‘Dude’ since when did he set the parameters?
For sure. I think we need to get Mo 15 shots a game, and I’m dead serious. His post game is pretty solid and once he gets some touches, it carries over to his outside shooting. And how about that baseline turnaround jumper from Wilson last night? That was nice! Those two are really the reason why I’m still generally feeling fine about our future, assumption Mathews, Poole and Livers perform well.
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MAAR’s inability to make a wide open three has really hurt our offense. He had a couple more last night, great looks, can’t knock them down. I think it’s highly likely Poole takes that job next year. To me, MAAR has always been a solid role player who should be coming off the bench for a good team, not a starter. I notice two things with him: (1) after that spectacular dunk against Maryland, he hasn’t improved his elevation any, so which he’s got a nice drive to the basket and uses the glass in a very crafty manner, his shot is still subject to being blocked a fair amount; and (2) this is a guy who should have LIVED in the gym this summer, doing nothing but shooting threes, because if players were forced to get up on him it would open up a ton of driving lanes for him - but apparently that didn’t happen because if anything, his outside shooting is worse.
Mo is a tremendous Iso player within 10 feet of the basket, his footwork is very solid.
Hard to argue with letting him shoot 3s considering the percentage, but I can’t help but think the team would get much cleaner looks if the half court offense revolved around Mo on the block because the opposition would have to send a double often.
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Strength and conditioning helped Stauskas a lot.
I do think it is interesting to look at the degrees of body transformations between players and the degree that they have devoloped and show hustle on the court. I definitely see a correlation. Day to day mentality is a huge factor in individual development. Coaches can’t lift weights for their players…
“the mirror doesn’t lie. It shows you exactly what you are”–Ray Leonard.
Anybody else see the after-workout-photo of some of the younger guys taken before xmas? Mathews, Ibi, Teske look like they have been working very very hard.
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The key for Zak and Derrick and the team’s success going forward is both of them showing maturity and understanding of what team chemistry is all about. Last night they each had key plays in a ‘late and close’ situation which contributed to a great comeback. Leading up to that point they both made plays that made you wonder why they weren’t taken out. There have been other times they have tried to go ‘rogue’ at the end of games and things didn’t turn out so well. They need to understand that this team has decent weapons both from outside and inside. Trust your teammates to win you a game, make the extra pass late in the shot clock, work to get the ball to ‘hot’ shooters, consciously work to make your teammates better and understand what true ‘connectivity’ means. This will benefit everyone and maybe the team can begin playing greater than the sum of its parts. This approach will have way more upside as a legacy for each of them than the one they are currently working on.
This raises something that caught my attention last night in their post-game interviews. Both Derrick and Zak spoke of their responsibilities to have the ball in their hands late in the game. While I think its right that the offense can flow through them, I do think it can be detrimental if they keep the mindset that they have to take the shot too. (not saying that is 100% the case, but I hope they trust their teammates enough to defer when its not there)
The concern with running the offense through Wagner on the block would be that he hasn’t really proven he can pass out of the post. He has a few nice ISO passes this year from the top of the key, something they’ve been working on, but I’m not sure he has an assist out of the post. Part of that is that he isn’t usually doubled, but the other part might be that he just isn’t comfortable seeing the floor down there.
The other issue is that he’s one of the best roll men in the Big Ten if not the country because he can finish at the basket and is a pick-and-pop threat. So that part of the offense is important as well.
I’m all for getting Wagner as many touches as possible, but I think there’s merit in getting him touches in different areas (pnr, low post, face up from the wing) to utilize his versatility.
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Regressed since they got here? That is what I am talking about and the most certainly have not regressed since there freshman year. I am not talking about last year.
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All valid concerns, but has he proven he cannot pass out of a double? I guess my thought is that if we want to get him more comfortable dealing with those scenarios then we need to get him in game reps
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Yep, as I said all for more Wagner touches. He’s also getting them IMO, his playing time and usage have continued to increase.
Also I wouldn’t mind getting DJ some Iso touches on the wing during garbage time/vs lesser opponents. He’s shown a bit more willingness to handle lately. I also seen a bit more in practice that allows me to think he may be capable of 2-3 dribbles vs bigger defenders
Wagner has the highest percentage rate on the team AND still has a very high ORtg. So he’s already getting a lot of touches, but I agree he could use even more.
I’d also like to see Wilson get more touches but I’m not sure that iso-wing opportunities are what I’d prescribe. I’d be interested to see what he can do with some of the curl-elbow actions we ran for GRIII, DJ as a roll man, or doing more pump-fakes and drive off passes.
However, big in-season adjustments can be difficult, and we do have the 18th best offense in the country, so I wouldn’t expect huge changes this year. Going forward next year is a different story.
I hope their legacy is that they continue to develop into “comfortable” (not tight/nervous) leaders, but understand that it doesn’t always require them to go and get the bucket. They should run things, but our best chance to win is likely them getting DJ/Duncan/Maar and especially Mo more comfortable and better looks. That is the best I can hope for and will have a lasting impact.
I want to see the recruiting pick up otherwise I’m afraid Beilein is going to have to go. It all comes down to the players on the floor. I do think next year will feature more a talented roster top to bottom, but I would like to see us to at least be able to land one big time prospect each year.
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I was wondering the same so it was nice to see them play big roles in rallying the team to a win. They both play well in spurts but the consistent production has been lacking for awhile.
We have so few data points on it, but maybe mo is a poor post passer?
I like seeing him on post ups, I’d like to see the pick and roll lead to a pass plus post entry. This could easily be Beilein overthinking things.
Dylan obviously has stats to back it up, but I didn’t think Wagner was a great finisher out of PnR. Great hands, yes. But he seems to get rejected at the rim a decent amount.
Respectfully disagree, here. He got emphatically blocked against PSU, but Mo generally employs incredibly crafty body control to get off good looks regardless of where he catches it, as the roll man.
I’ve been touting this for a while. He should be the focal point of the offense. 15 shots a game minimum. He should be used in all the ways mentioned but the ISO post up NEEDS to be a good portion of this along with his dives to the rim and pops. I like the idea of him in the high post facing up too. Most college bigs will struggle to guard moe as they have shown and teams will be forced to hedge and creep down creating much more space for our three balls.
He’s by far the best and most efficient weapon on our team so we need to adjust the game plan accordingly. He should be our frank the tank. I see us using moe much like Wisconsin used frank. I’m not saying he’s as good as frank but in terms of role and usage in our offense.
I also posted the other day I’d like to see him get the ball on the ISO at the end of the clock. Instead of kicking it out to Derrick or more often Zak, set moe up on the block when it’s down to 6-8 or in the high post and let him work. I’m willing to bet he comes up with much better moves/ looks in these situations.