LeVert's skillset comparison
As we've been watching these players all morph into high level players, I was hoping this offseason, a jump by GR3, both in weight and skill, into a closer version of his Big Dog dad....
Instead, the true leap in growth occured in Stauskas, who is now approaching legitimacy in being an All-American, a poor man's Larry Bird at this trajectory, and this growth has been quite remarkable....
The leap, however, that I was NOT expecting over the offseason, that is as impressive as Stauskas' leap, is Caris LeVert's game.... watching him last night I marveled at his elite body control and ball handling skills, especially the speed of it, and he appears simply to be the best athlete by far, on the court.. and this isn't knocking GR3.
Which brings me to the point of this post.... when LeVert arrived recently, several were trying to make comparisons to his game with former players, and a few mentioned that the closest thing was former Michigan great Sean Higgins..... well, I was a freshman at Michigan in 1988, and that comparison was intriguing....but after watching the game last night, I thought that LeVert's skill set seemed alot closer to Gary Grant, and Higgins' game was actually closer to Stauska's.... Higgins was a sublime shooter...he could shoot out the lights like Stauskas can, but did not have the elite body control and movement that LeVert has.
I'm not one to know much about basketball like some here, and I risk the talking out of my arse..... but that initial LeVert comparison had me thinking, enough to post this, to ask the experts here to discuss who LeVert truly reminds you of, and it doesn't have to be within the program, because it sure doesn't feel like Higgins to me.
January 31st, 2014 at 8:53 AM ^
Let's see - 6'5", super-athletic, can play point guard or small forward with equal adeptness, good but not great shooter, excels at breaking people down off the dribble, creates mismatches - Jalen Rose?
January 31st, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
I admire what LeVert has done, but that's an insult to Rose.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:01 AM ^
its necessarily an insult, because no one was really saying "he's as good as..." but more of whose game does LeVert's most resemble. I think Rose is a good comparison, but there could be some that are better. I like the Grant comparison, esp this year with his improved play.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
like the Rose comparison. Jalen never really had elite athleticism and was seldom isolated against a defender to beat them on a dribble drive. He did initiate the offense, but after that, most or Jalen's actual scoring came from the wing and was fairly unorthodox. He lulled people onto his hip and went up and over them with leaners and floaters. He also really only shot threes with any volume off of late rotations, against zones and off of kick outs. Jalen was a very cerebral player and was fairly picky about when he chose to attack. I think Caris just kind of goes after it and thinks about it later. He is also jacks from deep with much more regularity than Rose.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:31 AM ^
the comparison isn't all that bad.
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January 31st, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
the comparison isn't all that bad. They took a similar amount of 3s per game with LeVert being a little bit more efficient in his sophomore year than Rose.
January 31st, 2014 at 8:56 AM ^
It's hard to say, because he 's a talented player out of position. I just don't think he's a point.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:16 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
Yep. He can bring the ball into the frontcourt and immediately run pick and roll where he is more of a threat to score driving to the basket than either of our PG's. Walton is still letting the game come to him in the half court, but will eventually be more assertive in creating his own offense. He has a variety of floaters and such that we haven't seen yet. Hopefully he puts that together by the end of this season because this team could go deep if he is threatening defenses off the drive.
January 31st, 2014 at 8:57 AM ^
Honestly I've been trying to figure this out myself, in the form of "what is his best skill?" Like, Stauskas is Not Just A Shooter, but that's still the best thing he does. With Trey Burke it was destroying people off the dribble. What is LeVert's calling card? I don't know. I really don't. Not to say he's not a good player - he's tremendous. But the best I can come up with is that he's all arms and legs and uses that to his advantage in all facets of the game. It's an advantage off the dribble, on defense, rebounding, shooting, and so forth.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:04 AM ^
Unless you are limiting it to offensive skills, I think his calling card is his defense. He has a knack for stripping the ball from lane drivers, and, as you said, he is able to use his long arms and legs to gain advantage.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
after losing the ball on that late play, getting back to poke the ball away, then GETTING OUT OF THE WAY of the foul like he did. For me he is like McGary, a little bit unique in his rhythm of movement, inventive enough to just come up with new stuff almost nightly. This is why I value Beilein's system so much; you have to feel that Stauskas, McGary, Levert all just have their potential fleshed out by Michigan coaching; you sometimes feel that they can just hurt opposing teams from anywhere on the floor, that it won't be just a matter of running plays for buckets but working through the system to see what it gives you--which might be something you never saw happen on the hardwood before.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
is not as good as his ability to break down defenders on offense.
I would say that he is much better--at this point in his game's progression--at utilizing his speed and quickness on offense than he is on defense.
January 31st, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
Shorter, quicker Tayshaun Prince perhaps?
January 31st, 2014 at 9:07 AM ^
I was going to add this to my post above, but didn't want to risk spelling Teyshaun wrong
January 31st, 2014 at 9:10 AM ^
Both pretty good shooters, both long and athletic guys who, while not super quick, always seem to be able to get to the basket.
