With Battle and Walton as the starting guards, Spike gone, Rak fills the combo guard spot. If we can pull in a pure point that's is what we should do first and foremost. A guy who can learn the system for a year without the pressure of starting and being counted on as a primary producer. That way they are comfortable come the following year when they will be looked at to start. Taking a combo guard would be roster redundancy with Rak already available. In that scenario we put pressure on ourself the in 17' to get a starting caliber PG to start as a freshman.Do we think that Goodin or Winston are willing to spend a year coming off the bench?
UL just took a PG in the 14 cycel in Snider, so presumably Goodin would come off th bench there as well. Same thing with Winston at MSU with the Nairn situation.
UL just took a PG in the 14 cycel in Snider, so presumably Goodin would come off th bench there as well. Same thing with Winston at MSU with the Nairn situation.That's encouraging then that he'd be in the same situation no matter what. However, I'd say that he's more likely to beat out Nairn as a freshmen than Walton.
I’m just banking on the fact that Winston always wears Michigan clothes as my hope. Also heard from somewhere that he was concerned by Izzo’s lack of NBA players. Winston’s very much determined to play in the league. I know that when he was a freshmen he wanted to go to Kentucky.
Keep in mind that Izzo values defense much more than JB…that being said it may not be as easy as we would assume for Winston to beat out Nairn considering his struggles on that side of the court.
People in East Lansing love Tum Tum. No doubt about that.
To put this in perspective, Nairn actually displaced Trice as the starter for a good chunk of time this year…that would never happen at UM. Just goes to show the difference in priorities and perception between Izzo/JB and the respective fan bases.
I honestly don’t even get why Nairn has a defensive rep. Seems like he always gets into foul trouble a few minutes in to the game.
Nairn is a great fit for what MSU does and I love what he does to their transition game. And to be fair, Trice was still on the floor in crunch time and still playing huge minutes. The whole benching thing seemed like more of a motivational ploy and perhaps some tweak on the rotation… Izzo likes to play with that sort of stuff more than many coaches, certainly more than Beilein.
With Battle and Walton as the starting guards, Spike gone, Rak fills the combo guard spot. If we can pull in a pure point that's is what we should do first and foremost. A guy who can learn the system for a year without the pressure of starting and being counted on as a primary producer. That way they are comfortable come the following year when they will be looked at to start. Taking a combo guard would be roster redundancy with Rak already available. In that scenario we put pressure on ourself the in 17' to get a starting caliber PG to start as a freshman.Do we think that Goodin or Winston are willing to spend a year coming off the bench?
I think there are enough minutes to entice one.
We’ll have Walton, Battle, and Rahk (at this point) in the backcourt.
If you’re good enough, you can find minutes there. Plus you’re a couple bad fouls from being “the guy” in the game and/or an injury from being the only guy for the season. Plus we’ve played two PG’s together at times depending on the need.
With Battle and Walton as the starting guards, Spike gone, Rak fills the combo guard spot. If we can pull in a pure point that's is what we should do first and foremost. A guy who can learn the system for a year without the pressure of starting and being counted on as a primary producer. That way they are comfortable come the following year when they will be looked at to start. Taking a combo guard would be roster redundancy with Rak already available. In that scenario we put pressure on ourself the in 17' to get a starting caliber PG to start as a freshman.Do we think that Goodin or Winston are willing to spend a year coming off the bench?
I think Beilein has shown he is willing to play two PG’ together at times. Also Battle’s versatility allows him to play the 3 if two PG’s are on the court at the same time.
Only 80 minutes in the backcourt. and it doesn’t look like there are many minutes to play three guards since Irvin, Dawkins, Chatman, Wagner, Duncan and Wilson all competing for minutes at the 3 as well.
Assuming Walton and Battle are playing 30 minutes each (which could be low) that’s only 20 minutes between a freshman point and junior Rahk.
Wouldn't you guys think we should get back on Towns now? I mean, we do have enough creators for 2016, and to be honest, it's unlikely that any elite PG would settle being a backup to Walton as a freshman. Rather than settling for a second tier PG, which we don't truly need in 2016 with Walton, Battle and MAAR, why not consider Towns again, and get an elite PG in 2017 when he would start? Of course, it's a log jam at the 3/4 but I don't know, I like the new possibilities that came from this commitment. Definitely might change the recruiting strategy. Any thoughts?
