Brooks is a player and a good scorer. Most of his shots are right on, they just aren’t going down. He will break through soon.
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Am I the only one that’s not in unanimous agreement that Duncan is a clear cut starter over Poole?
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I’m just not sure what Zs future is going forward. It’s clear the offense is less potent when he’s on the floor.
He is a willing defender, but to diminutive to ever be a legitimate individual stopper on a true scorer.
I think he is overrated as a defensive presence personally. He gets bullied a lot on straight line drives quite routinely.
With DeJulius coming in next year, I’m doubtful that his rotational minutes are ever going to be that impactful as his career progresses.
Listen to the whole Beilein presser and he says basically everything there is to say about Poole.
He has a long way to go in terms of making the smart play. Taking the smart shot. Not turning the ball over. Etc.
Does Poole have a higher ceiling? Without a doubt. Does Duncan have the ability to shoot a higher percentage and make the smarter plays right now? Yeah I think so.
That being said, I really like Jordan’s progress and feel a lot better about him as the first wing off the bench than Ibi because he can provide a lot more scoring punch.
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Yes, at the very least I’m very happy Poole has seemed to beat out Ibi for the backup wing spot. But man that kid just looks so versatile as a scorer. When he caught and blew by his man for a layup on the left side today I got so excited. I get the whole “grenade” talk from JB and hitting singles not home runs but at the same time, Duncan has had a LOT of open looks this year and I’m not so sure I’d bet on him to make a higher percentage than Poole at this point.
Also, I think no matter who starts or who comes off the bench, the guy off the bench will be hunting shots at a high rate either way. Duncan would thrive in this role ideally, and I’d like to see what Poole could do given the chance as a primary option
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I missed the first ten minutes and attended the game live. (I forgot to record the game unfortunately.) I wonder if other people thought Livers had a down performance today? If you think it was a run of the mill performance, and if others think it was a run of the mill performance–then maybe Liver’s “shakiness” comes across while watching him live and I just wasn’t getting exposed to watching him live?
The disparity in the opinions about him, in general, has struck me as odd. Not sure. Without consulting stats and not worrying about whether he made or missed a shot his performance just really looked solidly shaky to me today…Maybe people that have been advocating for him to have more playing time, like I have, can weigh in–did today seem like a down-performance for Livers to you guys?
Poole was pretty awesome today. I definitely would not be surprised if Robinsons time eroded because Poole or Livers or both steps it up a notch or two as the season progresses.
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Well, Duncan needs to snap out of his funk, though. Two games in a row where he missed a TON of open looks.
Poole just oozes potential to me. He can get his own threes, Duncan can’t. He’s also blocking shots, getting his hands on the ball on defense, and he makes some nice cross court passes. I think we found our starting two guard for next year, and a guy who can contribute a ton this year.
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I didn’t think Livers had a bad game today, but he didn’t really step it up a notch either. He might be one of those non-microwave guys that needs more playing time to get into the flow.
He had one horrible pass where he threw it out of bounds on what looked like a high risk play.
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For Poole it’s not just about his shooting, which is clearly exciting. He took it to the rim off the bounce and got a nice pass from Wagner after cutting hard. Even one of his TOs was after he got leverage going to the basket and the ball just got away. His passing looks crisp. He’s getting his hands on passes on defense. Sure, he’s got to learn to rein it in, to make the easy, good play – to be patient. But you see so much there in a guy who wants the moment and seems to thrive in it, at least so far. You’ll take that.
Besides not dunking that ball, Teske looked good again. He changes things on D, not just for his man, but other guys come into the paint, see him, and think twice.
Brooks looked very good. Nice to see.
Duncan, well, those were great looks. We’ll take those shots and if he misses, what’re you going to do.
Final note - unless we see IU in the B1G (or NCAA) tourney, that’s it for the year, so we can enjoy the season series victory against them and bask in the win streak for another 13 months or so…
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I think both Duncan and Poole have elements to their game that make them very useful shooters off the bench. And both have flaws to their game that perhaps get more exposed as starters than as “scorer off the bench” type of guys.
