BBall Freshmen on Campus

Submitted by JimBobTressel on
Cole McConnell (?), Zak Irvin, Derrick Walton, Andrew Dakich (?), Mark Donnal

TakeTheField

June 22nd, 2013 at 6:31 PM ^

at 6-9 and 230, which isn't bad, if it's accurate. Scout had him listed at 215, and Rivals at 200 while he was beng recruited, so if the roster weight really is current, he's already bulked up a bit. Irvin and Walton are listed at 200, which is in line with Stauskas and LeVert.

tbeindit

June 22nd, 2013 at 8:31 PM ^

But this also doesn't take into account the fact that Donnal is a much different player from all of Michigan's other bigs.  Horford, Morgan, and Bielfeldt are very limited offensively.  McGary is developing his game, but even he doesn't have the offensive weapons of Donnal.  The redshirt thing seems likely, but if Michigan actually plays a two big lineup for the season, Donnal probably will get some time because the offensive efficency will tank without somebody doing some damage at the 4.

TakeTheField

June 22nd, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^

will depend as much on how well he plays defense as offense. Beilein has said that the best way for a freshman to see the floor a lot is to get it done at the defensive end. I think we'll depend on the backcourt and Robinson, with McGary, for most of our offensive production, and the other bigs mainly for rebounding and inside D. That being said, I can see Donnal presenting some real matchup problems if he can step outside and hit threes consistently.

TakeTheField

June 23rd, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^

all the time. And if we did, that would squeeze the minutes pretty tight for SG and SF. If we assume that Albrecht and Walton split 40 minutes between them somehow, that would only leave 80 for Robinson, Stauskas, LeVert and Irvin to divide, and Robinson and Stauskas averaged about 64 together last year.

Not a bad thing, though, for there to be healthy competition for playing time everywhere.

Raoul

June 22nd, 2013 at 7:16 PM ^

mgoblue.com press release: Dakich, McConnell Join Wolverine Program as Walk-Ons

Baumgardner article: Michigan formally adds walk-on guards Cole McConnell and Andrew Dakich

McConnell, a 6-foot-5 guard from the New Hampton School -- a post-graduate institution -- averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, hitting 98 3-pointers. His 3-po;int total ranked second among all high school players in the state of California, and he was named the Mateo County Player of the Year.

McConnell had Ivy League interest, and has two brothers (Redd and Will) who play college basketball at the University of California-Irvine and Dartmouth, respectively.

. . .

Earlier this week, Beilein said he'd like to get his roster up to 15 players for next season -- which means Michigan may add two more walk-ons once the fall begins.