Open Practice (11/2/2015)

We’ll have more later, but some quick hitters from Zach. Anyone who was there feel free to chime in:

Though Beilein says it changes often, today's blue team (first team) was LeVert, Walton, Donnal, Dawkins, Robinson, Wilson and Irvin.

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 3, 2015

Quick thoughts: -Wilson & Wagner look better than other practice -Maize team not far off Blue team -Speed a big emphasis in drills/scrimmage

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 3, 2015

Here's the practice championship belt. They didn't announce a winner today, but Wilson looked most impressive to me. pic.twitter.com/EtM3SenYSx

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 3, 2015

Dawkins threw down a nice alley-oop, but came up lame on his ankle. Was jumping and jogging alright few minutes later, back in now.

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) November 2, 2015

Donnal looks like the same. Still really skinny. Doubt he is a positive player this year. Duncan was an unbelievable shooter to watch live. Pretty much didn’t miss over the course of an hour.

DJ Wilson played the 4 the whole time and was unbelievably good. If that’s for real, we are gonna be awesome. Showed his athleticism and was nailing threes/mid range shots all day.

Levert looked good and healthy. Irvin very much did not in the early drills and then didn’t do any game drills/scrimmaging.

Wilson shot very very well. He did not hesitate to shoot 3’s. Hit probably hit 5 of 6 threes in the end of practice scrimmage-like action. Likely had most points and rebounds as well. He played the 4 and was guarded by Wagner and Chatman most of the scrimmage at the end of practice. (I was surprised to see Wilson playing the 4.) Donnal and Doyle played center. Levertand Wilson looked like the best players on the floor.

Chatman played with much more purpose and his shot looked great! Overall, he looked much less hesitant than last year. I would not be surprised if he had a good year.

Was a bit disappointed by Dawkins and Robinson–but I arrived 20 minutes late. Dawkins in particular threw up shots that looked low percentage to me. I am afraid I do not have tons of confidence in Robinson’s shot within game time situations. He missed very badly on a few.

Donnal looked same–he does not seem very inspired out there.

MAAr’s shots looked good and better than last year. In general, the team seems to shoot very well. This could be a team that scores like crazy.

Good stuff guys. Pretty extensive video from Zach up on the front page.

Team opened with some shooting drills, combination shooting (dribble baseline, pass to corner shooter, go back to get the ball on the wing for a Jumper), and post work for the big guys. From there they went into their Duke 3v2 fastbreak.

On the 20 min scrimmage-Just going to hit the players that stood out, and that didn’t…Very good shooting night for almost everyone.

DJ Wilson- First of all, DJ’s arms are twice the size they were last year. I saw the pics Sanderson posted…they don’t do the kid justice. Kid has a great hoops body & seems to be in phenomenal shape. On this night, I repeat, this night, Wilson was the best, most productive player on the court. Very aggresive and had the “want to” to put the ball in the hoop. Hit 3-4 three’s off of catch and shoot penetration created by the guards and wings. Kid has his shot down, dosent hesitate and has a good release. Very confident. Also, didn’t hesitate to hit the 8-12ft bank from the post. Very consistent all night with his shot. LONG. I was expecting an improvement. Got one. Played the four tonight. Impressed. Going to be a tough cover for the opposition.

Caris LeVert- Looked 100% back to form. Shot looked crisp and were dropping. Had his burst. Made good decisions out to the shooters on the wing when penetration wasn’t there to score. Just looks like a more mature version of himself. Fits with what they were doing. Didn’t over-dribble.

Aubrey Dawkins- Tweaked an ankle in the fastbreak drill on an ally-ooop that scared me half to death but came back 10-15 mins later and was ok. Beilein called on him for not running the court hard enough on a break. Played a bit slower/cautious after the tweak but still had good showing. Can and will stroke it from anywhere. Almost didn’t miss in the shooting drills and combo shooting. Beilein called him out a bit for his D but I think his ankle was hindering his mobility. Took it to the hoop a couple times and was fouled but again, was being cautious. I think we’ll see more of that from him this year and if so, watch out. Love that kids game.

Derrick Walton- Steady, feeling his way through. Not aggresive offensively. Facilitating to his wings. Hit a three or two. I think he’ll have a big year once he gets back into his game groove. Didn’t stand out tonight.

