Some more Bearden video. Think this is from his freshman year.
Assuming the stats donāt lie and heās not a great shooterā¦I still do like his game, and his creativity once he starts heading toward the basket (use of left hand, stutter step, floater/runner, up and under moves, etc.). That can work in this offense. They donāt ālookā alike, but his skillset is similar to MAAR except Bearden may be a better passer.
Whoever Michigan gets, Poole and Duncan on the roster will bring some shooting. I think Ibi will be a plus-shooter.
If you take another non-shooter (and creator) then I love the fit of Jamal Cain into the mix as a floor stretcher.
Bearden seems like heās in the mold of a MAAR type player. A nice 4 year player that can defend and attack the hoop.
With him, you could take 2 more '17s and 2 '18s (not figuring attrition). I think thereās room on the roster.
And really if heās not good, you donāt have to give a 5th year and get an extra '18.
JB has been spreading a wider net it seems. And I think heās keeping more doors open. Good for him.
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Definitely a kid whoās game is conducive to how the college game was called last season. Has the quicks to get to the basket. Nightmare to guard.
Similar skill set and similar talent overall. Letās hope we can make a real play for him. Guy is good. With the year off to improve his shooting he could be a nightmare. The idea of him, Maar, and Mathews would be a headache for teams. Weād run teams into the ground and get to the rack non stop. I also like it cause it still gives you three frosh to even the classes. Man I really hope this comes to fruition.
It would be a headache for our offense, specifically with Beileinās system. I also donāt see the positives you do about him. He played in a fairly weak conference and still only managed an offensive rating of 105, and I already mentioned his atrocious rating against tier A+B kenpom teams of 87.7. Against those decent teams he shot 36.7% from inside the arc and 13.6% from three. Teams will simply sag off against that trio you described and force them to shoot jumpers, a strategy that will likely work to mitigate any positive impact they would have defensively. Simply put, Beileinās offense would not work with only 1 guy on the floor who is a plus shooter (And even thatās an assumption with our current targets for the 4). If he as simply an alright offensive rating against that competition, how do you think that would translate to the Big Ten? I just donāt see why you take him when you could have a 2017 or 2018 guy who could have more eligibility and would probably have a jump shot.
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Have you watched him play any full games? With the year off what do you think theyād have those two working on. I donāt think eithers shots are broken. Plus Maar Imo is a solid shooter who will only improve, you canāt just sat off of himā¦ I donāt necessarily know x will shoot that well either from deep.
I do know that he was pretty much the best player on the team each year on a pretty solid mid major squad and he is quick, can create, run the floor and if I recall he defended well. Weād still have shooters on the team. Improving your shot imo is easier to improve than your ability to create/ score at the rack. You provided an offensive rating but he certainly didnāt look out classed when I saw him in the tourney games. I donāt even recall him having bad games per say and I saw him play very well in the Mac many times.
I donāt see a negative here.
I would imagine heād only play backup PG minutes or relief for MAAR if heās here during that first year of eligibility.
I donāt think heād play WITH MAAR and Mathews very often.
In that case Iād rather test our luck with a 17 or 18 PG recruit.
All I can do is shake my head at someone trying to throw away a stat like offensive rating. He simply wasnāt good against decent competition. If weāve whiffed on all of our PG targets and heās still somehow on the market then sure, take him. Iām not saying heās hurt the team, Iād just much rather have 4 years of a guy like Eastern than 2 years of this guy.
Regardless of this particular case, using one or several stats to take some kind of definitive stance is always risky.
Sure, he struggled against top-100 teams, but he was playing on a team outside of the top-100 that lost most of those games.
Heās not a great shooter, but he was the No. 2 assist man in the MAC, posted the highest steal rate in the conference and had a free throw rate over 50%.
Stats are great, but you have to look at the whole picture to evaluate players, including the situation that they are in.
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And I acknowledged his defense and assist rate earlier. However, I have an opinion on what makes a good player and how heād fit in with the team and in my personal opinion, that team wouldnāt have enough shooting. Iāve seen his highlights, I watched them in the tourney. I just donāt see him as a great fit, and thatās what I think. People can debate things like that all they want, but when you just throw away an obvious red flag like the 87.7 ORtg Iām gonna say something about it. I wouldnāt pull my hair at and call for Beileinās firing like some people do when they disagree with him, but Iām just saying Iād rather take the chance on an incoming freshman.
Yeah, I think the question on fit is how many shooters can you get around guys like Matthews, Bearden, etc.
Poole and Duncan are both being recruited as shooters. That gives you a guard that can shoot and a wing that can shoot.
I think youād look at adding Cain and Young to that mix and then maybe you donāt really worry about a PG that isnāt a huge perimeter threat.
I just wish he played better against top 100 teams. Throw away offensive rating and just look at the old fashioned assist/turnover ratio and you get 0.81 in those games. Even with caveats about his teammates that is not what I expect out of a teamās point guard.
If he can learn to shoot he will be an outstanding player. If he canāt learn to shoot he will not be valuable to us. I have to say, I can see how coaches would find him very intriguing.
When is he deciding and why did it take so long for him to declare his transfer?
He sounds like a solid player, but I would like him a lot more if he were available this year.
Where would he get minutes this year?