I’m gonna keep harping on this until I get a satisfying response: Michigan’s new emphasis on D has to take some time away from offense. This is where I see Beilein being hurt by early departures, having to start over teaching.
I’ve only become interested in xs and os relatively recently, but I have a hard time seeing how this isn’t a question of finite hours, experience, and hard choices–or maybe choices dictated by circumstances.
On the same note, I worry just a bit that Beilein departs from his long-held identity maybe at some risk to the team and himself? I don’t expect him to stay around forever, and I think he’s pretty brilliant conceptually, but I wonder if this is a nagging worry.
I think the fact that Beilein got a team with a trio of starters like Simpson, Matthews, and Teske to be a top 25 offense in the country shows that they’re spending enough time on it.
The results you saw are almost certainly roster construction consequences rather than practice time issues.
That certainly a partial answer, and it may be a good enough answer to say, simply: it’s worth it. And I’m still interested in the other two questions: Is Beilein endlessly adaptable? Isn’t the train-up a considerable challenge? (Maybe the answer to this latter is just yes.)
Does anyone know where I can see what they over the course of the last five-ten seasons, though? When I google I see individual years. . .
This is way off topic for this thread (it is supposed to be about Nah’Shon Hyland and I’m not sure why we are on Brandon Johns) but the idea that Johns is going to somehow be better off on the wing is a bit of a stretch for me.
He needs to figure out how to think fast enough on the floor to play the college game. When he makes that adjustment then he has the tools to make an impact at the 4 or 5 (I don’t see him at the three any time soon).
I agree that just putting him at another position wont solve much on its own, he has a lot to learn. But wasn’t he recruited here as a 4 and isnt that much moreso his position and playing style is the 4?
And I’m new to this but yes I would be all in favor of branching this onto a thread about next years returners/rotation. This is definitely not the right thread.
He was definitely recruited as a four, but I think the five is easier to play than the four which magnifies some of the mental hurdles that Brandon will have to get over to make the leap as a sophomore.
A little surprised to hear you say this. Sorry, I know it isn’t about Hyland, but mind elaborating? Seems like the 5 has more responsibilities on offense, because of the PNR, especially if the 5 is a pop option.
On offense, the five man is basically a screener and a roller/popper. The five rarely has to make a play with the ball, make pass/shoot/drive decisions, etc.
Defensively, the five is going to hedge just about every ball screen so that should be pretty straight forward. You don’t necessarily have to scheme or scout multiple positions worth of players defensively.
Basically the difference between playing a wing position and playing center.
A good example of this, Jon Teske’s assist rate was as low as Ignas Brazdeikis’ but no one is worrying about that because basically every situation that he had the ball in his hands was a roll or a pop where the only real option was to shoot. This isn’t a knock on Teske who actually showed some slick ability to read the floor at Illinois it is just part of the position.
It’s often said that the only difference between the three in the four in this system is whether you’re right-handed or left-handed. Is Johns being a 4 not a 3 a reflection of who he can guard on defense?
I would think the five is more difficult to learn on defense due to the pick and roll defense relying so heavily on the center.
Edit: just saw your follow up comment. I know it’s “hedge all,” but being able to hedge well and recover fast isn’t an easy thing IMO. It just seems like on defense the center is a focal point much more often than the four, but obviously that doesn’t necessarily reflect difficulty so idk
Yes among other things. Generally speaking if you have two right-handed wings playing at the 3 and 4 position you are going to put your more dynamic player at the three because they will be playing into their strong hand. They will end up having the ball more often, playing out of side ball screens and DHOs, etc.
I will buy that trying to learn two spots might make both either position tough to play defensively. Learning half of two sets of rules is worse than one.
But there is a lot that you have to learn to defend ball screens from every spot on the floor. Johns never looked like a guy who was ready to defend on the perimeter last year.