Duncan Robinson- Yea, the kid can shoot. Was right in front of me during drills… Money. Surprised to see him take the ball to the hole a couple times in scrimmage, but idk if he will be able to against the better D’s in the schedule. That dosent matter to me. If he can hit 2-4 three’s a game from the wing/corner (which he will) then he’ll be doing his job. He has some ball skills in terms of pass/dribble but dosent need to with the other weapons they have.

Kam Chatman- Loved that they got him in the post. He has the vision to pass out if need be but also the skill/touch to score from that spot. Had great touch in his shot tonight and hit 2-3 triples and a jump shot. Hit the game winning 3 with 3 secs left from the top of the key. Looked good tonight.

MAAR- Looked smooth, shot was falling and good penetration. I just don’t see how he dosent play, until I look at the other wings. Idk what Beilein’s options are…Spike was held out so maybe MAAR proves himself early on while Spike sits? Who knows. Kid just has a good instinct.

Moe Wagner- If Wilson is at the four and dosent play the five, Wagner should play THIS YEAR at the 5 behind Doyle. Far superior to Mark Donnal who was again non existent. Wagner had a beautiful spin move in the lane while taking it to the hole. Dawkins made a bad/late pass to Wilson near half court Wagner steps in, knocks it away, takes a couple dribbles and slams it while being challenged from the side. A very naturally fluid 6’10 basketball player. Hit a 3 from the left side during scrimmage. Made a couple of really nice passes. Showed a great deal of intensity and emotion. Really looked comfy. Just my opinion but he has game. Wouldn’t red shirt him. Still don’t see a need for Austin Davis on this roster regardless of class. Doyle, Wagner, Teske and Wilson all able to play the 5 in '17. Don’t get it.

Mark Donnal- Had a nice put back and rebound I think. Definitely odd man out looking at tonight’s action. This is his 3rd year. Just don’t see it regardless of a couple practice reports. Prove it to me I guess…

Spike and Irvin sat out of scrimmage. Terry Mills and McKormick were there.

Had a great time. Met a couple long time posters and couldn’t be more excited about the season. We’re going to make a run the the B1G championship. I’d say a top 2 team. There is no doubt about it in my mind.

Side note: This was all done on my phone so I apologize in advance if there’s a bunch of typos/punctuation errors. My daughter is hungry and rushing me…

My hot takes mirror Wolverine3

DJ at the top of the 1-3-1 seems terrifying, having to constantly pass over a 7’2 wingspan = turn over city. Plus, love seeing the extra height on the team, by throwing moe and DJ to the 4.

Moe can definitely see the prospect in him, he was quite active.

Duncan/Aubrey - Didn’t look too spot on, definitely hoping Zak is feeling good to go soon and can play 30 min at the 3. While aubrey and ducnan fill in behind at the 3 and 4.

5 spot = ?

dw/cl = money in the bag.

I would love if DJ can contribute this year.

Doyle doesn’t seem to have made an impression on anybody, though he was apparently out there. Is Wilson good enough to replace him as starter, or is that too much of a leap from one practice? The coaching hype on Donnal I’m just not buying. After two years, I think we’ve seen his ceiling, and it’s not that high. I just don’t see him being in the regular rotation this year.

Based on the video only (which was great – thanks UM Hoops):

I know there is a very established thinking around these parts as to who owns the lion’s share of minutes this year, but what really impressed me were the 3 “X-factor” guys on Team Maize, plus DJ Wilson.

• MAAR: Love how active he is at both ends of the floor. And he was making shots.
• DJ Wilson: Looked tremendous.
• Kameron Chatman: Much improved, still a ways to go, but his shots and overall playmaking looked a lot better.
• Wagner: Intriguing, extremely active and competitive, seems to move at two very different speeds (slow in the post and closing out shooters, but fast in the open court), does some very good things and some not-so-good things. But surprisingly good.

These 4 guys will be very hard to keep off the court.

Also, not a knock to Donnal, but based on DJ’s improvement, Wagner’s potential, and Doyle just being Doyle, starting Donnal would be a mistake.

Dang. Guys who can really play are going to struggle to get minutes this season.
I don’t see how you redshirt Wagner; at the same time, I don’t know where his minutes come.

Think you guys are overrating Wagner a bit after that scrimmage. He wasn’t THAT impressive. Didn’t really show me much perimeter or post skills to have me feeling confident in him playing 4 or 5. Still think he’s a redshirt outside of a worst case scenario in the front court.

