DJ Wilson + Mo Wagner = Damn good young front court

Michigan Basketball
41

Do we have the best sf/pf/c combo in the big ten next year?

42

Contenders off the top of my head:

V. Edwards-Swannigan-Haas
Langford-Bridges/Jackson-Ward
Heurter-Jackson-Cekovsky

Also, side note, but I realized Wisconsin loses 4 starters next year, assuming Happ stays: Koenig, Showalter, Hayes, V. Brown. Might they finally have a down year?

43

I’m going with Swanigan and bridges gone and Hayes and brown are seniors.

44

In that case, it’d be tight between Michigan, MSU, and Maryland, with it mostly depending on how good CM is out the gates. And I didn’t list Wisconsin as a contender, I was just noting how much they lose.

C: Ward>Mo>Cekovsky
PF: DJ>A Jackson>J Jackson
SF: ??? Heurtuer is producing more, right now. Langford probably has the highest ceiling. CM will probably the best defender.

But it’s wild that Michigan could/would ever be in contention for the best front court.

45

My mistake. Maryland should compare but If we have Bamba, That group we would have would hands down be the best. Without, I think we are top 3 with an argument to be the best.

Langford has a LONG ways to go. Not that he can’t get better, but he has struggled a ton so far.

46


If we are talking hypothetical recruits, then I really hope MSU doesn’t get McCoy. And it seems more likely that they get McCoy, than that we get Bamba. Ward-Schilling-McCoy would be ridiculous. Also wonder if they’d run one of those guys at the 4, on occasion.

47

As skilled as he is, Payne has awful spatial awareness and bad shot selection. DJ has better feel even if he isn’t as skilled and I think his perimeter shooting is better. Not being a #1 option is a good thing long-term. Definitely flawed, but this is the type of frontcourt I wish was put around Stauskas and LeVert.

48

For perspective DJ and Payne share the same February 19 birthdate, but Payne was a year older than DJ when he started college, so I would be inclined to compare this year DJ to sophomore Payne.

49

Would you take Wilson + Wagner this year over GRIII + Morgan in Stauskas & Levert’s sophomore year?

50

Yes, I would. The offensive gap is much larger than the defensive one plus GR3 and Morgan took quite a bit of time to find consistency that year.

51

I wouldn’t take UM’s 3/4/5 lineup until they can prove to be at least above average defensively/rebounding. My faith in that is admittedly low provided John Beilein is coaching the team next year

52

I would give anything to have Jordan Morgan on this team.

1 Like
53

Agreed. I know Mo is a fan favorite and all but I’d swap him for Wagner in a heartbeat right now.

54

Swapping Wagner out for Morgan would help this team more than swapping DJ out with GR3. If DJ can sustain 45% from the 3 I am not sure I would even prefer to have GR3 on this team over DJ.

1 Like
55

Believe buckets was talking about the 2014 team, not this year. With NBA wings like Nik/Caris, its easily DJ and Mo. On this team, agree the best combo is DJ and Morgan.

1 Like
56

Yep I was referring specifically to that 2014 year. Although I would personally take GRIII/Morgan on both teams but I think it’s an intriguing argument either way and can definitely see both sides

1 Like
57

I’d still go with Morgan over Mo easily, as offense wouldn’t be a necessity with Nik and Caris running the show.

58

But the spacing provided and PnR probably gives you the best Kenpom offense recorded…even better than those Duke and Wisconsin teams. No running box and 1s against Nik, either.

59

Morgan was a great glue guy. He was a great defender and rebounder. He also played with much better ball screen guards and got much of his offense from that. If Wilson and Wagner were getting 3 or 4 easy dunks from set ups they would have some 30 point games this season which Morgan was never capable of. Morgan also slumped his senior year and struggled to catch / finish. Morgan on Defense all day but Wagner and Wilson can change games and will improve defensively. Morgan = great role player. Wilson and Wagner have a chance to be real special!!

1 Like
60

Exactly… You don’t need a center who can create offense when he has two elite players at the 2 and 3 who can do it for him.

In terms of GRIII vs Wilson, I would take 3 years of Wilson playing like this plus with potential to improve over the two years we got from GRIII everyday. The year Wilson is having is better than anything Robinson did over both of his seasons. Wilson has a better ORtg, TS%, OR%, DR%, ARate, TORate, Blk%, and has better defensive potential, although that has yet to be fully realized. The only categories GRII was ever superior in were Stl% and FTRate.