Spike actually has good defensive instincts, he is just simply too slow laterally to stay in front of the better point guards. If he works hard to get better at that, he could be average at defense. I just say that because I’m not sure I trust MAAR’s ballhandling and vision to say he can be a starting point guard.
MattD- Do you think that our starting lineup minus the 5 is good defensively? I think they definitely have potential, and it’s depressing that our front court defense will likely be akin to swiss cheese for the beginning of the year, if not the entire season.
I’ll say this in closing, Nik was certainly our best player last year…but you will see that Jmo was the most important
MattD- Do you think that our starting lineup minus the 5 is good defensively? I think they definitely have potential, and it's depressing that our front court defense will likely be akin to swiss cheese for the beginning of the year, if not the entire season.
Honestly, with the 5s being what they are, I just don’t think it matters, they are that bad defensively. Chatman is better than I thought and Walton moves his feet well while Caris has god length. At the end of the day we are going to give up a high FG% because teams are going to score tons of points on the offensive glass. A month or so ago people jumped down my throat for saying that Doyle not grabbing a single board was a concern…let’s see how they feel about that 2 months from now
Well I definitely agree with that! Just look at how we got murdered by Kentucky after Jmo went out with foul trouble. It was just put back dunks on and on and on… I realize that Kentucky is a little different because their team was freakishly athletic, but that just magnified a problem that seemed to be a problem whenever J-Mo had foul trouble.
I wasn't there, hard to get down there from the U.P., but from the looks of the MGoBlog video, the 7 man rotation will be Walton, Spike, LeVert, Irvin, Chatman, Donnal, and Doyle. It look as if the Blue Team was the 7 man rotation while the Yellow team was the "bench".I disagree. I would definitely put Dawkins in the top 7.
How can you disagree with something that I didn’t even give my opinion on? You’re implying that I don’t think Dawkins should be in the top 7 when that wasn’t what I said. I’m saying that the entire MGoBlog video had the 7 I named playing together which might imply that Beilein’s starting the season with those as his top 7.
Just sit back and enjoy the show guys. This is a rebuilding year. You have to understand that when you lose all of your frontcourt depth and 3 players to the NBA, you don’t magically become better.
To those proclaiming in the season projections thread that we're going to make the final 4 or win 28 games, win 13-15 games in the big ten..........im taking bets in whatever amount you would like. I projected 22 wins/10 in the big ten. After viewing tonight's practice I think we're more likely to win 20/8 and barely squeeze in the tourney. The frontline is a MAJOR concern. Also, for those thinking we will improve on D.........yeah we'll see about that
Not sure who would ever predict a Final 14 and 13-15 Big Ten wins for this years team. That is definitely drinking the blue koolaid.
I’ll definitely take the over on 8 Big Ten wins, though, if you’d like. 10 or more, I win. 8 or less, you win. 9-9 is a push. Or we can bet on NCAA seed. I’ll take higher than a 10 seed. You can take 10 or lower.
Also, MattD, care to post your Big Ten rankings?
To those proclaiming in the season projections thread that we're going to make the final 4 or win 28 games, win 13-15 games in the big ten..........im taking bets in whatever amount you would like. I projected 22 wins/10 in the big ten. After viewing tonight's practice I think we're more likely to win 20/8 and barely squeeze in the tourney. The frontline is a MAJOR concern. Also, for those thinking we will improve on D.........yeah we'll see about thatNot sure who would ever predict a Final 14 and 13-15 Big Ten wins for this years team. That is definitely drinking the blue koolaid.
I’ll definitely take the over on 8 Big Ten wins, though, if you’d like. 10 or more, I win. 8 or less, you win. 9-9 is a push. Or we can bet on NCAA seed. I’ll take higher than a 10 seed. You can take 10 or lower.
Go look at Geoff Clarke’s thread about season predictions…I have to say after viewing the open practice, a good portion of those projections are downright silly.
All of that sounds good with the exception of the Tourney seed…if any B10 team gets a bid, its going to be higher than 10 unless we’re in a play-in seed. The only thing that gives me hope is the relative weakness of our B10 schedule…it does set up favorably. That being said, I honestly think we may lose every conference road game we play with the exceptions being PSU, NW, Rutgers. At home, I think we’ll drop a few games that we would expect to be victories. In retrospect after viewing our schedule again this morning, I think 9-9 is most likely, but in no way do I think this is an 11 win B10 team. 8-10 is the realistic range in my opinion.
Also, MattD, care to post your Big Ten rankings?
Hail - really difficult to say, because obviously I don’t have the exposure to the remaining teams to the extent that I have to UM. I will say this, I have seen some film from OSU this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see them finish with a better record than us during conference play. Russell can flat out play, and they will be great defensively. Loving’s development will be key for them. I think a lot of people are underrating Iowa as well.
My overall impression after watching the practice is that we will have more balanced scoring this season. Dawkins is an amazing steal in the late signing period. Chatman will be very good, very versatile. We need him to be good this season, though. I’ll reserve judgement on the three young bigs until we play some good competition. It is the #1 area of concern. Aside from defense, rebounding and offense in the paint, learning to work the ball screens will be key. An hour of practice chopped up into short segments give some insight into individual strengths and weaknesses, but not much regarding fitting the pieces together.
Physically, everyone has made progress except maybe Donnal. He still looks pretty lanky, and he had the most difficulty finishing at the rim. Irvin’s added vertical was noticeable. Doyle and Wilson have transformed their bodies quite a bit in the last 6 months. Chatman went from a little pudgy to lean and long. Even Spike added some muscle. Dawkins will benefit from more time with Sanderson. He’s wiry right now.
