Yeah, I noticed that about the last two games. While they certainly weren’t blowouts, we still won by somewhat comfortable margins despite what seemed like frustrating performances at times. And for the defense in general, 3 straight games holding the opponent under a point per possession is nice to see.
I’ve been preaching it all year. If Belein finds a way to get it to come all together this team will be playing second weekend in March.
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I am sorry but some of you guys act like Zak Irvin has been a bum for his Mich career. Besides Walton he is the teams toughest player and has been probably for the last two and a half seasons. One of if not the best creator for others and I also give him credit for not being afraid to take the tough late shot clock or last second shots. He is also often asked to guard the opponents best player and is the teams most versatile player. To me the good out ways any bad.
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Beilein pretty much said the same thing about 3 or 4 weeks ago. He said that it was getting close and when they get there, it is really going to be special. I thought the home game against IU was the first time that we saw what it would look like.
I agree. It’s a combination of those guys not quite playing up to their lofty recruiting rankings and being spoiled by the success of 2012-2014. I think people will appreciate them more when they’re gone.
They’ve represented the university well, and I really hope they can end their careers on a high note.
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The way you feel about maar is how I feel about zak. He makes me very nervous and I often wondered if they should have pushed Aubrey last year as the go to with Walton instead of zak.i still think he makes far to many poor decisions when he gets excited or things are going bad for a senior. That pass at the end of the gAme per example. . I’m scared he will be a factor in why we eventually get bounced in the tourney when there can be no bad possessions in a tight game.
That said I thought he was brilliant late yesterday. To me I still see his value in most games as a 6-8 shot a game guy, mostly slashing or wide open threes, and then on dishing and defense. I think his defense has been great all year. That’s why I wouldn’t advocate for many minutes lost. Maybe a few but that’s more of what x and Duncan bring and the high volume of minutes he’s playing.
Exactly. Ucla first half and the first Indiana game were prime example of what this offense should look like on most nights. Now that maar is hitting threes we legitimately have 7 guys who can all hit the three.
In my opinion it last been lack of confidence/ poor decisions and effort that have stopped us from reaching historic heights with this offense. I’d argue this offense has the most potential yet of any of beleins teams. If they get the mental down and find a way to get the right shots/ balance there is no one in the land they can’t hang 80-90 on.
Add on x showing some life along with maybe Donall waking up and playing hard and with confidence and I feel bad for the big ten. Still think we need to encourage Donall to shoot 2-3 threes a game facing up. Even when he comes in cold off the bench and misses his first shot it always rim in and out and is right there. He’s got a great shot. He should have had multiple big offensive games off the bench but his mental isn’t there.
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Zak has been playing some inspired defense. On this team with our sharp shooters, I am more than happy having Zak continue to put forth tons of energy on defense and to have Zak end up taking 3-5 shots per game. In fact, I think that is the formula for this team’s success moving forward.
Preach. Id say more 6-8 shots though. I think it’s clearly our best offensive formula.
In order
Walton 12-15 shots
Moe 12-15
Dj 10-12
Maar 8-10
Duncan 6-8
Zak 6-8
Donnal 4-6
X 2-4
Moe and Walton or Walton and dj in the p n r is very tough to guard. Still want more low post tiuches for moe. At least 3-4 a game. His moves in the post are really good. Even on missed he gets a great look. High post touches for each are also great options.
You wondering if they should have pushed Aubrey last year instead of Zak to go with Walton just says it all. Aubrey was Duncan with worse defense and court awareness. Nothing about his game was good except shooting. MAAR is what he is, a decent back up type of guard who has learned to spot up shoot some and occasionally play good to great defense. His ball skills are limited.
Don’t forget his wide range of ways to miss dunks.
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We disagree. Aubrey in my opinion is an elite shooter. I thought he could have done a lot off pick and curl sets on the elbow too. He showed that a lot late freshman year. His defense was atrocious. The whole teams d was bad though until lately. He was athletic enough to improve if he worked on it. Would he have? I’m not sure but he has the tools to improve.
Aubrey didn’t handle things well last year and was lost in the shuffle / didn’t have confidence . I’m willing to bet he is gonna look really good at Ucf and that he will have a great finish to his college career. It just didn’t fit/ work out here. It doesn’t mean it won’t work out for him though or that he isn’t good enough.
