What’s baffling to me is why JB stopped perusing Esa Ahmad? He would be the ideal 4 in his offense.
According to his AAU coach, JB didn’t believe Esa was a good enough shooter (or better shooter than Chatman) and passed on him. That’s insane to me. The 2014 class is not good enough to elevate the program. It’s that simple. It’s a class of role players.
Is that really true that JB stopped pursuing Ahmad because he didn’t think he was a good enough shooter? If so, that was not a smart decision.
Another 4 that we missed out on–Jae’Sean Tate–would have really helped us. He’s undersized (even by our standards at the 4), but he’s a very good rebounder and has more skill than I thought. Plus, he has a bit of junkyard dog in him, as well. He’s not a great shooter either, but I think his other attributes compensate for that.
Is that really true that JB stopped pursuing Ahmad because he didn't think he was a good enough shooter? If so, that was not a smart decision.Another 4 that we missed out on–Jae’Sean Tate–would have really helped us. He’s undersized (even by our standards at the 4), but he’s a very good rebounder and has more skill than I thought. Plus, he has a bit of junkyard dog in him, as well. He’s not a great shooter either, but I think his other attributes compensate for that.
I thought we started recruiting Tate, then OSU swooped in and it was pretty much done.
Yep – Tate was offered etc… I know he was also a U-M football target. There were some connections there, but OSU did a good job and tough to pull kids from Columbus naturally.
Yeah, pulling an Ohio kid with an OSU offer is always going to be difficult.
I just really like his game, and his rebounding and aggressiveness are much needed on this squad. Also nice (for OSU) is the fact that he is all but guaranteed to be a 4-year player because of his size.
What's baffling to me is why JB stopped perusing Esa Ahmad? He would be the ideal 4 in his offense.According to his AAU coach, JB didn’t believe Esa was a good enough shooter (or better shooter than Chatman) and passed on him. That’s insane to me. The 2014 class is not good enough to elevate the program. It’s that simple. It’s a class of role players.
I was pushing hard around thes parts for Ahmad. Had the chance to watch him several times in person, and he always impressed me. He literally played all 5 positions for all Ohio. Not the most athletic guy, but think Draymond Green with better ball handling and court vision.
I like Esa… but I don’t think he has the same IQ/vision of Draymond Green, even at that age. Loved Day Day’s game in HS.
Certainly didn’t mean to imply Ahmad had the same vision as Green does now…but at the same stage of development I like ESA a but better off the bounce as a creator. Both are absolute beasts on the glass.
Esa seemed quick to the ball on defensive boards JMO
I’m not sure about his shooting abilities but I thought he brought enough game to be able to play the 4 perfectly for us.
We are basically playing with 10 scholarships for the next few years because chatman, Donnal and Hatch will never be B1G level players. people will say it's too early to know but I have seen enough.To think that you accused me of “overstating my position” a few days ago…
Im generally in accord with your views on recruiting, but it’s hard to say Chatman will Never be a B10 level player after 20 games. Has Chatman been severely underwhelming, yes he has, but the jury is still out on his career. Donnal on the other hand, he’s had nearly 2 years in the program, and while I don’t fully agree with you, there is at least some legs to that.
I hope I am wrong about Chatman but I just don’t see anything positive in his play. I saw more out of guys like Brundige and Colton in their limited time than I have with Kam and we know how they ended up.
He’s loaded with size, skill and athletic ability, and IMO he’s still got a chance to be a pro. If he doesn’t stay in Ann Arbor this summer, that will be a major red flag.
Loaded with athletic ability? Certainly doesn’t translate into explosiveness or finishing prowess.
I see explosiveness, he’s just raw as hell. He has some great takes to the rim, hangs in the air for longer than anyone else on the court, and then instead of scooping the ball off the backboard and in, he throws it into the underside of the rim. He has a lot of talent.
We are basically playing with 10 scholarships for the next few years because chatman, Donnal and Hatch will never be B1G level players. people will say it's too early to know but I have seen enough.To think that you accused me of “overstating my position” a few days ago…
Im generally in accord with your views on recruiting, but it’s hard to say Chatman will Never be a B10 level player after 20 games. Has Chatman been severely underwhelming, yes he has, but the jury is still out on his career. Donnal on the other hand, he’s had nearly 2 years in the program, and while I don’t fully agree with you, there is at least some legs to that.
I hope I am wrong about Chatman but I just don’t see anything positive in his play. I saw more out of guys like Brundige and Colton in their limited time than I have with Kam and we know how they ended up.
He’s loaded with size, skill and athletic ability, and IMO he’s still got a chance to be a pro. If he doesn’t stay in Ann Arbor this summer, that will be a major red flag.
Loaded with athletic ability? Certainly doesn’t translate into explosiveness or finishing prowess.
I see explosiveness, he’s just raw as hell. He has some great takes to the rim, hangs in the air for longer than anyone else on the court, and then instead of scooping the ball off the backboard and in, he throws it into the underside of the rim. He has a lot of talent.
