roles.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:18 PM ^
Dejulius is thinking too much, still. He needs more floor time. He shot 7 of 8 in the scrimmage, and once he does something like that (or 5 of 8 or whatever) in a real game it'll be on. Then he'll be inconsistent for a while. Then he'll be a player. Hopefully it's by the second half of this year rather than next year.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
I could not agree more. I believe he holds the keys to Michigan being a contender. Simpson is too limited on offense for the personnel we have now. It was clear how frustrated he was already getting last night. Simpson was effective because of several talented wings that really hurt the defense if they sagged when he drove. We no longer have that. Wagner will be a nice piece when he returns but it still will not draw the same amount of attention as Poole/Iggy/Matthews did last year. I am not sure what is going to become of Simpson, but I am quite sure it is not first team All BIG as Ace has predicted. He can only shoot so many hook shots. Dejulius is going to have to play and score if this team is going to win.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
I think Johns holds the proverbial keys, need him to surface.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
Wait--you think DeJulius will be taking minutes from X? Not a chance.
[I actually think the old argument over who was better---Loyer or DeJulius---will end up being meaningless.]
November 6th, 2019 at 3:14 PM ^
I think we should all be hoping that he does.
November 7th, 2019 at 7:55 AM ^
MSU fans are saying the same shit we say about DDJ about Loyer lol.
November 6th, 2019 at 3:39 PM ^
Problem is they are night and day on the defensive end as well! Simpson is elite, while Dejulius gave up buckets to whomever he was guarding last night. At least with Zavier you know if his offense isn’t going he’ll hold an opposing guard below his averages.
November 6th, 2019 at 6:17 PM ^
I don’t know man. Simpson presided over a 20-0 App. St. run last night.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
My observation.
UNDEFEATED!
November 6th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Went to the game. Agree with a lot of what's been said. My observations:
- Teske down low is going to be a beast. Keep feeding him.
- DDJ looks like he already has a huge confidence problem. He missed a bunch of shots against SVSU and his first few against App State, and by the end of the game last night, he wasn't looking to shoot at all. He needs a bit of Antoine Joubert in him - pretend like he hasn't missed a shot in his life.
- Lots of candidates for this (Johns, Brooks), but I'd say Castleton is the early winner of the Most Improved Player award. Playing with a lot of poise and aggression. I loved it when Castleton and Teske were on the floor at the same time.
- I kept forgetting last night that we're soon going to be adding Franz Wagner to this mix. I think we'll be OK.
- There's no yell-out-loud Alpha Dog on this team - like Iggy was last year and Mo Wagner was the year before. Even Jordan Poole could play that role at times. I just don't see anyone that opposing crowds are going to hate, and I think we need that. Maybe that'll be Franz once he joins the lineup, but we need it
November 6th, 2019 at 1:57 PM ^
I don't know how you don't say Brooks for most improved (understanding were basing this on a very early 1 game sample, as you said). But there's been legit offseason hype about Brooks, he's been inserted as a no-doubt starter, and he was the star player last night. They lose that game without him. That's a shocking thing to say about a guy most of us thought needed to be not horrible this year.
I like Castleton a lot, but Brooks - if he can maintain this - is the biggest surprise and most improved.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
I can't argue with that, but Castleton's improvement just surprised me more. I wasn't expecting him to have improved so much.
November 6th, 2019 at 4:03 PM ^
Castleton certainly looked good, but he had an 11-point game in 11 minutes last year, so we had some data that he was capable of good performance. Brooks had never had a double digit scoring game before putting up 24. That’s a massive improvement.
November 6th, 2019 at 4:54 PM ^
Brooks was a starter as a freshman so not sure he is what most people have in mind for the most improved category (versus MVP if he keeps up that shooting pace).
November 6th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
It was definitely cool to see the team get out to a big lead...not so cool to see the lead nearly disappear. Some upsides to the second half struggles though is that it counters players thinking they're better than they are and It makes it more likely they'll learn and improve from it.
November 6th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
My biggest take away specifically about Coach Howard was his calm demeanor translated to the team when they needed it most. How many teams with a 30 point lead would still win when the lead was cut to 4 with a minute and a half left? Especially after missing 5 straight free throws in the previous 3-4 minutes, many of them badly. The answer is not many. It wasn't ideal, but a team playing more uptight at the end would have lost that game. Instead, it's a win with a lot of tape to learn from both good (first half) and bad (second half).
November 6th, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^
Agree on his demeanor being a plus but I did think at a couple points in the last ten minutes he should have called a timeout. They were so out of sync and just dribbling into double teams. Re-set, calm them down.
November 6th, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
Definitely most coaches would have called a timeout at some point earlier in the 18 - 0 run by ASU.
November 6th, 2019 at 10:03 PM ^
I think in a different game at a different point in the season you see a time out called during that run. In his first game coaching a team with good leadership/experience (Simpson, Teske, Livers) you let it go to see if they can right the ship. He has mentioned many times the players are in this as much as the coaches. He proved that to them last night and still got the win.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^
Eli looks light years better than last year, he's really improved. Last year, he looked out of control almost every time he handled the ball. Last night, he looked solid, decisive and confident. He's a completely different player, and I hope he keeps improving. He'll be a force for sure.
November 6th, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
I felt better after looking at the box score. Of the 17 turnovers, 11 of them were Z and Livers. I doubt that they will have another game all year where they combine for 11 turnovers.
November 6th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
I agree on Z not likely to repeat with so many turnovers, but Livers is an unknown quality out on the wing and proactively seeking his own shot. He may simply not have the handle for the role. Then again, will Kansas have nearly 30 turnovers again this year..definitely the first game can inflate that stat.