I honestly think Walton is our best 2 way player, but I’m going to hold off on any hopes that he will be the one to take over a game late. Walton is PG in name only, Caris initiates the half court offense, with Walton essentially being a spot shooter in left corner once Caris gets the ball off the pin down screen. Walton’s most effective in transition, his speed and overall athelticism on the break make him lethal in that regard.
Will say this, Walton has shown considerable improvement in his decision making out of PnR, much more patience/sureveying, seems under complete control. Will have to see him against better competition in order to truly evalutate.
I think we’re in the nice position that either LeVert or Walton have the potential to take over a game on offense. Which one will have the ball in his hands down one with 10 seconds left, we’ll have to see. Opposing defenses won’t be able to focus easily on either one, though.
As far as transition, LeVert doesn’t quite have Walton’s speed and quickness, but he has much better length going to the basket, and uses both hands better. He’s just about as capable of going coast to coast.
I would argue Walton is significantly better than Caris using his off hand, he uses it with regularity. Caris likes to use the right hand for scoop shots on the left side.
I honestly think Walton is our best 2 way player, but I'm going to hold off on any hopes that he will be the one to take over a game late. Walton is PG in name only, Caris initiates the half court offense, with Walton essentially being a spot shooter in left corner once Caris gets the ball off the pin down screen. Walton's most effective in transition, his speed and overall athelticism on the break make him lethal in that regard.
Will say this, Walton has shown considerable improvement in his decision making out of PnR, much more patience/sureveying, seems under complete control. Will have to see him against better competition in order to truly evalutate.
Walton definitely took over some games late last year (Nebraska and Minnesota come to mind), so I definitely expect him to be able to do that. Whether it will be him or Caris that actually has the ball late in close games remains to be seen, but I think Walton has shown the ability.
I think it's fair to say that Jon never made jumpers at Michigan. He took a fair amount, but was never that close. Certainly not consistently enough to ever have the green light.
Did he need more confidence given to him? Maybe, but Michigan had players that were better and more reliable and that frustrated him.
I bet some of his lack of confidence came from his family always being in his ear. I have no idea how his recuitment actually went (don’t even know if he had a UF offer), but it sure seems like his family has always wanted him at UF.
History has dictated that JB simply doesn’t give his big men a high volume of touches/shots. Whether its due to a lack of talent (although I personally don’t buy that if we’re going to say he’s great at development) or the system if up for debate. I think we’ll have more solid ground to debate once Jon has played the entire year at UF.
History has dictated that JB simply doesn't give his big men a high volume of touches/shots. Whether its due to a lack of talent (although I personally don't buy that if we're going to say he's great at development) or the system if up for debate. I think we'll have more solid ground to debate once Jon has played the entire year at UF.
Yes and no. Certainly, there are examples of big men who didn’t get enough shots under JB–the most notable was Epke Udoh on a bad team. However, Deshawn Sims and Kevin Pittsnogle, both of whom played the 5 for JB, got all sorts of shots–Deshawn got 14 a game as a senior in 30.5 minutes, and Pittsnogle got 14.7 (over 50% of which were NOT 3s) as a senior in 36 mpg. Both figures are almost twice what Jon is getting at Florida now, and that’s with Florida’s front line being decimated. I suspect that as the season goes on, Jon will get less touches/looks, not more.
I hope Jon does well. He contributed to some great things on the court at Michigan, and he graduated. I bear him no ill will–he did what he felt was best for him. I think the evidence, though, is that JB has, in the past, given at least some of his bigs a high volume of shots. Jon simply wasn’t worthy of that volume, based on his play at Michigan, and given the level of guys he was playing with (all starters currently in the NBA or with a pretty good shot at same), he wouldn’t, IMO, have been so worthy even if he had played at the level he has played at in the first two games at Florida.
I think it's fair to say that Jon never made jumpers at Michigan. He took a fair amount, but was never that close. Certainly not consistently enough to ever have the green light.
Did he need more confidence given to him? Maybe, but Michigan had players that were better and more reliable and that frustrated him.
I bet some of his lack of confidence came from his family always being in his ear. I have no idea how his recuitment actually went (don’t even know if he had a UF offer), but it sure seems like his family has always wanted him at UF.
Pretty sure that he had no UF offer.
Sometimes people need to change environment to get better, not necessarily one is better than the other but a new environment gives new perspective.
Udoh is an interesting case. Had he stayed, I doubt that he is what he is now had he stayed. Jon maybe a different case but maybe JB’s offensive system is too complicated for some big men to grasp thus limited their play.
The football analogue is Omameh, who shined under RR, completely lost under Hoke, but now starts in Tampa Bay.
Max scored 18 points, but Max was also given sufficient looks. You have to shoot in order to score, and in order to shoot, you need looks.
I don’t think Irvin is a better shooter than THJ as a freshman. Much different when you are the third option on the scouting report and you have creators to give you open looks. THJ was the primary/2nd option as a freshman, he didn’t have anywhere near the talent surrounding him that year. His looks where nowhere near as clean. Irvin had one job last year, catch and shoot, THJ would run pick and roll on a regular basis in the 2nd half of his freshman year, his responsibilities to the team were far greater than Irvin last year.
You really don’t think Horford wouldn’t have gotten as many looks if not more than what Max got if he stayed?
THjr shot a worse percentage from 3 in his sophomore and junior years when he had plenty of help so I don’t understand your point here at all.
No, I don’t think Horford would get 9-10 shots a game.
The comparison was Irvin to THJ as a freshman, not as a sophomore or junior. I think Irvins % will come down as the year progresses, but time will tell.
I remember Jon taking lots of flat-footed short jumpers, often missing. . . Still, I see no reason why someone like Jon SHOULDN’T have been frustrated–kids want to play, period. Anyone with any kind of decent ego believes they can do better, craves a chance. I’m not sure why fans find this annoying.
I won’t be surprised if Jon doesn’t set the world on fire at UF, but I will certainly be happy if he does! Good guy, and I can almost guarantee: down the road there will be no bad blood between him and Beilein, who just isn’t a hard feelings kind of guy.
No, I don't think Horford would get 9-10 shots a game.
The comparison was Irvin to THJ as a freshman, not as a sophomore or junior. I think Irvins % will come down as the year progresses, but time will tell.
Right, we get that. But if your theory re: THJ is true, then why didn’t his numbers soar when playing with better supporting casts?
And you’re really going out on a limb there by saying Irvin won’t shoot >60% from 3 this season. eyeroll.
I think it’s pretty likely that Irvin makes 100+ 3pt FGs and shoots over 40% from three on the season. That is putting him in top 10-15 shooters in the country range. I’ll take it.
We will revisit in time, but I think Zak will end up a mid/high 30s shooter from 3. Mostly because he never met a shot he didn’t like. He will hoist bad shots and not think twice
Lol… you are nuts if you think Irvin’s season % will be in the mid 30s. Even his misses are nice looking shots that often rim out. I think he’ll make ~100 3pt FGs at around 40%. That is pretty elite shooting.
I’m aware. I think you’re vastly overrating the rest of the Big Ten. The only team in the conference without any question marks is Wisconsin. I don’t see Michigan finishing in the bottom half of the conference and anyone in the top half should be in my safe zone.
I don’t see Michigan losing 10 conference games. We’ll see.
I’m more confident than Irvin shoots above 36% from three, though. That just seems like a silly projection.