Simpson is a plus defender so I’m not sure what the pecking order will be. I do think MAAR is a better defender than freshmen options but will he be the best offensive option on a team that might need 3P shooters? If the entire defense improves through experience and two new starters will Michigan better be able to cope with a freshman? I think a lot remains to be worked out and through no fault of his own, MAAR is more of a chess piece as Matthews and Simpson’s play may require.
MAAR has improved his 3 point shooting every season and finished this season at almost 38%. I’m sure most of his attempts are off spot up opportunities, but he will still get those off of kick outs from Moe/Wilson. And if Matthews shows any driving ability at all.
MAAR is the only ball handler we have returning that we can be very confident in. I see no reason why his playing time would diminish unless X improves a crap ton and the freshmen are better than we could ever anticipate.
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MAAR in no way is a better ball handler than X. If JB has to depend on MAAR as the primary ball handler the team will be in trouble. Brooks better come in ready
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I’m less worried about ball handling than I am passing next year. X has shown signs of being capable as a distributor in spurts but how will that translate to 30 minutes? Hopefully really well…but if not that’s where I think we may need Poole. Kid has great vision and although he is erratic and needs to be reigned in, he can pass at a level MAAR has not shown in his career. If X and or Brooks aren’t creating shots for others at a high level I think Poole could be relied upon more than most expect out of the pick and roll right away.
Poole will be a significantly better shooter and a better passer than MAAR from day one. His handle seems much more natural, too, though it may be a little loose to begin with. The same might be true for Brooks too. That’s why I say that while MAAR will have significant advantages in getting playing time, he better be ready to compete. And he would be advised not to start out next year like he did this year.
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We’ll see. MAAR is going to need to bring consistent effort every game. For the first half of this year, his inability to make an open three really hurt our offense. He picked it up quite a bit, but wasn’t real good against Louisville or Oregon.
Put another way, if he doesn’t play well, his hold on the starting job is probably not ironclad.
Ha, I should have just read your post first. My sentiments exactly.
I think this debate is absolutely ridiculous. MAAR is playing 30+ minutes a game regardless if his shot struggles again early in the year.
He’s going to be a Senior who has come up huge for this team in moments that just don’t stand out.
Does everyone already forget the year he had once the conference season started?
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My argument is not whether MAAR will play 30 minutes, its his role on offense.
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I hesitate to ask this question cuz I don’t want to make ridiculous Poole comparisons - but - IF Poole proves to have immediate impact ability (which I expect) on the level of a Stauskas freshman year or a Hardaway freshman year, is that good enough to steal minutes from the 30-minute lock that many view MAAR as?
Would senior MAAR play over freshman THJ? Or freshman Nik? It’s a curious question because frankly in past years when we had a skilled incoming freshman guard competing for minutes, there wasn’t a 3 year starter at the spot. But at the same time, I don’t think MAAR holds the spot over those 2. Will JP have that impact? I think it’s possible. Poole and Livers’ minutes are such a huge question mark to me I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.
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He did play well in conference, absolutely.
I think you do need to consider that (quite obviously) a big part of our offense is shooting threes, and if we start Simpson, MAAR and Mathews at the 1-3, we might have three guys who all struggle to shoot the three consistently.
He is the only returning player on the team that we KNOW can handle the load of being a primary ball handler. X is probably better but we haven’t seen him play significant minutes yet. And freshmen typically struggle as primary handlers under JB with a few exceptions.
MAAR will most likely not be a huge distributor, but he should be fine as a primary handler having done so in the past and will be our go to guy late in the shot clock.
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I think there are minutes available for Poole in a variety of ways…including:
- Spelling MAAR
- Spelling X (sliding MAAR to the 1 if he shows some improvement in pick n roll situations)
- Playing any combination of 3 guards if we go small ball for a couple of 3 minute stretches in a game.
If the kid can shoot at a high clip (i.e. do it when the lights are on), then I think he’s a weapon we use.
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I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to lump MAAR in there as an inconsistent three point shooter. He’s a good three point shooter.
Whatever everyone thinks Poole gives you more with the three, MAAR gives you so much more everywhere else than what freshmen Poole can give. Not even a slight at Poole either, I think he’s going to be great here. Beilein just doesn’t hand the keys off to freshmen to make plays unless your name is Burke.
If the three you listed, MAAR is the only guy that we know can shoot the 3 consistently. 38% is pretty darn good.
I definitely agree here. I think if Poole shows out in practice that JB will find him enough time on the court to develop.
What I CAN see happening between MAAR and Poole is if Poole does show he needs to be on the court, I think we’ll see some games where JB rides him longer if MAAR is struggling. I wouldn’t see him consistently spelling MAAR every game at certain minute splits/rotation, but I can see him staying on the court longer sporadically.
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I think it’ll be fascinating to see how this team is utilized next year. As it stands now, our starting 1-3 spots are more effective inside the arc. Yet, once we bring in our second unit (minus the 5), every option is going to be someone who can stretch the floor and should keep defenders honest.
If Poole is the shooter I think he is, then parking him and Duncan in opposite wings/corners and letting our iso players do their thing from the top of the key could be fun to watch. Truly a pick your poison scenario that JB loves.
Actually, according to stats on the MGOBLUE site, during the Big Ten season, MAAR shot 48.9% from behind the arc. That led the team on a percentage basis. The degree of difficulty on his 3 pointers might not been quite as difficult as some others. However when he was sharp, he showed he could hit shots from behind the arc, in games that mattered.
I just can’t see Poole playing good enough d to play more then 10 minutes a game often
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Yes he’s a good shooter. He shoots when he’s open which I like and rarely forces threes.