Also who knows. I still believe despite what we saw this year that he’s an elite shooter. If he can even get to the point of not being an absolute stiff on d and at least be close to acceptable on that end and he settles in from range in live games than maybe he could surprise.
Lots of ifs but they’re kids developing, you never know.
My take is this:
So far, he doesn’t seem capable of being much of a contributor.
Having said that, it’s obvious his shot is very pure, so there’s something to work with there.
And if he covets the degree, good for him. We can’t hold ourselves out as being special academically, and different from other schools, and then try to run off kids who care about the academics. It’s not Nunez’s fault that JB offered him.
Also, I’ll say this - below I’ve linked the career stats of a guy who was demonstrably worse than Nunez (or at least just as bad) in his first two years, yet became an important contributor as a junior and senior - on a team with Juwan Howard, no less. So as long as the kid is willing to put in the work, we shouldn’t write him off yet either.
2.8 and 4.3 PPG as a junior/senior.
I mean there’s a difference between deserves to be a starter and literally not playable:¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Basically will be down a scholarship
He made some big shots for us in both years. Came off the bench against UNC in the title game and drilled a couple huge threes in the first half, as just one example.
2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Livers, Wagner yet to make draft decisions as Michigan tries to navigate new reality
The Club Trillion reference went over my head. What is that?
During the 2008–2009 basketball season, Titus created his own blog, “Club Trillion”, with the name referring to his line in the box score for many games: ‘1’ in the first column (minutes played), followed by zeroes in the other twelve columns (points, rebounds, etc.).
I’m lost. What’s the Mark Titus piece everyone is talking about?
Just posted that because someone asked what “Club Trillion” was.
Pelinka was a little more athletic than Nunez but I get what you’re saying.
Nunez isn’t playable IMO. He is almost always a complete negative on the floor. There is no one I would want him getting minutes over next year.
I like the Pelinka comparison. If Juwan is going to continue to recruit and land 5 star guys who are potentially one and done it’s going to be valuable to have an upperclassman who can come off the bench, be stable in the offense and hopefully hit some shots.
Right now, I agree. I’m using Pelinka as an example of someone who really struggled for a couple years and then was a solid bench player as an upperclassman. We may need some bench shooting next year. The one perceived weakness of Christopher’s game is outside shooting. And the guys we put out there this year struggled from distance too (aside from Livers). I think Wagner and Johns can improve in that area; I think Brooks probably remains the same. This is why I’d really like to see Bajema stay, but it sounds iffy right now.
I think its important to have upperclassmen bench guys who know their role. Wouldn’t it potentially be a problem if every player on the roster believed they should be getting more minutes? I feel like having a couple solidified bench guys is never a bad thing for team composition.
Nunez probably values just being on a Big Ten team then transferring down a level. Which is what he’d have to do. Plus he got chances from Juwan so I can see how he’d think he still has a shot to play
Kinda reminds me of Matt Vogrich from years ago, although I think Vogrich was a much better player than Nunez but he was a career 2 PPG player that stayed on the roster while other guys (Smotrycz, Jon Horford) transferred to play bigger roles. Vogrich saw zero minutes down the stretch after JB’s best recruiting class showed up to campus. Who knows if it would have been a good or bad thing if a better player was in Vogrich’s spot, but at the very least it didn’t hurt team chemistry one bit and those super talented teams were immensely successful (as I think next year’s team will be too)
And, again back to the academics aspect, he really values that Michigan degree, as he should. He’s a really smart kid, what Michigan student isn’t 
, and he knows the value of a degree from the University of Michigan and the quality of education he is getting in Ann Arbor. He also seems to love being a part of the team as evidenced by his real excitement when his teammates do great things on the floor. He really is a student/athlete.
Now, how about this, and I know nothing. Suppose he graduates after next year, but in the meantime is a member of the team, maybe plays a bit, hangs out with and cheers for his guys from the bench for 37 or 38 minutes of the game, and THEN grad transfers for his fourth year to another great academic program for a grad year and is a rotational player or starter there.
Best of all possible worlds. He gets a Michigan degree. He plays on the University of Michigan Basketball team for three years. He gets a Masters Degree, and he gets to play a major role at the school to which he transfers. Then, he goes into management with the goal of becoming a CEO! Sounds pretty good to me!
Nunez made a lot of progress this year. Not sure why he wasn’t red-shirted his freshmen year (if the team doesn’t want him for the 5th yr, just let him walk). I think Nunez’s plan is to continue his development and progression in his third and fourth years (as he was no doubt told in the recruiting pitch). From his respective, everything is proceeding as planned.
Also, I think we need to accept that no one wants to transfer from this team.
If Juwan can come in and have 0 transfers in his first two years, that might be the most ridiculous stat I’ve seen. Speaks volumes to his ability to connect with guys and get them to buy in. Would have implications on how to look at roster build for futures years if you can’t just expect 1-2 transfers