Mullins is listed at 6-3 compared to Spike’s 5-11.
I don’t think you could say Walton ever ‘played the two’ last year. He was the only healthy scholarship PG on the roster. Is he a good catch-and-shoot guy? Sure, but it’s not like he was playing with another PG last year.
Would you prefer a bench unit of
X-Mullins-Ibi-Chatman-Donnal
or
X-Spike-Ibi-Chatman-Donnal?
That being said, while I could see the Mullins addition, I think the optimal late add would be more of true wing… 3/4 type… especially after the Dawkins transfer.
And you also have to look at the whole story. If Spike plays <5 mpg next year at Michigan or is unable to play due to injury and loses games because it lacks depth on the wings. The story is why do you take back an injured third string PG when you could have tried to find a graduate transfer forward.
I don’t think there’s much of a difference between either bench unit. I just thought Walton was a lot better when the ball wasn’t in his hands as much eg. when Levert was playing. I am still skeptical of Walton being able to run a good offense with him as a primary ball handler. We even saw MAAR taking more of a role in regards to that area. Maybe Walton will have a special senior year but he’s a long ways away from having that type of the year if we are to look at his career to date.
I agree the best add would be a 3/4 type but they still put an onus on trying to get Mullins and we already knew Dawkins was moving on. So Beilein was valuing Mullins over a 3/4 at this point. Things can change but maybe there isn’t a focus on a 3/4. You had Donnal on the bench is this because you think Wagner would be the starter?
This doesn’t all happen in a vacuum, you are looking at guys that you think can make your team better and balancing against other potential options. If Mullins can make your team better, you go after him.
I think that the best case scenario is Wagner starting next year, yes.
If Wagner isn’t starting I’ll be very discouraged. I think if he plays like he did in the tourney/continues to develop that he’s already better then donnall. I could see us going big with donnall and Wagner out there together. Donnall can shoot and Wagner appears to have the ability to shoot. I wouldn’t mind seeing a natural four/ big front line out there sometimes.
Ironically, JB, 4 years ago , said giving Spike a scholarship will either make him look like a genius or get him fired. Nobody is getting fired but I have a feeling not giving him the scholarship the second time around is going to hurt JB’s reputation with the fans and make him look like less than a genius. Just my opinion, but I think there is some serious misevaluation going on in the decision to not bring Spike back.
We have a third PG - X. If Spike was okay playing Dakich like minutes, then I’d for sure love to have him back. But I don’t think he would be happy with that.
…Yes, Let’s hope Walton stays healthy. let’s also hope Walton improves significantly at pick n roll. Let’s also hope that X is ready to at least be adequate to play point guard at this level in his Freshman year. Let’s also hope x stays healthy…
This is not about Spike vs Mullins, it is about having Spike or anyone else useful using the 13th scholarship or wasting it for the second straight year. Roster management is 100% on JB. All programs have to deal with attrition.
This was John Beilein last night. He doesn’t sound like a guy who wants to bank the scholarship.
For the first option, Beilein said he’s interested in finding a grad transfer that “fits the style and fits Michigan.” He noted that the grad transfer market currently amounts to free agency and that, in May, “as people finish classes, all the sudden, a lot of people change their minds.”
Be it via transfer or freshman, what’s clear is that, if an addition is made, it will be at the wing position.
“That’s a big position that we’d like to fill,” Beilein said. “A guy that can get buckets off the bench and guard people.”
“The positions we’re looking for in a grad transfer are definitely not at point guard,” Beilein said. “That wouldn’t make sense. That would be like having three quarterbacks.”
Sure, but can we agree the decision to bring Spike back isn’t Spike vs. nobody, it’s Spike vs. the opportunity of improving the roster in a way that Beilein feels can be more impactful than Spike?
It is interesting that spike said I just want a shot to compete for minutes. I don’t care what my role is I just want to help the team win. Do u buy it? If that’s true sounds like spikel was down beilein not so much. Let’s just add a nice wing and end all debate. At the same time don’t add some random 16 and plug the spot for a better17. If it’s not a grad transfer I hope it’s s real nice frosh.
There are plenty of programs who dont pull 13 through every year. I, personally, would rather use that scholarship purposefully on a '17 recruit than pulling a late '16 recruit, grad transfer not withstanding. Looking at other programs (e.g. NC St might be down to 7 used scholarships) I think one unused scholarship is not too big of a deal this year.