franz could play 2, defensively he may not be quick enough, but i think you can get away playing him at the 2 and bringing in brooks behind (obviously is a natural 3)
I think between Z, Teske and Livers you have enough to cover most defensive issues, and you can always slide him to the 3 as brooks has proven an ok defender (or have johns-wilson on floor)
also don’t know why people giving up on brandon, his physical tools are there, he just needs to come out of his shell (look at teske)
In Beilein’s offense the 1 and 2 are very similar to each other.
That’s generally been true, but I don’t see it applying as long as Simpson is on the floor. He has a completely different role than the other guard. They can’t be interchangeable since X can’t help space the floor.
I’d defer to others who know more on this – your input please! – but my understanding of this is as follows:
Ideally you want two guys who initiate offense, but they don’t have to be the 1 and 2 spots. Example would be LeVert and Stauskas, when Walton was a freshman. (Perhaps that’s what the Poole family was thinking originally, and I’m sure it’s frustrating for them that things have changed)
But with Z’s inability to shoot, it’s probably another year before they really get back to that approach beacuse if he doesn’t have the ball Z’s defender will sag off. Next year specifically, the main risk to putting a 3 at the 2 would be if that person isn’t a secondary ballhandler. Could be vulnerable to trapping, but the solution may be as simple as increased minutes for Brooks or DDJ and the 2 in those games.
Disagree here. the 1 and the 2 have been very distinct in Beilein’s offense for the last 8 years
Could be. On the other hand, he’s probably never learned defense the way he’ll learn it under Yaklich, and he’s probably never faced a situation where, if he doesn’t play strong defense, he won’t play. Along those same lines, if Iggy goes, he’ll have a great chance to start if he dedicates himself to playing defense. That could be a strong motivator.
Maybe I am the only person that thinks that Poole is coming back or we are just talking what ifs…
But looking at my projected roster it would appear that Simpson is the only guard that can not play minutes at the 2, the balance DeJulius, Brooks and Bajema could do so and with some level of expected success.
How many minutes a game did Simpson average this year? Hard to imagine he playes less next.
I would say stauskus, lavert and MAAR are all examples of guys who could oscillate between 1 and 2. is that fair?
I have a tough time with the euro recruits, is there a site that talks about which ones have interest in coming to the USA to play college ball?
Agreed. Simpson is basically a short Darius Morris in terms of offense - he’s good at the pick and roll with Teske cutting to the basket (much like Darius and J-Mo), and he does most of his scoring on drives to the basket (Darius was good with floaters and traditional layups, Simpson is the king of the hook shot). Both guys can occasionally make an open three, but the defense doesn’t have to gameplan for it.
We are getting way off track now, but the thing I used to love about Darius is that he could pass over, shoot over and post up most PGs because of his size advantage. It was a good way to try to get an easy bucket at times. I think if he came back for his junior season, he was going to become a dominant player (he already averaged 15, 7 and 3 his sophomore season - no reason to think he couldn’t have raised it to the 18, 8 and 5 range). I know we have been spoiled with great players, but I feel like D-Mo has been a little undervalued as time goes on.
They’re identical in the motions of the base 2-guard offense (you can flip any play to either direction as the offense is completely symetrical), but the number of times you are the “primary” ball-handler on a possession varies depending on the player. No matter whether you are listed at point guard or shooting guard, you can get those opportunities, but it just depends on the team.
But anywho, I think Franz Wagner can contribute from Day 1. If he comes, Michigan will have a host of versatile options in the 6’7-6’8 range. Should be fun.
Sure, I just meant in terms of the way you can use Simpson - like Darius, setting a screen for him so he can shoot over the top of the defense doesn’t work. Contrast that with Burke, or senior year Walton, who thrived in those situations.
I agree with you on Darius. Would have been interesting to see how Burke progressed, had Darius stayed. We probably would have gotten one more year from him.
Interesting, why are we trying to ensure johns doesn’t start again? I get people would be worried about eli although I’m not really, but johns?
Is this a sentiment shared by many on here? I for one am expecting a monster leap from johns and would be willing to bet he comes through big time this year. Johns is legit and I think he’s much more the guy we saw in high school than the lost frosh we saw last year.
Johns seems like a high-ceiling/low-floor candidate. If it all comes together it could be dynamite.
I can see Livers starting at the 4 and sliding down to the 3 with Johns and Eli being the first off the bench this year.
Livers could very well be fine at the 3 unless he’s guarding a Culver-level player. That’s be great if Johns is ready. But it does seem like those two and Wilson may be best suited guarding 4s?
So are people on board with the Iowa mega length lineup over starting Eli if we get Wagner? I really don’t see Bones contributing a lot next year. I’m still looking for a giant Nunez jump in my “mix of ideal and realism” scenario over any of the possible new guys being able to play the 2 (or Brooks starting).
For me, it’s difficult to anticipate anything from Johns going forward, simply because we’ve only seen a brief positive glimpse or two in games thus far. Plus, we also haven’t seen much at all in terms of playing time, since if you show that you don’t have a firm grasp of what you’re supposed to be doing on the floor, you don’t play at Michigan. I think that he COULD be a positive contributor going forward, as confused-looking freshmen regularly turn into connected sophomores all over the country. I’d say it isn’t that I’m writing Johns off as much as I have no idea what to expect, and certainly can’t project him as a starter based on what I’ve seen to date.
“also don’t know why people giving up on brandon, his physical tools are there, he just needs to come out of his shell (look at teske)”
Exactly. Think about the difference between freshman Xavier Simpson, and sophomore Zavier Simpson. I think there were many people that wondered after Z’s freshman year, if he was going to be able to hang in the BG10. Not only did he show he could hang, he turned himself into the team MVP this year.