Beilein was mic-ed but it was hard to understand him. He did make one comment, which I think was a serious one, that they would normally just hold up signs to communicate the sets to the players so as not to interrupt the flow of the practice, but there was an opponent’s coach in attendance, and he did not want to give anything away. At least, that’s what I thought he said.
I think Doyle sets a really good screen, that part of the game isn’t emphasized, but it’s crucial to our success. Donnal and Wilson are downright awful in that regard.
I just want to say, it’s awesome to see this kind of event for Michigan basketball. It’s not a “Midnight Madness” or other publicity event per se, but it’s something that I don’t think we’ve gotten to see a lot of with Beilein as head coach. Getting to see this video and hearing Beilein call out over the PA was pretty cool. Hopefully we can get more of these events in the future.
My overall impression after watching the practice is that we will have more balanced scoring this season. Dawkins is an amazing steal in the late signing period. Chatman will be very good, very versatile. We need him to be good this season, though. I'll reserve judgement on the three young bigs until we play some good competition. It is the #1 area of concern. Aside from defense, rebounding and offense in the paint, learning to work the ball screens will be key. An hour of practice chopped up into short segments give some insight into individual strengths and weaknesses, but not much regarding fitting the pieces together.Physically, everyone has made progress except maybe Donnal. He still looks pretty lanky, and he had the most difficulty finishing at the rim. Irvin’s added vertical was noticeable. Doyle and Wilson have transformed their bodies quite a bit in the last 6 months. Chatman went from a little pudgy to lean and long. Even Spike added some muscle. Dawkins will benefit from more time with Sanderson. He’s wiry right now.
Beilein was mic-ed but it was hard to understand him. He did make one comment, which I think was a serious one, that they would normally just hold up signs to communicate the sets to the players so as not to interrupt the flow of the practice, but there was an opponent’s coach in attendance, and he did not want to give anything away. At least, that’s what I thought he said.
Thanks Sane1 – but I’m sorry, you may not reserve judgment, you must make a pronouncement about at least this season, if not each player’s collegiate career, immediately.
Does anyone see Bielfeldt being an asset this season? His ceiling is very limited but our other three bigs look very green in the video.
My overall impression after watching the practice is that we will have more balanced scoring this season. Dawkins is an amazing steal in the late signing period. Chatman will be very good, very versatile. We need him to be good this season, though. I'll reserve judgement on the three young bigs until we play some good competition. It is the #1 area of concern. Aside from defense, rebounding and offense in the paint, learning to work the ball screens will be key. An hour of practice chopped up into short segments give some insight into individual strengths and weaknesses, but not much regarding fitting the pieces together.Physically, everyone has made progress except maybe Donnal. He still looks pretty lanky, and he had the most difficulty finishing at the rim. Irvin’s added vertical was noticeable. Doyle and Wilson have transformed their bodies quite a bit in the last 6 months. Chatman went from a little pudgy to lean and long. Even Spike added some muscle. Dawkins will benefit from more time with Sanderson. He’s wiry right now.
Beilein was mic-ed but it was hard to understand him. He did make one comment, which I think was a serious one, that they would normally just hold up signs to communicate the sets to the players so as not to interrupt the flow of the practice, but there was an opponent’s coach in attendance, and he did not want to give anything away. At least, that’s what I thought he said.
Thanks Sane1 – but I’m sorry, you may not reserve judgment, you must make a pronouncement about at least this season, if not each player’s collegiate career, immediately.
Come to think of it, I want a prediction about the next 3 seasons at this very moment…obvious sarcasm.
The point of a board such as this is for us to engage on our independent thoughts concerning UM basketball. If all we’re going to do is take a retrsopective approach, I mean seriously, why not just read the box score after each game…that way you can look like a genius.
I think Doyle sets a really good screen, that part of the game isn't emphasized, but it's crucial to our success. Donnal and Wilson are downright awful in that regard.
Screen setting, quickness on the release and roll off the screen, finishing, interior defense and rebounding are all critical areas for our bigs. Probably for bigs on any team I suppose. These are areas in which the last two tourney runs we excelled, with Mitch in 2013 and JMo in 2014. Like you kind of said some little things that bigs do often get overlooked. If we can’t set good screens, can’t get open on the roll, and can’t finish, our guards will be much less effective in the pnr game. What gives me hope though is that early in their careers, I remember JMo and Horford having some issues in some of these areas, especially finishing. It’s remarkable how good of a finisher JMo became last season. Hopefully someone out of this group of bigs improves enough to be at least adequate this year, because the reviews from those that were there last night are not pretty.
What gives me hope though is that early in their careers, I remember JMo and Horford having some issues in some of these areas, especially finishing. It's remarkable how good of a finisher JMo became last season. Hopefully someone out of this group of bigs improves enough to be at least adequate this year, because the reviews from those that were there last night are not pretty.
I think this is probably the most important part… These are things that can be learned. Jordan Morgan grew an incredible amount early in his career and Michigan is going to need all four bigs to learn on the fly. It’s possible… There will be some bumps in the road though.
Dawkins will benefit from more time with Sanderson. He's wiry right now.
I doubt that Sanderson can do too much to Dawkins, who should’ve had access to some of the best trainers for years. Maybe he can reach 200lbs, but his dad was 165lbs or less through his playing career.