I am all in on Brooks and see him getting better as time goes on. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Simmons flip a switch at some point and really become a valuable asset. I think Z ends up in third place.
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Very possible that something clicks with Simmons, but yeah, starting to find it unlikely that Brooks will not be getting meaningful minutes no matter what happens with Z and Simmons.
maybe the best way for Simmons to get his confidence back is to play back-up role at 2. It takes some pressure off him.
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I think guys don’t “forget how to play.” I think Beilein is mistake averse, where Simmons is coming from a “make plays” situation. Where some of those plays are negative.
Also the NCAA season is a grind, I can see Simmons improving as he plays more and has to think less, while Brooks gets tired as some freshmen do (not all freshman). As a result we’ll be glad we have Simmons, without claiming he’ll pass Brooks.
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One thing about Simmons is that while he produced in the MAC, he wasn’t terribly efficient, and as this article below noted, up-transfers tend to approximately keep their efficiency while lowering their usage rates. To some extent, we were hoping that Simmons would buck the trend and raise his efficiency rating. But if that’s not in the cards, and if we’re going to run the offense primarily through Matthews and Wagner (and maybe MAAR), then perhaps Simmons can’t bring enough value to see the court much. There are some guys who can excel and dominate up to a certain level but then can’t at the next level and don’t really have the kind of game to be complimentary players.
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I always respect your views, UMHoops. And your argument is plausible. But I think it’s just as likely that–as with lots of previous players of Beilein’s, many very maligned in the early going–Simmons is struggling with his confidence and shot and will in time contribute.
I would also not mind seeing some 2 pg looks so Eli could hunt shots.
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I think we will see a much better Simmons at some point. I remember the failed season of both Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin just one short season ago that turned out to be wrong and premature.
Coach Beilein seems to be taking a similar approach to Simmons as he did with Irvin last season during Irvin’s horrendous shooting slump. Simmons is going to be afforded the opportunity to play minutes every game in a belief that he will play to past levels.
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Absolutely that is possible, and I was one of the people expecting Simmons to not only be the starter but to do well. Just thinking about whether and how much we should dial back our expectations and possible reasons our hopes may have been too high. Still hoping it falls into place for him…
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There’s probably truth in both — Simmons probably remains a lower efficiency offensive player, but improves his comfort level w/Beilein’s system as the season goes on and becomes better than he’s shown thus far.
I also am concerned that Brooks may hit a freshman wall at some point in the season, especially as B1G coaches have film to scout him. Pretty normal stuff that most Freshmen go through.
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Michigan freshman Eli Brooks leads point guard race, will start at UNC
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Credit to the Goodin fans, where credit is due. Could really use his production, at the PG spot, right now
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Credit to JB for limiting the rotation. Would have liked to see Brooks in more down the stretch of the 2nd half though but I can understand keeping Simpson in for defensive purposes
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More than that–I think Beilein wants to give Simpson reps and confidence.
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I wonder how much the freshman mistakes Brooks made down the stretch vs LSU played a part in Beilein using Simpson more in the 2nd half today? Or how much of it had to do with defense being more important than offense with a double-digit lead?
I think it had to do with both, and I think it had to do with a concern that if Eli struggled at the end it might damage his confidence going forward. Eli had played pretty well up to that point. I’m pretty sure that, whether he says it or not, JB sees Eli as his PG, but I know there is a role for Z. I also think there is a reason for EVERYTHING Coach B does. There is really nothing that is random, and not a lot of “seat of the pants” decision making.
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I think the end of game situation yesterday was all about getting Simpson more minutes. The game was well in hand and JB was not worried about Brooks blowing it.
I wonder how Simmons’ practices are affected by the current rotation. Is he still practicing with the rotation in game situations? Is Beilein using him on the scout team this week?
Just took a peep at the Kenpom stats for our point guards. The one thing that explains this situation the best is the turnover rate. Simmons: 35%, Simpson 32%, Brooks 13% (on par with DWalt’s 13.2% in '17). Brooks is the only one with a higher assist rate (17%) than turnover rate.
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I’m probably in the vast minority on this but I’d prefer to see Simmons get 25+ minutes per game.
Eli is a nice shooter and can do some nice things.
Z is a nice defender and can do some nice things.
But if we’re going to go somewhere, we need a PG that can step up, make plays for himself and for his teammates. Not just rotate the ball or sit in the corner. I want a PG that can go get the ball with 10 seconds left on the shotclock and run some PNR. I want a PG that reminds me as much of Walton/Burke style as possible. The only guy I think CAN be that for us is Simmons.