The one thing that you can almost guarantee is that JB will rely on experience. So saying that he may have to lean on Simmons and Simpson together a lot more than is preferred until the youngins show more seasoning/growth. The exhibition game and cupcakes need to have those freshman/sophomores getting as much play time as possible.
I believe Beilein has been quoted as saying that this yearās freshmen are more game ready that some previous classes.
Shoot at 0.3 is not elite but a respectable number that slightly better than that of Irvinās junior year and MAARās freshman year, and is a lot better than what Simmons had last season. I would be very happy if either Matthews or Simpson can get above 0.30 this season.
I donāt exactly think 4 schools in a league of 351 is very good evidence for your claim. Some teams also donāt start a player shorter than 6ā3". Iām not sure what that has to do with what John Beilein and Michigan will do.
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30% isnāt very respectable. Itās not awful or ānever shoot itā level, but itās definitely ālet him beat us with his shotā level for the opponents. The median team 3p% was 34.8% last season.
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How is 30% a lot better than Simmonsā 35%? I donāt understand. Unless you meant Simpson? You canāt mean him though, as he only attempted 19 threes last season, which is not enough to make a conclusion on his shooting.
To that last point, I think we can make a conclusion on Xās shooting. He was afraid to shoot threes and would routinely not take wide open looks. Canāt really excuse it with small sample size when he creates the sample size because he knows he canāt make them.
So could you make the same conclusion after MAARās freshman season, when he took just 41 3s in 550 minutes (not that dissimilar to Simpsonās 19 in 332 minutes), and made less than 30% of them?
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Iām talking from a scouting perspective here, not pure stats. Obviously this is somewhat anecdotal, but Rahk wasnāt afraid to take threes when he had the opportunities as a freshmen. He was aggressive offensively whereas Z was very timid all over the court. Thereās also the fact that Rahkās form was much much better.
It doesnāt preclude X from ever improving, but I think itās clear he was a bad shooter the last time we saw him (and the insider chatter about his shot over the summer has not been glowing. It sounds like he has not improved).
He was afraid to shoot everything. Undersized freshmen backups who play 20% of minutes tend to be.
He was third on the team (non-bench warmers) behind only Walton and Robinson in 3PA/FGA.
Am I on drugs, or is MSUās second ātrueā starting ābigā the 6ā7" Miles Bridges?
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Last year he was. Sounds like they will play two old school bigs this year. Or at least try to.
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Yeah Iām sure Jackson starts this year
Ward, jackson, bridges is their frontcourt
I think our counter of Mathews, Robinson and Wagner is a pretty decent response. And I would take Simmons and Rach over Winston and Langford.
Very much looking forward to the Matthews v Bridges battleā¦very much not looking forward to Duncan trying to check Jackson
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At the same time I donāt think Jackson can guard Robinson on the perimeter
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Well considering Robinson canāt put it on the deck, Iām sure Jackson can stand at the three point line and put his hands up.
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The questions that Duncan brings to the table that would be tough for a traditional four (Iāve seen talk that Nick Ward is practicing at the 4).
- Can a traditional four handle a 1-4 pick and pop with Simmons and Duncan? Do you switch Jackson onto Simmons? Do you try to hedge and recover against the pop?
- Can a four man chase Duncan around screens and through off ball movement?
There are obviously issues that Duncan would need to deal with when heās on defense, but it would be tough to cover him with a true four.
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Duncan doesnāt just stand in place. Jackson would have to chase him around screens and I donāt see it. Also, Duncan is a very good backdoor cutter if JJ plays too far up on him.
Donāt get me wrong. It would be an enormous mismatch on the other end, but I think you are underestimating how big the mismatch would be on offense
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If Ward is playing the 4, then the mismatch is even greater. No way is he chasing around Duncan.
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