I was astonished that Kam didn’t get more minutes last night. I think he and DJ are now out of the running for minutes at the 3-4. So Kam won’t play much this year. DJ is probably in the same place, although there’s a sliver of hope that he can get more minutes at the 5. It’s unlikely, but we do suck at the 5, so there’s hope for him.
I thought JB said that Kam’s scoring was just “gravy” and that he would be primarily needed to defend and grab rebounds (things he seems reasonably capable of doing). Last night suggested otherwise. I don’t see him as an effective offensive piece at all but considering that we struggle in the other areas, I was also surprised that they benched him completely.
At the five, I think last night was a bit anomalous since so few fouls were called and even Wagner didn’t see the floor much. Donnal and Doyle were somewhat solid but considering the number of bunnies that Doyle missed – and Donnal’s general lack of rebounding – I’m not sure how they can write off anyone at the spot yet. Although if JB is playing Donnal more in these guarantee games as yet another “confidence” building exercise, I think that keeping Wagner off the floor unnecessarily limits the development of a raw young player with a much higher ceiling than MD.
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Answers: Wilson is hurt. Wagner was not looking too great on the floor. Donnal had one of his best games ever.
Sorry, I was giving John Miller answers for why Wilson and Wagner did not play, but, then his comment seemed to disappear.
We can discuss how players play, but we can’t just rip them constantly and drop profanity laced tirades about how much you think they suck. There’s a way to have civil discourse without that.
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Another reason Donnal played, he was coming off a great practice, and it translated in the game, according to Coach Beilein.
Chatman, Wilson, Dawkins, Wagner, all have the opportunity to earn minutes by practicing well.
As far as yesterday’s rotation, I don’t think it’s necessarily indicative of what we will see 2 months from know. Minutes will be won and lost as the season progresses
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MAAR’s inability to knock down the 3 and inability to create for others really hurts the flow of the offense. I hope we see improvement by next year when we’ll need him to step up and be more than just a role player.
Dylan, did dj do enough good and donnal do enough bad that you can finally agree he should be the third, if not second, big man off the bench? His upside is great. He made a mistake and then came down and hit 2 3s in a row. He also ran the floor very well tonigh on both ends. You must agree with me now.
Coach b finally coached a good game this year. These last few games against cupcakes needed to be used to get Walton back to playing shape and getting our young role players big minutes so they can be ready for big ten. I was angry Wagner chatman and Aubrey didn’t get more times/ looks against northern Kentucky.
Last game coach b got them in there early and often. He also did something I asked for all season and that is run the curl screen for Aubrey. He’s knock down on that play and it gets his confidence going/makes him featured.its all confidence with that kid and he showed that last game. Skills are there to be a great player.
Also we did something else that I called for since last year. Run! Walton grabbed rebounds and broke out. I know that’s not coaches style but this team can really run and cause problems on the break. We could fast break teams into the ground. This will only lead to more open kick outs. WAgner needed more minutes as if we are going to make s run hes the big man to do it. I was hoping at this point he’d be playing a bigger role as he’s most competent on offense down low
I stand by that this team man for man is very dangerous and could do big things if we play the right way. Aubrey and Wagner are huge parts of this. I’d like to see chatman Aubrey and Wagner and even Wilson play twenty minutes or more next game.
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I liked the transition game, too. Reminded me of how fun the 2012-13 team was when they pushed the pace. I also liked seeing guys actually FINISH in the open court – all too often recently, they seemed to get dragged down by a defender or miss layups.
I liked seeing dunks instead of weak layups that rim out or get blocked.
Has there been any mention as to why Wilson doesn’t get a look earlier in the game? No he doesn’t have the strength to bang all the time down low but he can stretch the floor even more, the guy can clearly shoot. He even had a nice face up game this year with some bank shots And lasses out for open 3s. I just don’t get the logic. With the way Wagner has regressed and donnal always sucking, why not give the guy with the biggest upside more opportunities. Hopefully it doesn’t hurt us later on when donnal and Wagner continue to disappoint.
“The biggest upside”
I question that with DJ. Then again, what does having the biggest upside really mean when comparing our bigs?
I’ve been calling for more PT for Wilson all year. Through 13 games he seems to be shooting pretty well.
3 PT Shooting…FT Shooting
Wilson 7-13 (53.8%)…66.7% FT
MAAR 8-22 (36.4%)…37.5% FT
Irvin 9-45 (20.0%)…44.4% FT
Chatman 2-16 (12.5%)…66.7% FT
Wilson got injured at an inopportune time. Beilein said after the game yesterday that one of the big questions still remaining is who backs up Irvin at the four? Wilson or Chatman.
Considering he’s far and away the best shooter and shot blocker in very limited time, do you really have to ask that question. If you think if he played 20-25 minutes he couldn’t get a lowly 3 rebounds like Doyle, you’re crazy. He can do things the other bigs can’t dream of. And yeah, he did get hurt at the worst possible time. Just wish he could play more. All Wagner dies out there these days is hedge too far and pick up fouls and occasionally finish. Dj can do that, plus has a nice touch mid range. Gotta get him out there
He averages .8 rebounds per 8 minutes played. Let’s pump the breaks on Wilson. He’s not very good just like all of our bigs aren’t very good.
There’s no upside with our bigs outside Wagner. They are what they are. There’s no developing them.
Might as well get one that has some offense then, right?
My biggest caveat with the rebounding is that I think a lot is found through flow.
But anyway - I get Wilson isn’t a great rebounder but “great rebounder” and “Michigan basketball” aren’t often found in the same sentence.
Wilson is not a 5. As has been pointed out; Coach Beilein is pondering who backs up Irvin at the 4, Chatman or Wilson. If Wilson can stay healthy, he’s a better fit than Chatman. He’s yet to stay healthy.
Against Bryant, Donnal was more aggressive on the O glass than I’ve ever seen him. I hope he keeps it up.
I think the 5 position is settled. It’s going to fluctuate minute wise, game to game, based on fouls and production, between Doyle, Wagner, and Donnal.
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