In YOUR Opinion: 5 Premature Questions About '13-'14 Michigan Basketball

1) Irvin

2)Stauskas

3) Walton

4) Nik, with Irvin playing the 3

5) Irvin

1. McGary

2. Spike Albrecht...anyone who can do what he did in the title game has ice water for blood

3. Spike will start.

4. Stauskas will start.

5. Robinson...he already gets the quiet scoring with put backs and such. I think he will be much more aggressive this next season.

 

I think it will take a bit for the freshman to feel comfortable. By the end of the year Walton may be starting at PG and Irvin at SG but not at the beginning.

1. Robinson will be 4. Stauskus The rest Spike

1. Mitch McGary 2. Stauskas 3. Walton 4. Stauskas 5. GR3

I'm only answering the first question but I think Walton takes the last shot. He will be one of our few players that can get his own shot and will have the best handle on the team. His ability to drive and collapse the d gives us the most options.

1. GR3 - I think (hope) that the move to the 3 brings a lot more out of him. He did a hell of a job as a low usage guy this year, but between having easier defensive matchups and having the ball come through him a bit more offensively, I could see him in the 15ish PPG range next year

2. Not sure yet, but I'll go with Walton

3. Probably Walton. Spike will be getting 10-15 minutes a game all season though. He will be a very important player, and I expect we'll have many situations, especially early on, with both Walton and Albrecht in the game.

4. Stauskas. With GR3 at the 3, Stauskas will be getting 30 minutes a game. If Irvin turns out to be really, really good though, I wonder if he moves to the 3, GR3 to the 4, and McGary back to the 5.

5. GR3 - See above.

1. GRIII (but close to mcgary)

2. probably stauskas

3. i think spike will start the first 5-10 games, then its walton

4. with beilein saying were going to see GRIII more at the 3 than the four, it looks as if zak is going to have to come off the bench at least for the first few games

5. Stauskas? with improved 3 point shooting, GRIII could easily avereage 17-20 points per game. he already has a knockdown mid ranger, and hes as good as anyone when he goes inside, but the 3 is really the wild card because thats the shot that really gets him going.

 

1.) McGrary

2.)  GRIII

3.) Albrecht

4.)  Stauskus.  NOTE: I feel very strongly about this one.  I believe him when he says that he is going to work hard this offseason on his defense.  I believe he has the body type to do well on defense and I've always felt defense was the easiest thing to learn/get better at because it is half cerebral/positioning

5.)  GRIII

i dont think i would want walton to take the last shot. as a freshman, he wont have that much experience in late game situations. his highlight videos show that he is much more of a distributer and not as much a scorer, especially from behind the 3 point line. he should shoot around 35% from three, which is pretty good, but when youre guarded tough and the game is on the line, i give it to the guys with more experience.

1. Irvin
2. Irvin
3. Walton
4. Irvin
5. Irvin

1. McGary

2. McGary

3. Walton

4. Stauskas

5. McGary

2. Is simple... By committee

1 - McGary
2 - Stauskus
3 - Walton
4 - Irvin
5 - GRIII

McGary will blossom into a full time version of what we saw for a five game stretch during the tournament.

Stauskus has the most consistent shot on the team. Look for him to be on the floor in offensive situations at the end of games, regardless of whether or not he starts.

Trey started from day one. Walton will do the same.

Irvin's defense will put him ahead of Stauskus on the depth chart. I still think they play roughly the same number of minutes.

The hardest question was the last, but for my money, I'll take Robinson. Playing his natural position and the coaches are going to let him "be a player" this year are my reasoning behind that prediction. Time will tell.

1. McGary will be best all-around player 2. Last shot? Could be anybody, but it will be set up by Walton 3. Walton starts at PG. Spike is energy off bench at either guard position. 4. Stauskas starts 5. Tough call here too...don't see anybody consistently scoring a bunch, I'll say Mitch.

1 Spike 2 Spike 3 Spike 4 Spike 5 Spike

1. McGary

2. Stauskas

3. Walton

4. Stauskas

5. Irvin

After reading all the answers I'm just glad we got a consensus.

1. Burke

2. Hardaway

3. Burke

4. Manny Harris

5. Chris Webber

1. McGary. 2. Stauskas 3. Walton 4. Stauskas 5. McGary.

 

1. Who's the best player on Michigan's team?
 

McGary.  He may be the best big man in the country next year.

 

2. In a "late game, last shot" situation...who should take the shot? (down by 1...so a 2 or a 3 wins the game)
 

GRIII, assuming he displays more ability to create off the dribble.  Walton and McGary will be other options.

3. Who starts at PG when we enter the B1G season? Albrecht or Walton?
 

Walton . . . he'll probably take it over a few games into the nonconference season. 

4. Who starts at SG when we enter the B1G season? Stauskas or Irvin?
 

Tough one.  I'm going with Nik but I think Irvin will get substantial minutes as a 6th man.

 

5. Who's Michigan's leading scorer next season?

I'm leaning McGary here, but it could be GRIII.

 

1.  I think McGary is going to turn into a mismatch against most teams.  If you don't have some size and muscle of your own inside, you're going to be dominated.  Even if Robinson takes a major step forward, there are going to be other guys out there his size.  MM is just plain gonna be bigger and stronger than a lot of guys.  So in that sense, he enters '13-'14 as our best asset.

2.  That all depends.  Does Stauskas progress enough that we're comfortable with it being him?  Does GRIII develop when it comes to taking guys off the dribble?  Is Irvin the next Durant?

