I’m kind of pumped for that as well. A x MAAR and Matthews attacking the hoops drob shooting. It isn’t the typical JB lineup but I think it will be solid. We will have to wait a season and see
I don’t think anyone is arguing that the combo forward spot isn’t where Michigan needs to add to the roster. Almost everyone on the recruiting board with an offer in 2017 projects to that spot.
Hello Donnie Tillman
I don’t think I said anyone was arguing that? I was just responding to the guy who said it’s uncommon for people to play a traditional power forward.
I think it could be very good particularly if x and Mathews progress like I think they will.i see maar as an all conference performer. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the wooden watch list by his senior year. Some people might think I’m crazy but I think he can be very good. I really hope we continue to run a lot of our offense through him this year.
I’m really psyched for the next few years. Watching highlights of levert yesterday, made me think if he was healthy with spike that we could have been good by the end of the year. I think they could have gotten it together and made a run after struggling early.
Okay that’s fair. I think the Troy Williams, Miles Bridges, Jae’Sean Tate mold of power forward is here to stay though, and we’ll continue to see a lot of it.
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A little more insight into the possibility of Duncan guarding the 4. Regardless, glad to hear he is working on getting stronger and building up endurance, and (hopefully) diversifying his game.
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I am glad he has been able to get stronger and get that weight up. He says that his weight was lower than listed and I think that probably played a role in him getting worn down.
Thought this quote was interesting… Also found the talk of guarding fours interesting.
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I am guessing that means needing to improve off the ball movement.
Consistency, being stronger with the ball, making more of the right passes on time and with confidence.
Glad to hear about the weight gain and other improvements from Duncan, but the thought of him guarding 4’s scares the hell out of me. If we had a real option at the 4, Duncan would slide to the place where he probably would fit best, which is as a backup 3/ instant offense off the bench. But, unless DJ takes a massive leap forward that won’t be happening.
I don’t see how Duncan comes off the bench given the current roster. As I mentioned above in this thread and in his report card, he’s kind of at a crossroads defensively. He’s not great (or good?) defending 3s or 4s, but where does he have the potential to be better?
Concerns in both directions and Beilein mentions some of the same elements in that MLive article.
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Are there any stats available for how Duncan shot off dribble? There are the synergy stats of location on the court but how about off the dribble? Seemed that opponents later in the year forced him to take a couple dribbles to make him move off his spot.
Cited several of them here:
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I completely agree, there is basically zero chance of that happening with our current roster, however 93grad said, “If we had a real option at the 4, Duncan would slide to the place where he probably would fit best.” which I think is a pretty reasonable take.
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Even if we had a “real option” at the 4 – and by that I guess we mean someone who would start over Zak, Duncan, and Rahk – I’d bet that Zak would play the 2 and Duncan would start at the 3. We are at least a couple pieces removed from Duncan’s roll merely being to come off the bench for instant offense.
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If Duncan shoots like he did for the first 60% of last season, I don’t think he would be moved to the bench even if we had the couple of pieces you mention. Michigan State started Bryn Forbes last year despite having plenty of pieces including several at his position (Eron Harris, Matt McQuaid). Guys who shoot like that make everyone better even if they’re limited in other respects (as Forbes was and Robinson is). Of course, if he doesn’t shoot all that well, different story.
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I think we have already discussed this. Forbes was worth it out there with only his shooting because they had a guy in Valentine who could consistently draw doubles and get him the ball. Michigan doesn’t have anyone like that on its current roster and it showed in Robinson’s Big Ten numbers. Obviously a part of that was fatigue but I don’t think it’s as big a part as you and some others would like to think.
I expect that Duncan will be one of the most improved players (along with Wilson And Wagner) for UM this year.