I think MAAR is better than Mullins and provides something that we don’t really have on the roster outside of Walton - getting into the lane on his own. And he’s a better finisher than Walton due to size. He’s also the best defender on the team. He definitely needs to work on his PnR and shooting off the dribble. But we have shooters on the roster. I don’t expect Irvin to shoot as poorly as he did this year, nor Walton. They will both benefit from an improved MAAR.
I like Mullins, particularly his PnR prowess when looking at the numbers. But I don’t think he’s going to upgrade the team if you gave him 30 minutes a game and relegated MAAR to the backup role. I think Mullins will make his best impact as a combo guard and allowing us to slide MAAR to the three at times if we want to go small.
That’s a great point, MAAR is not a starting shooting guard on most teams. He does not shoot too well and 80% of what he does is get to the rim. We need a shot up shooter to play the position and Mullins splitting time with MAAR there doesn’t seem too far off to me. If he can shoot even 40%, I think he plays quite a bit for us. He showed he can hold his own when they play northwestern and I think it would be great for him to play for us. Having MAAR play the 6th man role is almost as important as getting Irvin to play the SF spot and not PF. I don’t know this for sure but I think I saw somewhere that Mullins is great and pick n roll player. I’d imagine that’s because he can hit pull of jump shots or find the open man, both things that MAAR struggles with. Having Mullins, Robinson, and Walton out there together, all being great spot up shooters, should make the offense a whole lot better.
I don’t see why this has to be an either/or argument. Michigan’s guards played significantly too many minutes last year, adding Mullins to the mix wouldn’t be to get rid of of MAAR’s minutes, but is anyone questioning that we need more depth at the 2?
That’s where I disagree. Walton and Irvin will be conference heavy weights next year. There can’t be two or three better point guards in the Big Ten than Walton. And for what we have asked Irvin to do that last two years I will say he and Walton are seasoned and ready to roll next season especially if we have more depth to rest them appropriately. Injuries really hurt this team depth wise and we basically ran Irvin and Walton into the ground.
That comment doesn’t make sense to me. MAAR is a guard who played too many minutes, so getting Mullins would be to reduce the amount of minutes that our guards played, including MAAR. Who said we need to get rid of his minutes? They need to be reduced due to him not being a good outside shooter. Far too many games last year we went the first few minutes of a game without scoring. Starting the game with a more reliable shooter would force defenses to adjust and then being able to bring MAAR off the bench would make him even more effective. If MAAR doesn’t improve his passing ability, his skill set is that of a 6th man and he was pretty good in that role. This team had many fixable problems last year, one of them being having reliable outside shooting to keep the floor spaced. Mullins would help that greatly.
The point of your issue lands at the feet of team injuries (Caris/Spike). If those two are healthy MAAR is on the bench for depth. I like MAAR’s game but not for this offense. Unless he works on his passing skills. Because as of now when he gets the ball it becomes a stop and watch event for his teammates.
Exactly my point. It seems pretty obvious to me but I guess not everyone sees it that way, which is alright. Maars game is fine, he attacks the basket but is pretty limited to doing just that. With a starting lineup full of shooters, bringing him off the bench could be very valuable. I don’t see that happening, but if Mullins could come in and contribute right away, he’d be a huge help due to his plus outside shooting.
Once again, only basing your opinion on offense. Mullins can’t hold MAAR’s jock on either side of the floor.
I understand this doesn’t have to be a him vs him argument but when people are making outrageous claims, it needs to be addressed. Mullins, if we land him, makes our team marginally better. He’s not that good. For spot minutes, I’d take him because not taking anyone is just dumb.
I think the question is whether Mullins is only good enough to provide depth. I don’t think many, if any, are suggesting that Mullins is going to take away all of MAAR’s minutes. But some of us believe that Mullins will have the opportunity to earn more time than just spelling MAAR.
Nah. If MAAR were to transfer now, do we think his offer list would be significantly better than Cal and 'Cuse? Or if there was a draft by college coaches for one season, do we think MAAR would go in a completely different area of the draft than Mullins? I don’t.
I like MAAR, and I don’t think Mullins is going to be Stauskus out there, but I think, especially in JB’s offense, some people aren’t viewing the relative opportunities for playing time quite right. At the very least, Mullins offers a different skill set. I hope we have the opportunity to see how it all shakes out.
Think you could be wrong, and measuring would not be simple, since their games are so distinct. But that’s the point–Mullins brings something we haven’t got. Similarly, we disagree about Walton and Irvin’s potential. You’re down on them and have been consistently, but some of us think that injuries and too many minutes significantly diluted their effectiveness two years running. Mullins could alleviate that and make them all more effective. It’s true, MAAR might lose the most minutes, but it’s not like they wouldn’t duke it out for ascendancy in practice; think it could be great having them spelling each other. Hope we get Mullins and get to see how it plays out.
Mattman, I can live with this take on the situation.
If you scroll up, you’ll see I was responding to this notion that Mullins would come in and replace MAAR or is as good of a player. It’s not close in my opinion.
Mullins would serve a purpose as a spot minute guard to rest our starters. He would not move the needle much in terms of making our team significantly better. I’d take him though IF there’s no other option. He’s a slightly better player than Vogrich from what I’ve seen. IMO Vogrich in the IVY would have done similar things.
Mp, I’m curious what do you think MAAR would average at a smaller school like Columbia? 13, 3 and 3 with good shooting percentages is no slouch to me. I know MAAR is on a different level defensively but you said either side of the floor, is your take that MAAR would be an 18 a game scorer against weaker competition?
MAAR would average 20+ in the IVY no question about it in my mind.
He’s getting to the Rack on future NBA guards and bigs headed to the NBA. He would have a field day in the ivy considering guys like Mullins would be guarding him. The difference in athleticism between the big ten and ivy is night and day.
Mullins averaging 13 pts means absolutely nothing to me considering he did it in the ivy. We need a major shot in the arm in athleticism and Mullins doesn’t bring an ounce of it.
I’d take Spike over Mullins any day of the week. I do not think Mullins is any good and will be in the big ten. And for those saying Spike won’t be any good why is he getting interest from teams like Syracuse, Indiana, Purdue, Texas A&M, USC, and Wichita St those teams were all in the tournament this year…People here need facts.