Bad 3 in OT… bad turn over that they couldn’t over come…
I downloaded our 2014 tourney game against Texas to watch on a plane flight and the difference was enough that I was actually gonna cut up the video and make a post about it, but I forgot for too long. It was weird as hell but clearly more natural for him.
It sucks to think coaches may have made his shot significantly worse…
zak and the offense is fine. just need 1 of jb’s patented top 50 defenses.
I recall Coach having to give up improving Zak’s shot. They did a lot of work on it (sophomore year?) and while Zak’s form looked better he was shooting like crap. It was as if the changes were so in his head there was no way he could shoot for a decent percentage.
It got to the point where Coach had to throw his hands up and tell Zak to shoot however he liked, just so he could put up a shot with confidence. I had never heard of a player that was beyond Beilein’s help shooting the rock.
The thread was made on February 6th.
Since then, Irvin is 19 of 56 from the field (33.9%) and 7 of 26 from three (26.9%).
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I was ok with how he played today. As long As he plays good d, does dirty work, plays with energy and swings the rock then it’s fine. 6-8 shots. Our offense is light years better when he plays this role. The problem is when he starts chucking or trying to be too much of a playmaker, that is when he really hurts us. I almost get nervous when he hits a few cause I wonder if he’s going to start trying to be a hero.
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Great kid but he is struggling to understand what he can and can not do right now. If he took good shots that were in his sweet spot (mid range mostly going to his right - or getting to the rim) I could support him starting but he is not. So because of that I really think Robinson should get the nod as the starter and get starter minutes. Robinsons defense and rebounding is vastly improved and he moves wayyyyy better without the ball which is huge for this offense.
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We could potentially see this move. Like you stated, Duncan has improved so much over the past month alone that he needs more minutes. I think the key to that move would be if maar can continue to pass well. Not necessarily getting assists but to drive and kick to give Michigan a 3 on 2 advantage on one side of the floor. He’s done that well the last 2 games. Irvin did play 30 minutes and Duncan played 22 vs Purdue. I’d be ok with those minutes being switched and playing Duncan 30 minutes a game. He looks much better than Irvin right now. I’d like to see more of Simpson/Walton/maar out there together too. It has to be vs a smaller lineup and I get that, but they seem to play very well together out there.
I am usually so excited to watch x play I forget to take note of who is he playing with. Has there been a consistent lineup around X and Walton when x and Walton are on the floor together? Has the x/ Walton lineup always been used to rest MAAR?
I think JB needs to find ways to play x more…
Irvin just needs to figure out his role…(if he figures out his role he will be very valuable to the team.)
Totally agree. And he bricked the one WIDE OPEN three he had. With MAAR and Duncan playing consistently solid basketball, Zak is our 6th best option right now, and frankly Simpson is now creating more positive offense than Zak, so maybe 7th best option is more accurate.
I doubt very much if Irvin’s minutes are reduced by JB. He’s to loyal to him.
Unfortunately his lackluster production in major minutes is really limiting our chances at raising our ceiling going forward. Hope he gets going soon.
Robinson’s defense, while improved from start of the season, is still a liability. Irvin, despite his shooting woes, still brings more to the team than Robinson. Robinson’s improvement, though, does mean the split of the minutes should become closer, IMO — as in Robinson seeing more than 12-15 minutes and Irvin seeing fewer than 32-35 minutes (unless Irvin is in one of his “on” games).
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Why mess with a good thing? It is working. We are winning.
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Huge example of Zak’s struggles came when we were on a huge run and had momentum, Zak takes the ball down the court and decides not to give it to Derrick. He dribbles to the baseline and loses the ball out of bounds. He really needs to start realizing his deficiencies and play within himself. If he can avoid hero balling, it will make the team that much better.
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If Michigan’s offense was struggling I would understand the call to start Robinson but that’s not the case. Instead the Wolverines have the luxury of starting Irvin. His ability to guard 3 positions also allows Beilein more floor combinations.
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The good news is that Matthews defense isn’t in question. Irvin has been playing good d and rebounding well for sure, but Matthews should be at the very least equal to Irvin in that aspect. CM’s question is what he can provide on offense, but given how terrible Irvin has been offensively Matthews floor probably projects to 2017/18 conference play Zak Irvin.
I don’t see a way Matthews plays this bad. His defense is better no doubt but on offense he will be better than what we are getting from Irvin.
Backup QB syndrome. It’s definitely possible that Matthews is as good as or better than Irvin on defense (not a foregone conclusion, though). But I would not be surprised if he’s actually a step down in terms of offense. If your sole reason in thinking Matthews will be as good or better is “it can’t get worse,” then that would be incorrect. It can get worse. Did anyone here watch football during the Hoke years?
I think it’s a pretty foregone conclusion that he’ll be better on defense.