My worry with Smith is his shooting. 33% career from 3. Not great. And undersized in the super physical BIG 10.
2 Likes
33% from 3 is Not great? That wouldāve been like 3rd on our roster this year.
1 Like
Smith is 33.5% for his career, basically identical to the Division I average. Always tough to project with a) step up in competition and b) step down in shot difficult.
1 Like
Have to consider the types of shots heās taking at Columbia as the focal point of a bad offense compared to the type of threes heād be taking as a role player here. Iād expect him to shoot better if heās spotting up around Josh Christopher than when he was forced to take and make tough shots for Columbia.
1 Like
Smithās job will be to distribute and heās very adept in the pick n roll. Even on a really bad Columbia team he had good numbers in APG. If Aiken doesnāt come, and it doesnāt look likely that he will, Smith looks to be our best option as a third player in the guard rotation providing some versatility with Eli and Josh, if he (Josh) comes. Is that enough for Smith to come? I donāt know. Right now, I hope so.
2 Likes
The nice thing is that he puts the ball in the basket, and can find open teammates. Smith wouldnāt start, and Iād bet he averages 3-5 shots per game. Heād basically be in the DDJ role, but with acceptance of that role. So Iām not worried about shot percentages, just quality of shots.
1 Like
I think Smith would be a more efficient version of DDJ, both 3pt shooting wise, and finishing wise. His percentages are pretty darn good considering the types of shots he took last year.
Defensively, I donāt know much about him, but with his size, he seems like heād be a step down.
2 Likes
I wouldnāt expect Smith to be a good defender, but I donāt think U-M loses much defensively from DeJulius leaving. He always made an effort to try hard in one-on-one defensive situations ā as was good at trying to make it clear that he was trying hard ā but he wasnāt great off the ball and made some of the same mistakes late in the year that he did early in the season (going under screens, etc.)
5 Likes
Completely agree with the assessment here on DeJulius. I thought his effort was good on the ball but some guys just struggle off the ball and he was one of them (Johns has this same issue). Eli will play a lot still next year just because of his defensive ability and improved ability to hit some open looks when needed.
5 Likes
smith also brings another guy who can create off the dribble, better than eli from film (competition aside) so when you do give JC a blow (if he comes), smith can run the PnR situation in addition to what Franz (and one day Cole!! LFG) can do.
not worried about shot qualityā¦ he will space the floor and benefit from others creation and people wont be able to help off others (especially with a small ball lineup)
if JC doesnāt come, i dare say next to franz, is there a better candidate to run PnR from a ball handling standpoint on the roster?
2 Likes
And number off shots
Were these posted before? Itās Mike Smithās season highlights on his IG.
1 Like
The full spin every time he got screened is the ultimate āIām trying hard but not actually very effectiveā move. I canāt believe that never got coached out of Daveās defense.
2 Likes
Actual basketball question: why is spinning out of a screen so looked down upon? I definitely did it fairly often in high school, and I donāt recall Dave getting burned from doing so last year.
I understand that you run the risk of looking foolish if your guy rejects the screen and goes the other way, but I do think itās an effective method to not get pinned even deeper by the big man, while quickly getting to the other side of the screen. Obviously against guys like Cassius, going under in any circumstance probably isnāt a good idea, but I truthfully donāt see how itās deemed to be ineffective most of the time.
IMO, temporarily losing sight of your check, especially if they have the ball, is never a good idea. If youāre going to potentially be slightly off balance when you do regain sight of your check, thatās also a disadvantage.
4 Likes
Also have to consider the quality athlete defending him at a Power Conference level versus the Ivy League level. IMO, that is usually one of the more overlooked aspects to transfers ā and likely a reason most transfers who āstep upā in conference caliber have underperformed the past few seasons.
BUT, looking deeper at Smithās stats, he has produced in his couple of games versus Power Conference teams. Iām still not sure Iād expect much more than Jaaron Simmons type total impact ā¦ and that might be good enough to buy Jackson and other freshmen a chance to settle in to the D-I level.
With Aiken off the board, weāre not going to get anyone to come in and start at PG next year. We need a guy who can add ballhandling to the roster, and who can give us 15 quality minutes off the bench. I think Smith can be that guy.
6 Likes
I think you answered your own question re: rejecting screens.
Just think about all the additional motion involved in spinning around as opposed to just sliding above or below it. Then add in that you lose all visual contact with who you are guarding. I was always taught never to do it and you almost never see anyone do it at the NBA or D1 level outside the post. Only reason I noticed Dave doing it so often is because no one else ever does it.
1 Like
The whole situation regarding Mike Smith has been pretty quiet, but I gotta imagine weāve got a pretty good pitch especially compared to the Aiken pitch where Bryce seemed pretty set on being closer to home. Wonder when weāll hear something regarding Smith.
2 Likes
Probably harder to draw a Moving Screen ā¢ when youāre doing a spin move.
4 Likes