If Spike and Chatman were leaving and Michigan was bringing in Battle and Langford I wouldn’t really care. All the transfers have a couple bad seasons is just a bad look especially with recruiting seemingly flat lining at the moment.
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I think DJ has to be penciled in at the 4, now. And, until we get a grad transfer that can play the 4, we have to hope DJ can give us solid bench minutes at the position. Id be ecstatic if Mo could play the 4. But I think their lack of handle and lateral agility (and shooting, though I could still see either being a 35% 3pt guy) caps Mo and DJ’s effectiveness at the 4, on both ends of the court.
Seems like not that long ago that I was wondering about (1) having 14 guys on the 2016 roster and (2) having so many bigs. Things can sure change fast.
Beilein has time to fill out the roster and he doesn’t seem too worried. I for one, wouldn’t mind letting one of those spots roll over to 2017.
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I truly believe this is a good thing for the program. I wouldn’t say JB forced the transfers but he probably had some brutally honest end of the year interviews.
There’s no way he didn’t plan for exactly this, months ago.
Would definitely prefer (1) leaving the scholarship open for 2017 to (2) taking a 300s 2016 recruit. But both options have to be considered far less desirable than landing 1 or 2 grad transfers. Obviously would love to get an instant impact 2016 kid, but that seems like the least likely outcome.
I think we could have used Kam. I actually liked Aubrey but he’s gone. I’m not nervous if they find a good replacement. I’m not sure that’s a lock though. Now it leaves us relying heavily on Wilson which could work out. He hasn’t shown that yet though. Let’s hope he lands good help.
How do you see these two new scholarship vacancies playing out?
I think really, it depends on what Davis gives us. Teske is rather unique - a big, talented shotblocker. Whether he’s ready enough to play offense by then is anyone’s guess, but there’s probably little doubt his defense will be better than Donnal’s, I would think.
It probably all depends on whether Davis has better hands than Donnal (who has OK hands, hardly terrible or anything), and whether he’s a stronger finisher around the rim off the pick and roll. If he is, my guess is he’ll be the guy.
You mean Davis “will be the guy” responsible for Mark not getting his 5th year, if he has good hands and finishing? I just don’t understand what you meant.
Right - it depends on whether the staff thinks that by 2017, Davis can give us more than Donnal, which will of course depend upon how they both play this year.
I have heard and read from more than one source that Davis doesn’t have good hands, he has great hands. I think he will come in as a freshman with better offensive skills than either Doyle or Donnal did and more body ready. I think his issue will be if he can adjust to the D1 level of competition and speed of the game. His intelligence and work ethic will be big assets.
I think we land at least 1 grad transfer if not 2.
I also think that Donnal and Wagner will play a lot of minutes together.
I also think Walton X and MAAR will play a lot of minutes together.
I don’t think losing Kam or Dawkins negatively affects any aspect of the program.
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What if Hibbitts has shown enough that he looked like he was going to challenge for time? Nobody mentions the PWO but if I remember correctly he wasn’t a bad high school kid who has some low D1 offers.
Teske is rail thin. I think there is ample reason to wonder whether he can provide better defense than Donnal. Just because he can block some shots at the high school level does not mean he can play adequate defense against 5’s in the B1G.
I hope you’re right, about all of that. Grad transfers are (IMO) obviously the best route to go, for 2016-17 roster construction. I think Wagner is a better player than DJ (the only other option to back up Zak at the 4). I think X will be our best backup at 1-3, and the 2-4 players can shift, to make sure our best bench player gets the most bench minutes. And I think losing Aubrey doesn’t hurt, and Kam’s minutes/production will probably be replaced by some combination of DJ/Wagner/small ball lineup.
Ive made the obvious statement of Alec Peters, but do you have your ear to the ground for any grad transfer names?
I don’t BleedBlue. Not a clue on potential targets. Dylan is probably the go-to in regards to that.
Fair enough. I’m anxiously waiting for an article from Dylan about it. Dude always gives comprehensive lists for things like this.
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Yes this is the last one
He doesn’t block “some shots” at the high school level - in the Ohio-Kentucky all star game, they credited him with six, and several writers said that was probably “about half” of the number he actually blocked.
Furthermore, I think you’re giving way too much credit to Big Ten centers. The elite guys - of which there are very few - almost always leave after 1-2 years. This year, for example, Davis, Swanigan, Stone are all headed to the NBA. Hammons was the rare guy who had talent and stayed four years, and frankly he only stayed four years because he was a really inconsistent player for his first three.
And it’s not necessarily about just defending fives, anyway. It’s about being able to protect the rim on drives too, and being able to help off his own man. Donnal doesn’t really do any of those things very well. Even if Teske were no more physical or aggressive than Donnal (a very low bar to start with), he’s got a good 2-3 inches on him and seems much, much longer.
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Whoopee, an all star game. I can’t imagine a less relevant setting to big ten basketball or a smaller sample size. I guess we should just pencil him in to the starting lineup. You probably also thought the same about Doyle and Chatman. I will wait until he actually proves it at this level.
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