I have a feeling he winds up elsewhere, and as long as we get Livers back, that’s fine. From a positional standpoint, Christopher is the guy we really need. If our 2/3/4 is Christopher, Franz, and Livers, we’re going to be a really good team. I’d still like to land Todd, but only if his expectations are realistic - and by that I mean, he probably won’t start (certainly not at the four if Livers returns), and he’ll have to earn his minutes. I do think he’s got the talent to earn 20-25 a game if he plays hard, but no one’s promising him a certain amount of minutes if his play doesn’t warrant them.
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I want to land Todd no matter what his expectations are. He’s a top 15 talent in the country with a massive ceiling that may not hit within a year, but on the off chance it does, he’d be the most talented player on the team by a long shot.
And even if Livers returns, he missed 10+ games this year. Johns was okay in that spot - good many games, and very quiet in others. How nice would it be to have a blue chip talent to fill that void if it happens again?
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That, and the fact that there are probably lineups that exist that include both Livers and Todd.
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Absolutely. I think we’d see more Livers at the 3 if Todd sticks and Johns stays around.
There’s a realistic world next year where the opening night starting five is: Brooks, Nunez, Wagner, Johns, Davis. I just can’t understand why there’s this late push of not wanting Todd, or thinking the team would be better off without five star talent, even with the egos that come with it.
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I’m sorry, but there is no realistic world where that happens. The notion that ALL of the following will occur: (a) we miss on Christopher where we are the odds-on favorite; AND (b) we miss on all grad transfers out there, including Smith, who if we go after hard, we probably lead for; AND © we lose Livers to the draft, when he wants a guarantee and can’t work out for one; AND (d) we do not not have Jackson, a natural guard, OR Bajema (if he stays), another natural guard, OR even another incoming guard with immediate eligibility beat out Nunez, who isn’t a guard at all, and would be starting next to a guy who is not a ball dominant player; AND (e) we do not see development from either Castleton or Dickinson sufficient to beat out Davis on a team which would need dynamism in the front court, is infinitesimal. I’d love to see Todd come, but the notion that if he doesn’t, the lineup you put forth could realistically be our starting lineup is way, way overly pessimistic.
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I don’t think it’s realistic to think that happens. That’s a doomsday scenario which while possible is very unlikely.
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The ripple effect in my brain would be: Todd de-commits, JC chooses ASU as a result, Livers goes pro. While it is doomsday, I don’t think it’s that unrealistic based on everyone’s speculation yesterday. Livers going pro might be the least likely of all three.
If you want to replace Nunez and Davis with Dickinson and Zeb in the lineup, that’s fair. I based those projections based on Davis being solid in limited minutes, and Zeb being unexpected to start day 1. Grad transfer - I hope, but if all we’re after is Aiken and Seton Hall is the supposed leader…I don’t know how strong to feel. My point is with all that’s up in the air, I just think it’s absurd not to want Isaiah Todd to play a big role on the team.
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I fail to see how Todd decommitting would push JC to ASU. First off, Sam Webb and Dot have both said after all of this the expectation is still for Todd to come to AA. But secondly, ASU is the school in one of the biggest freefalls right now in the country. They have lost something like 5 scholarship players in the past month to transfer or draft declarations. Only 1 of the transfers was expected, and of the 2 draft declarations, only one’s expected to come back. Plus they lost one of their top targets in Omoruyi to Rutgers. I don’t think there’s any world where ASU is more appealing than Michigan, especially considering we are still the odds on favorite to land Christopher.
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Get out of here with all that logic. Let me stalk their social media and panic in peace.
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Too good just to hit the like button. Thank you for that.
I actually think there its a good chance that Davis starts, at least early in the season. He may not get the most minutes but starting is a good possibility.
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Yeah. Give Dickinson and/or Castleton something to work for.
I want him, but only fantasy football coaches think talent is the only thing that matters.
Chemistry can absolutely be a problem when there are a lot of guys competing for limited minutes. Look at the 1995/96 Michigan squad, where you had Taylor, Traylor and Baston competing for time at the 4/5 positions, and White/Mitchell/Ward competing for time at the 3 spot. You think that team didn’t have chemistry issues?
All I’m saying is that if Livers returns, we have a great 2/3/4 situation. Todd will have to earn his minutes. Can he? Sure. But he’ll need to work hard and accept coaching. And accept that Livers will start and Johns will play too.
Also, I don’t think his ceiling is greater than Christopher’s.
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Juwan wants talent. It’s nice to be able to swim in the five star pool again.
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I don’t care what pool Juwan gets his “talent” from as long as we win games.
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I definitely agree chemistry matters. I just don’t love the insinuation that Todd may be unwilling to work hard, accept coaching or accept competition for his role because he is Uber-talented. I don’t think Todd is worried about who is on the roster or who isn’t because he probably believes in his own ability to earn minutes. I am of the mindset that he will, we’ll see.
There’s plenty of examples of 5-star freshmen struggling to fit in. There’s also plenty examples of the opposite though, and there’s no one correct way to do it. Teams have won the national championship based around freshmen, teams have won it without any freshmen in the rotation. But all teams that have won it, at least recently, have had NBA talent. And Todd is very likely that.
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Well, the only issue I see is that people who have watched him said he tends to disappear in games. That’s not a ringing endorsement.
I highly doubt Michigan is backing off; they’re probably just telling him Livers will likely start and he’ll have to earn his minutes. It may not be what he (or others around him) want to hear. I’m confident Juwan can manage the situation.
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Yeah, hard to say for sure. I definitely think its possible that Livers is leaning toward staying at Michigan, and maybe Juwan communicated that to Todd. Maybe they discussed how minutes and things might work and Juwan indicated that Livers would be the priority over Todd, and maybe Todd didn’t like that, or didn’t think Livers would be likely to return.
Again, hard to say for sure but there are some possibilities with all the moving parts. I also trust Juwan to manage the situation, and I think Todd would be a huge get with or without Livers, though Christopher is obviously more of a positional need.
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I too am confident Juwan can manage the situation. If it were me, I think I would emphasize that the NBA scouts already know his unique size and athleticism and potential. And that I am here to teach him winning basketball. He doesn’t have to do more than he can do. Just play the right way and his talent will shine through. He doesn’t have to be the star of the team to get drafted high, but to be the star of the team, he has to play the right way. Take the ball to the rack, take good shots, work hard on defense, etc.
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