Burke was not considered a great athlete at time of signing yet with hard work exceeded expectations does David have that upside and work ethic to blow up?
Dave’s work ethic may exceed Trey, but obviously I can’t know for sure. Dave obviously has limited upside based on size, but his ability to shoot off the dribble is elite. I think that will translate to the half court at Michigan. I’m extremely bias toward Dave, but he’s going to have issues on defense early on as well. As much as I like the kid personally, have to tell it like it is.
Great chance to see two future Wolverines square off against each other this weekend.
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I’ve wanted 2 PG lineups since that 2015 class and seeing teams like Nova, UL and Duke do well with them. Dave, X and Brooks is a solid trio. Love the big PnR wings like Caris and Nik but I think it might be easier finding quick, strong PGs with the ballskills to run PnR than running the risk of ending up with a Dawkins or Kam.
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The biggest difference between our best years and now is having guards and or wings that can beat their man off the dribble and get to the rim or distribute while doing a decent job of defending the same. So the question is which of the above can do it?
Have to slightly disagree. Our best years under Beilein have come when we have elite shot creators at the guard/wing spot that can compensate for the poor defense. Burke was an average defender, Stauskas was awful, and Caris was below average.
On the 13 and 14 squads those guys were good enough on offense to overcome defensive flaws. Since we’re never likely to be even above average on defense under Beilein, the question becomes can he land an NBA wing or PG.
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Was going to say I don’t think JB has ever had decent defenders on the perimeter. Caris had the best tools, but the defensive philosophy did not maximize them and I suspect his best days are head of him in that respect.
I think Dave and X can be good defensive duo. I think Brooks and Dave have ready-made skills for PnR and I am still high on X developing them in time. I would love to add a wing that can excel in ISO, in addition
As someone that has most certainly seen more of Dave than anyone around in the scouting community, I think defense is going to be an issue for him early on. That said, I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be an upgrade over X offensively.
Yeah, I’m hoping his strength and bulldog mentality helps him develop in that regard.
Matt, how is Dave’s conditioning? At 6’0" and 188# listed, is he rocked up or could he conceivably drop a few pounds to add quickness?
Dave has a lot of muscle definition, doesn’t carry bad weight. He’s not a great athlete by any means but not terrible either.
So do you think X should play more than Dave next year if Dave struggles on D?
Dejulius is only a junior. Won’t be here next season.
Dave isn’t coming until 2018
Do you think that for 2018?
Depends on 2way impact, considering offense as well. While X is a good perimeter defender, I do wonder if opposing coaches will place him in positions to get bullied
If coach values winning, its quite obvious he’ll play a defensive oriented player.
Agreed. But I don’t value X as much on defense as others based on size. Eventually he will get bullied.
Here’s something that I think I disagree with you about. From 2009-2013 our average adj. defensive rating from kenpom was 51.6. While not spectacular, or even great, it’s definitely what I would consider above average. Looking at those lineups it’s not like they theoretically should be far better as the overall athleticism and talent is roughly the same, if not less. It’s just, as you and I discussed earlier, those teams usually played every single possession like it was actually important. The grit they displayed while playing teams that should’ve just murdered us was fantastic, and I believe that if we keep getting guys like DeJulius, even if they might not be the most talented, the fact that they always play hard will at least somewhat make up for that.
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