UM / NBA Summer League Week 1
Here's a little update post for people who like to follow, but don't care to go digging through NBA box scores just to see how a few former friends are doing in the big time.
Overall it's been an up and down start to the NBA Summer League, some peak performances, a bunch of volume shooting, some not so precious moments.
The Good:
Ignas Brazdeikis
Iggy started off a little slow vs the Pelicans, then in game 2 dropped 30 on the Suns. This caused Knicks fans to declare Iggy the steal of the draft while claiming that RJ Barrett is a complete bust. Simmer down Knicks fan. That said, Iggy's shot was falling and any good Michigan fan knows when his shot drops everything else opens up.
Jordan Poole
Summer league is summer league and lets not get all crazy. But we're all aware of the mixed reviews on Poole going pro. Certainly no one was really excited to see the family's comments. And then more than a few people were surprised to see him go in the first round to the Warriors. That said, things seem to be working out pretty well for Jordan in the early going, he's progressing game by game capping off with a 23 point outing most recently.
Duncan Robinson
Duncan Robinson continues to impress with his overall gameplay.
The Medium
DJ Wilson
It's put up or shut up time in Milwaukee for DJ Wilson. There are people within the front office who are high on Wilson and believe he can be an adequate plug-in when Giannis is on the bench, and there are those who aren't buying it. He has been extremely inconsistent over his career.
Mo Wagner
Not a lot yet to report on for Wagner with his new team. His second go was a little better than his first, finishing as the second highest contributor on the team with 13 points.
Long Shots
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
Honestly, I didn't know that MAAR was back up in the NBA fringes fighting for a spot. This time he's with his old college coach in Cleveland. Knowing the Beilein system is definitely a plus, whether or not it's enough to get him to stick, the jury is still out.
Derrick Walton Jr.
Similar prognosis for DWJ. Fighting to hang on to a 15th roster spot and/or a functional year in the G-League. That said, nothing too impressive so far.
I believe Zak Irvin is with the Knicks summer team also. There's a Z Irvin on the bench with a couple DNP's.
Makes sense, believe he's played a year or two now with the Knicks GLeague team.
This is a fantastic post. Thank you!
Awesome post. Would like the keep following these. Great to see a guy like Duncan playing his way into the league, and fun to see more Michigan guys around than years past. Hopefully Matthews can do the same next year. Poole looks impressive so far, will be interesting to see how he does in likely limited minutes during the year. Also hoping guys like Burke, Stauskas, and GRlll can carve out a few more years.
Poole is shooting 34% overall and 23% on threes. Not sure I'd call that impressive.
Having watched a couple games each of Iggy and Poole:
Iggy looks pretty much how he did here. Advanced understanding offensively, can bull his way to the hoop and finish with both hands, decent outside shot, draws fouls. Also gets tunnel vision when he gets the ball and rarely looks to pass (this is going to be a major issue for the Knicks this year. Iggy, Barrett, Trier etc, they have s bunch of guys that are black holes once the ball gets in their hands. I don't see the Knicks having much ball movement this year).
Poole is doing Poole things, ie, step back 3's, some weird short selection at times. That said, he's on the perfect team to do those things because it just looks like he's imitating Curry, Klay etc. The big part of his game we didn't see here because he wasn't initiating the offense as often, is getting to the line. He's currently averaging 5 FT attempts per game. If he can keep that up, he'll see decent minutes in the regular season, especially with Klay out to start. He's also been playing decent defense.
Rahkman is only one year out of college. He was injured last summer and couldn’t play in the summer. He could have a chance down the road as a combo/scoring guard. Robinson has had a very impressive rise. His G-League film is BONKERS—he is drilling 3’s with guys in his grill all day. This is great for him but a little frustrating when you remember the times at Michigan when he didn’t shoot it.
Nice work men!