So CM said publicly that he came to UM to work on his ball skills because of Beilein’s resume, but you have conclude that both Beilein and CM are essentially delusional in thinking that even with a year of devoting himself to developing those skills, he can actually play even the 3?
And this is mostly based on what?
You may know a lot about bball but you still might consider that a hall of fame coach has a completely different view of Mathews.
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I’d be beyond shocked if Matthews plays PF more than 5 minutes during any game next year. Not his game at all and we have 2 PFs on the team next year.
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Yes, I don’t care about JB’s resume. I’ve watched enough basketball to know ballskills don’t just appear after a RS year. What did JB do for GR’s handle? And I didn’t say CM can’t play the 3, I said the 4 is his ideal position. He can’t shoot, he has a pedestrian handle and has never flashed plus-vision. Thats the cold hard truth whether you accept that or not.
Without saying too much, I’ve spoken with Charles within the past two weeks and he feels his handle has vastly improved from the beginning of the year. I’ve known him about 7 years and this is the first time his handle has been PROPERLY worked on. He’s going to be very good for us next year, in many facets of the game. Watching Irvin dribble, Matthews handle is better then his at this very moment without question. In time you guys will see and I’ll be with him a few weeks this summer and can judge for myself then. I take his word when he says his handle is greatly improved though. Super long story short, his high school coach screwed his shot up trying to make it how he wanted it and when he was at Kentucky they tried a very poor method of trying to fix it. Says his shot has come a long way as well. He could be very special in our maze and blue.
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If we went by the word of some on this forum, Ibi is the next Caris and a contributor this year, MAAR is a future NBA player and DR is the next Nik Stauskas. Still waiting for those to come to fruition. Not very persuasive.
Can we agree to disagree? Let’s talk 2018 recruiting guys.
Not everyone can watch basketball and see all the skills required to play at a high level. Nothing wrong with that though.
It’s fair to say that if CM hasn’t improved much at all during is RS year, then he likely wont be the offensive weapon that many are hoping. It’s also short-sighted to assume no improvement and to ignore JB’s resume (lol). You dont have to like the guy or the way he does business, but ignoring his accomplishments? He makes his players better at dribbling, passing, and/or shooting; and CM is a whole lot of athletic ability to work with.
Who said no improvement? I said its unlikely his ball skills are going to dramatically increase in a RS season. I expect CM to add mass and improve on things that are already strengths. I don’t expect him to suddenly become a 3 point shooter and some super crafty ball handler…if he does then he deserves all the props in the world as he exceeded the usual player development curve but I am not assuming that is going to happen.
And JB making players better dribblers and shooters is overblown. There is tons of evidence to the contrary.
Appreciate the insight. That’s basically my point, that any scouting of Mathews doesn’t account for the work he is putting in now.
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Hardaway, Stauskas, and Caris all made significant strides under Beilein. Watching them as pros, you can still see some of the low dribbling and other things they worked on. Hardaway was not capable of playing the 2G when he got to UM. There’s a reason coaches (not just fans) credit Beilein for developing certain skills.
I’m cautiously optimistic with Mathews and looking forward to seeing how he has developed. If he has improved his handle, passing, and shooting, he’s not going to be at UM that long; which is why Hunter is an important recruit. By Huntet’s second year, they could be down to Just him and Livers.
I’ll own the Maar could be a second round pick comment. I really loved his game the first two years. I thought what I saw late last year was going to be magnified. I figured he’d be central to the offense and play with the same confidence and attacking style. His lapse in confidence for over half this season was shocking to me. I thought he was the one guy who had that’s"dog"/ killer mentality on the roster. Even as a frosh he showed surprising confidence and ability to step up in big moments,
I will say a lot of teams have figured him out. He loves to come in with the jump stop and head fake/ pivot And teams are no longer biting on it. Either way he did not take the jump I thought he would and had not had a continued high usage. I thought he’d be really good this year. I’m still holding out hope that he rebounds this year and carries that into a lead role next year. Not confident anymore about though as he’s shown a lack of confidence at times
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None of those three were ever non shooters like CM and Nik/Caris were already advanced balhandlers who could pass before they got to AA. They needed strength like Poole. Don’t see the similarities.
I didn’t compare them. I used them as examples of players who improved their ability to use the dribble at UM. Mathews might have further to go but he has committed himself to it so we’ll see.
Either way, since the 3 and 4 are interchangeable in Beilein’s system; Hunter would still be an important recruit.
I think it’s fairly obvious that his ball skills will improve at least a bit, as that tends to happen with practice and Calipari isn’t really known for his development so there’s probably untapped potential, but I also think people expecting him to be a pick and roll playmaker will be very disappointed. I hope he surprises me.
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Thanks for the info. Yeah, Beilein’s work on fundamentals is well-established and widely known. You’ll even hear the national commentators talk about how much time they spend on them and how much they improve. Little doubt Matthews will be better in that regard.
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Basically. I expect CM to slash, rebound, defend and maybe develop a decent 3 ball but I’d be shocked if he starts whipping passes around the court or develops an arsenals of shifty crossovers into jumpers. He does that then you simply commend him because that rate of improvement is rare.
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Do you basically expect him to be a GR3 replica on offense as a 4? If so then I can definitely see it if he gets up to around 215 by his senior season. I don’t know the nuances of weight training or if that’s even a reasonable weight with his body though.
GR3 with a motor and a better more versatil on ball defender. JB says he is GR3/THJr so I don’t think it’s farfetched. GR3 was 210 at the combine and im hopeful Sanderson can put 15-20 lbs on CM in 2 years.
I don’t see any reason not to have some skepticism on Matthews. He made 23 shots all of his freshman year. He wasn’t real efficient, played kind of a garbage man role. Originally I even said he might make sense as a four.
But look on the other side of the coin. He’s a guy that could really use a year of skill-work and we know that Beilein’s skill work programs are very intense and have been effective in the past.
As for where he fits in next year? I think it’s at the three (Irvin’s spot) because of how much promise the Michigan frontcourt has shown this year. Maybe you play him in small lineups, but I’m also all for giving Livers some minutes next year.
The 3 + 4 are almost identical on offense, but I think Michigan gains more out of Matthews guarding great wings than great combo forwards.
I agree with the notion that he’s not going to be a great ball screen player out of the gate. I think of him more in that Manny Harris role slashing from the wing. Now Manny was a great passer, I don’t expect that out of CM early on, but getting downhill and driving to the rim should be a possibility.
Probably the best news is that there will be some good floor spacing options when he plays in DJ, Moe, Duncan, Brooks, Poole.
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