How do you spell out BQ’s pronunciation of golf? Gawf? Gaulf? Goff?
Clearly it’s
Great point on the Brown this year vs. next year debate. Basically along the lines of you could get a Brown-type player or better on the portal next year. I would expect us to be HEAVY players for transfers next year so that is another point tipping to needing/wanting Brown this year.
I tend to agree with Brenden more than Dylan on the key position for next year’s potential. While center is concerning and having Johns there is very important…I think the mix of Johns, Davis, and Dickinson can be serviceable. To me the ceiling for the team will be determined by Mike Smith. If he’s an average B10 point guard and can run the offense…watch out. If he struggles and we have to play more Eli or Zeb at PG, suddenly the offense may bog down and we’ll struggle to score.
I agree. Aside from our having several decent options at center, I think PG is the most important position on any team, unless you have another player you can consistently run the offense through.
I guess that’s fair… I just think there are huge defensive concerns if Dickinson or Davis are your starting center. They are also the only two centers on the roster.
I would like to know why Davis is viewed as not being able to improve his defensive capabilities?
It seems to me that his legs were able to move him more quickly to the basket on offense than Teske was able to do. What is it that you think makes him incapable on defense?
Austin could certainly improve defensively, but he was a huge liability on defense last year and Teske was a really effective proven defender.
Teske’s mobility was so much further ahead of Austin/Dickinson and he had a ton of experience anchoring defenses and ball screen coverages.
For a frame of reference, Michigan’s defense was 9 points per 100 possessions worse with Austin on the floor and 4 points per 100 possessions better with Teske on the floor. Teske had a higher block rate (6.1 vs. 1.8), was a better defensive rebounder and committed only 3.5 fouls per 40 minutes compared to Davis’ 6.6.
I just have a hard time seeing Davis – after being sidelined all summer with shoulder rehab – emerging as a legitimately above average interior defender at the Big Ten level.
Not to mention Austin is just shorter as well, and no more explosive, and less agile. So unless he’s gonna grow or improve his vert or get much quicker during an offseason where he had shoulder surgery, there’s a hard cap on his defense
Austin seems to have very heavy, slow feet defensively. I’m not sure that’s something that can really be changed at this point in his career.
You guys watch a lot more film than I do, but I can’t believe Dickinson and Davis are on the same level when it comes to their ability to move their feet. Dickinson played against some of the top competition in the country and obviously did well. Davis, God love him, played against barrels of hay in high school.
Maybe he’s not there yet, but Dickinson’s ceiling as a rim defender has to be at least average.
Dickinson definitely has a higher ceiling defensively than Davis. He’s bigger, played better comp, etc.
His defensive outlook is still “be 7-1 and stand in front of the rim”… he doesn’t move particularly well in space (especially compared to someone like Teske last year) and he’ll have growing pains adjusting to college hoops on defense IMO.