What are your thoughts on Going Big today vs. Purdue? (or maybe this is a ridiculous topic knowing Beilein would never do this?)
Walton, Robinson, Irvin, Donnal, Wagner
OFFENSE: Donnal has been with the program long enough that he knows the 4 spot. Wagner played a heck of a game yesterday and brings great energy that we will need. Walton hasn’t really shot well (or at all) so going big could give us different options. We can defensive rebound better hopefully. Rak becomes more of a sub for Walton and Robinson and still gets good minutes. (and we don’t have to play Dakich)
DEFENSE: We simply matchup better. Irvin then would not have to guard Swanigan then entire game, since we need him to be great offensively. Wagner on either Hammons or Haas, Donnal on Swannigan, and then we matchup with their 3 guards. We aren’t as undersized obviously and limit Purdue offensive rebounds.
OTHER THOUGHT: 3 games in 3 days, guards have played alot of minutes, Bigs are more rested. I know Irvin did a great job on Swanigan in our home win against Purdue, but worry that today we need him so badly offensively guarding Swanigan the entire game could not go as well. Also, could we completely blow up the Purdue “scouting report/offensive, defensive strategy” even for a little while it takes them to adjust to something they didn’t have their players prepared for.
If we went big it wouldn’t be like that. Kam Chatman and D.J. Wilson would play the four not Mark Donnal. Having D.J. play is a bad idea. Also Ricky Doyle is hurt and isn’t much of an option if needed. I like the thought but don’t see it working.
I say the more option we have, the better. I think he meant donnal at the 5 and Wagner at the 4? That’d make much more sense. It’ll be interesting to see what beilein does but swanigan is athletic enough to guard anyone on our team do it’ll be tough. Davis will be on Irvin I’m sure, I’m thinking our backcourt needs 30 for us to win this game.
Not happening. I think we’ll see mainly the same lineup as usual. Hopefully MAAR comes out aggressive and puts a little foul pressure on their bigs, and creates some open looks for Robinson. I also hope Irvin’s shot selection is better and he doesn’t kill possessions over-dribbling. His swing shot with a low release is a recipe to get blocked by Purdue. Maybe give Kam more of a chance also, especially if he can grab some boards.
Irvin actually did not have a lot trouble guarding Swanigan, and Swanigan had trouble staying with Zak. Could see Chatman get more run, but not Wagner or Wilson at 4.
I meant Wagner at the five… Don’t trust him at the 4 and know John will not put him there. Donnell is not the ideal 4… But he does know the position, has play the position, and hasn’t been shooting too poorly behind the arc lately.
I agree that Irving did a nice job on the Swanigan defensively… And Swanigan had a hard time staying with our lineup when he was on defense. Maybe I’m more concerned about our legs than others. I just think Irving playing his third game in three days and having to guard Swanigan for an entire 35 to 40 minutes when we need him so badly on offense scares me.
I think we have all learned that DJ is not going to get much time.
I can see the auto bench rearing its ugly head today. Especially don’t want Walton to sit for any appreciable amount of time. I hope he has 40 minutes in him.
Also, the more Wagner the better. WAGNER UNCHAINED!
North Carolina has proved that if you just get a ton of athletic big men that can rebound and defend then you can easily survive shooting terribly from the field and still beat good teams. Their guard play has been extremely disappointing this year (306th in 3pt. percentage) but they get saved by their #4 offensive rebounding rate. If we had good enough bigs to play 2 at a time effectively then sure, it’d be a great idea against your Purdues or Marylands, but we don’t, so it gives up too much on offense, especially with Beilein’s 4 out.
I have mentioned this more times than I care to count but the Coach simply has no interest in running a high low post style offense even if it would help on the boards at both ends and the defensive end of the court by adding another rim protector and or someone who may not be as easily pushed around in the paint as Zak.
I would play Donnal at the 4 as he has shown he can hit the pick and pop better than any other big man, Wagner at the 5 as he seems to be handle the physical play better.