I wonder if they are looking to take one or two out of Leaf, Towns and Cook
Yeah I’m completely on board if Cook wanted to come because although he isn’t a straight perimeter player like Leaf or Towns, he still has some versatility to his game.
I definitely think michigan could tweak the offense to utilize his game. That said, I would be thrilled if any of the 3 wanted to come.
Cook could be our version of Nigel Hayes, but I actually think Cook will have a better jumpshot in college.
For those of you saying the “ass beating” langauge is strong - in regards to the MSU game, keep in mind we lost the rebound battle by double digits, were outshot by nearly 20%…their physicality on the perimeter flat out punked us from what I can recall, that physicality really bothered Caris and Nik if memory serves me right.
I was at the Wisky game, and I must admit I don’t think we so much got punked, we just played a really flat game for whatever reason, but not so much of an ass beating.
The UK game…for anybody to say that we weren’t physically dominated in that game…we must have been watching 2 different games because Marcus Lee & Randle punked us in every sense of the word in my estimation.
Just my take on things though…I’m bigger on physicality and toughness than most. In the grand scheme of things it’s really tough to complain about JB’s offense, because it is lethally efficient, but think about it this way…if we were to land a player of Cook’s caliber, it lessens the need for a playmaker (think Dozier, DT), because you have a safety net in Cook that you can simply dump the ball to in the post and get buckets…just food for thought.
By the time Teske and Cook, if he came here, arrived, Doyle, Wilson and Donnal would have two years left. We will need some size to balance out the roster in '16 because we will have no commits in '15 at the 4 or 5. It could also be a first to commit deal between Cook and Leaf. Or they think Leaf could play 3 or 4 with Cook a 4 or 5, giving them the versatility that Beilein covets. Cook is high quality player who has indicated to the staff that he likes Michigan. Hard to turn your back on that, especially as unpredictable as Michigan’s roster has been in recent years. Leaf is not guaranteed. Cook could be plan 1A. Different kind of a 4 than Leaf, but Beilein can adapt.
So while we did beat MSU (although never at full strength)
Mitch McGary says hi.
Those teams not only win on the scoreboard when they beat us, they punk us and give us a flat out ass beating that is embarrassing on a national level.
Are you strictly referring to margin of victory? If not, then you’re just projecting your own emotions onto the outcome. As for margin of victory, I don’t personally care…a win is a win and a loss is a loss. Regardless, I hope beating those teams by THREE GAMES in the conference standings was a flat out ass beating that is embarrassing to them on a national level.
JB has done a fine job with his system, and has gotten us to the national championship and elite 8 with undersized 4’s. I think a “punking” and “flat out ass-beating that is embarrassing on a national level” is a bit of an overstatement. Granted, it would be nice to have the option to have some size on the inside, but frankly MSU hasn’t outmuscled us in years, and the teams that have (Tennessee, for example) we’ve mostly beaten pretty handily. I will grant you that we got beaten up pretty badly against UK (which, I’ll remind you came down to a buzzer beater and was mostly due to an unusually efficient game from their perimeter players). UW’s advantage I wouldn’t boil down to simply getting outmuscled at the 4 position either.
That said, bringing in a player who has size at the 4 just for these 3-4 games on our schedule each year is a pretty inefficient way to build your roster. Do what you do, and in our case that is often without a banger at the 4. Besides, this offense is not predicated on establishing an inside presence, as the 4’s are generally glorified wing players anyway.
Now, all that being said I think Cook is a terrific talent that would be most welcome. He seems like he is strong more inside than outside at this point, but I’m sure JB and Co will maximize his potential in that department.
I only skimmed this so far, but I have definitely thought that since talking about Wilson as a shotblocking type with the new rules, he may be more open to a different forward approach. I definitely could see this being a bit of a shift in approach.
Not advocating for an all out change in our perimeter oriented attack, but simply more diversity on both ends of the court. So while we did beat MSU (although never at full strength) and Wisky, those teams punish us on the inside time and time again because we simply don’t have the size, strength and perhaps more important than anything, the physical tenacity to deal with it. Those teams not only win on the scoreboard when they beat us, they punk us and give us a flat out ass beating that is embarrassing on a national level. Sure would be nice to return the favor once in a while instead of being so dependent on the 3 ball
I agree. Only change I like is having the 6’9 perimeter player instead of 6’6… Love the four out, one in offense and nobody can seem to stop it
We swept MSU, split with Wisky and lost on a last second Hail Mary to UK ( UK: we got out muscled physically a little).
But these teams also have deficiencies that we don’t. We don’t have to match thier bullies with bullies. And Beilein has always been successful at this.
But in no way do I want to go in that direction. Tweeks might be required (recruiting a 6’9 Wilson or Leaf to play the 4 vs a 6’6 kid) but we are not MSU, or Wisky. We have a different identity… And get this, it works!
It’s unique and more and more teams are going in the one in four out system.
With four or five playable bigs on the roster, you’d have to be devoting 70-80 minutes a games to a center and a PF, whereas we only did about 40 last year. That would be a big adjustment in style for JB. I’d like to see us put a bigger, stronger lineup out there, frankly…have that 4 be more of a true PF than a SF like Robinson. We’ve struggled against teams that do that quite a bit recently.
Couldn’t agree more…we don’t have to be a traditional team exclusively, but it sure would be nice to have a true 4 against the MSUs, Wisc, and UKs of the world. I hate getting punked and physically dominated by those teams.
Who knows, JB could be thinking of going with a more conventional approach in the future, if nothing else it gives us options on both ends of the court
Well, I think the question will be whether we actually have the luxury of taking more than one. Along with Teske, we definitely need a top point guard in 2016, and probably a wing, but after that, we’ll have to see. I don’t see us taking a second big in 2016, even if we had the room, with three probably playable bigs already on the roster in addition to Teske. There just aren’t minutes for that many bigs in a typical Beilein offense.
Thanks for the breakdown Matt. Now that he is offered, I will probably look into it more. Also seems Kansas has been keen on him as well. See that there is a Bill Self visit listed for today in conjunction with the Michigan offer. Agree that Cook projects as a 4.
He has a lot of nice offers. Florida, Kansas, Marquette, Miami, FSU, iowa, Iowa State, Purdue, Memphis, Tennessee… His recruitment seems to be just scratching the surface… Most of these schools have offered in the last couple months after/during AAU season
Interesting. I commented in the forwards thread that the widening net of 2016 Forwards/Bigs seems to indicate they definitely want a 4 type in the class. Be it Towns (who I think should be more of a 3), Leaf, Cook, or other.
EDIT 247 link http://michigan.247sports.com/Bolt/Michigan-Offers-2016-Top100-Forward-31455850
Pretty much confirms what I said earlier - staff most likely views Cook as a 4. I think Cook compliments Teske really well. Cook has college ready size and a really nice offensive game. Nice post game with either hand and good midrange shot. Needs work on the defensive end. Can see Cook being a top 50 player within 1 year. Iowa has been showing lots of interest recently.
For those interested I did a full game breakdown with analysis not too long ago on the board
6’10 Levi Cook just decommitted from WVU, wonder if the staff will give him a look. Kid is really skilled and agile for that size