Yeah after this thread popped up, I really started focusing on the threes Maryland took today and they were almost all wide open. So frustrating
Thats what happens when you leave good 3 point shooters open.
Ditto.
I only watched the second half. My observation was that Walton took zero pride in his defense. So casual. I can only imagine the scouting report on Walton saying:
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āstep into your three if Walton is guarding you because he will stand in front of you but he will do absolutely nothing to contest your shotāshoot like you are in an empty gym.ā
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āWalton expends little energy on defense. refuses to āsit downā on defense. Constantly off balance. Easy to put off balance and drive pastāif you feel like getting to the paint then do it.ā
3). āWalton will not push the ball even when Michigan has obvious advantage. If Walton is bringing the ball down you can jog back on defense no matter what the circumstances because he will not push the ballāIf you donāt feel like jogging you can probably walk down the court if Walton is bringing the ball down.ā
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Big Ten teams are shooting 54.7% from three vs. Michigan.
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Nickens was a 20 percent Shooter and went four for four.
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The 1-3-1 must be giving up 2 ppp. I donāt get why we donāt go to a 2-3 zone out of timeouts
As someone that was in the locker room post game, I can tell you the staff, and JB in particular, were extremely disappointed in the defensive effort today.
JB repeatedly spoke about the team not following the scouting plan. