Michigan Players in the NBA

I think he was an elite college shooter. Just not someone who you could say Beilein screwed up by not giving more usage to. He never really showed an ability to do what he’s doing at Miami here. And I think an underrated aspect of his NBA success is the on court dynamic he has with Bam Adebayo, which obviously couldn’t be replicated here given what a unique skillset Bam has.

Did you think Duncan was being underutilized at Michigan during those seasons?

Underutilized? I don’t think I said that.

He was certainly not the player he is now. I’m not sure what flipped for him and what it took to get to that point.

So I guess it would be more “underdeveloped” simply based on the player that he’s become.

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Any argument that Beilein underutilized or failed to develop Duncan overlooks the fact that Beilein plucked him out of DIII obscurity and brought him to Michigan in the first place.

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Zavier Simpson has been in the lab this summer…

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Those are different things though, right?

If he hit that many it’s clearly Jeff Jackson Simpson shooting, not X

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I think you’ve got to start from there, and with the supposition that bringing him to Michigan and playing him is “utilizing” him. And we all know that Beilein is renowned for his emphasis on the fundamentals, and on the mechanics of shooting.

What does the “three point star drill” entail? Anyone know?

Start at baseline, shoot, run to top of key, shoot, run to other baseline, shoot, run to opposite wing, shoot, run to other wing, shoot. Makes a star if you track track the pattern. I imagine they repeated that at least 10 times without stopping

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There’s no doubt that Beilein took a leap of faith recruiting Duncan (with a big hat tip to Mike Maker). It’s obviously a talent evaluation win.

I just don’t think that makes talking about how he was used, how he’s being used now and where he developed unfair to discuss.

And I’m not completely sure what the right answer is either.

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It’s corner --> opposite wing --> other wing --> second corner --> top of the key. But you can start at any spot (so can start at the top of the key, then go to the corner, etc and follow the pattern). 20 shots, so go through the cycle 4 full times.

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So if you start at the second baseline my order is correct :wink:

Surprised to see Cassius Winston behind Zavier Simpson on these 3 point drills.

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Sometimes it’s hard to remember who Duncan was in college…he’s obviously not that guy today. Bigger, stronger, mature young man who was groomed by JB and his staff. He plays in a similar ball movement system with the HEAT and they have done a great job honing those skills to fit their system.

I don’t know how they “score” these drills but with his set shot it wasn’t like Simpson was a horrible outside shooter - he just couldn’t get the shot off quickly in a game setting. Regardless, damn impressive for him to show out like this in any setting. Feels improbable that Simpson could latch on somewhere…but then again we’ve been using this thread mostly to talk about Duncan so there’s always a chance!

Is it reasonable to include in this discussion that Beilein loved and prioritized 3s but didn’t tend to run guys off screens as much to get them those looks? Miami has Duncan doing that, and Matt Painter in the B10 gets lots more 3 looks that way in comparison.

I know that feeling :wink:

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If there’s any chance this ends up happening Caris is on the move

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