3.  I might be in the minority, but IMO Albrecht starts, at least in the early part of the season.  But I think he starts throughout, with Walton coming close to splitting time overall and sometimes on the floor at the same time.  Spike may only play 20-25 mpg, but I'll bet he's the starter.

4.  Stauskas starts, at least in the beginning.  If Vogrich was starting over Stauskas than Stauskas will start over Irvin.  If Irvin is as good as we think then things get really interesting as far as how things get split up next year.  IMO GRIII plays mostly at the 3 but does see some time at the 4 if and when Stauskas and Irvin are both hot.  Just because GR and MM are switching positions doesn't mean we don't occasionally go small.  Call it a 3G 2F lineup if it makes everyone more comfortable.

5.  This one is very, very tough because I think it's pretty spread out.  MM, GRIII, and Stauskas will all average double figures IMO, and there is a good possibility that Irvin is also on that list.  No one will average what Burke did, but I could easily see three or four guys averaging into the mid teens.  I'll go out on a limb and say McGary, not because he'll necessarily be the most dynamic offensive weapon but because, again, he's our mismatch player and he's going to score a lot on putbacks and layups.  I also think we look to post him up more often this season, as his passing will continue to improve and doubling him will put opponents in a precarious position.  So basically I think he'll have the most frequent high percentage opportunities.  But if GRIII really busts out or Irvin turns out to be a freak then I wouldn't be surprised at all.

 

I see lots of people on here suggesting that Robinson will play the 3, and either Stauskas or Irvin playing the 2, with the other coming off the bench. I assume that means you figure the 4 will be played by McGary and the 5 Morgan, or something similar possibly including Horford. While I think that we will see the "2 big" line up played by Beilein possibly more often than ever before, I definitely don't think this will be a starting line up at all, or will even be played more than say 25% of the time. Beilein has been and probably always will be extremely reluctant to play 2 bigs at the same time. It helps us on defense for sure, but it bogs down our offense. Beilein's offense relies on having 4 shooters on the floor at all times, and unless McGary shows the ability to shoot 3s consistently next year, that won't be the case. I think it's far more likely that our starting line up has both Stauskas and Irvin starting, which would look like this

1. Spike/Walton, whichever

2. Stauskas

3. Irvin/Robinson

4. Irvin/Robinson (3 and the 4 are basically the same in Beileins system)

5. McGary

That would leave us with a solid back up PG, a solid back up wing (Caris), and 2 back up bigs on the bench. I think this is far more likely than starting with a two post line up, especially with Beilein. Thoughts?

 

1. Who's the best player on Michigan's team?
 

McGary.  Once he started receiving starter's minutes, he was putting up a double-double almost every game, and also started displaying some fine finishing ability and passing skill.  I think he's got a strong chance to be an All-American.

2. In a "late game, last shot" situation...who should take the shot? (down by 1...so a 2 or a 3 wins the game)
 

Hard to say.  Usually the PG has the ball in those situations, but with Walton being a freshman, we'll see.  It could possibly be McGary.

 

3. Who starts at PG when we enter the B1G season? Albrecht or Walton?
 

Walton.  I love Spike but he's not likely to start more than a couple games.

 

4. Who starts at SG when we enter the B1G season? Stauskas or Irvin?
 

I would say Stauskas, but do not be surprised if we return to the four-out, one-in system by Big Ten play next year, which would allow both to start.  That's Beilein's comfort zone.

 

5. Who's Michigan's leading scorer next season?

 

McGary.  He's beginning to show some post moves and he gets a lot of points on putbacks as well.  GRIII will probably finish second.

I hope the player who takes the last sec shot is the player that is open. Last year we became too predictable at the end of halves and games, with Burke just dribbling and holding for a well defended last shot. (However this did work perfectly against Kansas)

JB said that Glen will play there, Glen said that's where he wants to play, and playing Glen at the 3 gives us better matchups in B1G play? 

I'm sure Irvin will get some minutes at the 3, but he is not starting there.  And frankly, I'd rather give a few more minutes to seniors in Morgan and Horford even if that means that Caris, Nik and Irvin get a few less. This team will have no problem scoring so I'd rather have Morgan and Horford in there for defense and rebounding.

Mitch at the 4 and Glen at the 3 is the way to go for most of the matchups we will face in the B1G.  Maybe in the NCAA they will go more with Glen at the 4 and Mitch at the 5 if that's what the matchup dictates, but I don't think that will be our base lineup 

 

1. Who's the best player on Michigan's team?
 

Lots of guys on offense, but McGary rebounding and block shots give him the edge over others.

2. In a "late game, last shot" situation...who should take the shot? (down by 1...so a 2 or a 3 wins the game)

No one.  I expect to dribble clock out since we shouldn't be trailing in any game at the end.

3. Who starts at PG when we enter the B1G season? Albrecht or Walton?
 

Walton.

4. Who starts at SG when we enter the B1G season? Stauskas or Irvin?
 

Probably Stauskas but I think Irvin gets more minutes. 

5. Who's Michigan's leading scorer next season?

Tough one, but go with GRIII.  Burke's penetration, pick and roll, pushing ball in transition is what offense built around and not sure how new point guard will transition and feel it could impact McGary.  But then McGary showed ability to hit 10-15 foot jumper in NCAA tournament. Playing more 3 spot will give GRIII more chances at scoring so gonna go with him.  Plus McGary gets in foul trouble more, plays less minutes than GRIII so we will stick with GRIII.