I think M is heading toward a lineup with Wilson/Wagner at the 4. I don’t think it’s happening this season.
Geez, lots of in-fighting right now. Hope the team isn’t doing the same.
The fact of the matter is this team is 6-3 and will finish 10-3, barring a major collapse in one of the 4 remaining non-conference games. Yes, they lost by double-digits to some highly-ranked teams. The SMU game definitely made me sick, but probably not nearly as sick as it made the players feel.
They’re still working Walton and Irvin back into game shape. Let’s not forget that this team won 16 games last year, with a lot of these sophomores logging major minute. It takes more than 9 games to get everyone playing as a unit.
This team will play much better as the year goes on. It’s not hard to see 20+ wins this season, even with the non-conference struggles. We obviously have work to do, but I’m staying positive and have complete faith in Coach Beilein.
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Is rotation settled with Wilson hurt (again) and Spike retired?
Starters when Walton is healthy:
Walton
LeVert
Robinson
Irvin
Doyle
Rotation: nice mix. All should know their role.
Chatman
Wagner
MAAR
Dawkins
Bench: won’t play much unless foul trouble
Donnal
Wilson
Dakich
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That sounds about right… Chatman/Dawkins kind of battling for those backup wing minutes still though. There is an obvious pool of mins for MAAR that kind of puts him ahead of those two.
Offensively Chatman seems to have the higher bball IQ over Dawkins. If Chatman hits the boards, there are minutes for him.
Defensively, Chatman and Dawkins have a long way to go. Of course they are not alone on this team. Robinson isn’t good, and are bigs are capable of looking totally befuddled (all of them)
You also are starting to see why Kam was a highly touted recruit. He is starting to show his tools and has been solid. Also I think Dakich knows his role and can be a solid emergency guard. Aubrey needs to realize he isn’t being asked for nearly as much as last year and slow down the game. Overall I’m satisfied with what we have
If Dakich has to play real minutes, then this team is screwed. I’m praying for a healthy Walton because if he can’t go, this team isn’t good enough to make up for Dakich playing.
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Walton is obviously key – which is why I would basically shut him down til Big Ten season and make sure he’s right.
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The experts have spoken! Thanks for putting it simply for us, though; I would have struggled with anything more abstruse.
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I am not sure if your statement is fair to Jordan Morgan.
I think my biggest concern would be is if Walton can develop chemistry with whoever is starting. This is the 3rd/4th different starting lineup Michigan has had correct? I am not sure how much Walton has played with that group, we are talking about Walton who if he doesn’t play until the B1G opener has 185 minutes played this year. That isn’t much time to develop chemistry.
This is an interesting comment. A Kentucky team might overwhelm due to sheer size and talent. Other teams, like Wisconsin, might take a few years to become a well-oiled machine. There is zero doubt that if all our early-entry guys had gone four years we would have been more successful.
Why would players that won awards such as POY, B1G POY, gone to NCAA Championship games, Elite 8s want to return for another couple years?
I guess you can always pray for a 4 year Tyler Hansbrough who is now a 12th man with the Charlotte Hornets.
Not sure where you’re going with this. But I do sense a certain combativeness in all your posts that tends to cloud your judgement. Mine would be a comment that lent credence, despite my general support for Beilein, to the idea that our general approach to recruiting is hurting us a bit, year over year. Not sure there’s much to be done about it, though–our coach is who he is–a veteran with a unique and fascinating philosophy–and if success also harms you a little down the road. . . History will be a better judge than we will. Furthermore, the good guys don’t always win.
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I just view it as revisionist history to say if these guys stuck around the team would be better when they are seniors.
For example over the span of 2 years in 2010/2011 the Texas Longhorns lost Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson all to the NBA. Three of those players are doing quite well in the NBA. This is probably a big reason why Rick Barnes lost his job because eventually you get caught chasing your tail trying to replace all the guys you lose to the NBA. Some coaches can overcome that because they continually have a pipeline of guys coming in Coach K/Cal.
Good guys don’t always win but it doesn’t preclude good guys from recruiting consistently well and getting results.
So if the general approach to recruiting is hurting Michigan why won’t he adjust that or change that? Beilein would adjust his offensive philosophy if he didn’t see a team that fit his vision. Why won’t he adjust his recruiting? I think it’s a fair question to ask.
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I think you probably touched on Beilein’s strategy in there. He does go after tier 1, guaranteed nba bound guys but only to the extent not to spread the team too thin. I think JB really values guys like Jordan Morgan and Caris Levert who are 3 or 4 year players and contribute each and every year and continue to get better. There is inherent stability there. Lets say, on average that JB pulls 4 recruits per year. If one of those four players is nba caliber and the other three might develop to Morgan or Levert level, that would be the ideal situation for JB. He has the influx of premium talent to help take the team to the next level, but also has the stability of having a lot of the team around for a while and always having some veteran leadership.
The problem for JB happened when he had a majority of a large recruiting class leave for the nba after their 1st or 2nd year. That left Michigan depleted and scrambling to fill a roster appropriately. That roster got filled with all 3 or 4 year players (see Dawkins, Rahk, Doyle, and Wilson - you can also throw Chatman in there although he was highly regarded, just didnt turn out as expected). Then, subsequent, to that HUGE class we have to balance with a smaller recruiting class, which we did. And now we are in the place that we currently in: a lot of good players but no one elite has been introduced to the program in a few years. Our high level recruit last year didnt quite live up to the standards (i.e. chatman); this year we didnt get one because we had to wait so long in the recruiting process (i.e. unsure of the # of scholarships) and we just plain swung and missed; and finally, we have no top 40 players coming in next year because of the recruiting run-around (although I’m optimistic about watson and simpson). We have been stuck in this odd extenuation circumstance for a few seasons now and it isnt making ppl feel good. I really do think once we get that elite talent again, we should be fine (poole or Ibi may turn out to be that)
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Chatman has times where he looks solid against the cupcakes and then reverts to old form against the better teams. Still not sold on him at all. Lets see how he performs in conference play.
I don’t know what the hell has happened to Dawkins. He looks like he regressed. He along with Doyle are the biggest disappointments so far.
Dawkins in playing like the 200th best player in his class. No surprise. Played WAY over his head last year and is now back to earth. Hopefully he is still putting in lots of work
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I wouldn’t go that far.
Last year he HAD to take shots. It’s a LOT different roster this year.
He’s not getting the volume of shot attempts he did at the end of last year when he “exploded.”
But he also averaged 33min per game…he’s getting 22min per game now and fewer shot attempts.
I think he (along with a lot of guys) need to figure out how to fit together. And Dawkins especially needs to be more than a 3 point shooter. He needs to use his athleticism to be a good defender and especially attack the boards hard. That’s how he can get his opportunities and get more minutes IMO
He is rebounding pretty well currently but his shot is so off right now he just needs to be the 7th or 8th guy until he figures something out. Doesn’t defend at all and if he isn’t hitting shots there’s no need to play him. Duncan can do all those things plus more so we will be seeing lots of him come big ten. Jo idea why Dawkins never attacks the rim but he looks like a bench guy who played far better than expected last year.