Agreed with everything stated above, Walton can thrive off the ball which is why I am hopeful X could be an answer as a primary ball handler and that the two are playable together. MAAR in this role as well, although he has to improve court vision/passing ability for the team to have more success
I would not get your hopes up of getting both Walton and X on the floor together regularly. I could see it happen because of foul trouble or end of game ball handlers. Other than that you would be risking having to put Dackich in the game if both get into foul trouble
Dakich will not play one meaningful minute next year regardless of what rotation JB rolls with.
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I think X will absolutely be part of the rotation, but minutes will vary from game to game once we get into B1G play. His ability to hit open shots and not turn ball over will probably be the key to how many minutes, as most feel he can facilitate the offense given the options around him.
How come no one talks about defense on whether a player deserves playing time?
Not just you Chip but the majority of posters do this. If X can defend and doesnāt turn the ball over, he should play significant minutes in my eyes, especially on this squad.
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Really hope youāre right. Iām sure heās a great kid but heās a liability on both ends.
Totally agree man, Iām just refraining from my own preferences (which mean nothing), and projecting by how JB executes his rotation. I do think X will get the hook for defensive mistakes early in his career, and will be rewarded if he excels defensively based on the skillet he brings to the table. I agree with you that JB doesnāt emphasize Defense, but I donāt think he ignores it in game.
Unfortunately, thatās what we thought last year. If we canāt stay healthy in the backcourt this year, weāll end up playing Dakich when we donāt want to again.
Probably because no one on this roster really stands out on defense. And as a team, it isnāt emphasized. When weāve won, itās been because of a highly efficient offense, so players are judged mainly based on the degree to which they contribute to that.
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I understand that and last yearās defensive effort should be unacceptable, even to John Bielien. If heās the coach most around here think he is, he will prioritize defense just a tad more this upcoming season.
I wish the fan base and media would make a stink about the lack of attention that side of the ball gets. Kind of like the grilling RR use to get for completely ignoring it.
Dawkins was benched a number of times for his defensive lapses.
JB gets away with it because he actually has had really good seasons despite being no better than mediocre on defense. At its best, his offense has been among the best in the country. Neither of those was ever true for RR.
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I feel like Iāve been reading and hearing complaints about defense every since JB has been here. I canāt think of a season where I havenāt read significant complaints from the fanbase about it.
I mean, how many times have people complained about Sims and Smotrycz being a 5? Novak being a 4? GR3 being a 4? THJ and Nik letting people walk by them?
It is and always has been a significant complaint of JBās tenure.
Well, if JBās record at Michigan was even remotely as bad as RRās, Iām sure the fan base would be more critical.
Similarly, if RR had won two conference titles and made the national title game, Iām sure his defenses would have received far less criticism.
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For sure. Some people think there is only one way to play basketball, and canāt accept the idea of small ball and three point shooting. Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding. Of course, once JB proved he can win at a high level with his approach, his detractors moved the goal post and now demand that it should happen every year.
Iām all in favor of better defense, and some post play here and there, but I think our basic approach on offense is very good, and I certainly wouldnāt overhaul it. And I remember what it was like to have a glut of talented post guys and a terrible offense (see 1995-1997). It wasnāt pretty.
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The proof is in the pudding, you are absolutely correct. Offense may win games, but DEFENSE wins championships. Itās not necessarily small ball/3s, but the seemingly indifferent approach to defense (or recruiting it may be the better ideology). You simply cannot win a championship without a good defense at minimum, and quite frankly, probably an elite defense. UM can be a good team under JB, but if his defense does not improve drastically, we will never have a championship quality team again during his tenure.
I think the key here is balance. Without looking at it, Iām quite sure those NC teams below were good/elite on offense as well. BUT, you need both.
KP Defensive Efficiency Ratings for NC winners during KP era:
2016 - #6 Villanova
2015 - #12 Duke
2014 - #10 UCONN
2013 - #3 Louisville
2012 - #8 UK
2011 - #13 UCONN
2010 - #8 Duke
2009 - #21 UNC
2008 - #1 KU
2007 - #17 Florida
2006 - #6 Florida
2005 - #12 UNC
2004 - #5 UCONN
2003 - #14 Syracuse
2002 - #7 Maryland
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We were a few bad breaks away from winning it all in 2013. Literally, the difference in that game was maybe 2-3 plays - the missed goaltend on Timās shot early, the bad call against Trey on his block, and the missed over the back call late. That, and Treyās early foul trouble.
Youāre making a classic logical mistake here in failing to recognize the huge role luck plays in the tourney once you have two pretty evenly matched teams. (just like Burkeās shot against #1 seed Kansas was lucky). When a game is that close, you canāt logically argue āno team like Michigan can win it all.ā We were as close as we could be, we just got a few bad breaks. Not to mention, your argument would likely be completely blown out of the water if Trey stays one more year, or if Mitch was healthy in 2014.
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I never said a team like UM canāt win it all, what I did say is that history dictates a team like UM, meaning horrible defense, cannot win it all. BTW, we didnāt lose because of luck, we lost because we simply couldnāt rebound, and I think deep down you know that as well. Bottom line, DEFENSE wins championships regardless of your narrative or love/admiration for our head coach.
You tend to lose credibility when you start basing your arguments on hypotheticals and āwhat ifsā. Iām not dealing with hypotheticals, Iām dealing with facts. By the way, the argument for JB being a great tournament coach would be completely blown out of the water if Trey doesnāt hit a āluckyā shot as you call it vs KU. So yeah, luck goes both ways.
So keep dealing with hypotheticals and āluckā and Iāll keep using factsā¦I tend to think facts carry a bit more weight, but thatās just my opinion.
They had no answer for Chane Behanen. He was the difference in the 2nd half.
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So by your logic each of those top 50 kids we recruited is dirty and that is why they went to dirty programs. Ok, sure.
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