Hoops Hello: Kentucky Transfer Charles Matthews
Per Jeff Goodman, Michigan has picked up a wing:
Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews is headed to Michigan, source told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 21, 2016
Matthews was a freshman at Kentucky last year, where he played sparingly. He'll sit out next year and have three left.
As a recruit he was #59 in the 247 composite and the #16 shooting guard; at 6'6" he could play the two or three at Michigan. His ranking dropped over the course of his recruitment from five-star territory (he was #17 on the composite at one point) to the mid four-star range. The most recent scouting report comes from his freshman year:
Good: Matthews has been a pleasant surprise this season finishing at the rim and along the baseline. With some development, he looks to be a valuable asset to the program in the years to come because of his length, athletic ability and defensive prowess.
Homework: Must continue to round out his game and become a more consistent outside shooter.
This is not a typical Beilein recruit. He's the platonic opposite of Duncan Robinson:
"Last summer, they tried to play him at point guard--that’s not what he is," Calipari said. "He’s a playmaker off the ball. He’s a slasher, he’s a finisher." … At 6-foot-6 and 175 pounds, Matthews possesses many of the qualities that Calipari typically covets: he's long, athletic, can get to the basket and has the ability to defend multiple positions.
"He's a tireless defender. He can guard multiple players … He can get to the basket anytime he wants but he could always become a better shooter," DeCesare said. "He needs to work on his free throw shooting."
Mathews is super athletic and defensively oriented, which will thrill Billy Donlon. He might be something of a bricklayer, which won't thrill Beilein. Beilein is renowned as a guy who can teach offense and shooting; this will be a test.
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Glenn is a much more apt comparison. Caris' big plus is his ball handling at his length. Matthews doesnt strike me as much of a dribbler.
I think a slightly smaller and less explosive Glenn but maybe a little quicker?
Outside shot TBD
My initial thought was a taller MAAR with better finishing and defense and maybe worse shooting.
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The 2017-18 team badly needs some starpower/NBA caliber talent. Matthews may be that guy or not, but at least he is another candidate.
It's more likely he's just a glue guy, which will probably be fine. Simpson, Poole, and Watson are all promising offensive prospects. Robinson spaces the floor and we'se seen MAAR show signs of rounding out his game.
It could be a solid team but until a star player emerges it's hard to set expectations too high.
In 2017-18 there is no obvious replacement for Irvin on the defensive end. My hope is that Robinson can gain some strength and transition there. Irvin and Novak have stand as examples of 3s moved to the 4. Defending 4s would mitigate Robinson's issues with perimeter defense. If you believe it's easier to add strength than athleticism, I think it makes sense.
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Actually out of all those players one of the knocks on them was their athleticism minus GR3 and LeVert. They were good to great college players however.
Hardaway? https://youtu.be/aWXJEDUe60s
Stauskas? http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25540055/watch-sixers-n…
Irvin? Couldn't find the video, but here's that dunk he had against Syracuse where his head was at the rim. http://a.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/NCAA-BK/images/2014/12/0…
In short, fuck off troll.
First off learn the definition of a troll
Second being 6'6 and being able to dunk to me should be considered average for an NBA player. I said the knock on them was they don't have elite athletisicm which they don't nor does Trey Burke nor do a lot of guys coming out of college. When the first main attribute to Matthews game is Athletic its different than when compared to other good Michigan wings as of late. The first thing that comes to mind about THJ or Stauskas isn't athletic. They're athletic say compared to you or I but compared to the rest of the NBA they aren't more than average.
Note Nik's draft profile weakness
Note THJ's outlook and weaknesses
Okay while they do they are also being compared to other college players that they play against.
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the only guys on that list with plus athleticism were Lavert and GRIII. The other players were all skilled players with varying degrees of athleticsm, but certainly not as athletic as Matthews. I'm not sure why that is such a controversial viewpoint.
Actually out of all those players one of the knocks on them was their athleticism minus GR3 and LeVert. They were good to great college players however.
I think too much is gettig made of the shooting issues. Beilein has succesfully utilized non-shooters in his offense (Harris, Morris) and recruited people who can't shoot very well (Brundidge, GR3, Rahkman). Anyone thinking Beilein only wants guys who hit 3s isn't paying close attention.
The "played sparingly" thing is mostly true, but he was 8th in minutes played at Kentucky last season (as a true freshman) and one of four guys who played in all 36 games. So it's not like he was totally glued to the bench.
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Something the head coach can't figure out either.
Michigan's defense team rankings at the conclusion of each season
2015-2016 168
2014-2015 204
2013-2014- 153
2012-2013- 97
2011-2012- 176
2010-2011- 140
2009-2010- 129
Average ranking 152
Total # of D1 teams in 2015-2016 is 351
175.5 is the middle of the road there so just slightly better than the average D1 team.
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Matthews might be his most athletic player yet and he could greatly help out on defense where he excels because Beilein isn't considered a good defensive coach.
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Because Beilein won't win a National Championship ever and I'd like to win one. It's kinda like dating a girl to date her you know you won't get marreid to her but you still date her anyways because you just need to date someone when you could actually go maybe try something different vs. getting mediocre results.
NEAT!
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He'd be a lot more impactful if Beilein actually recruited him sucessfully out of high school or another player of similair caliber would have also worked.
are now some "fans" that hate Beilein and will never be convinced otherwise. He is not a troll, he is a Beilein-hater. There are several more on this site as well.
2010: 58
2011: 37
2012: 61
2013: 48
2014: 109
2015: 107
2016: 109
As I've said, I trust kenpom a lot more than I trust your unsourced random number generator type stats. Also of note is the fact that one of the best defenders on the team, LeVert, was injured for 2 of the worse than 100 years, and the other year we set the kenpom record for offense EVER to that point and were a chucked up 3 away from playing overtime for a 2nd straight final 4. Just face it, you're flat out wrong.
LeVert isn't an elite college defender he's the best Michigan had to offer which isn't saying much. Okay so kenpom's stats look better and you're right they look better on paper than what I looked up. I was wrong something I have no issue ever in admitting. I was looking at defensive efficency vs kenpom's adjusted D. They both give two different rankings as ranking teams defesnively isn't black and white. My entire point is while sure Michigan plays defense, they are not ever elite in defense. Ever, they are very pedestrian when it comes to playing defense. Beilein himself admits he isn't the best defensive coach.
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Biggest question, to me, is who will play the 4?
Wagner/Davis/Teske rotating at the 5.
1-3 spots will be some combo of Duncan, MAAR, Poole, Simpson, Matthews, Ibi, and, hopefully, Carmody (?). Maybe Duncan bulks up enough to play the 4?
If we add Cain and/or Livers, they'd have a chance to get some run at the 4 I'd imagine.
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