Thoughts on individual performances for MBB at Maui
Overall, I was very pleased with how the team looked at Maui, that is a tough three day tournament. Nobody beat Duke and that loss is ok considering how well they were playing down there. Some thoughts on our individual contributors who logged significant PT:
Burke: It is hard to believe this kid is a true freshman running the point. We have not had a true freshman look this good at the point since Rose (?), obviously different styles of play, but wow am I excited about this kid.
Hardaway: Exactly what you want from him 21, 19, 20 points a game. I think he even has a bit more as well.
Novak: I am so happy he has been able to move back to a more natural position instead of sacrificing for the team. He looks fresher from not banging so much. He blew up against UCLA, but I think we will reliably get scoring in the mid-teens from him, did not see it against Memphis though (however, they are a poor match up athletically).
Morgan: He seems to be pressing a bit, not sure if Horford's minutes are the reason. I hope he can settle back into the offense. He is a needed asset.
Smotrycz: I like his more physical play and more willingness to attempt a drive to the rim, but he has to find more ways to generate offense. He was 8 of 16 over three games which seems like a low number of attempts for a guy who is supposed to be a scorer.
Douglass: Another guy is getting minutes with some uneven play. He will be needed as the season goes on, I am hoping he settles back into a groove.
Horford: Pleasant surprise. More magic from Bacari.
For the first time in a while, I feel good about the starting five not having match up problems before they get on the court and having quality depth. Can't wait from the B10 to start. Great job by our coaching staff assembling and developing this team.
November 24th, 2011 at 10:40 AM ^
I really think Smot can be a great player down the road. Obviously has a way to go still, but I like the way the kid plays. Needs a few more pounds too.
November 24th, 2011 at 10:41 AM ^
Forced a lot it seemed. Better now than during Big Ten season. Kid plays hard so "forcing" it happens.
November 24th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^
I feel like this team by March will be deadly, Burke can only get better as well as the rest of the team.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:38 AM ^
as the season progresses. Obviously he had stellar games against Duke and Memphis, and appears to be ahead of the curve for a freshman. However, I take it that UCLA watched film on Burke, and he didn't operate the pick and roll nearly as well vs. UCLA in comparsion to the previous tourney games.
The question becomes did Burke simply catch Memphis and Duke off guard, as opposing teams rarely scout for freshman PGs that aren't highly touted out of high school, especially in the 4th and 5th games of their respective careeers. Or did Burke simply have less than overwhelming performance against UCLA?
In terms of raw talent, I think Burke has more skill than Darius, but he doesn't have the size. Burke is more skilled than I anticipated, but not as quick laterally as I would have hoped for. All in all, I think he will become the top PG in the Big 10 next year, but the jury is still out this year. Let's see what his learning curve is like before we praise him so highly.
November 24th, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^
A freshman comes in, leads the team to a 2-1, third-place finish at the Maui, and he will "have to get better?" First of all, he is doing fine right now. Even his "bad" game ended in a victory against UCLA, who I don't think are as bad as they have looked so far. The stat line was 5 pts, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. That isn't gaudy, but it looks OK in a win.
Besides, Novak's points had to come from somewhere, and they still play with one basketball. Most freshmen are barely learning how to "lead" themselves to classes by now; Burke is leading a top-20 basketball team. Even the national guys are saying it: Trey Burke is for real.
November 24th, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^
Burke does look for real. But we can not annoint him the chosen one five games into his freshman year. You can certainly make the claim that he lead the team against Memphis, but to say he's(individually) leading a top 20 team is a bit exaggerated. I would say that Novak and Hardaway "lead" the team, but that is just my take on things. He certainly didn't "lead" the team against UCLA, in fact he made repetitve mistakes in identical situations(overdribbling on the pick and roll deep into the shot clock which resulted in a TO).
Bottom line - let season play out, I think Burke is going to be a very good player, but that is yet to be determined.
November 24th, 2011 at 2:59 PM ^
Burke's lateral quickness is excellent, man. He got to the hole at will vs. Duke. Just didn't finish at the with consistency under the basket.
November 24th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^
Burke really really impressed me. I honestly believe he is already better than Morris. He is able to bring the ball up against intense pressure, is able to generate offense for himself and others, and can shoot really well.
Hardaway played solid and efficient. He is a pretty good defender as well. I thought he was going to struggle this year without Morris while being the focus of the other team's defense. It showed how important he is to the team when Duke wouldn't let him have the ball in the first half and we fell behind.
Novak is the heart and soul of the team. I might honestly name a kid after him (and/or kovaks). Even when he scores 0 points he is valuable. Getting 22 is a huge bonus.
Horford has clearly improved, which is a great sign. If we can get solid play out of him the team will do great things this year.
Smot was underwhelming. He seemed frustrated the whole tourney and wasn't strong with the ball. He has potential, but he didn't bring it in hawaii
Morgan can still be productive thanks to burke. He had plenty of transition buckets just from hustling down the floor.
Stu took some horrible shots, but proved that if you over play him too much he can still get to the hole and score. I also finally saw why people say he is our best on-ball defender.
