Couple of tweets regarding Wagner after the announcement of him signing his LOI.
@franfraschilla: Love the pick up of Moritz Wagner, Michigan’s 6-9 German prospect. Athletic combo forward. John Beilein will be his “shot doctor.” Perfect!
@DraftExpress: stretch 4. Skilled. Smart. Knows how to play. Great fit for Beilein’s offense. They could have used him this year for sure.
If Moritz is truly ready to play 10+ minutes per game at the 4, I’d like them to consider red-shirting Chatman. JB has never played more than 9 guys regularly so if Kam is only going to get 5 minutes or less per game, why not let him sit and grow?
I fully expect that at some point this season, Kam will be the starter at the 4. I can’t see any way that he red-shirts without injury. I get that people love Aubrey as a shooter, but he has as many if not more areas for improvement in his game than Kam.
I expect Kam to be the starter from day one until someone shows that they are better. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him play more at the 3 next year.
Pretty sure Dawkins showed he was better for like the last 15 or so games last year. Why would the position all of sudden go back to Kam?
Pretty sure Dawkins showed he was better for like the last 15 or so games last year. Why would the position all of sudden go back to Kam?
I imagine it has to do with defense and rebounding. Dawkins wasn’t strong defensively last year, didn’t grab any rebounds. Playing the 4 would be a nightmare for Dawkins on the defensive end.
I’m with Sven on this. Not sure why people think Chatman will be the default starting four since he lost the job outright last year. I do hope he makes the leap and regains the spot (as he’s much longer than Dawkins or Irvin) but certainly it’s not his to lose at this point. Not sure how they’ll use Robinson but he seems to have bulked up a lot too.
I would be very surprised if Wagner gets big-time minutes in year one.
Pretty sure Dawkins showed he was better for like the last 15 or so games last year. Why would the position all of sudden go back to Kam?I imagine it has to do with defense and rebounding. Dawkins wasn’t strong defensively last year, didn’t grab any rebounds. Playing the 4 would be a nightmare for Dawkins on the defensive end.
Rebounding, maybe but Chatman looked completely lost on D. Not to mention that Aubrey was head and shoulder ahead of Chatman on offense. It wasn’t even close IMO.
To me the reason I expect a switch, last year without Caris and Walton, we lacked scorers, Dawkins was the better shooter (and more confident) so he got the nod. With Caris and Walton, I think the more versatile and the bigger player will get the nod.
If Moritz is truly ready to play 10+ minutes per game at the 4, I'd like them to consider red-shirting Chatman. JB has never played more than 9 guys regularly so if Kam is only going to get 5 minutes or less per game, why not let him sit and grow?
You don’t redshirt a top 30 recruit in their second year, unless they’re seriously injured. At this point, having him sit and watch for a year is not going to make him magically better. I doubt very much that Wagner will get more minutes than Chatman this year, but if he did, if Chatman really were that big a bust, why would you want to have him taking up a scholarship for an extra year anyway? At that point, get what you can out of him and move on.
If Moritz is truly ready to play 10+ minutes per game at the 4, I'd like them to consider red-shirting Chatman. JB has never played more than 9 guys regularly so if Kam is only going to get 5 minutes or less per game, why not let him sit and grow?You don’t redshirt a top 30 recruit in their second year, unless they’re seriously injured. At this point, having him sit and watch for a year is not going to make him magically better. I doubt very much that Wagner will get more minutes than Chatman this year, but if he did, if Chatman really were that big a bust, why would you want to have him taking up a scholarship for an extra year anyway? At that point, get what you can out of him and move on.
He’s no longer a top 30 recruit. He is a kid who struggled mightily and was pulled in favor of walk-ons at times. Its possible that was due to the fact that he is really young and under-developed. Two things that a red shirt year would help.
Look, I don’t expect it to happen, but there is only room for 9 guys in the regular rotation. So if he was only going to play 3-5 minutes a game, it might benefit everyone to have him redshirt. If he proves capable of playing his way into the rotation then great, but Wilson, Robinson and Donnal have all burned their redshirts and I doubt Wagner came over to sit, so that leaves Chatman as the likeliest possibility.
