Kam Chatman to UDM to play for Bacari Alexander

This wasn’t the most well kept secret… but it is official now.

This probably speaks to (confirms is probably the better word) whether Bacari agrees with JB philosophy in certain aspects of the game. Interesting

Or that UDM is a better level for Kam and he wants to play for a coach who he is familiar with?

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Agreed, but why play for a coach that shares a similar philosophy as the school you just left? Probably a combination of more PT and better utilization of skillset (IE, change of philosophy)

I’m really surprised he went to a small school. I was thinking he was going to pac 12. Now that we haven’t added a grad transfer thus far i really wish he stayed.

Any news on kostas? I really wish we pursued him seriously.

I think that’s a bit of a reach. There are a lot of coaches who have a different philosophy–many of them at larger schools out west, closer to Kam’s home. I won’t claim to know Kam’s motivation behind the choice, but logic dictates that he made the move to play for someone familiar at a much lower level.

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According to your logic, perhaps that is the case. Personally, I don’t think he was satisfied with the way he was being used at UM, and wanted a change in philosophy/utility, and obviously he had some discussions with Bacari in that regard. I think that is the logical theory IMO.

I don’t doubt that he didn’t like the way he was being used at Michigan. He wasn’t being used.

If this move were purely about philosophy and the way he was being used, why transfer to a middling team in the horizon conference? Perhaps because his abilities are more suited to that level of play and he is familiar with the coach?

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I agree that is PART of the equation, but not the end all be all. I definitely think Kam wants to be used in a different manner.

Why are you surprised? I didn’t see much from Kam that said he could play heavy minutes at a Power 5 school. UofD seems like a good fit for him, talent wise.

I don’t think that he would personally feel that way. I think he probably thought it was more that he was being used improperly or not given enough minutes. Players I think tend to be blind to reality in situations like that.Also I think with this year off he could have come back and been better, so he could have gotten more time/looks at say a Stanford or Oregon st.

I think he’ll end up being successful at Detroit. I could see him being featured there with the year off. It might seem crazy to us but I think he’d be much better with the ball in his hand trying to create for him and others. He will get that shot now I think. I see good things for him and Aubrey.

Look, we can beat around the bush all we want, Kam was being used as a guy to stand in the corner/wing and shoot 3s. Do we really think that Kam was happy with that philosophy as it relates to his game? We all know the answer is no, he wants the ball in his hands a bit more or in the high post area where he can make plays. In retrospect, it just wasn’t a good fit in terms of Kam’s game and JB’s stylistic approach to the game.

Bless Kam for his shot in the Big Ten Tournament, but I think saying he struggled because of how he was used is disingenuous. It’s not like he showed some ability to play inside or create offense without turning the ball over or really anything.

How would you have used Kam last year that would have unlocked something else?

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High post/elbow area. Decent midrange shot, along with passing ability and size could’ve definitely made him more effective then JB used without doubt IMO.

Also, I never said Kam struggled because of system, I just said he wasn’t happy with his role/utilization…which is fairly obvious.

Michigan wasn’t a good fit for Kam because Kam is probably not a high major talent. I was very excited when he committed and held out hope that the light would eventually come on. Unfortunately, this was just a recruiting miss.

Sly, it’s time for you to drop Kostas. Besides that one random report a couple months ago there has been no connections.

Most probably thought the same about Udoh. It remains to be seen about Kam, although I’m inclined to agree that he was vastly overrated. If he succeeds at UD in a new role, that will be telling.

I totally agree with you on Udoh, but Kam is a totally different case. Udoh was a misfit, and Kam is exactly JB’s type, except that he never developed as a cutter and finisher, and never found his shooting groove, the game winner shot against Indiana aside.

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I don’t disagree that that is where Kam would be most effective. But would he be effective enough to do that within the offense while not affecting spacing for Duncan/Irvin or driving lanes for Walton/MAAR? It would be one thing if he was elite in certain areas that we could adjust the offense to suit him (like how we adjusted offense to accommodate Morris in the PnR). But he never showed enough to do that.

He played hard when he was on the court and he’s a good kid from what I know. Best of luck to him at UDM. I root for all the instate schools to do well (except MSU).

It is fair to say that Kam would’ve be more effective having ball in his hand, but him not playing the roll as he wanted had little to do with JB’s offensive style but was all about it other players being more effective in that role.