Post em here please!
Is the zone-into-man defense here for good? Wondering if that’s the base now with pivots to straight man defense on occasion. Is it more match up dependent or just a gimmick to mask the deficiencies?
Assuming that most physical improvement will require an offseason of physical training, and that forming good habits and internalizing defensive principles will require an offseason of study and drill, what can this team do to improve its defense before the end of this season? Eliminate glaring blunders?
How much improvement would the team defense make if they could eliminate things like:
- fouling opponents throwing up desperation three pointers
- fumbling uncontested defensive rebounds out of bounds
- committing frustration fouls after screwing up on offense
- &c.
With this personnel, is the team better off just loading up to deny the ball from getting into the paint (help, fronting the post) at the risk of opening up the defense to easy cross court passes for open 3s?
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You know my question, Dylan. Why does Howard allow repeat disastrous first-half minutes over and over to Collins and Bufkin but won’t give Jace any run when he’s had minor success (albeit in the most limited of opportunities)? Why not add some opportunities to his plate and show the fans whether he should be playing or he’s just a few minutes away from bad mistakes that will explain why he’s on the bench?
I honestly feel like Howard doesn’t want to be the guy that unfairly plays his son more minutes than he should, so he’s overcorrected to the extreme. When a guy gives you positive and meaningful minutes (and the bench is in shambles around him), give him some more opportunity!
And to make it better for a discussion on a pod, when Jace finally gets the chance he deserves(!), what do you think his role will be and what positives and negatives will he contribute to the game?
After a bit of a hot stretch earlier, both Houstan and Diabate have gone cold on offense (let’s ignore their defense for purposes of this question…). Is there something you have seen in our scheme, opponent matchups, defensive strategy, or their performance that would indicate why they have been slumping?
Pure hypothetical here as I know we had no extra scholarships this year…
Pick one other incoming transfer in the B10 this season that you wish were on Michigan’s roster right now. Why did you pick him and what would he bring to the rotation?
Dylan and others continue to point out how unplayable Collins and Bufkin have been lately. How do you manage minutes for Jones and Brooks over the coming games knowing the season is on the line, they have no viable backups, but they likely can’t play every minute.
Can Iowa and Wisconsin guard Hunter one on one? Honestly, those seem to be the major questions left in the season. I have no idea who either team plays at C or if they have backups worth playing. I assume that info will also be in your game preview, so maybe not a classic Pin Down strategic-level Q, but honestly, the season kind of boils down to those three games.
Main question with lots of spin offs regarding M and MSU backcourt. Would you rather have Hoggard or Davante Jones at PG? I vacillate on this question but haven’t seen enough of Hoggard to have an informed opinion.
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What was Kobe doing against Penn St?
How do you evaluate Hunter’s defense both on the college and NBA level? How has it changed this year?
We are on year 2 of flattering on/off numbers with him at the 5, the block rate is decent, and Michigan just won a game because he swallowed Sessoms alive for an entire half. On the other hand there are some really ugly moments in help and getting killed by Seton Hall on the glass. Would love you hear your perspective!
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Payton Willis
Bump. Recording shortly.
Well…the nature of the questions will totally change after last night. lol
I think against Purdue we saw some changes with how Michigan evolved their zone defense and on offense we saw how they used the space created by Hunter’s outside shot. How much do you guys see those things helping against OSU and throughout the rest of the season? Why didn’t they work against PSU?
(To me, it was an amazing job by the coaches. We are in the part of the season when these teams all know each other and are hitting a wall. Being able to reinvent a few things on either end of the court is a massive advantage. We’ve seen MSU stall when teams shut down transition - can Howard’s bag of tricks from last night continue?)
How would you categorize Michigan’s schedule from here on out? I’ve got:
Must wins - Rutgers, Iowa
Need to go .500 - OSU, @ Iowa, Illinois, MSU
Probably losses - @ Wisconsin, @ OSU
Either way, consensus seems to be 11 conference wins has us feeling good barring a bad loss in the BTT.
Has Eric seen other teams pull their weakside big out like that on ball screens out of a 2-3? I had never seen that
Also why didn’t Jace play last night? - @sportaddict144
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To me at a high level that last game and a half has been the best sustained defensive effort and execution we have seen. Caveats apply in that PSU is not good and Purdue put up a stinker but do you think or have you seen actual improvement in the defense?
Has UM changed their ball screen coverage in this zone in anyway or is just switch to the drop man once the ball screen enters the middle? Is it change if it’s a side ball screen?
When the KenPom team went in and he still didn’t play, I was probably the most irrationally frustrated I’ve ever been during a 24-point blowout of a top team.