While changes with the Assistant coaches has been huge, especially defensively. The biggest reason I've seen in the growth defensively on the floor is Simpson's pressure he puts on the opposing point guard. He does a great job of reducing the pentration from the other team's PG and not allowing whomever it is into the paint very often. Lets hope we see this today against Edwards! Go Blue!
Donnell shows no emotion, that's where I'm getting it from. His basketall IQ isn't bad, but he doesn't have the size or aggressiveness to to bang around down low
One of the biggest thing for any game, against anyone, on the road/home/neutral is to keep Mo and DJ out of foul trouble. We don't want blanket face Donnell getting significant minutes. While Mo and DJ aren't top tier defenders, they definitely hold their own compared Donnell.
While I do think they'll win at least one more, should they get swept, 0-3, getting a bid could be up for debate. We know they have not been a quality road team, so NW, NEB are going to be tests, like Rutgers.
I agree about milking the clock over the last 6-7 minutes. At first, I thought it was a wise decision to take atleast 20-25 seconds per possession, but it was obvious that the playing against the clock led to nothing but poor shots.
Across the board, the team has vastly improved and that is what Beilein is all about. I'm curious about Walton's future? Originally, I didn't see him being in the NBA, but I could see him being a late 2nd round pick. His defensive rebounding is awesome.
I respect Beilein and like him as a coach. One of the pieces I am still not getting is about the double teaming against good bigs. They still double sparingly. I'd rather make most team shoot instead of good looks down low and Wagner getting in foul trouble.
When it comes, "who should be the starter?" it is hard to have a clear answer. As a whole, I do believe Robinson is more of a complete player. Dawkins is stronger and faster, yet he is not a great defender and neither is Duncan, who is not as strong or fast as Aubrey. Despite having those qualities, I don't think it separates AB vs. DR.
We know they are great pure shooters and recently Dawkins is doing better, especially with his showing last night, Duncan's basketball IQ is definitely higher and sees the floor much better than AD. That is the main reason why I would put DR over AB.
One question I have is, within Beilein's offense, is feeding the post shunned upon? I know we see Doyle, Donnel and all the other big men at the top of the key, but I rarely see the ball fed into one of them even when seeing their chest on the block or just outside of the block. Donnel can see the floor a bit too so I don't know why they don't get the ball to him. on the block, hopefully have a defender lose site of the man he is guarding and have Donnel hit him or a skip pass. I'm curious to hear people's insight when it comes to this.
It was obvious that Michigan consistently had good looks all day. Inside mostly with Donnel and outside with everyone else. The assists/ball movement they were speaking is the main reason. That is always my #1 issue with LaVert. He has the quick first step to create room for himself which leads to the defense collapsing, but too often he forces shots. I know he had a triple double with double digit assists, but he still doesn't see the floor like others. Against tougher teams like Purdue, Maryland, etc, he has to take his medicine and see the floor better so they can get better looks like yesterday. He has improved on this over time, but still happens too much.
They definitely do need him defensively though. There is no doubt they are a step back without him defensively.
The Connecticut game is the game that has truly changed the way Mich is handling things offensively. Few and far between times are the guards and wings taking 2 or 3 dribbles and forcing shots. LaVert is the only player that still does that, but yesterday he made some tough shots when he did. The only time he should do that is when the shot clock has less than 5 seconds on it. He still has improved with that facet of the game since UConn. He is capable to drive and kick every possession. The kick doesn't always lead to an open shot, yet important to keep the ball moving.
Who is Belein going to be in the rotation? It's obvious that Walton, LaVert, Doyle, Irvin, Dawkins, Wagner, Abdur-Rahkman, and Robinson. Will Wilson, Donnal and Chatman see any time come Big 10 time or even NC State/SMU? At this point, it looks like foul trouble may be the only calling for them to get into the game.
Also, what is the status of Spike? Should he come back at full strength will he just replace Abdur-Rahkman? Abdur has improved and has done a decent job holding his own, but the way Spike sees the floor is about as good as it gets. Despite his size, he uses his intelligence defensively. By no means is he a stopper defensively, but he holds his own and I would label him as an average defender. I don't see Abdur Rahkman's D being significantly better.
Officiating. While there were some easy missed calls yesterday, the referees let both teams play the most compared to the UConn and Xavier games. The biggest things with referees is to keep things consistent. If you are going to call bs touch fouls, keep it that way the entire game.
Michigan is not going to put up 100 points again, but that have so many weapons to score. The biggest question mark is defense. They have the speed on the perimeter, but with bruisers like Xavier had, they have there hands full. To stop teams like that, they have to put some pressure on the perimeter and crash the boards. I admire the way Walton crashes the boards and gets up to get some rebounds.
