Occam’s razor is that he knows who’s coming already. it seems to me that’s what it’s like most of the time when coaches do what beilein just did. but you can’t rule out the idea that they just didn’t want to waste time either.
That’s not how Beilein has recruited lately and Wagner is not likely to step in at the 2G. This has more to do with Beilein not wanting to waste time on a kid he knows isn’t coming. If he thought Quiñones fit and was a decent bet to come, why pull back when Pierce is still visiting UNC and Hyland has yet to visit?
Of course, that doesn’t mean Beilrin doesn’t also feel good about their chances with the other targets.
i agree this has more to do with LQ then anyone else.
BUT Wagner can play the 2, i’ve seen this a bunch of places, he could absolutely play 2, how is he any different than nik stauskus
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For starters, he appears to be 6-7 or 6-8, and Nik is about 6-5. You don’t see too many 6-7 or 6-8 guys with a great handle.
Second, Nik had point guard skills, and was super adept at running the pick and roll. I haven’t really seen that from Franz.
Franz seems like a 3/4 to me all the way. I think Bajema is more likely to play the 2 than him. But we’ll see, assuming Franz comes.
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nit picking here lol, nik is 6-6 so to me the height is mute
and franz has a looser handle than nik maybe, but from the tape i’ve seen you could use the kid in PnR and be fine. especially if its just 3-4 times a game (poole averaged 5 a game this year). plus franz feels more physically ready than bajema
As far as Wagner at the 2 vs. the 3 or 4. I said this in another thread, but worry more about the skillsets than the positions right now. If you want to nitpick, I’d say Wagner as a 2 is more likely than a 4.
If you sign Pierce and Wagner, and want to play with Pierce, Wagner and Livers then you just do it, even if none of them are perfectly suited to play the two.
They all have unique skills (Pierce rebounding, passing, cutting, Wagner with his quick shot, straight line drives, Livers with rebounding, shooting) and you figure out how to make it work.
The biggest weakness would be on defense where you probably lack some quickness, but going basically 6-8 across the board would provide a lot of length that allows you to tackle problems in different ways.
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Out of all the potential 3/4s to slide down and play the 2, I’m surprised skill-set wise Wagner would be one of the first names there.
What specific skills would make Wagner a better fit at the 2 than say Jalen Wilson? I thought Wilson’s film showed some impressive shot creation off the dribble that I would associate with a guard spot more than what I’ve seen from Wagner or Pierce based on a tape
My point is that it doesn’t matter who ends up as “the two”, the point is that you get enough players who can play together. Maybe it is Pierce, maybe Wagner, maybe Bajema can play early (he probably has the most distinct game of a 2-guard in this offense), maybe Wilson.
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Don’t disagree with the take, but don’t forget that JB likes his 2 to be able to bring the ball up against teams that press. Not sure any of these guys are ideal for that. My guess is that we see a lot of DDJ/Eli at the 2 mixed with possibly some of the wing guys. That’s part of the reason I’m skeptical that Nunez will contribute at the 2, his film didn’t show much handle.
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I don’t think there’s any question that Eli will play minutes next year and 90% of those minutes will be at the two.
I also don’t think ballhandling against a press is really something that is near the top of the list as far as concerns for next season. I don’t care who is dribbling the ball (other than maybe Isaiah Livers).
Also, Nunez not a two. I’ll give you that 
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I might be naive, but I think the day one starting line-up next season will be Z, Brooks, Livers, Teske, and a mystery fifth man. That could change, but I really think that Brooks is going to make a key jump and claim a starting spot.
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I don’t think it is naive to predict that Brooks starts. If you look at the roster as it stands today, he’s really the only guy to start at the two unless Bajema impressed from day one. Just depends on the rest of the roster moves.
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i defer franz > wilson as he plays a higher level of competition and has been said by same webb/others to be the most ready to contribute next year. which i take to mean he is one of the best 5 (assuming you get pierce as well)
this also assumes pierce/johns is worth starting over brooks, which tbd per dylan above
Surprised by your comment about not caring who is dribbling the ball. I think Matthews and Poole were erratic with the ball and oftentimes got out of control. MAAR offered an offset to Simpson having to always dominate the ball because MAAR was strong with the ball. Did Simpson dominate the ball as much when MAAR was here? I don’t know the answer but I believe Simpson had to dominate the ball last year because nobody else could take that pressure off of him. We can go that way again next year but I don’t think it goes hand in hand with Beilien saying he wants better 1 on 1 capabilities from his players (He stated that a few weeks ago). I think you need guys with better handles and more reliable with the ball if you are going to want 1 on 1 players. Brooks has a ways to go in that area IMO. I just hope Wilson, Bajema and whoever else is on the wing is more consistent, reliable and better passers than what we have had over the past couple of years.
how much of that was Poole not having the skill to do it vs not having the mental fortitude to execute it
re matthews, his handle was so so but you could predict what he was doing cause he only had lay ups and turn arounds, he didnt have consistent stroke/floater/mid range
this is why im so high on Bones, kid has a MAAR like game that can play at the 2
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My biggest concern among that group would be ballhandling. When another team throws a half court press at us to take the ball out of Z’s hands, who steps up? This year it was Poole and, when he played, Brooks.
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Poole - I thought he had the skill. I thought he was soft with the ball when driving in traffic and why I thought he needed another year to get stronger. Matthews and Irvin (prior to Matthews) had issues with the ball. I also don’t remember many really good passes from either. In the remote chance that Iggy returns, I actually think he is good with the ball, however, I am not sure if passing is an option in his game. Either way, I think he would be really interesting at the 2.
Over the last few years, it seems we have become a worse shooting team and a team with limited ball handlers and guys who excelled at passing. Maybe that is by design but JB’s comments this post season leads me to believe it wasn’t
I agree. Brooks is going to be our surprise player this year. I think that fifth player will be johns imo.
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I don’t disagree that one-on-one play is important and that the ability to create your own shot is important as an asset to recruit. I just don’t think it is necessarily the make or break skill to add to the roster for next season.
If Michigan loses games because of ball handling against a full court press or half court trap next year I’ll be shocked. The day that a Beilein team starts losing games because of turnovers will be never. I just don’t have those concerns really no matter who is on the court.
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I’m thinking the same, actually. The only way that changes would be if Pierce were to come to Ann Arbor. Then he could slot in at the four and let a bench of Johns, Wilson, DDJ, and Franz(?) battle it out for minutes. That’s a pretty solid nine-deep roster right there. Plus Castleton backing up the five? Pretty solid if you ask me with the potential to keep improving the next two seasons.