Game 8: Purdue at Michigan Recap

Matthews wanted the 3 for himself. Don’t mind seeing that.

One thing to keep in mind is that when Simpson goes out of the game, whoever replaces him will be alongside Poole and Matthews and/or Iggy and is not, in all likelihood, going to be the primary initiator of the offense. A bit like when Walton was the PG alongside LeVert, Stauskas, and Robinson. Brooks is just fine playing 15-18 minutes a game, taking open 3s moving the ball, playing solid D. But sure, it would be nice if DeJulius could be ready to outplay Brooks at the backup 1.

Johns is really the guy I’d love to see be able to play. Not just because it’d be another small ball option, but then you’d have the option of playing some big small-ball, with Iggy at the 2, Livers and Johns at the 4-5.

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Teske could be a late second round pick after his senior year if he becomes a consistent threat from 3. As of now, though, I don’t see him getting drafted.

Iggy and Matthews will be drafted. Iggy will be a 1st round pick. Poole and Livers could be drafted in the 2nd round after their junior or senior seasons. Poole is probably, along with Iggy, the guy with the most potential to be a 1st round pick. Although, he still has a ways to go.

Simpson is going to be interesting. He’s an elite defender and could develop into an elite passer. But, I doubt his shot ever develops.

So many NBA and NFL draft experts on the internet. Who knew?

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People have their opinions on the drafts. How many so-called “experts” are right about draft things 80-90% of the time? How many NFL GMs, guys who get paid bazillions of dollars to do it, are really, really good at drafting?

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Who knew we’d discuss a basketball draft on a basketball discussion forum?!

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I get a chuckle how matter of fact people are about this guy will get drafted, that guy will get drafted only for them to be completely off the mark.

See:

Hardaway, Tim
Wagner, Moritz
Wilson, DJ

The list goes on and on.

By all means, discuss away though. You guys are the pros for sure!

I would love to have Simpson back as an assistant coach, but he’ll probably carve out a nice career in Europe.

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Brooks’ handle problems are due to his small hands and average length. Good for shooting (e.g. Glen Rice), bad for ball-handling. He’s the inverse of Simpson, who has very long arms for his size (6’4" span @ 5’10") and big hands.

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I think Teske is a good bet to get picked in the second round whenever he leaves. He’s a true 7-footer who can protect the rim and might have some developing three point range. He would have been a first rounder 10+ years ago, but the game has evolved, so he’s not as valuable a commodity as 7-footers once were. He will probably be a second rounder at some point, but will almost surely improve his stock by coming back for another year and honing parts of his game (shooting, rebounding) that are still rough around the edges. He’s just too big and skilled enough to go undrafted, I think.

I was just going to say I thought Mathews was going to play himself into the first round with improved shooting but I read he’s shooting 29 percent from three. Is that right? Only hitting 1.1 a game? Why does it feel like he’s shooting so much better than that and hitting way more?

I’m not saying anyone’s right or wrong on their analysis, but I don’t get your beef. It’s an opinion their sharing. Nothing’s set in stone and you don’t need to agree with their thoughts. Also some of the “experts” or pros don’t do so hot themselves most of the time . It’s analyzing basketball. Lets not act like you have to be of Carl Sagan intelligence to have a valid opinion or to understand the game.

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@umhoops delete if this is too much, but I think Brendan Quinn’s first line in his latest Athletic article is worth sharing:

A text​ message came​ through​ from​ an NBA scout from​ a Western​ Conference​ team​ about midway through​ the​​ second half. “I like the Teske kid,” he wrote to me. “Where’d he come from?”

I think if he keeps this up he will get drafted sometime in the next two years. Will he last once there? Idk but I think he will get there. Last year he shot poorly but you could see he could shoot. Especially at 15-17 feet. They were always right there but they’d rim out. Almost seems like he was missing them on nerves and being over excited/ rushing things.

He’s looked really good.

This is a very good program with no let down in site. It sounds crazy to say after two finals appearances but this programs on the rise. It might be hard for coach b to retire with the amount of success ahead.

This criticism of Brooks and corresponding lauding of Poole to the sky is silly. Both are still young players with limited playing time, and, to quote Jim Harbaugh, you get better at playing basketball by playing basketball. Will Brooks get better at running the point. Almost certainly. Will he become an elite point guard? Doubtful, but who among us thought that Z would after his first year-and-a-half? I will own that I was a strong doubter of him.

The same goes for Poole. He has immense physical gifts and many strong skills, but he turns ball over too often when he tries to make a play. His shooting remains streaky, and, despite what Dylan, says about his defense, I see him out of position several times a game despite good effort and generally good positioning. That’s not knocking him, I firmly believe that he will become an elite shooting guard who will play in the NBA, But he’s not there game-in-game out—yet.

As far DeJulius. His only likely role this year is as a gunner supreme, and if the other guys are knocking down threes as they are now (who would have believed that!), it’s doubtful that he will have much of a chance for that role. In any event, he’s looked terrible in every way so far. You get better at basketball by playing basketball.

Sorry for the tirade. :slight_smile:

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Matthews is 5 for his last 10 from 3, before that he was 4 for 21 (including a 2 for 14 start). His shot has looked pretty good to my eye, and his FT stroke has looked better than last year, though there’s only a 4% improvement so far. It’d be nice for him and the team if he could bump both percentages up another 5 or 6%.

I don’t think think criticism of anyone is ever silly when justified. Right now the criticism appears to be “he’s a very solid backup 2 guard who is kinda being forced into playing the 1 despite lackluster handles until DeJulius is ready.” That seems completely fair. We shouldn’t get to the point on this board where criticism isn’t allowed because the team is playing incredibly well. I’ll quote Dylan’s player bullet on Brooks as a sendoff (emphasis mine):

Eli Brooks played a standard Eli Brooks game. He knocked in a three but a sloppy moment in the middle of the floor led to a live ball turnover and fast break. Those turnovers keep popping up and they will cost Michigan at some point.

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Makes sense, I’ve only seen 5 full games this year (unc, Norfolk, nova, Purdue, and some other team I can’t recall) and just highlights of others. In the games he shot bad I just probably saw the makes, so along with the last two games it’s got me thinking he’s stroking it.

I still like Eli’s fit though. Definitely out of control at times but I’m confident he will improve and be very useful of the bench this year and beyond.

I think some of the reaction to criticism of Brooks is less to people suggesting he’s not quite a PG or could improve his handle and more to people saying he doesn’t know how to dribble or isn’t a high major player, etc.

Also, it’s a little about reasonable expectations for a back-up guard.

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I know how much Dylan loves player comparisons (lol) but I’ve been trying to think of who Eli Brooks reminds me of and I’ve settled on early career Travis Trice. Played some backup 1, but was much more comfortable off ball. A knock down shooter from deep. Had some bounce, but it didnt really show in the way he played early on.

Sophomore Trice:
18.6 MPG, 4.8 PPG, 1.9 APG, 40% 3FG, 72% FT, 1.3 TO

Brooks:
18.1 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 1.9 APG, 40% 3FG, 67% FT, 0.9 TO

I think Brooks’ best case scenario career trajectory is what Trice became. A reliable 4 year player who turned into a key offensive weapon as a senior. I’m not sure I think Eli will ever average 15 PPG like Trice did, but I think he’s doing perfectly fine in his current role and has some clear areas he can improve at along the way that could result in him being a major piece as a senior once Simpson leaves.

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