Don’t see any similarity between Trey’s usage increase from freshman year to sophomore year. He was the top guy on both of those teams.
LeVert is probably the best answer as he was a bit piece on the 2013 team and then was a top-two option as a sophomore.
I’d argue that Nik played a significantly larger role on the 2013 team than Poole did in 2018.
This is where my head was at as well, that Caris was probably the closest comparison. Nik was too valuable as a frosh to lump into the same role comparison as what JP is being asked to do.
The difference, to me, is that I don’t believe that Caris was going to be heavily relied upon as a scorer with the surrounding cast he had as a Soph, was he (though he certainly turned out to be)? What I mean by that is…I don’t think that team said “we don’t succeed unless Caris’ usage skyrockets and he scores XX ppg”.
I do get the sense that the above quote is being said about JP.
A good point, but when you look back at it … Michigan isn’t Michigan that year without LeVert. His sophomore year was one of the more underappreciated great seasons for any UM player under Beilein.
Couldn’t agree more there.
Great point, this kind of reminds me of Zak Irvin’s sophomore season as a decent comparison. Certainly after all the other injuries, Irvin was thrown in a high usage role where the team would not succeed unless Irvin upped his game beyond what he was ready for.
I’d argue Poole is much more well-equipped to handle such a scenario however based on his skill set.
Irvin is a great example.
I thought of Irvin as well - but going into the season the thought was that the ball would be predominantly in the hands of a Junior Caris and probably DWalt as well. Guys like Irvin, MAAR, Spike, etc. probably saw a bigger spike in usage than JB anticipated going into the season because of injuries (which I’m not taking into account when trying to compare to JP’s expectations).
Yeah, the Caris injury threw a wrench in that season. In terms of expectation you are right, but Irvin freshman to Irvin sophomore (what actually happened) might be a very close comparison. Two guys who are wired to shoot 
but Poole is already a better passer.
Do you know what Poole’s usage numbers actually were? I suspect that his “usage” as a statistic was super high when he was actually on the floor last year–it’s just that his minutes were relatively low. The question is whether he can keep that high usage percentage (and remain remotely efficient) with more minutes.
Darius Morris also comes to mind. Went from 15% usage to nearly 30% and more than doubled his assist rate after being pushed to the lead role with Harris’ early entry.
Although he’s a bit different from some of the others being mentioned in that he played a good amount his freshman year, just with a smaller role.
Correct. Poole used 23% of possessions while he was on the floor but only played 29% of minutes. Irvin used 19% of possessions as a freshman (25.9% of shots!) and played 38% of minutes.
I was using ‘usage’ too generally because Poole already was comfortable in a high usage role, he just only played it for very short bursts. His lack of playing time as a freshman makes him different than many of these other candidates.
Yeah, this is why a comparison at Michigan is so hard–it’s rare that a freshman is that high usage, period. I wonder if there are other Big Ten comparisons to be made–Beilein’s offense is generally less hospitable to high usage freshman than others, I’d suspect.
This is all to just point out how interesting it is going to be to have 3 “wolves” potentially on the court at the same time with Poole, Iggy, and CM. I think all of them operate best with the ball in their hands…which probably goes to @chezaroo’s point that Simpson really could hinder that with his lack of shooting prowess.
I think Poole has the best passing potential of the 3 (probably not a hot take there), but as Dylan and others have continued to point out, they don’t have the reliable kick options for open jumpers like years’ past. It’s amazing how much I feel like I “know” about this team based on 3 exhibition games in Spain lol
Well, in fairness, you " ‘know’ about this team based on 3 exhibition games in Spain" AND the incredible content and video breakdown provided by Dylan! 
This board makes my day and one reason why I love college hoops…especially UM Hoops! I keep thinking about THJ and the narrative around his game after his Freshman year. Maybe JP will be a better pro than a collegian. If you asked me if i thought THJ would be the highest paid player in that group…I’d have to say no. I love the unpredictable nature of watching boys grow into men on the floor! I put JP in that category…watch and enjoy,