Not in my opinion. I just don’t see a great fit for Towns given what we have on the roster. PG is a much bigger priority.
Only 80 minutes in the backcourt. and it doesn't look like there are many minutes to play three guards since Irvin, Dawkins, Chatman, Wagner, Duncan and Wilson all competing for minutes at the 3 as well.Assuming Walton and Battle are playing 30 minutes each (which could be low) that’s only 20 minutes between a freshman point and junior Rahk.
I don’t see Wilson competing for minutes at the 3 spot. I think he will strictly be competing at the 5 and 4 spot.
It might not be an ideal sell to a pure PG for his freshman year. However if you look at sophomore on it is definitely an ideal situation. You would be looking at running the show for a very talented team. If the PG mindset is I need to start because I’m a one and done than Beilein probably isn’t recruiting that player anyway.
Well, Wagner and Wilson are not going to be competing for minutes at the three. I assume you meant the 3/4?
In any event, if Winston picks either UM or MSU, he’s coming off the bench as a freshman. He certainly is not beating out a senior Walton, and is highly unlikely to beat out a junior Nairn. The good news for him is that at Michigan, he’s starting by his sophomore year. At MSU, it would take a year longer.
But both JB and Izzo have played small backcourts together - Spike/Walton here, Trice/Nairn at MSU. So he could get some limited run at the two for either team. You could even move Walton off the ball if you wanted, but that’s unlikely for Nairn, who can’t really shoot.
To me, I look at Burke and Morris, both of whom made the NBA after two years of college (Morris, IMO, left before he was ready), and compare that to Lucas and Appling, both of whom stayed four years and did not make the league.
I won’t be surprised if there is at least 2 pieces of roster attrition next year. I think there are guys here now that believe that they’ll earn playing time and won’t. These guys are good enough to consider transferring for their remaining 2 (or so years) once they discover that they didn’t get the run in 2015/2016 that they thought they should. So I think whether Davis does a prep year or not, that there will still be at least 2 more scholarships open for next year. I think JB recruits more of a shoot first point so Battle can have the ball in the Sauce role and he also looks for another wing to hedge against Battle being a one and done. These are good problems to have folks.
Great question Dylan.
I think that we go hard for a top 2016 PG. We can afford to miss in 2016 ( with Walton & Rach at PG) and take a PG in 2017 if it ends up that way. But, a top PG in 16 is the ideal.
People seem really sold on Winston being the solution worth waiting the duration for, but I’d go hard at Jamal Murray and at least put out feelers on Dennis Smith. We’re in the drivers seat right now and can create a bit of leverage. Might as well try to hit home runs now. At the worst it may create some urgency in recruits that would otherwise drag this out for another year.
Separately if Langford is as warm to us as some have said, I don’t know how you don’t continue to invest in his talent. I agree that more than one scholarship could come free and also that waiting to 2017 is an option at PG. I don’t think you let another top 15 guy cool off. I think you have to push harder.
Minutes may be a concern for players of that caliber, but the same would be said for Winston
I won't be surprised if there is at least 2 pieces of roster attrition next year. I think there are guys here now that believe that they'll earn playing time and won't. These guys are good enough to consider transferring for their remaining 2 (or so years) once they discover that they didn't get the run in 2015/2016 that they thought they should. So I think whether Davis does a prep year or not, that there will still be at least 2 more scholarships open for next year. I think JB recruits more of a shoot first point so Battle can have the ball in the Sauce role and he also looks for another wing to hedge against Battle being a one and done. These are good problems to have folks.
Agreed. Attrition is always a possibility, but especially when there are not enough minutes to go around. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out next year.
I’m in the ‘go hard after a 2016 point guard’ camp. My personal opinion is that I don’t think Goodin or Winston are one and dones (though they could be two and dones). Whether they like it or not, both would be better off at a program like Michigan where they could grow into the role and develop their skills. Murray and Smith on the other hand probably are one and dones, so they are likely harder sells.
As things stand now, we will have 12 guys on the roster that will be able to make legitimate arguments for playing time in 2015 and 2016, so it’s gonna be interesting regardless.