Sam this morning discussed Cumberland again as he did the day Justin Pierce announced for UNC. He seems pretty high on Cumberland and thinks Michigan is in a good position with him, though he spoke of how hard Oregon is pushing for Cumberland.
As I listened to Sam, he was saying things I’ve been thinking. Michigan’s got proximity, they’ve got Saddi, and they potentially have a lot of minutes.
Oregon did lose a combo/shooting guard to transfer recently who had played quite a bit for them last year, and they missed out on a highly ranked 2019 SG target. They also brought in Eric Williams who has to sit next year. So, they are looking for someone to come in for a year to play (compete for?) that spot while they wait for Williams to be eligible.
BUT, they also have rising sophomore SG Will Richardson who was last year’s sixth man and who played a lot of minutes for them (922), playing in every game and starting 12 games. Richardson was a four star recruit out of HS and was ranked as high as number 39 by ESPN. AND, they have JUCO transfer SG Chris Duarte, a National JUCO Player of the Year candidate.
I have no idea what the young man is thinking, and I don’t know how his visit is going, but if he wants proximity, an established relationship with one of the assistants, and a great opportunity to step in and play, potentially a lot, it would seem to me Michigan would be the place. And that isn’t even mentioning the opportunity to play with X, JT and Isaiah Livers or the academic advantages of a graduate degree from the University of Michigan.
Honestly, he seems like a better fit than Pierce to me. He’s a 39% three point shooter, and if you watch his film, he comes off catch-and-shoot curls at the three point line and shoots it quite effectively - very quick release, nice looking shot. He also averaged 3.5 assists per game this year, which is a really nice total for a two guard. And I think Oakland is a step up in competition level from William and Mary.
I absolutely agree. I think he’s the player we need to come in and compete at that two guard position and have a great opportunity to start, and I’ve been intrigued by him since he first announced he would grad transfer.
I think I’d say Cumberland ends up at Michigan. It was rumored he and his family are HUGE Michigan fans correct? Being close to home, the massive hole at the 2 spot for Michigan, the fact Michigan has Saddi and them being followers of the school seems to bode well from the outside looking in.
Why does it seem most people aren’t as excited about Cumberland as they were for Pierce? This dude looks even better to me in Dylan’s video breakdown plus a higher likelihood of getting him. Yet seems awful quiet around his recruitment
Presumably because it was clear that the staff was prioritizing Pierce.
That said, I agree that Cumberland is a better positional fit, and I’d even say that I’m holding out some modicum of hope that he’s not done ascending as a player given how he blew up just in the last year, vs. Pierce who seems to have hit more of a ceiling with his game.
I’d say comparing the two, Pierce had better size (not for 2 persay) and appears in highlights to have “more” takes to the basket.
That said, Cumberland fits the two mold (which pierce didn’t) and did average 3 assists a game and played in tougher level of competition and shot at a higher clip
i am excited, i think things are just new/moving quickly and people playing catch up
His production until this year was basically nonexistent at Horizon League level.
He’s a Limited Athlete, at this level is likely just a shooter. I’d worry about him defensively, this team will need to defend as well or even better than last year as the teams losing 60% of it scoring.
He doesn’t appear to be an option as secondary creator that this team needed at times this year. This wont be a big deal if Brooks or Livers can step into that role regularly
This in not too say I wouldn’t want him, I definitely think a 2 guard rotation of him and Brooks could be pretty good. And he appears to be a good shooter and the team definitely needs that. But there’s also a chance this turns out like a Jaron Simmons type grad transfer that doesn’t do much at this level.
From a defensive perspective, I don’t think he’s any worse than Pierce. Pierce didnt scream athletcism.
Also not worried about our D with Livers, Teske and X on the floor who (i think i read at mgoblog) were all top 25-30 defenders in the country when on the floor.
What does worry me about next year is shooting and floor spacing, this kid provides that.
and last year in big minutes (~35 a game) he produced 40% from threes on decent volume. and played better against good competition than pierce did. he has more experience than hyland and outside of maybe moss, im not sure who’s out there that would be a better 1 year alternative to cumberland
agree, he doesn’t seem like a creator, but everyone seems to think X can/will handle most of that (which i personally don’t buy). I do think he has more upside than brooks offensively tho
All these points really do make me wonder why he wasn’t priority over Pierce. Beilein must have really liked Pierce, or is really nervous about something about Cumberland perhaps.
Looking at his KenPom page, he came to Oakland very slight in build (6’2", 165) in 15-16. His listed weight for the next two seasons was 179 before landing at 195 this past season. Also looks like maybe he took an injury redshirt in 17-18 as he only has eight games played and none after December 9th.
Can’t speak to his defense but his assist rate of 17.4 would rank second best on this past season’s Michigan squad so it’s not like he’s a zero in the creation department.
I think Cumberland is a knock down shooter and I think he brings much less risk in that department than Pierce. I do think Pierce brings more to the game, he looked like an excellent cutter in the half court and looked like he could pass / read some of the Princeton style offensive concepts Michigan uses. He also looked like a very capable rebounder with length who could run the floor and finish with dunks filling the lane. There was a lot to like about Pierce but I think you could argue the biggest need for Michigan is shooting and I think Cumberland is a much safer bet to hit open shots compared to Pierce.
this is a great point. with offenses being more similar between UM / W&M vs Oakland perhaps the one year window, JB thought there would be an easier/faster transition offensively and therefore prioritized pierce… remember reading that it took J Simmons a long time to get acclimated.
