Potential MBB lineups next season
So there’s a whole lot of things to be decided in the next few weeks. The Shannon news does not appear to be official yet but I would say things are looking good. Obviously we are waiting on decisions by Hunter, Diabate and maybe Houstan but he likely returns. So just for fun, here’s some potential starting 5’s.
The worst case:
C: Reed-Fr
PF: TWill
SF: Jett
SG: Bufkin
PG: Collins
-This would be a young team who would probably struggle but I don’t think you would see us striking out on everyone and we would probably look to bring in another transfer in this case .
Somewhere in the middle:
C: Diabate
PF: Houstan
SF: Shannon
SG: Bufkin
PG: Collins
-I actually really like this lineup because I think Houstan would be better at the 4.
Ideal:
C: Dickinson
PF: Diabate
SF: Houstan
SG: Shannon
PG: Collins
-This would obviously be our ideal scenario and we will see soon enough what happens.
I think if any of 2 of Dickinson, Diabate and Houstan come back, we should be in good shape since Diabate can play the 4 or 5 and Houstan can play the 3 or 4. I think people are generally under the impression now that Dickinson and Houstan will be back, so with that assumption a line up of Collins, Shannon, Williams, Houstan, and Dickinson sounds pretty damn good. Collins can penetrate to the basket and drive and kick. Dickinson is Dickinson and will hopefully continue to be even more automatic from anywhere on the court. Williams will hopefully continue to be a high intensity guy who continues how he was playing at the end of the season. Houstan hopefully takes the next step as a more consistent shooter especially coming off of screens and as a defender. Then hopefully Shannon can be that glue guy. Bufkin, Reed, and Jett off the bench
I agree that 2 out of 3 would be great. Adding Shannon to that mix gives the look of a very solid team. I didn’t know the optimism of Hunter returning was that high though.
Hunter’s instagram signature says:
Your favorite 7’2 point god
Is he claiming to be 7 feet 2 inches tall and a point god (as in a point guard from New England), because that would be something to see. Or is he claiming to be 7 feet tall and a god at shooting 2 pointers?
If you want him to come back, show him some NIL love:
https://theplayerstrunk.com/collections/hunter-dickinsons-trunk?page=1
Uh, pretty sure he's saying he's good at scoring points, ie a point god. not specific to shooting 2 pointers because there are other ways to get points.
"Point God" is one of Chris Paul's nicknames FYI. So HD is likening himself as the 7'2" Point God.
I originally thought there was zero chance that HD was returning, but there seems to be a growing number of those close to the program types that are seemingly optimistic he may eventually come back especially as NIL money grows. If he does, I will gladly eat the crow and a couple of pigeons.
I heard some rumbling about Bufkin possibly departing, but would pray that's not the case. It might be a case where opting for a mature two man is just too great a need to avoid, but Bufkin looked good to me last year, while just failing to put the ball in the basket. He's full of promise, though--has the look of a classic two guard if things work out.
There's a real question about Collins making shots, too, but he looks really good on every other front.
That would definitely be unfortunate about Bufkin. I really hope Michigan plays Shannon at the three and Houstan at the four next year (and hence Bufkin at the two).
Honestly, that "middle" lineup presented in the OP is probably a better lineup than the "ideal" lineup if Bufkin and Moussa make even average sophomore leaps relative to their talent. Because not only is Houstan better suited for the four, as the OP correctly points out, Moussa is better suited at the center position.
UM will challenge for the B1G Conference title and the NCAA championship if two of the top three return and Shannon is made official, along with the incoming recruiting class.
This is true…now have a few words with your grandson please.
This is absolutely no knock against Moussa because I think he has a ton of talent and upside, but in the current college game I think the 2nd lineup is actually a more productive one. When Moussa and Hunter are in at the same time outside shooting is obviously an issue and spacing becomes a problem
I agree and I think it's precisely because of Moussa's talent and upside that the 2nd lineup could be better if Bufkin and Moussa make even average sophomore leaps relative to their talent. Said this about but not only is Houstan better suited for the four, as the OP correctly points out, Moussa is better suited at the center position.
I was just looking at potential center transfers in case both Moussa and Hunter leave (which sounded likely I thought based on Matt EM's comments), and I'm surprised we haven't heard anything about Johni Broome out of Morehead State. Had a stellar soph year and his top 8 is Auburn, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Houston, Kentucky, Louisville and Memphis.
Wonder if we made a push. Maybe not because we don't have the spots / clarity around Moussa and Hunter? Would be surprised if we didn't try to get in on him and maybe we just didn't make the top 8?
April 23rd, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
I think it's perfectly fine if shannon and houstan hit threes like as advertised. Also dickinson shiwed he can step out and hit a 3 as well. Domt think we can expect much 3pt shooting out of collins though.
But yeah, if there's any kinks in that plan it fals apart very quickly with spacing issues.
Ideally, Houstan puts on about 15-20 pounds in the offseason and is your starting 4. Hunter starts at 5 and Diabate gets the backup minutes at the 4 and 5. Michigan needs more shooters on the floor. Likely TWill starting at the 3 and Jett backing him up. Shannon/Bufkin splitting time at the 2. Frankie/Dug at PG.
Why not play TWill at the 4 and let skinny Houstan stay at 3? Don’t see him adding 15 pounds in one off-season.
Because he can’t defend on the perimeter.
Because Houston doesn't, and will never, have the foot speed to stay with 3s.
I really hope Bufkin stays. I don’t think Juwan gave him enough run this year, so i get why he might look around if they play Shannon over him. A lot of scouts were higher on Bufkin than any of Michigan’s other commits when it comes to long term pro potential. I don’t think Howard did the best job with managing his minutes this year
After watching Bufkin get blown by countless times by opposing wings, you wonder if Howard did the best job managing his minutes? I think Howard knows his players a little better than a message board user.
