Blue Ballz

Submitted by FatGuyTouchdown on

Now that basketball season is over, spring ball is starting, and Michigan's 2018 recruiting glass is getting a little clearer. Several young men have picked up some significant crystal ball action in the last week. They are: 

Jalen Mayfield: A 6'5, 255 pound 3* Offensive Tackle from Grand Rapids. Currently committed to Minnesota, but was just offered by Michigan on Friday, and is considered likely to flip his commitment. 

Sammy Faustin: A 6'2, 170 pound Unranked safety from Naples, FL. His primary recruiter is Don Brown. Prior to his Michigan offer, his best offers were FIU, Arizona, and Iowa State. 

Ryan Hayes: 6'7, 250 pound 4* Offensive Tackle from Traverse City. Seems to be favoring Notre Dame, but is on campus today.

M-Dog

March 26th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^

I'm still licking my Sweet Sixteen wounds.  

I'm not ready to move on that quickly with games still being played.  Games that we should be in, dammit.

I need somebody to convince me that Mo and DJ will stay and Xavier Simpson can be the answer at PG . . . 

 

TrueBlue2003

March 26th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^

Because we shot 52/36/100 from 2pt/3pt/FT which is pretty good.  In our game, it was more like, fuck, we only got 2 OREBs and only forced 5 TOs, and didn't acheive shot parity.  Yes, one more shot would have done it, but that can be said in any one possession game.  Our shooting was pretty solid.

Oregon is a very good interior defense though.  Have been all year.  I didn't watch Kansas to know whether their threes were open or what, but they only shot 16/35 from two thanks to 8 (!!) blocks from Bell. That certainly does go to Oregon for the credit.

TrueBlue2003

March 27th, 2017 at 1:30 AM ^

43/36/100 on 2pt/3pt/FT.  Wasn't good, but I certainly wouldn't call that terrible.  Barely below season average TS percent. The bigger problem in the first half was turning it over seven times and only grabbing one OREB.  Arggh. We should be in the Final Four!

What a bizzarre second half.  Each team only had one turnover. Only one guy on each team shot a free throw. Moe shot one FT.  Ennis shot three.

runandshoot

March 26th, 2017 at 7:58 PM ^

But I actually watched the game so I know this is not entirely the case.

Oregon's interior D is pretty darn good, but Michigan shot fairly well inside the arc (>50% shooting).

The number of wide open shots, particularly three pointers, that Michigan missed was appalling. It wasn't the case of contested 3s either. They just flat out missed shots they have been hitting the past few weeks.

I give Oregon credit for taking advantage of Michigan not boxing out on free throws and on rebounding better than Michigan, but they have an off night it seems as well.

AlwaysBlue

March 26th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^

Simpson came to college with a high basketball IQ and above average leadership qualities. I think what we saw this season was a kid who recognized what he didn't know and often played tentatively. I think we will see someone much different next season as his command of the playbook improves.

trueblueintexas

March 26th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^

I'm excited to see Simpson run the show next year. It will be a very different offense than what we saw the second half of this season. Simpson does not have the outside shooting or one-on-one game Walton has, but he has shown the ability to penetrate the defense and finish at the rim, or at least get free throws and make them. With Robinson, MAAR, Wilson, and Wagner that could be really fun to watch. I'm guessing Beilein will be able to adapt the offense around this. If Matthews has any kind of ability to develop his own shot, this could be a very solid team.

nerv

March 27th, 2017 at 2:06 AM ^

Honestly, I really like X's game and skill set. His issues seemed to be damn near 90% mental. When X seemed to have his confidence going he was able to make some really impressive plays. He is already a better defender than Walton due to his lateral quickness and speed. Offensively he has a lot of ability but wasn't quite sure enough of himself to use it.

He is going to be handed the keys next year and I expect he'll probably take a few months to really start believing in himself. But the ability is there. He has shown flashes of what he can do offensively both scoring and passing. Defensively he is already there. I am personally quite confident that X is going to show out as a Michigan PG. Now I just hope it happens in 2018 as opposed to further down the road.

trueblueintexas

March 26th, 2017 at 2:45 PM ^

I know development will happen and weight is not always accurate, but the two o-linemen mentioned in the OP will need to put on significant weight to contribute. Depending on what happens with Newsome, I think there needs to be at least one OT recruit close to being ready to be a backup in this class. If not mistaken, the OT's for 2018 would include Filliaga, Steubner, Horningford, Ulizio, and JBB. Assuming Bredeson stays at guard.

reddogrjw

March 26th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^

but I think the entire 2018 OL class can redshirt

 

2018 Line

LT - Newsome/Stueber/Honigford (or even Filiaga)

LG - Bredeson/Runyan/Spanellis/Hall

C -Ruiz/Runyan

RG - Onwenu/Runyan/Spanellis/Hall

RT - Filiaga/Ulizio/Honigford

red-shirt the 2018 class, not sure JBB is invited back

jmblue

March 26th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^

Most of these guys were born in 2000. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that one. They were born after Tom Brady finished his college career!