First team All-American? I love Eli, but wow. How about we set the goal to All-Big Ten in some capacity. I’ll eat my hat if Eli Brooks is First team All-American this year.
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Yeah, I think I’d eat several hats if Eli is an AA.
I think a realistic ceiling for Eli this year is a 2nd team All Big Ten and All Defensive team. He’s going to play a ton of minutes, he could potentially shoot 40+% from three, and if the team does well and he’s one of the mainstays he’ll get attention.
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Probably true…though I think it is a fun discussion to think about the ceiling for everyone on the team. We know that most of them won’t hit it - but we’re going to need a few of them to.
- Mike Smith - Solid starter, 30mpg at PG, average B10
- Eli - above
- Franz - Lottery pick, Stauskas as a sophomore, POY
- Livers - AB10 first team, first round pick,
- Dickinson - Solid starter who can handle 20mpg, potential star of the future
- Brown - AB10 second team, shooting improves
- Johns - Forces his way to 20mpg at 4/5, shoots well, Livers 2.0
- Zeb - Part of the rotation, dispels concerns about readiness
- Davis - Repeat last year highs consistently
- Williams - Part of the rotation?
- Nunez - Knock down shooter who plays 12-15mpg reliably
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Ha. I pride myself in not missing sarcasm, but looks like I may have here. As punishment, I will now eat two hats if Eli Brooks is First-Team All American this year. Please give me a one week fasting opportunity beforehand if possible.
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Let’s get that waiver
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If ddj can get a waiver (unless WF is contesting) I see no reason Chaundee can’t get a waiver. I know it’s the ncaa.
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Given the logjam this year at his position(s), and the almost total lack of contributing upperclassmen on next year’s roster, is it possible they are strategically NOT applying for a waiver?
He could get the waiver and redshirt. Not getting the waiver only gives you fewer options.
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So we’re going big I guess?
Dickinson 25 Davis 10 Johns 5
Johns 25 Williams 15
Livers 32 Wagner 8
Wagner 24 Brooks 16
Brooks 15 Smith 15 Jackson 10
And if Brown plays then give him Jackson’s 10 with Brooks now at 25 minutes at the 1 and Only 5 or so at the 2 and then another 18 or so from Williams and Davis’ minutes with Johns probably up to 10 a game or so at the 5.
If Johns isn’t playing the five, he’s not playing 30 minutes per game.
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Obligatory post about perceived height… Looks like Zeb is a legit 6-5. Jace is a couple inches taller but closer to camera so not sure exact dimensions… If only Beilein was in the pic for reference 
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Williams is not 6’7", closer to 6’5"
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Zeb looking a legit 6’10” now, good to see
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Did Faulds and Smith ever play together at Columbia or did Faulds transfer before Smith arrived? I’ve lost track when Faulds came to U of M.
Yes, Smith was a sophomore during Faulds 1 year at Columbia
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We really a center (and Brown getting a waiver) away from a classic Florida State style team that’s big everywhere and throws up some bricks but makes up for it with offensive rebounding and defensive play overall:
Dickinson/5
Johns/Livers
Livers/Brown
Wagner/Brown
Brooks/Smith
is just one big man away from a classic huge team without enough guard play to get past the elite 8 or so
I don’t think calling us a team that’s gonna be “throwing up bricks” is accurate at all. Last year we were a 34% 3 point shooting team, which was 141st in the country. From that team the major contributors we’re losing (Simpson, Teske and DDJ) shot 33% combined from three on 33% of our team’s total attempts from 3. So we’re losing 3 guys who shot below our mediocre average and also didn’t contribute immensely to our team’s overall 3 point attempt total.
Next year we’ll have hopefully a full season of Isaiah Livers (40%+ shooter), and more attempts for him means a higher team average.
Eli Brooks was a 36% shooter on almost 5 attempts again so an above average shooter.
Franz was a pretty bad shooter on the season (31%) but as we all know was coming off a broken wrist to start his freshman year, was billed as a knockdown shooter coming from Germany, and was improving towards the end of the season (38% on 5 attempts a game over the last 7 games). So expecting a big improvement there is reasonable.
Mike Smith was a below average shooter last year (34%), but that was on really high volume on (6 attempts a game) where over half his 3 point attempts were of the unassisted variety, which isn’t surprising considering how often Columbia’s offense was “Mike go do something and jack up a shot.” As Dylan has noted he was in the 91st percentile as a spot shooter, and his recent quotes have said with the talent at Michigan he can settle into an off ball role at times and let his teammates make plays too. So It wouldn’t be surprising to see a drop in volume but jump in efficiency for him.
It’s very possible with those guys alone we have 4 quality+ shooters on significant volume. Plus we still have Brandon Johns (35% on limited attempts last year) who will hopefully see an uptick in volume (although probably not percentage), Chaundee Brown (33% for his career on decent volume) who has untapped shooting potential that will hopefully improve going from WF to Michigan, and anything else we get from guys like TWill and Nunez who in theory are good shooters (although neither has shown it at the college level).
I’m obviously looking at the sunshine and rosy perspective and it’s very possible that some/a lot of the things I’m saying don’t happen. But I think it’s very reasonable to expect the team next year to be an average shooting team, if not above average.
I also am not a huge fan of the FSU comparison. FSU rarely plays guys as small as Brooks/Smith (our potential starting backcourt) and is uber athletic. Despite being able to play bigger lineups, that’s still not us.
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Yeah, i don’t like the FSU comparison either - especially since their “big” lineups tend to be huge and athletic at multiple spots. I love our guys, but most of them don’t fit that description.
As far as shooting, you did a great job breaking down some of the comparisons. The funny thing is that just about every name you mentioned wasn’t that far from the average. To me it really just comes down to Franz. If he shoots like we think he can (38% prior to Michigan) that changes everything.
Smith > Simpson (not just % but volume)
Brooks = Brooks (could maybe hit a couple more…but likely similar)
Franz ? Franz (potentially the key to the season)
Livers = Livers (but hopefully with more shots)
Dickinson/Johns/Davis > Teske/Castleton/Davis/Johns (depending on how much Johns plays)
Brown/Nunez/Jackson ? DDJ/Nunez/Bajema (Probably better, right?)