The recruiting period kicks off today so coaches will be on the road quite a bit.
Beilein starting out the week at La Lu.
Appears there is a new target on the board in combo William Douglass out of Memphis. Doesn’t appear to be ranked upon a cursory glance, but does hold offers from TCU, Ole Miss, Oregon, Florida State, UNLV, St. Louis, in addition to interest from UM and Virginia.
Highlights
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Looks like Beilein and Donlon are there. Interesting that we are just hearing about him now with how heavy the interest is.
You don’t bring two coaches unless he is a high priority, especially on the first day.
That handle tho
My initial impressions are that he seems to be a pretty good player, but much like Cormac Ryan, I definitely have concerns about the comp level. Its pretty bad
It probably helps that he’s taller and faster than everyone trying to guard him
Edit: that was referencing the competition level, not that he must have some insane measurables
Douglas says he anticipates playing PG in college.
My very quick first impression: Douglas would be an interesting option if Brooks wasn’t already in the class. Seems like Douglas could be a fit for the “third guard” slot backing up Simpson at the PG & the height/outside shooting to join Simpson in a 2-PG backcourt for a few shifts.
But since Brooks is already on-board for that role, Douglas seems a little redundant and repetitive?
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He’s got a good first step and some pretty good shooting off the dribble. If we didn’t already have Brooks, I’d say offer this guy right now.
Holy cow, I think William Douglas is phenomenal.
What improvement between freshman and sophomore year physically.
I bet Coach Beilein immediately fell in love with this kid. His fundamentals are a thing of beauty. Beautiful jump stops; I didn’t see him off balance on any dribble drive. Beautiful to watch. Somebody did a great job of teaching this kid how to play basketball.
I watch his junior film and say to myself this kid has a legit chance to play in the NBA someday.
Going back to the Jamal Cain thread… what do we think are the biggest needs for 2017-18 positionally?
In the backcourt you have Simpson, Brooks and MAAR at the one and two. I guess Watson, Matthews and Poole could potentially play the two, but also pretty natural fits at the three. Duncan is a 3 an potentially 4, Wilson is a four and Livers is a four.
I think it really depends what position the trio of Watson, Matthews and Poole projects to play. If I had to guess I’d say two of those three play the majority of their minutes at the 3 in 2017-18.
In that case do you add another guard type (Douglas) or more of a 3/4 (Cain, Gaines) or a big (Bamba). I think Bamba is the easy answer as a next level talent, but interesting to think about in terms of roster needs.
Best available talent in terms of skill/athleticism combo is still Cain in my opinion of those realistic options available in 17 exclusive of Bamba
Talking more about positional need than debating best available talent.
I’m going to say Douglas is the best fit because he can realistically play 1-3. If he’s 6’5" now, yeah, he’s my guy.
I look at positional need from a talent perspective though. In other words what we need depends on how good the predecessor (s) is/are.
PG - X and Brooks and no more room
SG - Poole/Watson - I think Poole is starter material whereas Watson not so much. Obvious need for 2 way player as both are poor defenders
SF - Matthews/Watson - Matthews is starter quality and see comment above on Watson. Again need a 2 way 3 until Matthews proves he can shoot.
PF - Livers - hopefully starter quality but good backup worst case scenario
C - Donnal/Wagner/Davis/Teske - no more room unless it’s elite talent
For me it’s pretty simple that we need an upgrade over Watson
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I like Douglas upon first glance but that comp level is really bad, hard to take much from that when half his highlights are breakaway dunks/layups
I think Cain is the best fit. You want someone who can play the 3, and he has the upside to maybe play 4 if he can ever get to 210-215 like Zak.
With how everything looks, I would say take Bamba if you can. If not, take Cain. But if you have the space (idk where that could possibly come from) take both.
One quibble, shouldn’t include Donnal because we’re talking about his spot.
Agreed, you tell him thank you and goodbye if Mr. Bamba would like to temporarily reside in A2.
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