Dang. Guys who can really play are going to struggle to get minutes this season. I don't see how you redshirt Wagner; at the same time, I don't know where his minutes come.

I agree, any way you slice it, there are people who could be legitimate contributors to the team not getting playing time they have worked hard for. It’s unfortunate, but a reality of the size of the 2014 recruiting class.

From the video, MAAR hit plenty of open threes, which is more than I expected, but I still can’t see how you get him playing time between Spike, Caris, and Walton who have collectively logged probably more minutes between the three of them in their careers than the rest of the team combined. I can honestly see a role for double digit players on the roster, but there’s no way more than 9 of them are “rotation” players getting regular minutes except in unfortunate (i.e. injury) circumstances.

Simple, give MAAR all of Spikes time and shuffle Spike in when the need comes.

Dang. Guys who can really play are going to struggle to get minutes this season.
I don’t see how you redshirt Wagner; at the same time, I don’t know where his minutes come.

I agree, any way you slice it, there are people who could be legitimate contributors to the team not getting playing time they have worked hard for. It’s unfortunate, but a reality of the size of the 2014 recruiting class.

From the video, MAAR hit plenty of open threes, which is more than I expected, but I still can’t see how you get him playing time between Spike, Caris, and Walton who have collectively logged probably more minutes between the three of them in their careers than the rest of the team combined. I can honestly see a role for double digit players on the roster, but there’s no way more than 9 of them are “rotation” players getting regular minutes except in unfortunate (i.e. injury) circumstances.

Simple, give MAAR all of Spikes time and shuffle Spike in when the need comes.

Just because I would do that doesn’t mean I think Beilein will do that. It’s been shown time and time again he values senior experience quite a lot.

For once I agree with Webdog. For precedent, remember that a lot of assumptions about Vogrich’s playing time as a senior went out the window when Stauskas started lighting it up. Now, obviously Spike is way better than Vogrich, and obviously M.A.A.R. is nowhere near Stauskas as a player. But IF M.A.A.R. is firing on all cylinders and locking down opponents on D, how on earth can you bench him? Personally, I am looking forward to seeing him dunk on Layman a few more times.

Think you guys are overrating Wagner a bit after that scrimmage. He wasn't THAT impressive. Didn't really show me much perimeter or post skills to have me feeling confident in him playing 4 or 5. Still think he's a redshirt outside of a worst case scenario in the front court.

He showed a good first step, passing ability, shooting that will only get better and intensity displayed within a SCRIMMAGE. Not to mention a natural talent/skill level that Doyle/Donnal/Teske don’t possess. How about two or three challenges on the defensive end that resulted in a fast break spinning lay in then a dunk? Mitch was our only other big we’ve had here under Beilein that has even come close to doing that.

Does he have a complete post up game? No. Is he Stauskas from beyond the arc? Nope. But the kid has talent.

For once I agree with Webdog. For precedent, remember that a lot of assumptions about Vogrich's playing time as a senior went out the window when Stauskas started lighting it up. Now, obviously Spike is way better than Vogrich, and obviously M.A.A.R. is nowhere near Stauskas as a player. But IF M.A.A.R. is firing on all cylinders and locking down opponents on D, how on earth can you bench him? Personally, I am looking forward to seeing him dunk on Layman a few more times.

If MAAR is legitimately outplaying Spike and not making many mistakes on O or D, then yeah I think Beilein will make the switch. But until we see it, I don’t think you make that change. But I definitely believe another vogrich situation could arise, just not thinking it will happen in the first month or so.

With all of the unknown injury variables still hanging out there regarding Spike and Irvin ( not to mention Caris and Derek’s recoveries ) I’m betting MAAR will get his shot at earning minutes. Never forget the State game where he dominated for a 10-15 minute stretch and was so impressive. His quicks and D are needed skills missing from this team.

Interesting that Dakich fouled at the end, up by 3. I wonder if that is the go-to strategy by Coach Beilein or if that was just Dakich’s decision.

Interesting that Dakich fouled at the end, up by 3. I wonder if that is the go-to strategy by Coach Beilein or if that was just Dakich's decision.

Great point. I don’t recall any of our teams ever going for the foul in an actual game but it’s great seeing Beilein consider it given all the great free throw shooters we have.