DJ Wilson summer workouts

There is a play vs Maryland where he receives a dump off pass and goes in to dunk the ball and gets fouled. That seemed pretty explosive to me. After his workouts of coarse since before doesn’t mean a whole lot now. Pretty big difference as gaining 7 inches on your vertical should be.

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It is interesting how some will battle to the death to prove negative things from old videos while declining to post even once, for instance, on a commit from last night. Some folks enjoy feeling like a contrarian or the one person in the room being “honest” or “realistic.”

My personal take is that it’s not clear with DJ whether he’s “unathletic” or simply hesitant, and that he’s likely got enough physical gifts at his size and length to make a positive impact in the B1G. He’s really in the driver’s seat for all the forward back-up minutes. I’d imagine he’ll be reclassified as a junior this year and it’s a bit of a make-or-break year for him. Got to be more confident/aggressive. I think he can do it, but we’ll see if he does.

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That’s an interesting point; even with all of the talk of whether or not Mark will get his 5th year, I hadn’t considered that DJ could also be playing to earn his 5th year. Unless we get a grad transfer who will push him for minutes, DJ really is in a position to prove his long-term worth.

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Perhaps you didn’t notice my constant ‘likes’ or the fact that I’ve consistently stated that is love to have Matthews and hes exactly what this team needs. Also, keep in mind that Matthews plays a similar position to a few prospects to which I have contact with. And last, maybe I was too busy bringing you information about Robby Carmody at the exact time the news came down. Maybe that’s realistic enough for you? Somehow I doubt it, and I’m just a ‘negative troll’ huh?

Just being honest and a tiny bit blunt MattD :wink:

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This conversation again becomes a bit toxic. While i agree with mattD that DJ lacks explosiveness, I also agree that mattD should’ve not said bluntly that DJ is not athletic. We can again argue all week about what is the definition of “being athletic” and where is the bar of “average athleticism”. Personally, I agree with MattD’s definition of “being athletic” in the context of basketball, but I also think that his bar is a bit too high for average Big Ten programs.

Admittedly I am heavily influenced by the NBA. Much bigger fan of the NBA game precisely because of the elite athleticism that nearly every player has, and quite frankly, the quality of the game is just so much better. College bball has superior environment for the most part unless it’s the NBA playoffs, but in terms of actual play, watching UM, or any other college team, is like watching paint dry in relation to the unreal quality of play in the league

I believe in DJ!

I appreciate those people that are defending DJ but honestly I doubt he cares about the opinions of a few critics. He will keep improving. Usually when someone can go higher than two feet over the rim. (At 240 pounds) they don’t tend to listen to people that say they are “not athletic” . Kid seems like a late bloomer to me.

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Cleaned up this thread a bit but a few things…

  • Criticizing players by talking about their lack of explosion or functional athleticism is obviously fair game. We’re allowed to say that just as much as player X can’t shoot it well, etc.
  • Some of you still really need to work on how you make arguments. It’s okay if someone disagrees with you, it doesn’t make them an idiot or vice-versa. It doesn’t make their post a joke, etc.
  • If you are going to rail on someone for not being positive, make an argument as to why player X is this or that. Not just that he’s a good kid.

As for DJ Wilson…

We’ve got a guy who hasn’t really put everything together, spent a lot of time in HS injured, clearly has length and potential and has increased his athleticism. He’s in a huge spot considering the roster construction at this point.

I think he made physical improvements last year and some of those were technical (valgus knee), but he still has a ways to go in terms of fluidity and motor. And really just knowing how to play given the speed of the game (shot selection, decision making, etc.). He also didn’t really ever get a chance last season which makes it tough to judge.

One other thing… there’s more to athleticism than vertical but found it interesting to compare max verts. GR3 and Charles Matthews checked in around 41.5 in while DJ went from 29.5 to 36.5 between his freshman and sophomore years.

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One thing that needs to improve with Wilson is his shot selection. Far too many times he came into games just looking to get his immediately putting up a shot, not looking for a teammate or a better shot. He’s not the only one but I am sure DJ would start looking better if he started to take better shots.

In response to your gr3 vs Wilson comment, I wasn’t trying to compare their actual athleticism at all, If that’s what it came across as. I was just saying in terms of actual athletic ability (so not factoring in Wilson’s motor issues and indecisiveness) id say that both struggle athletically in similar ways, but I don’t think that means they’re “not athletic.” I can get with people saying Wilson’s not explosive, as he hasn’t done anything in a college game to show otherwise, but I think you’re being too specific about what it means to be athletic in a 6’10" 240 guy. Not everyone can be Kevin Durant at that height.

I think DJ has athletic ability, but he is still lacking in the confidence or determination to use his athleticism more effectively. So the good news is I think he has potential, but he still has a long way to go to be a full part of the rotation this year.

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I agree, and I think that’s the best way to put it. He has the ability but hasn’t figured out how to use it.

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How did GR3 ever struggle athletically? He’s an elite athlete, best UM has had under Beilein. Don’t think any comparison between GR3 and DJ’s athleticism is fair.

As I said in response to MattD a couple comments ago, I was not comparing the peak of their athletic abilities. GR3 struggled, I said this before also, with straight line speed and lateral quickness. He was top ten in the pre draft workouts for both vertical jumps but wasn’t even listed for shuttle time on the site where I found results.That’s part of why he didn’t create offense for himself and wasn’t a part of the pick and roll game. All you need to do is look at a guy like Matthew’s first step in that Scout video and you can see the difference.

There are more similarities besides that…I mean, what the last several comments on here have said is that it’s clear Wilson has good potential athletic ability but hasn’t figured out how to use it. Look at this quote about Robinson from his draft express profile:
“However, Robinson has had to try to answer significant questions as to whether he has the skill set and mentality to allow him to use those athletic tools.”
“Robinson’s physical tools give him plenty of promise at the next level, but doesn’t always make the most of them, as he appears to lack a degree of toughness.”

I’ve explained several times that I don’t think Wilson is close, even in the same ballpark, as Robinson athletically. All I said is they struggle in similar areas.

Maybe this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_DwZfyXAXI

Guess I just disagree that Robinson struggled to utilize his athleticism. Thought his struggles if we are calling them that were skill related (handle, shooting stroke, etc.)

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I have nowhere near the knowledge you do on basketball so you’re probably right.

Not saying that at all. Just found your opinion unique and maybe there’s something to it.

I know you’re not saying that, but I am lol. I trust your view more than my own, to be quite frank.