Recent Comments
While changes with the Assistant coaches has been huge, especially defensively. The biggest reason I've seen in the growth defensively on the floor is Simpson's pressure he puts on the opposing point guard. He does a great job of reducing the pentration from the other team's PG and not allowing whomever it is into the paint very often. Lets hope we see this today against Edwards! Go Blue!
Donnal** not Donnell. Acknowledged!
One of the biggest thing for any game, against anyone, on the road/home/neutral is to keep Mo and DJ out of foul trouble. We don't want blanket face Donnell getting significant minutes. While Mo and DJ aren't top tier defenders, they definitely hold their own compared Donnell.
While I do think they'll win at least one more, should they get swept, 0-3, getting a bid could be up for debate. We know they have not been a quality road team, so NW, NEB are going to be tests, like Rutgers.
I agree about milking the clock over the last 6-7 minutes. At first, I thought it was a wise decision to take atleast 20-25 seconds per possession, but it was obvious that the playing against the clock led to nothing but poor shots.
Across the board, the team has vastly improved and that is what Beilein is all about. I'm curious about Walton's future? Originally, I didn't see him being in the NBA, but I could see him being a late 2nd round pick. His defensive rebounding is awesome.
I respect Beilein and like him as a coach. One of the pieces I am still not getting is about the double teaming against good bigs. They still double sparingly. I'd rather make most team shoot instead of good looks down low and Wagner getting in foul trouble.
When it comes, "who should be the starter?" it is hard to have a clear answer. As a whole, I do believe Robinson is more of a complete player. Dawkins is stronger and faster, yet he is not a great defender and neither is Duncan, who is not as strong or fast as Aubrey. Despite having those qualities, I don't think it separates AB vs. DR.
We know they are great pure shooters and recently Dawkins is doing better, especially with his showing last night, Duncan's basketball IQ is definitely higher and sees the floor much better than AD. That is the main reason why I would put DR over AB.
One question I have is, within Beilein's offense, is feeding the post shunned upon? I know we see Doyle, Donnel and all the other big men at the top of the key, but I rarely see the ball fed into one of them even when seeing their chest on the block or just outside of the block. Donnel can see the floor a bit too so I don't know why they don't get the ball to him. on the block, hopefully have a defender lose site of the man he is guarding and have Donnel hit him or a skip pass. I'm curious to hear people's insight when it comes to this.
Go Blue!
It was obvious that Michigan consistently had good looks all day. Inside mostly with Donnel and outside with everyone else. The assists/ball movement they were speaking is the main reason. That is always my #1 issue with LaVert. He has the quick first step to create room for himself which leads to the defense collapsing, but too often he forces shots. I know he had a triple double with double digit assists, but he still doesn't see the floor like others. Against tougher teams like Purdue, Maryland, etc, he has to take his medicine and see the floor better so they can get better looks like yesterday. He has improved on this over time, but still happens too much.
They definitely do need him defensively though. There is no doubt they are a step back without him defensively.
The Connecticut game is the game that has truly changed the way Mich is handling things offensively. Few and far between times are the guards and wings taking 2 or 3 dribbles and forcing shots. LaVert is the only player that still does that, but yesterday he made some tough shots when he did. The only time he should do that is when the shot clock has less than 5 seconds on it. He still has improved with that facet of the game since UConn. He is capable to drive and kick every possession. The kick doesn't always lead to an open shot, yet important to keep the ball moving.
Who is Belein going to be in the rotation? It's obvious that Walton, LaVert, Doyle, Irvin, Dawkins, Wagner, Abdur-Rahkman, and Robinson. Will Wilson, Donnal and Chatman see any time come Big 10 time or even NC State/SMU? At this point, it looks like foul trouble may be the only calling for them to get into the game.
Also, what is the status of Spike? Should he come back at full strength will he just replace Abdur-Rahkman? Abdur has improved and has done a decent job holding his own, but the way Spike sees the floor is about as good as it gets. Despite his size, he uses his intelligence defensively. By no means is he a stopper defensively, but he holds his own and I would label him as an average defender. I don't see Abdur Rahkman's D being significantly better.
Officiating. While there were some easy missed calls yesterday, the referees let both teams play the most compared to the UConn and Xavier games. The biggest things with referees is to keep things consistent. If you are going to call bs touch fouls, keep it that way the entire game.
Michigan is not going to put up 100 points again, but that have so many weapons to score. The biggest question mark is defense. They have the speed on the perimeter, but with bruisers like Xavier had, they have there hands full. To stop teams like that, they have to put some pressure on the perimeter and crash the boards. I admire the way Walton crashes the boards and gets up to get some rebounds.
Go Blue! Beat the Wolfpack!