GVSU Game Thoughts

Got it, thanks. Actually that could be part of the issue. Having seen them both play, kinda hard for me to come out and just say Ibi is better. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he were a better 3. The demands of the positions are different, and Ibi, especially with his improvement over the offseason, just seems more suited. But if we were discussing the 2, I think it might be a different conversation. Just a thought.

Poole is playing the three this year as @adamsmit86 mentions and as I sort of expected. The wing is generally where Michigan has put young shooters like Irvin or Stauskas before they eventually moved down.

I guess I’m the only one who is not surprised that Poole isn’t ready/ won’t play much this year. I’ve always thought he was slightly overhyped particularly on this board.

Don’t get me wrong I like him as a prospect and I’m glad he’s in the fold but I thought from the start he was at least a year away from making a big impact. It always seemed laughable to me that there were those who thought he might start over/ push maar for minutes. I attributed that to how under appreciated maar seems to always be on this board.

Poole never stood a chance to displace maar or Mathews for minutes. It makes sense that he’s young for his grade. I also must have been one of the few predicting Ibi would be tough for Poole to beat out (pats myself on back).

Also Duncan sliding to the three for when Mathews gets a breather and livers comes in at the four always seemed more likely than Poole playing to me. The skill set was there but the decision making, defense, and athlectism just wasn’t there yet.

Poole is going to be a nice player but I picture him not having a huge role until his junior year. I don’t see him having a big impact until then

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I think that most were hoping that Poole could come in and contribute because of a need for someone to step up and make shots. It still may be the case as we have not seen the team shooting live bullets that count. As far as Ibi he is still a question mark himself as he will need to show more real soon against better comp than GVSU. He needs to step up and more than anything on defense because when the shots are not falling you need to be able to bring something to the table (see Zak Irvin).

I agree a hundred percent on ibi. Hes a much better shooter than he showed last year. He was missing quite badly. I attribute that to nerves. He’s a good shooter and will improve dramaticalky this year to the point he can’t just be left open.

I expect him to defend much better than Jordan his whole career. Ibi is the second best if if not best athlete on the team. He’s got the tools to be an elite defender if he works at it and then combines it with having thatc"dog" in him. Half of defense in my opinion is just pure effort, intensity and shear will/ hard work.

The last thing I’d consider when giving the edge to Ibi over Jordan is that Ibi is a nice option on the fast break. Ibi will run the floor/ fill the gaps and finish at the rim much more effectively than Jordan can. Jordan is actually the guy I feel like you want leading the break usually due to his good handle, elite vision, crafty finishes, and nasty pull up options. Unfortunately he’s not in that role particularly at the three. It’s obviously zavier or Simmons pushing the tempo or maar/ eli this year.

I expect us particularly if zavier starts or when he’s in at least to push the tempo heavy. I think we will see a slightly adjusted brand of beilein hoops to adjust for less shooters but superior athletes and finishers. This will tailor to ibis strengths over Jordan’s. Ibi can finish in transition with the best of them.

All this is really for naught though as we are talking 5-8 min a game at most. Hell Duncan might fill it anyways with livers getting that much more burn at the 4. Probably the most likely scenario

Speaking of overhyping prospects, where did Jeenathon Williams end up?

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