Idk. I want to say that when he accepted Davis’ commitment that he thought one of the big men was transferring. But we are obviously not privy to that. So who knows. I imagine that he thinks at least one of Wagner and Wilson is capable of playing the four. I think they could too. Next year though? They would need a big improvement to do so.
To clarify I did not refer to Jackson as a prima donna. But that the recruiting process creates this phenomenon.
I didn’t think you were talking about Jackson specifically either but just to put a label or characteristic on individuals like that you can see why somebody would see it that way. For example if Jackson doesn’t have to do all that to get an offer at MSU, Kansas, or Arizona. Why should he have to do it for Michigan? Like I said it’s good to have standards but when these standards put you at a disadvantage why do it? Schools like MSU, Kansas, Arizona have a better pedigree to begin with so you have to find some other way to sell your program, by making it harder on yourself to bring in a top recruit isn’t the way to do it.
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I don’t think that there is any choice, but to go big. Next year we have Donnal, Doyle, Wilson, Wagner, Teske and Davis. Six is at least 3 too many to keep at center. Since we need to get from the current 14 to a roster of 13, one person has to go. I have no idea who or how, but it would make the most sense if it was one of those six.
If it was my choice, I would move Donnal and Wilson to the 4. If one of those is the one not on the team, then Wagner would be the next choice. I think these are the guys with the best speed, mobility and shooting ability for that position. That leaves Doyle, Teske, Davis and maybe Wagner at center. If both freshmen are on the team, I would redshirt one of them to separate eligibility.
I would then have Robinson, Chatman and Dawkin’s fight for time at the 3. Chatman could also be used at the four, if needed. I move Irvin to the 2 with Abdul-Rachman to compete for playing time. Walton and X would man the point. I would try to redshirt Watson.
I realize that this may not put everyone at their natural or best position, but this is all about managing the roster as it exist and getting the best use out of it. To take it a step further, if we end up in the NIT this year, I would make the changes then to get a jump on things. It would help the coaches identify issues and point out what each player needs to work on in the off season.
It’s about winning games. You play the guys capable of contributing and put them and the team in a position to succeed. Teske & Davis are probably not ready to contribute. None of Wilson, Wagner & Donnal have proven they can play the 4. I don’t mind trying it, but if they don’t get capable there in the offseason, guess what? We will have to go smaller most of the time.
As we all know beilein loves playing 2 guards. But this next year it may seem like he’s trying to play bigger with kam/dj/Wagner at the 4. I think that’d be great since they all can shoot respectably well with the whole summer to get better. This summer is huge for Michigan basketball. It all starts with Irvin and Walton taking control of this team in my eyes. Thanks again for the updates last night, much appreciation.
If this is the case, he’ll have to adjust his offense.
Not a whole I don’t think. Dj/Wagner/chatman can all dribble the ball. Now they’re not kyrie with the ball but can Duncan or Dawkins really dribble? No. Chatman has shown even recently that he can knock down shots and another summer for dj and Wagner while they’re both still young should only allow them to go better from here. I dont think we sacrifice a whole lot with one of those 3 out there. We shall see, but I’m hoping the lineup gets adjusted so Irvin doesn’t have to constantly band against 4s all the time. He is so worn down right now I almost feel bad for him.
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Love your optimism. I can’t get myself to see any of that taking place.
Unless there is some major roster adjustment, does Beilein really have any choice? And this isn’t just a one year problem. Eligibility wise, this is at least a two year problem.
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We can’t have a bench loaded with 4 bigs behind donnal, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
Walton Simpson
MAAR Watson
Irvin Dawkins
Chatman Robinson
Donnal Doyle
That leaves dj, Wagner, teske, and Davis. I know that’s 14 and we have 13 scholarships but I can’t see a whole lot of changes in that lineup. I love the idea of dj and Wagner at the 4 but so far chatman has shown more. We will see though, who really wants it.
Any and all opinions on how the players will be played seem valid to me at this point because the roster balance makes no sense at all.
If JB continues the trend of going small then there is an insane lack of proven guards:
1 Walton/ x
2 Maar
3 Robinson/ Watson
4 Irvin/ Dawkins/ Chatman
5 DJ/ Wagner/ Teske/ Davis/ Donnal/ Doyle
If JB decides a more big look then some of our proven to be more productive players will be on the bench and wow is that a slow lineup:
1 Walton/ x
2 Maar
3 Irvin/ Robinson/ Dawkins/ Watson
4 DJ/ Wagner/ Chatman
5 Teske/ Davis/ Donnal/ Doyle
Neither of these scenarios seem attractive to me. I know everyone here seems to want a monster in the middle but isn’t it obvious. We only have 3 guards on the entire roster that could be considered quick. That is way more insane to me than the fact that our 4’s and 5’s are not big and explosive. We are screwed if one of our quick guards is injured or if x is not ready to play.
JB has created this unfortunate roster situation, and next year he really needs to have a better plan in place to optimize the personnel on the roster.
I think he did a great job of adjusting his offense to fit his personnel in 2010-11 with Morris and in the ensuing 3 seasons with Burke, Stauskas, et al. Last season was kind of a lost cause after the injuries. I don’t think anyone would consider this season to be one of his best coaching jobs.
Next year is a critical year for the program. JB is one of the highest paid coaches in the country. He needs to find a way to win big with the players he brought in.
I guess I could have more concise and just said–we have 3 guys on our roster next year that are quick. Two of those guys are under 6 feet tall. One is still in high school.
I couldn’t agree more, x needs to come in this summer and make his presence known. The other 3 I’m not sold on yet but out of those I hope teske can play some decent ball somewhat quickly. I am thinking Doyle may be the candidate to transfer. He could start on a lower d1 school and that helps our big situation. I’m somewhat hoping the plan is to have chatman/dj/Wagner be the main 4s on our team. I think all is cured if Dawkins had made the jump we all thought would happen. Maybe that happens this summer but a goal should be to keep Irvin away from playing the 4.
This roster is completely handicapped going forward by having NO creators and a team defensive presence that collectively waves a red cape.
Start recruiting better, or accept finishing in the 7-8 range in the conference standings every year. More athletes with an ability to defend is absolutely paramount for any future success.
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Having “too much depth” at one spot isn’t particularly a problem unless it means the team is shallow elsewhere. The three guard rotation next year likely will be Walton, MAAR, and Simpson, which could be pretty good. Irvin has played some minutes at the 2 also. He’d need to improve his handle to spend any major minutes there and would have to use his length to make up for lack of quicks on D. Watson will be there for spot minutes. The problem isn’t depth at guard/wing, particularly, but whether those guys can be plus players consistently.
The plan was always for Wilson to get most of his minutes at the 4, whether that comes to fruition or not. I think JB would like to get minutes for another big there, perhaps Wagner, but it depends on how players develop and getting the best players on the court.
3 guys for 2 positions is shallow especially when one of the three is a pg who is in high school.
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Well its a problem when the “depth” at one spot isn’t very good. Beyond Donnal we will have 5 other guys at the 5 position and none of them have proven they can play at this level, whether it is at the 4 or the 5. I assume this is were the attrition will come from, but even if we lose one that is still too many players who aren’t likely to make an impact next year. Each scholarship has an opportunity cost attached to it.
I think the original plan was to give most of Donnal’s minutes at the four also, but losing McGary, Morgan and Horford in the same year changed all of that. Maybe this year is the year we see the Beilein stretch four emerge. I assume he had a plan in mind when he recruited all of these bigs.