28/14/6 from a garbage man is niiiiiiiiiice
Well, because the evaluation error I pointed out just so happened to be a direct comparison to a player that we just played against. I didnāt make it a ābitch about JBā in general type of post. I could make pages upon pages about that, especially in the context of recruiting, but thereās no need to at this point. I was just pointing out that we probably had a decent shot a player that just abused us, instead we took a player that probably wonāt see the floor for meaningful minutes for 2-3 more years. Kinda like Wilson
Agreed, consistency should be the goal for DJ at this point. Heās not going to do that against good teams every night obviously, but if he can settle in somewhere around 12 & 7 every night against legit comp that would be very good for the team. Heās been all over the place this year, hopefully he can string together solid performances.
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hmmmm.
You think it is within bounds and normal for you to point out the coaching staffās alleged and āunacceptableā misevaluations of Cook because he played against Michigan tonight, but It is an abnormal, out of left field, and a petty ājabā for me to respond by pointing out that another player, who in the same game went for 28/14/6, was misevaluated by you?
Nope, I think you are correct. If you have anything else youād like to add concerning this particular topic please message me.
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We donāt agree all that often, but Iām with you 100% on that one. He can really play, and Iād hate to think we would have lost out on him to Iowa.
Agreed, he got a little out over his skies there, but heāll learn not to shoot that shot. He was otherwise pretty outstanding today.
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Nah, you were very down on him. You said he wasnāt athletic, lacked lateral quickness, and was soft. And you repeatedly said Grantham was a much better recruit. (He was much better early, to be sure, but his ceiling also seems lower).
Whatever - everyone is wrong once in awhile, and DJ will need more performances like today before heās really reached the point of proving you completely wrong.
I donāt agree with the ādevelopmental playersā point though. Plenty of schools thrive with that approach, including defending champ Villanova.
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Seriously? Manny, Tim, Nik, GR3, McGary, Walton - all contributed significantly as freshmen.
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Definitely like your approach here. I said all of those things, and frankly they were true. For 2 years DJ Wilson was a bum, plain and simple, based primarily on a lack of motor.
That said, DJ has surpassed what I thought he would be this year. But he still isnāt a good athlete in my opinion (not bad, but not good either), and has a way to go in the skill department.
However, he is producing at a level that exceeded my initial expectations at 10pts & 7 Rebs even as a third year player. My issue with these type of players is the 2 year transition cost. Grantham was most def a better recruit at the time (nobody would disagree now) and probably a better all around player now because heās a much better perimeter defender and has better ball skills. Although the margin is slim to be sure because DJ is s better shot blocker and post defender.
And Iād have to disagree with you on developmental projects approach. Sure, Villanova has them, but they have them mixed in with instant impact types whereas projects are what Michigan obtains exclusively at this point. And when that happens you get what you see - a bubble team.
So should we be surprised that MattD isnāt 100% on prospect evaluation? He at least shares his opinions and he certainly isnāt alone in thinking DJ just didnāt have it.
My issue is that Beilein is paid the 12th highest amount in college hoops - nearly 3M/year and some here refuse to hold him accountable for a bunch of recent misses. Not to mention, player eval has been one of JBs strengths since he clearly canāt recruit top 20 players with any regularity.
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I donāt think many here would deny that JB has taken a step back in terms of both evaluation and certainly development over the past 3 years. That said, I do think JB is taking steps in the right direction with the 17 class. The problem is that the fanbase is becoming impatient as the mediocre seasons continue to pile up. Back in 13-14 when I said we were heading downward, I could easily forsee all the problems we have now. But I can also see where there is a little light at the end of the tunnel IF he can land a nice 18 class to compliment the 17 class. Whether he can whether the storm until the 18-19 season is the real question, and I think its a very delicate situation.
The 2016 class has set JB and the team back for what ever reason (the Battle de-commit, or JB not wanting to kiss kids asses Winston/Towns) and he ended up with two players not ready to contribute significantly that they really need to contribute.
The 2016 class set him/team back for next year and beyond, but really the classes of 13, 14 and 15 are the backbones of the mediocrity we see right now. The inability to capitalize off the F4 run on the recruiting trail is killing our on court results at this point.
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No, I donāt expect MattD to be 100% right. My explicitly stated point was that sometimes we are right sometimes we are wrong. MattD is more right than he is wrong as is our coaching staff. I was rejecting the idea that there is such a thing as an āunacceptableā misevaluation when we are dealing with evaluating youth and all the moving parts it entails. Additionally, it is a convenient mistake to imply that the recruits we end up with on our team is somehow a reflection, a peek into, or even necessarily indicative of coaching staffās (very hidden from public view) evaluations of recruits relative to other recruits, whom we have varying odds of landing in the first place.
This is where we absolutely agree, for a team that made back to back deep runs in the tourney to not have upped its game on the recruiting trail is why we are where we are now.
The question is why? Michigan not the draw we think? Coach not that highly thought of by high level talent? The system is one that repels high level talent?
Some of it is players do not want to come and sit behind current team players. JB seems to not start freshman from the start unless there is no other option and then he has the quick hook at the first sign of mistakes on the court (although some quick hooks are deserved).
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Nova hasnāt had anyone leave early in at least the past few years. Brunson was the closest thing to āinstant impactā they have had, and last year he was basically the same thing as Walton was for us as a freshman.
Grantham is now a third year guy - averaging 9.7 and shooting .387 over his career. Iād rather have Wilson for the efficiency alone. Also, I think itās hard to argue Wilson is a third year guy when his season was cut short after like 5 games in 2014. Really, heās a second year guy seeing real minutes for the first time. If, by next year, he can give us 12/7/1.5 blocks and shoot it efficiently, thatās great.
āInstant impactā is hard to define. We need guys who can start as freshmen, and be contributors, but who are not so good theyāll leave after a year. We got really lucky there with Burke, Morris, Nik, Tim - all were good as freshmen and flourished (well, Tim was only a little better) as sophs. I guess it really depends on how you define ādevelopmental.ā Iām not saying we should recruit guys who will take 3-4 years to develop into starters. Tough to do that. But I do think a 2-3 year horizon - with guys like Trey, Tim, Caris, Nik, etc. being the benchmark, is the best approach for our program. I think Battle and Langford would have fit that approach, Thornton too. Bates-Diop, Kennard, and Coleman-Lands, too. All good targets, we just unfortunately missed on them.
But I still think the issue has always been the same - the guys we recruited to be the stars of this team - Irvin, Walton, Chatman - just arenāt.
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As much as you want to put on those guys for not being stars, you have to place blame on JB for not being able to develop them. If he received praise as developmental guru for Caris, Nik, Trey and THJ, then he has to be the whipping boy when top 100 players underperform IMO.
The fact is that since 2013 a decent portion of JBās recruits havenāt developed or have actually regressed. Head coach has to absorb a great deal of blame in those scenarios. That is Amaker-esque
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I donāt think thatās true. He has started Manny, Darius, Tim, Trey, Glenn, Nik, and Derrick.
The reality is, we are in a tough spot. A guy like Walton is good enough that most freshmen PGs cannot beat him out, but heās also not good enough to carry the team to great heights. Same with Irvin - heās better, right now, than a Battle or Langford, heās just not real special and those guys have much higher ceilings in a year or two.
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