Though Levert doesn't have Prince's post-up game. Not sure if Prince did either, though, at this point in his career.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^
but a teammate of his for years may be a better comparison. I see a lot of Rip Hamilton in Levert's game. Caris is probably a better athlete and a litte more fluid with his handle, but I see a lof of Rip in his offensive game. A capable, but inconsistent shooter from long distance (both Caris and Rip have limited range, with their 3s looking a little more like throws than shots at about 20-23 feet). I think, like Rip, his comfort zone will end up being a free throw line extension game with shots that come off or one or two hard dribbles. I also think he will grow into a really good defender, and I always Hamilton was an underrated on ball defender.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
Body wise and defensively, an excellent comparison, IMO. But Rip was always more of a mid-range, catch-and-shoot type of guy on offense, whereas Levert is seemingly usually getting (or trying to get) to the rim.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Rip actually was JUST A SHOOTER. He either shot the ball from 18 feet curling off a screen, or caught the ball off a screen, dribbled once, pulled up and shot the ball from 15 feet. I thought Hamilton was a bad defender, masked by great team defense. He would get really chippy in his one-on-one matchups, and probably get into opponents' heads, but he never really stopped anyone good IMO.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^
know man, I think Rip was a pretty good individual defender. He may have never "stopped" anybody, just as really nobody in the NBA "stops" opposing shooting guards who generate a hell of a lot of offense for most teams. Rip put in good work against Kobe in the finals (that was not all Tay), frustrated World Peace nearly into the insanity he occupies now, almost always drew the Reggie Miller assignment and played Dwayne Wade pretty tough too. The Rip that arrived in Detroit was not a good defender, the Rip that played here in became a really good defender until the dark days began, and then really nobody on the team played very much of anything.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
...and yet you did anyway! LOL - it's all cool.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 8:59 AM ^
has really improved night and day from last year...i was pretty harsh on him last year when I probably should have stepped back and realized he was a true freshman who had a lot to learn....man, did he learn pretty fast as has become quite a weapon on offense
January 31st, 2014 at 9:38 AM ^
who Beilein has specialized in seeing the potential in.
Nice piece about him at mlive:
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2014/01/doing_a_bit_of_everyt…
January 31st, 2014 at 9:02 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:04 AM ^
Type of guy you love to have on your team.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:11 AM ^
He's kinda a jack of all trades type. Occasionally he takes his guy one on one to the hoop, uses his length to get a fairly acrobatic lay in. But he also spots up and knocks down a good amount of jump shots. When needed, he runs the point fairly well.Then again, I feel like he gets 8+ boards every other night. Jack of all trades, master of none, but when you can do a lot of things, no matter the matchup he'll get his oppurtunities.
He also has developed a knack for when yo use his abilities. I know he's a little turnover prone, but even though he's a solid shooter, he doesn't jack up any dumb contested shots. He can drive on guys, but he rarely forces it, he picks his oppurtunities if he has a good match up or its late in shot clock. On D, he's not a lockdown defender, but he uses his length to get into passing lanes and pull in rebounds. I think this is why the coaches have praised him so much, he's found a way to really make an impact despite not having one dominat trait, he really learned how to insert himself where needed.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^
Renaissance Man
January 31st, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
A Gentleman and a Scholar
January 31st, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^
Think about Walton in year two next season...omg
January 31st, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^
Manny Harris from his wirey frame to his slashing to the basket and the ability to hit the three ball almost on the regular and style of play.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:27 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
I just have a gut feeling nobody is going to leave for the NBA after this season.
Mark my words. If Stauskas, GRIII and McGary all come back, Michigan WILL be preseason #1 next year. I guarantee it.
Those three plus a junior LeVert, sophomore Walton.
Oh, and seniors Jon Horford & Max Bielfeldt, junior Spike Albrecht and maybe even Mark Donnal coming into the rotation.
Bonus: Michigan adds MORE next year. Recruits Doyle, Chatham and Wilson with an inspiring Austin Hatch to play for.
I'm gonna enjoy this season, though. Next year is next year.
January 31st, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^
considering he's coming to Michigan on a schollie. I think JB is thinking one of the three will declare at the time, but now it's seems like all three could declare.
January 31st, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Won't he just be on a medical scholarship his entire career?
January 31st, 2014 at 11:54 PM ^
but I think JB said he'll go on an athletic schollie. Unclear if he'll play for Michigan.
January 31st, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^
will be a RS JR nex year and you didn't even mention a sophmore Zac Irvin to go along with that mind boggling impressive squad.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
last year. Tall guard skills are worth their weight in gold.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^
Marshawn Lynch, only stronger and faster
January 31st, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
But quicker, more athletic and smarter.
January 31st, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^
So basically...not like john shurna at all
January 31st, 2014 at 9:25 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:29 AM ^
I agree with Prince if he continues to work on his D, needs to make it his calling card
January 31st, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
messing around somewhere. I think he is still in Memphis and sees 10-14 minutes of game, makes a baby-hook or two from time to time. He's still around but fading fast.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^
We've gotta consider that Tayshaun has the additional mileage that comes from 106 starts out of 118 playoff games and that he was, from what I can gather, a three year starter in college with significant minutes as a freshman. He was also active in USA basketball and was a member of the 2008 ~redeem team~.
That, at 33, he is still a starter on a playoff team, is remarkable.