Simmons has been awful. I see zero reason to play him over Brooks at this point.
Weāve all written off so many Beilein players the last few years. Simmons came in, made a beautiful assist, hit a layup, then fell apart. Not a matter of ability, I donāt think, but of complete lost of faith in himself. Might of might not come; I will hope, for Michiganās sake, that it does.
I hope if he gets the opportunity he proves me wrongā¦
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Depends on the opponent. Against a press or trap defense, no I donāt want MAAR as the primary ball handler with Poole or Matthews as the secondary optionā¦does not seem likely to succeed.
But against a team that falls back into a halfcourt defense and doesnāt put too much on-ball pressure, yeah MAAR & Poole might be an option worth looking at for a 2-3minute shift.
Chances are an opposing coach would have his team pressure the ball if he saw us trying to play without a PG.
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Been saying this for a while actually, if we continue to struggle at the PG position slide MAAR over and get Poole more minutes. As for against pressure I think Poole has better handles than most think.
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If for no other reason we know what to expect and he knows the system in and out. So yes
Not in a meaningful positive way.
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āNot in a meaningful, positive way.ā I, frankly, donāt understand your point. I, respectfully, DO think he would have contributed in a āmeaningful, positive way.ā Perhaps our definitions of āmeaningfulā and āpositiveā are different. Andrew has a track record of being a great teammate, and a positive influence on those teammates. I think he would have been an effective mentor to young Mr. Eli Brooks, helping him to understand the nuances of Coach Bās offense. As long as he could have been content with a role as a sort of player assistant coach to the young point guards and only an occasional contributor on the floor for a few minutes at a time, then yes, I think he would have made a fairly valuable contribution, and I think his contribution would have been meaningful. There are many ways to contribute to the program without being on the floor for quality minutes during ācrunch time.ā Being a great teammate is one of them. Being a good practice player is another. Getting in a teammateās ear and āpumpingā him up when he gets down is another. Perhaps Andrew wouldnāt have been that person, but my observations of him from afar are that he would have been THAT person, that teammate. Perhaps Iām wrong. Perhaps you have āinsideā information to which I am not privy. I wish Andrew well. Well, except for Sunday, Feb 18 in Ann Arbor. And I DO hope our fans are respectful. I also wish Andrew, in his attempt to get meaningful minutes on the floor in a college basketball program as a fifth year senior, would have chosen a school outside of the B1G, but thatās really none of my business.
Not saying that Dakich isnāt a good teammate. Talking about making an actual impact on the floor. Dakich (rightfully) wanted to play somewhere. Heās getting a chance to do that at OSU and thatās awesome for him. I donāt think that Dakich playing rotation minutes on Michiganās roster would make Michigan a better team. Thatās all.
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I think MAAR could play backup point better than Brooks and Simmons. His handle is certainly tight enough to break pressure.
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Agreed, breaking pressure isnāt about having some crazy handles where you dribble pass three guys. Itās just about having poise, being strong with the ball, and hitting the open man if you get trapped. All things that MAAR can do just fine (heck, he did it multiple times yesterday even though he was at the 2). What we lose with MAAR at the point is playmaking for others in the half-court, but itās not like Brooks or Simmons have shown the ability to do that this season either.
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Losing Dakich was nothing to this team. Dylan wouldāve made a bigger impact.
Yes, guy wanted to play basketball; end of story.
Re Dakich, we already have three pure point guards on the roster. Regardless of your opinion on how they are performing, it is highly unlikely that he would have gotten the same opportunity here.
Oh, I understand, but the current alternative is really no better. Itās absolutely a moot point, but if Andrew were on this team would he able to help mentor Eli through his current struggles and, therefore, help to make us better on the floor? To me that would be both meaningful and positive.
Sounds like more of a coaching roleā¦but I get your point. Certainly not worthy of a scholarship to mentor.
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I think knowing what we know now, Dakich would have been more valuable serving as a third point guard than Simmons has just because he would have been a good mentor for Brooks.
But thatās meaningless to say because Dakich wanted to play and got himself the perfect opportunity to do so, and no one in the world would have predicted that Simmons would be so ineffective before the season.
Neither have Brooks or Simmons though. His time around the system could have been more beneficial alone. And he has been a decent contributor for OSU.
I think Coach Beilein made the right move, and/or Donnal and Dakisch made the right call regarding theyāre final season. I donāt think either would have been a net positive on the program this season, unless they would have been happy with a role of limited or no minutes. I would much rather see Teske, Davis, and Brooks get experience this season, rather than playing a veteran but less talented 5th year player. I think M is a better team this season without them, and will reap huge rewards next season with the experience gained by the young players.
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