Film Session: Breaking down Youssef Khayat's fit at Michigan

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Woah, an hour-long film breakdown. This is like my House of the Dragons.

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Sam Webb and Devin Gardner just got bumped lower down the list. Caught the first 15 mins so far, looking forward to the rest. Great stuff.

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More please. Can you do the transfers next.

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this was awesome. I haven’t even seen it but I already know it’s going to be a banger.

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Wow. He’s a true wing.

It is so hard to project a skill player like this. Trae Young is to me the ultimate example. No way that guy should be an NBA player, physically, but he’s an All Star and if his team is good enough an MVP candidate. Skill matters. Where Yo-yo falls is just impossible for me to project. He really looks like he will score and play perimeter D reasonably, but if you told me Cheddar ended the year as backup 4 bc yo is just too weak I wouldn’t be shocked.

Anyway thx for clips and reflections. This was awesome. Peak podcasting and epic September content.

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Enjoyed the breakdown - good job guys! A bit awkward at the beginning with the “no you go ahead” stuff. Par for the course for the first try and I’m sure you’ll iron out the kinks as you go.

I think a lot of the discussion around who plays which position misses the point a bit. I think Juwan is molding this team in a way that’s en vogue with the “positionless basketball” style of the modern NBA. Lots of long versatile players who can shoot, handle and guard multiple positions. Who is nominally the 2 vs. the 3 vs. the 4 matters less than the individual matchups on any given night.

I think the point is that Khayat may struggle to guard multiple positions, at least initially.

I agree with this but even if “positions” don’t matter, different combinations of three players and how they fit together still matters. Do you have enough playmaking? Enough rebounding? Enough defense?

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The problem is most of our 2 thru 4 guys all lean more 4. As in less ball handling, less athleticism to guard more 2-y players, etc.

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Who do you think leans “more 4” other than TWill, Tschetter and Glenn?

Barnes and Howard are pure 3. Bufkin is a 2. I think Youssef probably leans more 3 the more I watch of him.

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I lumpedGlenn, chedder, twill and youseff with the fours. I thought jace to lean more 3/4 than 2/3. Really bufkin is our only 2 ish “wing”

Forgot about Jace (agree more of a 4) and Baker (more of a 3). But of the most likely playing group there feels like more threes (Jett, Youssef, Baker, Barnes) than 4s or 2s.

The main point I was trying to make on the pod is that Youssef is tall but he’s really a finesse guy. He’s not going to be banging for rebounds and defending post ups.

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I meant jett not jace, my mistake.

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That’s fair. Even with those guys slotted how you do, I still have major concerns guarding more two-ish guys. It’s really bufkin and that’s it. That’s really my issue.

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Yeah, the concern about the 2 makes some sense. I think it is Bufkin or two PGs most likely.

I think there are concerns about rebounding and playing physical at the four beyond TWill though.

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Def need twill to play well. And a lot. No disagreement there at all.

This is a really nice format, for those of us here to learn, thanks.

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One of the reasons I am excited for this season is our roster depth and potential flexibility. Last year it felt like we had so many guys locked into a role without depth behind them.

That being said, one of my worries is that rarely do you see successful teams playing 10+ deep and do we actually have enough wing defenders. We have a TON of wings, but…

Kobe (2) - not a good defender
Jett (3) - not likely to be a good defender
Barnes (3) - not a good defender
Baker (3/4) - not a good defender
TWill (4/3) - decent defender
Khayat (4/3) - tbd
Jace (4) - solid defender for a 4
Tschetter (4) - not a good defender
Glenn (4) - tbd

Against a small lineup we may struggle. Against a true 4 (of which there are a few in the league) you have to hope TWill can hold his own or play a freshman.

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Yo-yo could be a solid defender on the wing and I believe Jett could be a solid defender as a 4. I hope that Kobe turns out to be at least an average defender at 2.