Why no low post?

Submitted by CLord on

You guys will know better than me, so someone please explain to me why we have no low post game?  After watching what Bo Ryan did in the second half against us, just dumping the ball into the post, and if the double came or the angle wasn’t there for a shot, dumping it off for open threes, why isn’t Beilein taking advantage of this the first few games of this tourney where we have the marked size and athleticism advantage in the post?  McGary, Horford and Morgan were all far bigger and more athletic than the SDSU bigs, but there was almost no low post game to speak of last night when the game was tight and the perimeter cluttered.  Most of Big Puppy’s points were fast break and board put backs.  Instead even Bill Raftery was complaining about how Michigan wasn’t “feeding the big dogs” in the box, and we bore witness to a cluttered perimeter game where SDSU focused on lane denial, that played a big part in preventing Trey Burke from going off.

Michigan won thanks to torrid 3 point shooting and fast break points against an inferior foe, but VCU looks to bring far more pace and energy and defense.  We might not have the bigs to post effectively on Kansas/NC, but is Beilein missing out on a decided advantage here that may cost us vs. VCU?  McGary, Morgan and Horford have all shown semblances of post moves throughout the season, albeit sporadically.  I just don’t understand why Beilein doesn’t leverage the post to open space for his stars on the perimeter.

Someone educate a layman here.

APBlue

March 22nd, 2013 at 12:52 PM ^

I just took a look at the top 20 NBA salaries (pasted beloow from hoopshype.com...whatever that is).  I don't watch as much NBA as I used to, so I could be off here.  If I'm right though, only 6 of the top 20 salaries belong to Centers.  

I wouldn't necessarily say Coach B. doesn't emphasize bigs.  If I remember correctly, one of the biggest reasons for hiring Coach Alexander was because of his ability to coach bigs.  That, to me, shows he places an importance on bigs.  

1. Kobe Bryant

$27,849,000

2. Brandon Roy

$21,459,805
$20,907,128

4. Gilbert Arenas

$20,807,922

5. Amare Stoudemire

$19,948,799

6. Joe Johnson

$19,752,645

7. Carmelo Anthony

$19,450,000

8. Dwight Howard

$19,261,200
$19,000,000
$18,160,354

11. Chris Paul

$17,779,457

12. Kevin Durant

$17,548,838

13. LeBron James

$17,545,000

14. Chris Bosh

$17,545,000

15. Deron Williams

$17,177,795

16. Dwyane Wade

$17,024,000
$16,790,345

18. Zach Randolph

$16,500,000

19. Andrew Bynum

$16,473,002

20. Rudy Gay

$16,460,532


Read more at http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm#8LD4z24LlVzLlgHh.99 

If all these kids that are 6'5" to 6'9" see these salaries in the NBA, and see these players' highlights on ESPN all the time, don't you think they'd want to go to a college that will run an offense that will highlight their abilities?  Wouldn't that increase that player's chances of getting to the NBA?  

Why is it, do you think, that we're able to recruit these great 2's & 3's, like THJ, Stauskas, Burke, GRIII, Derrick Walton,  and Zak Irvin?  

If we ran an offense that dumped the ball down to the post every posession, do you think they would all be playing for and/or coming to Michigan?  HELL NO!  

If we did run that dump it down low offense, how many bigs do you think there are playing high school basketball with those kinds of post moves?  Now, how many D1 teams are there in college basketball?  That's right, almost 400. 

Do you think he's ignoring all of these 7' tall centers with great post moves playing high school basketball right now, or do they just not exist?  

The Shredder

March 22nd, 2013 at 1:05 PM ^

Again no one is saying to change the offense... Not sure why that is the thought here. Also there will always be more G/F then Centers. As they say "Bigs don't grow on trees" because they don't. That list of money proves nothing. No he isn't ignoring bigs at all. The new commit has a great post game for his age. The question is will he get to use it? 

APBlue

March 22nd, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^

I don't know what you're talking about.  I didn't suggest someone said to change the offense.  Why would you?  This is one of the very best offensive teams in the country.  

I was replying to his criticism of Belein having "a lack of emphasis on bigs".  

My point was that, as you say, "bigs don't grow on trees".  

The reason for showing the top 20 salaries in the NBA is to show that there aren't many skilled big men (e.g. high salaried big men) in the NBA.  There are big men, but they're not skilled.  That's why they're not earning high salaries.  

The Shredder

March 22nd, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^

If we ran an offense that dumped the ball down to the post every posession, do you think they would all be playing for and/or coming to Michigan? 

 

 

That sentence you wrote would suggest a offense change(that how it came off to me, but its the internet. No context). That is why I said that. We are not talking about doing it every time down the floor. More like three times a half. 

APBlue

March 23rd, 2013 at 6:43 AM ^

Dude - I was responding to CLord's post and his comment about Belein's "lack of emphasis on bigs".  

I noted one of Belein's reasons for hiring Bacari Alexander, then I inserted the list as an example that the NBA is not paying a lot of bigs either.  My theory is there aren't a lot of bigs on there because there aren't a lot of really skilled big men in the NBA.  The number of bigs on that list is disproportionate to the number of guys playing that position relative to the number of wings on that list.  

There just aren't many skilled big men that can play with their back to the basket anymore.  

I don't care how often you want to throw the ball into the post.  If the big man is a threat to score, he'll get double teamed.  That's good.  If you got a guy like that, do it.  

If he's not a threat to score, he won't get the double team.  That's not good.  If he's not a threat to score, you're wasting time on the shot clock, unless you're hoping he'll score.  

MichiganTeacher

March 22nd, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^

Just another wrinkle that I haven't seen mentioned.

Post-entry passes are difficult. If a defending team knows that your game revolves around post play, then there are lots of things they can do to disrupt your game before the ball ever gets into the post. 

So, yeah. I love post play myself. But it's not necessarily 'easy baskets' for a lot of reasons.

cozy200

March 22nd, 2013 at 9:45 PM ^

I like how we play. I do agree with what DD said when we lost to IU to end the season. GR3 is very under utilized waiting on the wings. Way to athletic to not tee up driving the lane more often.