Looks like he actually in the gym
It’s great to see that while he’s recovering from that leg injury he’s getting some important upper body strength. That’s dedication.
Looks to be about 160 lbs in that Pic.
Looks to be about 160 lbs in that Pic.I don't think he's lost 25 lbs. from last season.....
Caris seems to have added strength, but it’s definitely about how he uses it. Certainly glad he made use of camp Sanderson last summer and this summer as far as he could. Him, Irvin, and Derrick are in great positions.
Imagine JB will be extremely cautious with Caris on the overseas trip. Those stress fractures in have a tendency to reoccur and be continually problematic. I’m sure we will hear that it is a 100% healed and all is well! but definately a concern for me going forward. At last check we have only 5 players that have ever appeared in a D1 game on this roster. A loss of Caris would be crushing.
I don’t understand the leap talk with Caris. He already made his leap and he has the skill-set to be an All-American already. Sure he can improve his strength, ball screen decision making and off the dribble shooting but he doesn’t need a leap to get there.
Caris had 12 single-digit scoring games last year, majority coming in the 1st half of the season when he was acclimating to heavy minutes, as a starter,when roles were being defined. For comparisons sake, Nik had 4 single-digit scoring games in his second year as a starter and had 10 single-digit scoring games in his first season as a starter. A decrease in single-digit scoring games will increase his ppg average in itself.
Another reason I think Caris’ scoring average increases a few points? Plays being called for him. Caris was assisted on an alarmingly low amount of his at the rim and mid-range baskets. This was because his niche was as an iso guy when a play had blown up, JB said they didn’t call plays for Caris and it was all residual action. Plays will be called now and he should be assisted on way more baskets, helping his efficiency and floor game. 26 % assist rate at the rim and 6.5% rate in the midrange is absurd.
I do see his 3 pt FG dropping as he will take more of those off the dribble but I see overall efficiency increasing with play calls, a consistent pull-up jumper/floater and added strength.
I expect AT LEAST 16 ppg 5 rpg 3 apg 45 % FG 35 % 3 pt and if he becomes elite in PnR, I think teams will view him as a PG come draft time.
Agree with you Gustavo, the leap has already happened, now he has a chance to show it on a team that will be relying on him. The rest will be mental development/adjustment to being the go to guy.
Nice bubble Caris…the kid has a tremendous first step, not only in quickness but in length. Agree, his numbers will be vastly improved and look for him to lose that little hesitation he had last year at the hoop. Not sure what the numbers will be but he will have the ball in his hands a lot at the end of the game. Real nice game, should be fun to watch!
I think the biggest leap Caris needs to make is his decision making in half court sets and in transition. Many will say that his assist% was already very good last year, but for the amount of opportunities that he had to dump it down to the big but didn’t (and subsequently tried to take a circus shot that rarely went in) he could see a massive increase in his assist numbers if the game slows down for him and he makes the right pass more often than not. This is going to be incredibly important for Michigan as a team because Caris will inherit many of the PnR possessions that were taken up by Nik last season. The production that Jordan Morgan had in PnR situations was invaluable and was a major factor in many of our wins. If Caris does not prove that he can make the right decision in the PnR (like Stauskas did so many times last season), teams will be more likely to abandon our big in order to double team Caris and shots that were already hard enough for him to make will become exponentially more difficult.
In transition? I think Caris excels as a passer in transition and when breaking down the defense and kicking it out or dishing it off, it is just in PnR where he is average. I feel like Caris got REALLY comfortable finding shooter and bigmen when getting by his man out and putting “2 feet in the paint” later in the season (Texas, Illinois, OSU, MINN all come to mind)
Hopefully JB hammers PnR again and again and again with Walton and LeVert in Italy
I think you can count on the PnR for the foreseeable future. It’s not only affective but a great recruiting tool for the next level.
Guestavo, I’ve seen those numbers before and they certainly paint a different picture (although my post was mostly focused on PnR not transition), but I still believe that Caris left a decent amount of transition possessions on the table. Maybe I have some subconscious predisposition that causes Caris’ errors to stick out more to me, but I honestly believe that his decision making was poorer than the numbers show. I don’t think he did poorly in transition, but like I said in my OP, there is a good amount of room for growth provided he doesn’t play at a million miles an hour. I don’t expect any player to be perfect, and I suppose my opinion is more of a compliment than anything because I truly believe that he can do much better.
On an unrelated note, does anyone think that his FT% this past season was higher than it should’ve been? Is 80% the measuring stick for next year or will he do better? I think this is important because Caris should see a sizable increase in FTA per game and every point is precious.
#StraightFlexin
Caris has made some significant gains.
Nice! The Big 3! Will they be the best 1-2-3 group in the B1G?
Zak has to be what 215-220? I really see our perimeter defense being stout.
Nice! The Big 3! Will they be the best 1-2-3 group in the B1G?
Yup.
Zak has to be what 215-220? I really see our perimeter defense being stout.Nice! The Big 3! Will they be the best 1-2-3 group in the B1G?Yup.
Yeah…agree. Here are my honorable mentions:
Illinois - Abrams, Nunn, Rice
Indiana - Ferrell, Blackmon, Robinson
Maryland - Wells, Trimble, Layman
Nebraska - Webster, Petteway, Shields
Ohio State - Scott, Russell, Thompson
Wisconsin - Jackson, Koenig, Gasser