Also I disagree on maar. He’s a solid shooter, good defender and he is very creative scorer around the rim/creating looks at the basket. He has weak ball skills I agree but I still think you undervalue him. We don’t make the tourney last year without maar becoming the third wheel/ becoming a focal point. He’s a good back up guard on a very good team. On most college teams he’d still start. I feel really good about him taking on a bigger role next year. I think he can score double figures all day.
How you feel about him is how I felt about zak a lot. He came up big last night multiple times and has been key in our run here. There are also few possessions a game where I think maar takes bad looks.Even on misses I’m ok with the shot he takes. Lots of things in basketball are confidence, opportunity and fit. It’s not always cut and dry.
I still am loving what zak is doing. I see his value differently. I think his value is an utility man/ dirty work guy not as an offensive weapon/ focus. I think our offense has improved as he’s given up handling the ball as much/ shooting as much. He just makes to many iffy decisions for me to want him handling that much/ running sets for him. Particularly as the stages get higher.
Hey, we’ll always have the Dakich behind the back then bookdoor pass to Aubrey leading to an absolute murder posterization against Illinois.
I agree with what you are saying about Dawkins.
It seems like you want to argue that Irvin is better than others make him out to be and MAAR is worse than others make him out to be.
I think most people know that I believe, going back to last year, that MAAR is undervalued and underutilized…
I am wondering: How do you compare Irvin’s and MAAR’s value to the team?
When I look at the stats I see MAAR shooting the ball a lot better, turning the ball over a lot less, and assisting at a lower rate but still MAAR is assisting at a decent clip relative to Irvin’s assist rate…
Don’t get it mistaken. I agree aubrey was one dimensional last year. That said I think he had potential to be a very good scorer. He showed that when featured as a frosh that he might turn into another great Belein wing out of no where.
For that to happen though we had to commit to making him featured/ running sets for him and getting him his looks. Zak is a way better handier, passer, defender. Thing is our d was so bad last year I felt we needed to outscore teams to win because as a unit we couldn’t defend. I think Aubrey will end up at ucf showing he’s the superior scorer. I also felt Aubrey deserved to get his job back over Duncan late in the year. It just wasn’t the right fit anymore and it made sense to part ways on both ends.
I’m very happy we went with zak right now because we have enough offense either way and scorers plus we actually can defend now, which zak is playing a huge role in and what he brings to the table brings more value for our set up currently. I don’t want anyone to take this in the wrong manner. Zaks d and effort have really helped us in this run. I’m not advocating anything besides that I think his role is best as defender/ energy guy as opposed to shooter/ featured offensive weapon. I think those touches are just better sodas out amongst moe, d Walt, maar, and dj.
Also I’m with you. Maar is completely undervalued/ utilized. That said he lost his confidence for like 10 games and was pretty bad for a while. I think his role right now over the last few games is pretty spot on. Walton, moe are superior options and dj to an extent.
I love the niche maar has right now and I think we should keep rolling with it. A few more looks a game would be ok particularly against teams that overplay the perimeter aggressively. He’s valuable at making them pay slashing to the rim. Also really liked the way he was using the pick away curl yesterday. He’s open a lot on those and hopefully we keep making those passes to keep teams honest,
MAAR is not asked to or expected to do the things Zak has been asked to do. If we gave MAAR the same usage as Zak his numbers would be much lower. Look, I am glad MAAR is on the team. You need guys who will battle and do some dirty work. As I have always stated MAAR would serve the team better if he could come off the bench. Right now because of the roster that is not possible. I expect MAAR to start next year also, but it would help the team more if some how Poole could come in after summer conditioning and give good consistent minutes.
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You need to think if MAAR will be the alpha next year though. Good scorer attacks the hoop can shoot from the outside and a senior who has started for 4 years. I can easily see it next year.
It is hard for me to see MAAR as the alpha next year. His skill is not suited to be that person. he does not have a quick shot he is athletic but not a great athlete who can be guarded. And he is not a great creator for others. His shot has gotten better but he is a set shooter and not good at shooting off the dribble.