Iggy had that Mo in him last night. He might’ve gotten 20 by halftime if not for foul trouble.
Between Mo’s exuberance and MAARs quiet assasin demeanor, having either’s presence on the court was missed.
It seems like Poole WANTS to be that guy too, which is half the battle. He still just hasn’t figured out when and how to get the big buckets, a la MAAR.
Poole had a couple of nice takes to the basket during that drought. I think they both got blocked though but I thought they were good looks nonetheless and he didn’t settle for a contested 3.
I thought I’d never say this ,but X really lost his poise the second half and tried to do things by himself which carried over to the whole team. Completely out of character from him. He will learn from it though.
Tough loss. But I’m never expecting to win at Breslin. Refs impacted game like they always do. Maybe after Delaney is gone we can actually find some objective officiating in the BIG. The rebounding was the most glaring issue. I know that’s not our game, but at minimum Teske needs to work on this boxing out fundamentals. Fatigue might have been a factor, but he was pushed off the block by smaller guys way too often. And enough with the tipping the ball out for someone else to grab the rebound. He’s the biggest guy out there, just grab it yourself. Having said that we’re still one of the best teams in the country and have just as good a shot as anyone to win BIG tournament and NCAA. Go Blue!
That’s the small difference it seems like with Poole vs MAAR.
MAAR obviously got blocked a bunch too, but he had a knack for getting tough buckets when the team needed to stop the bleeding/momentum. He would somehow find a way to get crafty and use his footwork or find an angle to get the bucket.
Poole has made plenty of big buckets. Made some last night.
Not to disparage MAAR, but for last night, especially given Matthews was out, I would’ve taken Duncan over MAAR, no question.
Just to take a step back, I’m solely just referencing “stop the bleeding” buckets, when momentum is lost types, not big shot type buckets.
This is exactly why I think MAAR was underrated in his time here. He made so many of those unmemorable but ultimately huge buckets.
I know MAAR made his fair share of run stopping baskets but whenever I watch last year’s team or compare film, what stands out to me is some of the offensive maturity that MAAR/Duncan had within the offense. Making the extra pass, having the right spacing… Little things but things that make a huge difference. This Michigan team is not a good passing team (other than Simpson) and guys like Brazdeikis, Livers, Poole, Matthews just don’t have the same offensive feel IMO.
Unfortunate but agreed. It’s exasperated and made more obvious when momentum is lost in a game.
To your point, that’s when doing the little things are needed but aren’t quite there with the offense. That is what worries me heading into the postseason tournaments.
This is my point I was trying to get across in the game thread - this team collectively is mentally tough but when momentum is lost and they’re challenged within a game, do they do the little things or coexist to turn the tide? They honestly haven’t had that many games where this occurred.
Goes with this a little bit:
Isn’t our offense a little better this year than it was last year on an AdjO and PPP basis, even in conference play? And that’s without Mo. I would rate the “offensive feel” of Iggy and Poole better than MAAR’s, probably Duncan’s too, especially considering those guys were 23 year old seniors last year.
But passing and maturity/patience I agree with.
Easy to pile on after a tough loss. A worse look for the ones doing it than the players, in my opinion.
Are you talking about Wright or something I said?
Michigan’s offense scored 1.1 PPP in Big Ten play last year, 1.05 PPP this year.
Maturity, patience and passing is something different than offensive feel? Guys like Poole and Iggy have huge ceilings, but they struggle to see the other four players on the floor at times.
I don’t really look at it as a mental toughness issue. Obviously Michigan lost its composure at points last night, but that hasn’t been an issue. This group has won a lot of road games, beat good teams, weathered runs, etc.
Oh, not you at all, sorry if I implied otherwise.
Thanks. The AdjO is better even in conference (at least on Torvik), but maybe you can’t compare that year over year.
Yeah, I think that offensive feel - natural offensive skill and ability, including passing - is not the same thing as maturity and discipline.
I’ll try to be even more clear, it’s not overall mental toughness whatsoever. I’ve been very high on this group all year.
It’s mental toughness within the game/situation, the moments you’re challenged most and their response. The players admitted they lost their poise and their way during the second half last night.
I disagree they’ve been challenged to weather a lot of runs or moments like last night. It’s not a knock on them whatsoever either, they’ve been so damn good and are so damn good they’ve blown teams out and won on the road. However, how many games have had moments like last night?:
UNC down by 10 and responded.
At Northwestern was a huge response and close game moments to get the win.
At Wisconsin was a little bit like last night.
At Maryland was their best performance in poise.
MSU games.
Beyond those games, I don’t see many other instances of true back and forth, momentum shifted games. Games got close, absolutely, but I would say the Wisconsin/Maryland home games Michigan was always in control. Likewise, at Iowa/Penn St they were always in control.
Ha sounds good. Wasn’t sure but figured you meant Wright’s tweet!
I’m not sure what you are saying at this point. Muhammad didn’t have offensive feel when he was a freshman, he gained it with experience.
Most of Michigan’s roster is on the front end of that development cycle and their ability to see the whole floor, space the floor and fully understand Beilein’s offense, IMO.