Have to disagree with this. He has talent in terms of skill, at least in HS he did. Has very little way in the way of athleticism/explosiveness though.
We are basically playing with 10 scholarships for the next few years because chatman, Donnal and Hatch will never be B1G level players. people will say it's too early to know but I have seen enough.To think that you accused me of “overstating my position” a few days ago…
Im generally in accord with your views on recruiting, but it’s hard to say Chatman will Never be a B10 level player after 20 games. Has Chatman been severely underwhelming, yes he has, but the jury is still out on his career. Donnal on the other hand, he’s had nearly 2 years in the program, and while I don’t fully agree with you, there is at least some legs to that.
I hope I am wrong about Chatman but I just don’t see anything positive in his play. I saw more out of guys like Brundige and Colton in their limited time than I have with Kam and we know how they ended up.
He’s loaded with size, skill and athletic ability, and IMO he’s still got a chance to be a pro. If he doesn’t stay in Ann Arbor this summer, that will be a major red flag.
Loaded with athletic ability? Certainly doesn’t translate into explosiveness or finishing prowess.
I see explosiveness, he’s just raw as hell. He has some great takes to the rim, hangs in the air for longer than anyone else on the court, and then instead of scooping the ball off the backboard and in, he throws it into the underside of the rim. He has a lot of talent.
Have to disagree with this. He has talent in terms of skill, at least in HS he did. Has very little way in the way of athleticism/explosiveness though.
Since we’re dealing with a shortened roster, maybe JB has some eligibility? Have to admit, he looks pretty fluid for his age!
We are basically playing with 10 scholarships for the next few years because chatman, Donnal and Hatch will never be B1G level players. people will say it's too early to know but I have seen enough.To think that you accused me of “overstating my position” a few days ago…
Im generally in accord with your views on recruiting, but it’s hard to say Chatman will Never be a B10 level player after 20 games. Has Chatman been severely underwhelming, yes he has, but the jury is still out on his career. Donnal on the other hand, he’s had nearly 2 years in the program, and while I don’t fully agree with you, there is at least some legs to that.
I hope I am wrong about Chatman but I just don’t see anything positive in his play. I saw more out of guys like Brundige and Colton in their limited time than I have with Kam and we know how they ended up.
He’s loaded with size, skill and athletic ability, and IMO he’s still got a chance to be a pro. If he doesn’t stay in Ann Arbor this summer, that will be a major red flag.
Loaded with athletic ability? Certainly doesn’t translate into explosiveness or finishing prowess.
I see explosiveness, he’s just raw as hell. He has some great takes to the rim, hangs in the air for longer than anyone else on the court, and then instead of scooping the ball off the backboard and in, he throws it into the underside of the rim. He has a lot of talent.
Have to disagree with this. He has talent in terms of skill, at least in HS he did. Has very little way in the way of athleticism/explosiveness though.
You don’t think he has the ability to beat his guy off the dribble? He’s quick-twitch and has a great first step, he already does an ok job penetrating off the bounce and getting to the rim. Hopefully experience and coaching bring the rest along.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name Kam Chatman and the phrase “quick first step” in the same sentence in my life. That is truly puzzling…
Kam may be many things, athletic/explosive is not one of them. Respect your opinion, just disagree
i think kam plays so stiff almost terrified that we don’t know what he truly brings to the table…its obvious he needs to play with more confidence but he just isnt getting it yet
Kam’s still only used 1/8 of his eligibility so he’s got plenty of time to show more.
What we’ve seen hasn’t been 5* status but hopefully he can work on his strength/explosiveness and give us something else to talk about him.
Dawkins continues to impress me the most so far out of everyone, but I think a large chunk of us here expected him to be solid early on. MAAR has surprised me lately though. Despite some ugly turnovers, he seems to be the only one willing to drive to the basket with some force.
Have no idea what the dynamics are right now regarding Kam. But he HAS to be incredibly confused regarding PT. When a walk on plays before you ( Lonegren ) in the second half, and you subsequently don’t play a second in that half, you’ve got to be disillusioned. Can’t say I disagree with the decision, but man that’s gotta sting.
Dawkins continues to impress me the most so far out of everyone, but I think a large chunk of us here expected him to be solid early on. MAAR has surprised me lately though. Despite some ugly turnovers, he seems to be the only one willing to drive to the basket with some force.
I don’t think it’s necessarily that Dawkins has been that Impressive, as opposed to being placed in a role where he can succeed, Dawkins simply has to catch and shoot, something that he’s comfortable doing, and something that doesn’t involve much opportunity for him to make errors. Aubrey is pretty much the same player as Irvin last year. If you expand his role, much like Zak, I think you would find Aubrey is very one dimensional.
MAAR, on the other hand, is tasked with much more decision making and creation, hence much higher risk for error.