His skill in terms of ballhandling and footwork does seem improved as Dylan noted. Still on the fence about him, looks like a very undersized 4 to me. Don’t think he has the skill level at this point to be a perimeter player in our offense. I do like the athleticism, physicality, and aggression though. If only he were a legit 6’8 - 6’9, this would be our ideal Center. Good thing about Moyer is that he’s only a sophmore, plenty of time to improve the skillset or hopefully grow.
Wow Matt! Our ideal center, huh? I am all for athleticism and aggression at the five. And he could conceivably get to J.Mo strength/mass with time.
That said, I feel like the masses would continue to whine that we aren’t getting enough size up front. Of course those are some of the same people trying to put DJ at the 5. I don’t know, that’s a really interesting theory.
Notice I said, IF he were 6’8 - 6’9, THEN he would be an ideal center.
I’ve been the only proponent of DJ at the 5 and never have I claimed Michigan should have more size up front.
Nah guestavo, you’re not the only one. I didn’t even consider you as one of the masses clamoring for DJ.
And Matt, I know you said IF, I was just spinning it forward.
I've been the only proponent of DJ at the 5 and never have I claimed Michigan should have more size up front.
As far as I can tell, you’ve been the only person expecting Wilson be the main 5 next year and Doyle to redshirt. I think plenty here wouldn’t be surprised or unhappy to see Wilson get some minutes at the 5 while wearing the block-M, maybe even some this coming year.
For me personally, it’s not necessarily about size per se, but just the ability to rebound and/or alter shots at the rim. I would like to see a better blend of athletic players with guys that can shoot, rather than shooting being the end-all be-all.
I just need to see Doyle play at game speed before I am convinced because he was suppose to be a project physically and athletically.
I’m expecting Donnal to be the main guy at the 5. Watching Doyle and the other freshmen 4s and 5s early will be very interesting. It wouldn’t shock me if Wilson ends up as the best backup 5. But I’d be surprised if Doyle doesn’t at least get a shot at those minutes. I think going forward we’re going to have a bunch of different, good options.
I just need to see Doyle play at game speed before I am convinced because he was suppose to be a project physically and athletically.
I have some friends on campus that have allowed me the opportunity to be a fly on the wall when some pick up games were going on. Ricky can play. I would the chances of his redshirting at zero. Less than zero if that was possible. Now he was mostly competing against Donnal, but he isn’t the old man at the Y by any means. He was a top 100 kid that has been on campus for a year and Doyle was beasting on him here and there. He has been working hard on his game.
I was very encouraged by the battle. There is some room for growth for sure. He isn’t the most athletic guy . He is an upgraded version of Morgan. He has been training to be ready this year. No doubt in my mind about that.
Hopefully everything you claim about Doyle comes to fruition. With that said, “beasting” Donnal really doesn’t give us any context due to the fact that he wasn’t considered a banger in HS, and we haven’t seen him play against legit comp. I just can’t see Doyle being an uprgraded version of Morgan from any standpoint, two totally opposite players. Morgan is everything you want in a position defensive player, but simply wasn’t big/athletic enough to be a rim deterrent in terms of shot blocking. I don’t anticipate Doyle will be a good position defender to the extent JMo was, at least initially. On offense, JMo got his buckets being on the receiving end of PnR that was created by guards and garbage points. Again, I don’t see Doyle being an effective PnR guy, at least not initially. Pick and pop maybe, a few buckets off iso post passes, sure, but not PnR.
I do like Doyle from an offensive standpoint, probably the first legitimate low post threat we’ve had since Sims. Do have some concerns about his ability to defend PnR though, but still think he can be an effective rebounder. I see him as upperclassmen putting up 13ppg and 6-7 rebounds, perhaps 1 block. I can live with that.
Why wouldn’t Doyle be good at the PnR? He’s got a wide body, seems to have good hands, is a coach’s son, will pick up the timing, etc. Just needs chemistry going with the guards/wings. JMo was pretty solid in the PnR from his RSFr year on. Hopefully Doyle can have some other tools in his repertoire, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t be effective as a roll man and possible a pop man too.
Why wouldn't Doyle be good at the PnR? He's got a wide body, seems to have good hands, is a coach's son, will pick up the timing, etc. Just needs chemistry going with the guards/wings. JMo was pretty solid in the PnR from his RSFr year on. Hopefully Doyle can have some other tools in his repertoire, but I don't see why he wouldn't be effective as a roll man and possible a pop man too.
I openly acknowledge Doyle will probably be a good pick and pop player, but I have concerns with Doyle on pick and roll due to his limitations in terms of lateral agility, speed, and verticality. Doyle is a guy that gets his based on skill, not athleticism, but his length should aid him. As I said before, he could very well be a good pick and roll guy as an upperclassmen, but I definitely don’t anticipate that happending this year by any means.
I guess we’ll see, but if Doyle sets good picks, times his release right, etc., I think he’ll be fine as a roll man. A lot of JMo’s work was done by the time he actually got the ball. But it will be interesting to watch new guys in these rolls. Maybe we’ll get a new appreciation for JMo.
JMo’s presence will be missed mostly on defense, I’m afraid the dropoff is going to be very steep on that end of the court, hopefully we’ll get some improved offense to compensate.
Yeah…definitely looking forward to focusing on the 4’s and 5’s in the early games. The coaches have seen all these guys since late June and I’m sure have been getting reports on Doyle all summer since he’s been here, but we fans have to just speculate at this point. We know the coaches have been watching Ellenson, but that doesn’t really tell us much, because I think he’s a difference-maker of McGary’s caliber. It doesn’t make sense to add a 2015 big unless he’s a surefire difference-maker. Even if Doyle isn’t ready this year, the coaches have to assume that he will be by next season.
Yeah...definitely looking forward to focusing on the 4's and 5's in the early games. The coaches have seen all these guys since late June and I'm sure have been getting reports on Doyle all summer since he's been here, but we fans have to just speculate at this point. We know the coaches have been watching Ellenson, but that doesn't really tell us much, because I think he's a difference-maker of McGary's caliber. It doesn't make sense to add a 2015 big unless he's a surefire difference-maker. Even if Doyle isn't ready this year, the coaches have to assume that he will be by next season.
This is why the trip to Europe is so key. They will face a lot of older more experienced bigs and we will be able to see early on who can handle it and who can’t.
It would be nice if the Euro trip was on TV. Of course Kentucky’s overseas trip will be.
Moyer with some more thunderous dunks today. He does play bigger than 6’6, head is near the rim on the 2nd dunk.
Some practice film of Moyer/Towns/VCC from yesterday - good interview with Moyer, very well spoken young man. Doesn’t mention UM as among those coming after him. However, I have a feeling that if UM made a push it would carry great weight considering Towns’ high interest.