Donnal has played like a bum and has proven he’s too soft for the five spot. I would much rather have Kam available to play the 4 than Donnal available to play the 4 or 5. Kam has at least shown potential at times. Foot speed and clumsiness are his biggest issues besides a developing shot. The kid was still growing when he got to Michigan. As an athlete it is difficult to fully develope coordination when your still growing and growth plates in your bones aren’t done yet. His shot will improve at Michigan. He can dribble and pass well for his size. He lost his dribble at times because his feet couldn’t keep up. Let’s allow his coordination and body to catch up to his growing before we judge him. I still love his potential. This could be the year that happens. I truly wouldn’t be surprised if a transfer does occur after this year is done. I also wouldn’t be surprised if DJ Wilson and Robsinson end up stealing a lot of minutes this year. They’re looking like men now.
The exciting thing is all of our options at the 4 bring something a little different. I’m sure student managers and coaches (when allowed) will gather data on which option plays best with my presumed starters of Walton, LeVert, Irvin, and Doyle and that that data will be weighted heavily when deciding who starts. In my opinion, I know you want your five best players on the court as much as possible, but you also want guys playing their hardest when they’re out there, so I’d like to see everyone’s minutes go down and the rotation expanded.
Who plays the 4 will depend on the matchup IMO. Like geoffclarke just said each of our options offer something different, and that will be used to its advantage. If we play a team using a traditional 4, I think we will see Wilson, Wagner, and even Chatman manning the 4. If we play a team spreading the court with one true big, we could see Dawkins, Duncan, Chatman, and Irvin manning the 4. As for the 5, I would not write off Donnal as a “bum”. He has some offensive talent for a offense that likes to spread the court. There multiple options can be a big threat to other teams as they will not always know what to expect IMO.
Who plays the 4 will depend on the matchup IMO. Like geoffclarke just said each of our options offer something different, and that will be used to its advantage. If we play a team using a traditional 4, I think we will see Wilson, Wagner, and even Chatman manning the 4. If we play a team spreading the court with one true big, we could see Dawkins, Duncan, Chatman, and Irvin manning the 4. As for the 5, I would not write off Donnal as a "bum". He has some offensive talent for a offense that likes to spread the court. There multiple options can be a big threat to other teams as they will not always know what to expect IMO.
I agree that calling Donnal a bum is too harsh. He does play too soft at times, but he is likely our best option to back up the 5 at this point barring a massive surprise from Wilson.
Who plays the 4 will depend on the matchup IMO. Like geoffclarke just said each of our options offer something different, and that will be used to its advantage. If we play a team using a traditional 4, I think we will see Wilson, Wagner, and even Chatman manning the 4. If we play a team spreading the court with one true big, we could see Dawkins, Duncan, Chatman, and Irvin manning the 4. As for the 5, I would not write off Donnal as a "bum". He has some offensive talent for a offense that likes to spread the court. There multiple options can be a big threat to other teams as they will not always know what to expect IMO.I agree that calling Donnal a bum is too harsh. He does play too soft at times, but he is likely our best option to back up the 5 at this point barring a massive surprise from Wilson.
After Wilson’s weight gain, I am already willing to declare him a better option than Donnal. I can’t imagine anyone being as bad as he was. Couldn’t play defense or make a layup through even the slightest of contact.
Who plays the 4 will depend on the matchup IMO. Like geoffclarke just said each of our options offer something different, and that will be used to its advantage. If we play a team using a traditional 4, I think we will see Wilson, Wagner, and even Chatman manning the 4. If we play a team spreading the court with one true big, we could see Dawkins, Duncan, Chatman, and Irvin manning the 4. As for the 5, I would not write off Donnal as a "bum". He has some offensive talent for a offense that likes to spread the court. There multiple options can be a big threat to other teams as they will not always know what to expect IMO.I agree that calling Donnal a bum is too harsh. He does play too soft at times, but he is likely our best option to back up the 5 at this point barring a massive surprise from Wilson.
After Wilson’s weight gain, I am already willing to declare him a better option than Donnal. I can’t imagine anyone being as bad as he was. Couldn’t play defense or make a layup through even the slightest of contact.
I’m really hoping Donnal puts on good weight and gets some strength.
The reports that he was at 220 from being sick, he might as well of weighed 165.
He’s not going to be ground breaking good, but we need him to contribute due to a thin front court.