I think Poole is more likely to develop into a more well rounded player than Robinson and more likely to find ways to mask his flaws (or develop the skills to make them less of a hindrance to his all-around game)…not sure how much of that comes this season and how much comes during off-season training.
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I don’t get the comparison between Duncan and Poole. Both shoot the 3 but that’s about all they have in common. Poole is not a super athlete but has a quick first step and can create his own shot. He’s also active on D. He’s already a more well rounded player than Duncan, because of physical limitations, could ever hope to be.
Just watched the game on YouTube. Showed up to Crisler late so missed the first ten minutes. Have to agree, Livers played well in the first ten minutes and that offsets those few sloppy plays I saw in the second half—which are expected for a Freshman over the course of the game.
I’m sure you’re not the only one. The “clear cut starter” over Duncan unfortunately, from our perspective not from his, went to the NBA, and Coach B did NOT see that coming, so he didn’t recruit a game ready four to replace DJ. I am a Duncan Robinson fan, but I don’t think he was EVER meant to be a starter at the four, or perhaps anywhere else on this team. He can be a very valuable asset off the bench. He also DOES make a lot more smart plays than he does “dumb” or “iffy” ones, which is something Coach B values. I honestly don’t think we have a legitimate starter at the four, yet. Duncan is starting by default. Livers is talented but a work in progress.
As to Poole, he was honestly recruited to be our two of the future, and perhaps to serve in a Duncan “sniper” role at that spot. However, Coach B has been playing him as a backup to Charles, which I don’t understand. Coach B, himself, now says he needs to find ways to get JP and CM on the floor together, which he did for a short time yesterday, although he did have to make things more “simple” to do it. I remain kind of intrigued with a “small ball” lineup which includes JP at the three and CM at the four with Duncan coming in off the bench. That might be tough against big, strong, and athletic teams, but my oh my, that would be an athletic lineup for us, if rather small. We would still need a backup two, however. Man, we needed DJ to stay one more year, but I think we can all agree he made the right choice, for him.
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He made the right choice if he enjoys the pine.
Think people are inclined to compare Robinson and Poole because they are wondering if he can shoot 3’s as well as Robinson. If Poole can shoot threes as good or almost as good then I have to believe Robinson’s minutes will go down because he is so weak on defense. If Livers can improve to solid and reliable then Robinson’s minutes could drop further. Part of the reason we use Robinson as someone to compare the Freshman to is that he is such a known commodity and we know what to expect from him. He will probably hit 40-45% of his threes and play below average defense.
But, yes Poole has a skill set and quickness that are going to allow him to do things Robinson will never be able to do. In terms of upside there is no comparison. Hell, i would not be surprised to learn that Poole is still growing. Appears taller every time i see him. Maybe it is the hair?
Well, they have Robinson at the four and Poole at the three, so unless they move Mathews to the four, Poole’s minutes probably won’t come at Robinson’s expense.
Livers, if he continues to improve, is the guy who would likely cut into Robinson’s minutes.
I’ll bet we see either Poole or Mathews get some run at the two.
If Poole is going to shoot it like he did yesterday, they’ll find minutes for him.
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Yeah, Matthews at the four for extended minutes does not sound far fetched to me if Poole can prove that he can hit close to 40% or better from 3. It was just one game but if we compare that one performance to Robinson’s best performances over the last 3 years then I would guess that Poole’s performance was as good as Robinson’s top 2 or 3 performances. Not sure. Curious to see how it unfolds.
I doubt Poole will cut into MAAR’s minutes. Poole, Robinson and Livers are competing against each other for minutes precisely because of the possibility of moving Matthews to the 4 combined with the fact that MAAR is a lock for big minutes.
Correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like you think there might be competition for minutes at the 2 between MAAR, Poole and Matthews? How could that be? MAAR and Matthews surely have big minutes locked down and rightfully so.
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Exactly right. In fact, Beilein talked about the possibility of both Poole and Matthews on the floor together. Ordinarily Poole backs up Matthews.
My gut feeling is Coach Beilein feels short term, long term, Livers is the best option, and viable, to back up the the 4, or even start. Combine that with his unwillingness to play Wagner with Teske together, makes me think Livers will have his freshman breakout moment soon.