Fair points all around. I agree that we can get away with playing Donnal some now until the other guys are ready. I just think that if he is still getting significant minutes in conference play we are in deep doo doo.
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Can we get Doyle some wide receiver gloves to wear? Is that legal? Stickum? Anything?
I know it’s clearly not our only problem but man he just can’t catch the ball clean
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Mark Donnal - 1 REB
Ricky Doyle - 1 REB
DJ Wilson - 0 REB
Moritz Wagner - 2 REB
…
Caris LeVert - 6 REB
Derrick Walton Jr. - 5 REB
Aubrey Dawkins - 6 REB
lol
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It is well understood at this point the Michigan rebounding strategy is for the big to box out and the guards to rebound to start the fast break… That may not be the best decision in the circumstances, but that’s what it is.
So what? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. Do you think that the bigs were doing a good job of boxing out and the guards are at fault? Do you think it’s fine that Doyle didn’t grab a single defensive rebound in the 22 minutes he played? You don’t think he got beat for several 50/50 balls? Because that’s what I saw. You don’t think there were enough opportunities around the rim for our bigs to grab more than a total of 2 defensive rebounds? Who do you think is mainly at fault for Xavier rebounding roughly half of their misses?
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If true (and I don’t think it is) that’s the dumbest strategy any coach at any level could have as it pertains to defensive rebounding.
You grab a defensive rebound anyway you can. If you want your guards to start the fast break quicker, you work on your post player’s outlet passes and your guards finding the passing lane to receive them.
That’s what I never understood either. If your wings and guards are mainly responsible for rebounding how do they get out in transition? Obviously in this case it might be the only option since their bigs don’t seem to be interested in rebounding. This isn’t a new thing though they didn’t grab boards last year and it’s continuing this year.
I think the strategy is fine. If you encourage your wings or ballhandlers to get the rebounds, you save yourself the time of your bigs having to turn and look for an outlet to get the break going and your big men can run the floor and be found in transition instead of just trailing. But our bigs are just not very good at establishing and maintaining position, which makes it easier for opponents to get the offensive rebound. As with most tactics, it has to be executed properly to be effective.
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In a nutshell: Coach Beilein wants everybody boxing out and battling for rebounds on the defensive end.
I’ve seen Duncan Robinson not box out, Coach Beilein rises from his seat on the bench and puts Dawkins in. Everybody has to box out; put a body on a guy. It’s really nothing fancy or unorthodox.
Coach Beilein mostly attributes the Bigs rebounding deficiencies to inexperience and/or lack of physical maturity. He pointedly observes in last nights presser, he hopes this issue is resolved this season but it certainly won’t be a problem in the coming years
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JB is not fooling anyone. Our bigs can’t rebound because they don’t have the athleticism to do so at this level. He needs to recruit the position better.
Donnal is in his 3rd year of a college S&C program. If he’s not physically ready by now, he never will be.
Doyle has the size and strength. He doesn’t have the athleticism.
Wilson may need more strength, but again, 2nd year. He should be plenty strong by now to at least hold his own.
These are all recruiting misidentifications by JB and his staff.
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You may be correct. Time will provide the answer.
Wilson and Wagner weren’t recruited to be 5’s, both are ideally stretch 4’s.
Donnal looks like a miss. McClimans 2.0. Personally I don’t like Donnal’s body language on the court. He reminds me of Smotryzc, because it doesn’t appear he enjoys the game or his role.
Doyle I think shows promise, though he had an admittedly tough game yesterday. He played with a lot of energy last night, was really into the game, but things didn’t go his way.
Going forward Coach Beilein has two true 5’s coming in, so we’ll see how that works out in Teske and Davis. I’m not huge fan of either kid. I’m in a wait and see mode on both, but they, like Doyle are legit 5’s.
A mature Wagner and Wilson playing 4 on this team changes the whole dynamic. This, I feel is Coach Beilein’s vision. 7’ and 6’10" true 5’s teamed with a dynamic 6’10 stretch 4.
Meanwhile, Coach Beilein has to make the most of what he has and get this team to the second weekend of NCAA tourney and take things from there
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Recruiting at the five has generally been underwhelming except for McGary. I don’t really understand the reason for this. I like Doyle’s effort but his athleticism leaves much to be desired – it would be nice if he could hit a free throw as well. Hopefully Teske becomes an impact player and Davis ends up being more than a poor man’s Doyle. Although I don’t consider Wagner a true five either, at this point I wonder if they should just devote their efforts full-time transforming him into one – his size and upside may merit it.
This strategy is not a strategy. There’s no way this is the defensive rebounding philosophy. If it is, we are in much bigger trouble than anyone can imagine.
It’s a strategy if you believe your C has limitations. I doubt this is what he encouraged McGary to do. But if you have Doyle or Donnal, you simplify things for them and just say “take care of the C”. And if everyone else does their job as well, you won’t have to worry about it. I think it makes sense from a transition perspective too.
DJ wasn’t recruited as a 5. He is still very new to the position.
That still falls into the misidentification category.
Against far superior rebounding teams, I like Walton - Levert - Irvin - Wilson - Doyle
Rotate Wagner at the 5. Dawkins at the 3. And Robinson at the 4 if you want a stretch of offensive firepower.
Sometimes having the 4 be such a weapon gets lost in translation. If you have a killer backcourt, we just need a solid frontcourt to do the dirty work.
Is there any evidence yet that Wilson is a good rebounder? I’m really asking. I don’t know. If I recall, Chatman’s rebounding percentage was actually pretty good, although with a small sample size.
I think Kam blocked out really well but I like Wilson’s overall game better and I think once he gets time at the 4 position, he’ll be a real asset on both ends of the floor.
So far this year DJ Wilson has 1.4 TRB%. Worst on the team. Surprisingly, Donnal has a slightly better percentage than Doyle.
Mo is by far #1 at 20.1% in a small sample size.
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