In terms of just handles, I see some similarities between Cain and LeVert. Both have that really exaggerated outward swing before they cross the ball back over and use their length to keep it out of reach of the defender.
Thatās an incredibly odd strawman. Iāve never said anything of the sort.
He had one sloppy pickup off the 3rd dribble in the clip. The rest were under control. Of course there is a difference between Cain and a hall of famerās dribble. For whatever reason, you suggested I couldnāt tell the difference between a cherry-picked Iverson/Crawford dribble and a somewhat random Jamal Cain clip. I was just making a general comment that a loose handle has itās place and seems to be used pejoratively around here. I never said his handle was perfect. You went there, not me.
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But Iām not comparing his handle to Iverson. Iām stating the simple fact that there is a difference between intentionally dribbling loose (seen in your clips) and unintentionally dribbling loose (seen in Cainās clip).
You brought up that sometimes loose dribbles are intentional, and Iām simply saying that it doesnāt appear to me that Cainās was intentional.
Welcome back. That was a quick return. Iām going to take this breakdown with a pallet of salt because youāre obviously emotionally invested in your analysis.
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Cutting through the semantics debate:
Cain is a rising HS Senior. Clearly elements of his game will improve between now and the time he enrolles in College (wherever he selects). And clearly his game should continue to improve once a college coach gets a chance to work with him.
Are the weaknesses in his game teachable enough to improve to B1G standards?
Can Beilein and staff improve his ball handling to a point where he can attack B1G caliber wing-defenders off the dribble?
If the answers are āyesā then his shooting and athleticism make Cain a worthwhile risk. If the answers are ānoā then itās probably better to move on to someone else.
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It is the nature of message boards to be hypercritical but at the same time, I think these things are way overblown.
Cain is a fine prospect, as is Smith, as is Livers, as is Young, etc, etc. We can compare this or that and I know there are some who are more interested in proving their ability to project players than they are just hoping UM fields a quality hoops team year in year out. It doesnāt always make for great reading but itās the nature of the beast.
Cain is a good player by all accounts and I would not be bothered in the slightest if the staff decided to take Cain and shut down the '17 class. If they move on from Cain and go in a different direction, that is fine too as long as they believe they can fill a need.
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I actually like Cain too and would be very happy if he committed. I just donāt think he poops out golden nuggets or farts out Bennigans half off coupons. Pointing out a hole in his game really seems to rustle some jimmies for some reason.
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Cain was hoping to get more high major interest after summer AAU ball, but he hasnāt. Why?
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Coaches see the same thing Iāve been saying for months. Jk. It is weird though, his final four isnāt impressive but he has a good chance to go to Marquette with 2 other upper tier freshman and be a nice role player along side them.
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Seems like the writing is on the wall that Cain wonāt be playing for Michigan, and best of luck to him if thatās the case. From Michiganās perspective, especially given the number of options at the small wing on the roster, itās reasonable to keep one scholly open for Jackson or Bowen (or another late-occurring situation) or to use on Donnal and someone in the '18 class.
I think weād have a better shot at him than Bowen or Jackson (heck, I think we have a better chance of working our way back in with Wilkes than we do with Bowen). Iād like Cain and think he would still have a place in our class. We have a little more depth on the wings than we thought we would a couple months ago (with the addition of Matthews and positive reports re: Watson), so I guess it doesnāt sting as much if we donāt take Cain. But I think the potential depth we have would be good for him as he could use his freshman year as a spark plug off the bench and add a ton of weight before his role increased.
Best of luck to him if it is indeed over and Iām sure heāll be a solid player wherever he lands.
Iām sure we would have have a better chance at getting Cain than Bowen or Jackson, but I donāt think weāre taking him anymore. I believe Webb said a little while back that there was one spot for Young/Livers/Cain/Smith and that the first to commit got it. I could be wrong, though, or things couldāve changed. But Smith canceling his visit and these visits by Cain at least suggest that heās not coming to UM, though the evidence is by no means conclusive.
I like Cain, but, like you say, with Matthews, Watson, Poole (and Livers), etc. in the '16 and '17 classes, the depth at Cainās probable position is already pretty good.
Jerry Meyer recently picked Marquette as the landing spot for Cain. Seems like thatād be a good choice for him. Couple others picked Marquette too.
Yeah donāt forget that Meyer also picked UM for Wilkes because he āhad to move it off of IU.ā Now look who made his top 5? IU, and UM is missing. His CBs mean about as much as anyone on this board guessing IMO.
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Coaches donāt see the same thing youāve been saying for months, at all. He didnāt play in Peach Jam in July, hence they didnāt really get to see him.
Didnāt play in Peach Jam (The Family didnāt qualify), severely limited his ability to get exposure.
I donāt think weāre really in it for any of the big timers. Eastern is probably the one we have the best chance with and itās slim at this point because he wants to play PG (which I think he could do in our offense despite commitments of X and Brooks) and probably doesnāt see that opportunity here.
Question becomes is Cain better than anyone we would take at wing (anyone we would take at the 2 or 3 position for this discussion) in the 2018 class. I think itās fairly equal. I wouldnāt fault JB either way.
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Eastern is no longer an option. I donāt necessarily agree that the question is whether Cain is better than any of our 18 offers, the question is whether Jamal will be better as a sophomore than any 18 target that is a serious option, there is a distinction.