I would say everyone was at least the level that I expected or better besides the centers. Neither Teske nor Davis looked particularly good to me considering the competition. Hopefully just some kinks to work out. Teske’s stroke from deep looked good.
Matthews really seemed to improve his stroke and handle. He looked like a future pro. The Alley oop to Livers was pretty awesome.
Everybody seemed improved.
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How LIvers has been over the past year is still just so strange. This 3 and D hustle guy is just not really what he was in high school.
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Nunez is a guy I think you try to redshirt. Can’t imagine he’s gonna bring much to this team right now and he’s a guy who’ll probably be around to use that 5th year.
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Very encouraged by Poole. I think he generally showed what he needed to show. Also encouraged by Brooks. If he’s a passable guard who can shoot threes, run the offense and play 8 minutes that’s all you need.
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Terrified that X made no improvement as a shooter in the offseason
On Nunez, could you imagine what he could be as a tall sharpshooting #2 in Beilein’s system for 5 years?
I didn’t have the best angle, but it didn’t look like Matthews was drifting sideways on his shot like he used to. His free throws looked great too.
Didn’t think that Teske and Davis had especially good games, but they were okay.
Happy that Poole played within himself and didn’t feel like he had to take over the game.
Brooks is going to be big for us this year. Hit the first three that we made. He may need to shoot more.
Matthews and Simpson looked like juniors. Very poised and polished.
Livers looks much improved.
I have seen many of the exhibition games and I thought that this team looked better overall than any other team that I can recall. Rather surprising since we only return 2 starters. Usually, this game looks very sloppy and out of sync. I was pleased with what I saw for a first game.
Brooks looks really good to me. I fully expect him to be averaging 15- 20 minute a game. Depending on how bad Z’s outside shot is and how good Brooks can shoot, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooks played more minutes than Z in a few games this year.
Finally watched. Poole looked every bit the part of a lead guard. Shots didn’t fall all the time but he got to all his spots, played within himself and was a willing, effective passer all game long.
Iggy is a load for defenses and looked way better than I thought he would defensively. Curious to see how he will fare when the scouting report is out on him that he wants to get all the way to the rim 10 out of 10 times.
Brooks and Davis are legit bench options and I agree Brooks will play way more than I ever thought he would this year. He pairs well with Matthews, Poole and Iggy just as a floor spacer alone.
Livers is so solid, what an option to have as a backup wing. I think it was maybe the 4th alley oop he finished of the night that made me really step back and appreciate how far this program has come since JB’s first year when I could count on one hand how many alley oops the team had all season.
Livers, Poole and Brooks (and Teske?) are going to have to be the shooters for this team, I’m just not confident at all in Matthews, Simpson and Iggy to knock them down consistently but all three of those guys deserve big minutes and will get them. Matthews and Simpson didn’t look much improved to me, although CM’s free throws looked more fluid and he had a couple really nice passes. I still think they are better served as 2nd/3rd options at best behind Poole in ball screens.
Gonna be a fun year. My favorite student announcer moment was either referring to Brandon Johns as “John Brooks Jr.” or Nik Stauskas’ nickname as “Saucey Costello”
The student announcers were painful. Grace butchered Iggy’s last name as well. Brazingis!
What do you mean X has made no improvement as a shooter just because he only took one jumper which he made and was 100% on fg for the night also had 7 assists. He doesn’t necessarily need to shoot the three pointer.
Quit hating on X/Z so early please. Brooks won’t be getting more minutes than X/Z unless he’s in foul trouble.
Just double-checked the play by play, he didn’t take any jumpers today (which is a bad look for a point guard) and was rough at the free throw line. I’m a big X fan, but we know that there was a big emphasis placed on improving his jumpshot all offseason and it’s troubling that it doesn’t look like it’s improved.
You are wrong he took one a 2pt shot and made it. He will be ok. You can’t make a call like that one game an exhibition no less this early in the season IMO.
Team was sharper than many previous squads in the exhibition matchups for sure. I think much of that is the extra run afforded them with the Spain trip. The 2014-2015 team also came out impressive in their exhibition, after their Italy trip.
I love Zavier. He is my favorite player on our team. Brooks is very good. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooks and Z played together situationally. I just reject the notion that Brooks is merely serviceable. There might be situations this year where JB wants to ride the hot hand of Brooks, although I do think this is Zavier’s team and rightfully so.
It was Northwood and I would expect the physically more dominant team to run a layup/dunk drill against an overmatched D2 opponent.
The half court offensive flow was really never in sync, and the run outs off deflections were really predictable.
I thought Dylan’s recap nailed Iggy’s performance to a tee. He can bully ball inferior opponents, but what is he’s counter going to be when better teams load up to stop his head down attacks?
It’s going to be interesting to see how he adapts to a clogged lane with B1G style athletes. His deep ball is not really a factor, and of course his desire to pass is only a last resort.
I believe he had two offensive fouls, which is how his game goes when it’s 100% downhill from the word go.
Interested to see him develop going forward.
For those (like me) who weren’t able to watch
His drive game is a lot craftier than simply putting his head down and running at the rim. He can dribble it and has a feel for working off of a defender’s body lean. Tony Carr had similar abilities. He didn’t appear super fast, quick, explosive, but people couldn’t handle his drive game because he was a master technician. He humiliated people.
Brazdeikis can develop an elite offensive game if he can turn his dominant drive game into opportunities for others. That’s my big question about his development. But if you think all he’s doing is putting his head down and charging towards the rim, I think you’re going to be surprised by his ability to continue being effective against B1G competition. He’s extremely skilled at getting places with the dribble and stopping that is easier said than done.
He’s going to put pressure on defenses and get to the line accordingly. All beneficial to our success.
Vision, deep ball, and facilitating are still a work in progress.