Michigan Players in the NBA

Huge night for Jordon, 26 ! Hard work paying off.

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Poole has gotten better at everything! You can definitely tell heā€™s worked hard on his game. Heā€™s absolutely flame-throwing from deep in this video.

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Why is Duncan not part of this 3pt contest.

Think theyā€™re mostly keeping it to ASG participants

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Ah, that actually makes sense.

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Better haircut.

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Happy to see heā€™s taking advantage of whatever opportunity he gets. I do worry that this feels a little like when he was a starter when most of the Warriors were hurt since all of those highlights came with them down about 15-20 points and their best players were out. But heyā€¦all you can do is take advantage of the shots and give them a reason to play you next game!

I would really like to see Iggy get a similar chance. Unlike Poole, heā€™s never really had any minutes (even garbage time) to show out. Would be curious what he would do with them. Or Matthews for that matter.

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Wow, I loved the haircuts he and Isaiah had! I hope youā€™re kidding! :slight_smile: Amid all the controversy over his leaving, people forgot what an incredibly hard-working player JP was as a high schooler. Thereā€™s quite an emerging arsenal of moves there; heā€™s cat-quick, coordinated, and has the opportunity to be a long-time NBA player. Much more than Iggy, IMO.

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I think (and hope) he was referring to the long hair he had last year. I agree, loved the haircut while at UM. Now that weā€™re passed the important stuff, I couldnā€™t agree more with his arsenal. Deceptively quick. Overall his path is kind of starting to remind me of Burkeā€™sā€¦ Came into the league, struggled a bit, had to double down on the hard work, spend time in G League, etc. I sure hope he continues the upward trajectory. Really rooting for the guy.

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New news. Iā€™m going to omit Caris Levert (recovering from the cancer scare) and DJ Wilson (just not playing at all) this week, becauseā€¦not much to say.

Ignas Brazdeikis continues to post good counting stats - 21 points, 10 boards - in the G League bubble after struggling with some injuries. Thatā€™s a bit of a tempo mirage (reminder: the G Leagueā€™s tempo is craaaazy fast, they score 117 points per game, and have 2 20-point scorers and 9 in double digits) but HOW heā€™s playing is sort of interesting. At Michigan, we had expected a shaky shooter who attacked the rim, and instead got a very good shooter. In the G-League heā€™s shot so well inside the arc (57%) that itā€™s making up for making up less than 30% of his threes. In general, Iā€™m not sure there is much here to make anyone think the Knicks will bring him anytime soon.

Jordan Poole got called up to the Warriors, and had a big game in his first game back, scoring 26 points on 16 shots in 26 minutes. The game was weird - last one before the break, and the Warriors didnā€™t play a lineup that indicates winning was a concern (no Steph, no Draymond, no Oubre), and sure enough, it wasnā€™t remotely competitive - so Pooleā€™s role was expanded and it wasnā€™t the most competitive atmosphere. That said, the ball went in the basket, which has been a challenge on the NBA level for him, so itā€™s obviously a mark in the positive column.

Mo Wagner has continued as honorary starter, playing basically solid backup minutes (high-teens a night). Again, itā€™s hard to find a giant correlations between his peformance and winning, but the team is winning under the current arrangement (8-3 after being miserable prior), so it will likely last for awhile logner. Mo has made 5/12 from three since the last update, which is an uptic - so thatā€™s good. As most reserves in middling minutes, his totals go up and down, but he has largely been a positive offensive player (they scored 8 points per possession more when heā€™s on the floor, and are net positive with him) and his fouling hasnā€™t gotten THAT silly lately.

Glenn Robinson III was waived by the Kings the day prior to his contract getting guaranteed in a clear cost-cutting move for a team whose season has gone absolutely pear-shaped. Heā€™s been on the waiver wire since, and there really isnā€™t that much talk about an eventual landing space, but heā€™s ok at enough things that I imagine someone will give him a crack. Heā€™s always hung his hat on efficiency, which is valid, but that efficiency is on such minute usage that his role is mostly just to be a body on the floor.

Thankfully, Trey Burke may have worked somewhat out of his funk. For most of the time since the last update, which had seen his PT cut drastically, his playing time was hovering around 8-9 minutes a night. However, he finally began to be productive in that time (26 points on 17 shots over three games in the span), and finally in their final game prior to the break, was rewarded with 21 minutes (9 points on 9 shots). The Mavs are largely disappointing so far, and are looking for the right combinations to succeed, but have gone 9-2 in their last 11. That probably means, overall, a little less Burke (as it coincides with his reduced role) but he seems to be clinging to his rotation spot.

Tim Hardaway is in a bit of a shooting funk (38.3% fg, 24% from 3) in the last two weeks, and as a guy who doesnā€™t do much more than shoot, thatā€™s a tough proposition. He has enough stored up capital with the team to retain his role, and there isnā€™t really a sign that his role is going to get reduced here.

Duncan Robinson hasnā€™t maintained last yearā€™s otherworldly shooting, but heā€™s still shooting 39% from 3 for the season, and shot roughly that in the past 2 weeks. Like Wagner and the Mavericks duo, Duncanā€™s team is rebounding from a rough start (in this case, driven by massive Covid absences), and has won 7 of their past 8. He hasnā€™t been historically great, but heā€™s been very good.

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Thank you for putting this together. I love reading a short-sweet update about our alums without having to go sift through box scores. Hopefully we hear news about Levert getting healthy and GR3 landing on a team soon. Still not sure what it would take for Iggy to get a shot at some minutes with the Knicks to your point.

Anyone have any idea whether our other G-League guys are playing well enough to get a sniff from the NBA if a spot opens up?

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I looked at X because I thought of including him, and didnā€™t for whatever reason. Heā€™s averaging 10 points and 6 assists per game in the G League.

To the good, he has a 3:1 assist/to ratio, and a 28% assist rate, which is good. Heā€™s not hitting 3ā€™s (28%), and obviously a guy his size, hook or no, is going to have a hard time finishing at the hoop, so his true shooting is below average (51%) but not miserable.

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I remember getting in a debate with someone here about what the NBA looks for when evaluating shooters. This article lays it out. Hint: itā€™s not just looking at FT%. Livers is 4th on the list, Wieskamp is 2. He mentions he was probably too low on Isaiah when ranking him 70th on his last big board

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He certainly knows how to find space and spread the floor. He has great form and technique, another M 3 baller that will find a 7 figure job in the NBA. Thanks for sharing.

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Break in some college ball for today and picked up Teske playing on ESPN2. Looking to post willingly and doesnā€™t look bad doing it. Also has a notable back door dime and his bow and arrow three.

Not saying Teske hasnā€™t improved but it almost looks easier out there for him to operate on O than what he endured as far as D in the Big 10 last year

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Nice article on Poole today

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Whatā€™s the gist?

ā€œThis season, Jordan Poole is the Warriorsā€™ second-most-talented offensive player. James Wiseman can attain that status in the future, and Andrew Wiggins might be more dependable, but nobody else combines Pooleā€™s handle and shooting ability.ā€

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Thanks, sounds like someone thinks JP might have an NBA future.

ā€œWritten by Special The Athletic Guest Journalist: Jordan Pooleā€™s Dadā€

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