I agree with this. I think they’ll both get equal minutes because you kind of have to play a recruit like Todd, but Johns Jr will likely make more impact.
Another thing to note: I believe there is a comparison by KenPom that says the 3rd most comparable player to BJJ this year, is Isaiah Livers last year. Not sure where I read that from but it was somewhere.
DDJ will be a junior next year and he loves Mich so I don’t see him leaving. If Christopher comes and stays just one year DDJ’s senior year he’s the starting pg with Zeb at the 2.
Has the question of whether Jace can come as a walk-on with Juwan paying tuition been settled? Know there was some controversy with the official visit meaning he has to take a scholly
The idea that it is against the rules for him to walk on because he took an official visit is false (no one can find a rule saying that).
OTOH, Jace has said he’ll be on scholarship, he reported that Juwan offered him a scholarship in the fall, etc.
My guess is that the plan is for him to be on scholarship, but if say some scholarship gymnastics are required to fit someone like Greg Brown, it seems like an easy spot to do those gymnastics.
Jace might be a nice player but the idea he will be on a scholarship year 1 frightens me. To lose Colin, David, or Brandon to make room is frightening. I get they’d most Likely be leaving due to minutes but still.
One thing that gets lost in here a lot … If you have 13 scholarship players who think they are good enough to play, you are going to have issues eventually.
Exactly, Dylan. The biggest question is not who should or should not play, but rather if the guys who end up not playing stay bought in, be good teammates, accept their role, continue to buy into getting better, etc.
In that case, I think there’s an argument for having Jace as one of the 13.
No one will be pushed out to make room for Jace - or any recruit for that matter. Except theoretically Davis but that’s not pushing out since the 5th year is not guaranteed. Transfers will come and they’ll be because players think they can find a better situation for themselves.
Yea I wouldn’t get too worked up by the scholarship numbers. They always work themselves out.
As much as they “love Michigan”, playing at Michigan is, for the vast majority of these recruits and the guys on the roster an internship to play basketball professionally. No matter how much they “love Michigan”, if David DeJulius or Brandon Johns think they’re going to play 10 mpg next year, they will absolutely 100% leave, and probably should. This is not an insult to Juwan or anyone - but kids trying to make this a career should pursue opportunities that allow them to realize that.
Agree and no matter how much I like the kid I just do not see DDJ being an NBA player.
I think his growth the next couple years determines that, but there’s lots of ways to make a good living playing hoops outside the NBA.
Yeah, this has been the point I’ve been hammering at within this thread. As good and as valuable as they are to next year’s roster…it is a fact that Juwan is recruiting top level talent at their positions. They are both clearly “Michigan Men”, but if they have bball goals professionally, there might not be minutes and usage to get it here. Tough choices for them
LIVERS, JOHNS, WAGNER, TODD, BROWN, and WILLIAMS: how would you expect these players to be ranked against each other (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) mid-year next year for the 3 and 4 positions on the court?
Mid-year next year, how do you think Brown would compare with Livers qualitatively (ie. who better defender, who better perimeter shooter, who better rebounder, who better driver to basket, who better creator/passer?).
Would you prefer Livers go to the NBA and Brown come to Michigan or Livers stay for his senior year and Brown go elsewhere?
DAVIS, CASTLETON, DICKINSON: how would you expect these players to be ranked against each other at the 5 position?
After last night’s good performance, especially on defense, do you think JH would like to have all 3 of them at Michigan next year? If JH were to want only two centers, would he be more willing to lose Davis’ post up scoring ability or Castleton’s defensive ability and potential offensive improvement?
Livers…GAP… Wagner, Brown, Johns, Todd… Williams.
I think that Livers would be by far the highest caliber player of that group based on skill set and experience and consistency. Wagner will be a great player next year with a summer of strength and conditioning under his belt and having a fully healthy wrist to start the season, but still has another step that needs to be taken to be at Livers level which is not a certainty. Brown is another level athlete and ability that apears to have a bit of maturity to his game that should translate to college despite some growing pains. Johns needs to prove that he can put it together night in and out but has shown he has the tools; ultimately his ceiling is a hair lower IMO because of his lack of ability of being an on ball player as much as the others. Todd is really raw and will have to fight through inconsistency and catching up to the college game to crack through the other guys. Williams is a higher floor, lower ceiling freshman that might actually see the floor more than most anticipate because of his ability to play within himself; with that said he does have the lowest ceiling and that is a tough group to crack. Overall, there is enough interchangeability with these players in positions that I would guess that the two best will likely start.
In general, I think the answer is the preference to have Livers over Brown for next year. He will be the better player who understands his role on the team and his abilities at the beginning, middle and end of the season.
yeah I’d think senior Livers has to be the #1 option there by a massive margin, and I think Wagner has shown enough that anyone should be very bullish on his future.
Maybe I am too high on franz but I think its 50-50 he is as good or better than livers next year. Franz has the ability to make a stauskas like jump imo(great role player to conference player of the year).
I think our rankings are very similar, though I’d put Franz closer to the gap than the others.
My biggest conflict is that I see Todd getting more playing time than Johns next season, at least by late January. UNLESS…Johns plays a significant amount of time as our small ball 5!
I just think Brandon is going to have to be ok with the 5 spot in order for him to see the minutes he wants (If 2 out of 3 are on the roster between Livers, Todd and Brown.)
I do think Livers leaving is a greater than 50% chance, which I may be in the minority here. I just think he’s going to really have a strong finish when he returns, and he’s 100% going to test the waters this spring. I think he’s going to rise up some boards quickly!
With that said, my thought is there is a chance our starting 5 includes Franz and Johns (with Christopher at the 2), and Todd and Williams coming off the bench. And no Livers or Brown on the roster)…in which case these rankings are moot.