Just like coach B did a great job giving all those ball screen actions to X over Jordan Poole. Coaches are always right!! …is an interesting and false take. Could I be wrong, absolutely. But I’ll take the bet that if he transfers Michigan will regret it and that he could have used more minutes this year.
Merely not having the same opinion as an authority figure doesn’t make you automatically wrong. When Martelli was coach he gave Bufkin a little more run at key times. He was also at those practices. Is he also a random person? Sigh. Discourse on the internet
Disagreeing with an authority figure does not automatically make you wrong.
Acting like you know how many minutes a true freshman should get when you've seen next to nothing from them makes it extremely likely you are wrong.
I look forward to all of you telling me how right you were at the end of Bufkin’s career. Sigh again. Coaches are sometimes wrong. Not playing a guy some games and playing the 3 guys at the 4 spit line up was criticized by a lot of people, including former players. I didn’t say he should have had thirty five minutes a game. I suggest the should have played more. It’s okay to read carefully internet. I promise you, as a college professor, it’s possible to do more than just be obnoxious when you don’t agree. Be better
The fact that Jordan Poole is a fucking wonder now does not mean that John Beilein was doing the wrong thing with trying to help a whole team win games back then; dunno why people think that these two things necessarily go together. The fact that so many people were on Beilein's "side" then, ridiculing JP and his family, makes the current new hot take about Beilein still more hilarious. But you are right--memories are so short. Beilein went through--or ignored--long periods when the fans were highly critical of him, too.
Mine is not current. I said it that year when the team ran into trouble scoring a lot down the stretch of the season. Merely saying, hey, I would have run more offense through poole is not quite the insane post people make it out to be. Reasonable people can disagree.
I promise it’s possible that by using poole in more actions that team had more upside. It’s possible he wouldn’t have been any better than X. We don’t know. I was hoping he got the shot at the time. People on here thought he was the worst player on that team for whatever reason and wrote about it a lot.
i mean, I know it’s an error to ever have an opinion on the internet. And I regret it already.I guess the right take is that I hope that bum transfers?? But like, as someone who has played and coached basketball, I like Bufkin’s upside. Sorry internet for deeply offending you with this take.
Are you suggesting today’s Jordan Poole looks anything like sophomore in college Jordan Poole? Because he needed a lot of coaching and improvement to get to where he is today.
That being said, the point you are making still isn’t a good point as ball screens with X were very effective and Poole’s strong suit isn’t and has never been distributing the ball. Jordan Poole isn’t a pick and roll guy, he is a one on one guy or a step back 3 guy. That team that misused Poole won 30 games, placed 3rd in the B10, made it to the B10 tourney championship game, earned a 2 seed and got to the sweet 16
Wow! The vitriol remains alive and "well".
April 23rd, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
Coaches dont always get the results, but yes, unless you're a coach/expert at a high level yourself 100% of the time a coach like beilein or howard especially with the staffs they have behind them, will make the call that gives the team a better chance of winning than you or i would.
Bufkin didn't get blown by any more than Houstan did. And, even the most ardent defender of Coach Howard should be able to acknowledge that, since the inception of his Head Coaching tenure, his rotations, substitutions, and management of player minutes has been a glaring weakness. He consistently played Zavier Simpson through fatigue (35+ minutes). He over-played Devante Jones to the detriment of the team for, at least, the first half of the season. And then, played him through fatigue and apparent injury in the Indiana game (BTT). Further, he played Houstan to the detriment of the team for extraordinarily long stretches of an inefficiency that bordered on abject futility. He mismanaged Williams minutes all season - how does your 2nd best 3pt shooter, and a high-energy guy get 15 minutes per game and not get off the bench when your team is blowing a 17 point lead?
The Indiana BTT 1st round game is a microcosm of Coach Howard's ability to manage minutes. It needs more work than Houstan's jump shot!
Could you blame Bufkin for transferring? After spending a year watching the coach give a fellow freshman a 100ft leash while your leash was 2 feet, and then having the coach bring in a senior transfer at your position, why would you hang around for another year of limited minutes? It's obvious that the coach doesn't value your development. Bufkin's best hope is that maybe he'll get significant minutes as a Junior (if the coach doesn't fall in love with another transfer).
Coach Howard's treatment of Houstan is really inexplicable. Houstan was bad or nonexistent for a vast majority of games this year. Yet, he never saw a reduction of minutes. Bufkin, along with Williams, could have a very good game (or half) and not be rewarded with an increase in minutes in the next game or next half. After a big shot vs OSU to seal a trip to the Big Dance, Bufkin didn't get off of the bench in the next game vs Indiana. And Williams, after a career best 21 points vs OSU, while Houstan shot 0-10, saw a reduction in minutes from his measly 15 per game. All the while, Houstan and the rest of the starters were blowing a 17 point lead and missing every field goal for damn near 10 minutes! If Bufkin or Williams were your kid, would you trust Coach Howard with their talent? He's already proven that he doesn't value them.
I think we will have a much better answer to this question by Monday. The decisions for the three have to be in and I suspect we will hear something much more definitive on Shannon by then. My only real thought up until that time is that I really don’t want to see Bufkin and/or Barnes transfer. Both of them have a lot of promise and we haven’t gotten to see what they can do yet. If it was this time in 2023 then you would have a lot more information on both of them and what they are or are not bringing to the team. For me, I would just like to see Houstan and one of Moussa/Hunter back and to maybe add Shannon(we’ll see) to the roster.