Coach played a deeper bench at times due to 3 games in 3 days. The bench wasn't spectacular, but wasn't a huge liability either.
November 24th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
Wow... I definitely typed that in paragraphs. Not sure why it all ended up with no line breaks.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
But worry a bit about him hitting that "freshman wall" during the B10 slate. He is something special though. And makes good decisions for a young guy too.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
Depth wins championships. Matchup ability wins championships.
This team has a legitamite shot at the Big Ten title.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:27 AM ^
Smot needs to get into a groove and quit forcing. Everytime he gets inside the arc with the ball he gets himself cornered and forces up something.
Settle down, Smot.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
Personally I thought the marching band was lacking stage presence in Maui...
November 24th, 2011 at 4:58 PM ^
Would have been a totally sweet trip for the band through.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
Player thoughts:
1) Hardaway is ready to lead the team. His ball handling, abilities inside the 3 point line, creation of opportunities at the free throw line, and passing have all improved considerably. This is going to be a special season for him and we're never really out of a game with him involved. The thing I loved about the Duke game is despite how uninvolved he was in the first half, that we all just knew he was going to make himself heard before the game was over.
2) Burke looks solid, but the issues people brought up about getting scouted are valid. Also, he is being asked to play a lot of minutes so far; there may be a little bit of a rookie wall factor as we get into the conference season if we can't get him some decent rest here and there. But you have to be happy with what he brings to the table, he's another guy who can create his own shot, hit jump shots, and penetrate. Much more offensively diverse than Morris, and for the future it's probably better that Morris left just because it's given Burke this year to really take the lead.
3) The biggest variability I think is going to come from the frontcourt. Horford being more comfortable finishing near the basket and actually being able to use his body is important; it's a good insurance policy for Morgan foul trouble. Morgan looks more comfortable finishing around the basket with his left hand, shooting the 10 foot jump shot, and using his quickness in the post. Smotrycz also clearly has worked a lot and has a lot of different tools at his disposal; he just needs to get himself under control and stay on the court. With the coaching we have, these guys I think will all play better as the year goes on but I could see Smotrycz being inconsistent.
November 24th, 2011 at 11:59 AM ^
November 24th, 2011 at 12:10 PM ^
I'm happy with the last 3 games, especially given their first few games where the offense looked completely out of synch. Still, I think they have a way to go before we know how good they could be.
I think some are a little tough on Smotrycz. He is still a young guy trying to develop a more well rounded offensive game. So he looks a little rough but I think he will become more polished. He's an improved rebounder already and going 8-16 is fine with me, I'd rather see Burke, Hardaway or the hot hand getting more shots at this point.
Burke didn't look as effective last night which could be nothing more than the result of going 3 games in 3 days. He's shown some great signs though and his quicks and shot give him a long-term advantage over Morris.
Horford had a great first half against UCLA. He too is young so I'm not sure when he will be able to provide a consistent performance. He's improved though and I saw signs of why he may ultimately pass Morgan by.
Zach and Stu are themselves. Even without Novak's offensive explosion last night they have important roles as glue guys, talking on defense, settling the team down.
I like this team a lot. It's a JB kind of team in terms of their collective basketball IQ and given his coaching abilities I'm pretty confident their best basketball is ahead of them this season.
November 24th, 2011 at 12:31 PM ^
Burke is farther along than Morris was at this stage...WAY further along. Not sure if Burke has as high as a ceiling, but WOW.
Junior is Junior. He has the shooting stroke of Tim Sr. I hope that we see a bit of a step forward in Big 10 season - he's the team star now.
I like Novak, and hope that he can be the last double digit scorer this team needs, especially in his senior season.
What happened to Morgan? I was looking for him to be the team's second-best player this fall..or at least take more shots.
November 24th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^
I know this thread talks about individual performances, but one of the most surprising strengths of our Maui performance was our overall rebounding. We outrebounded Memphis, Duke, and UCLA. Very impressive, especially given the oft-repeated theme that Beilein's teams consistently get outrebounded.
Smot, in particular, looks much stronger on the defensive rebound. Horford has a nice nose for the ball, and Morgan is a workhorse. Novak...true grit. This bodes well for B1G season play.
November 24th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^
I love Morgan, but Horford looks like he might seriously challenge for the starting spot. Horford has the length and athleticism to make more plays around the basket at both ends. Morgan is still valuable against the bruisers, of course.
November 24th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
November 24th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
While this is about individuals, I'd like to say our team defense is some of the best I've ever seen. The help side defense is always there immediately, ready to take a charge. the defensive rotations are seemingly flawless. I LOVE watching this team play defense
November 24th, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^
My fears, admittedly faint, about this being a redux of '09-'10 are already over. You could tell almost immediately that something was not right with that squad. This team is going to gel very well and Hardaway/Novak are big-time leaders.
November 25th, 2011 at 1:18 AM ^
Morgan may be pressing a little, but Darius Morris got him a ton of uncontested layups and dunks last year with the pick and roll, and his very high BB IQ and court vision. Burke has looked even better than advertized so far.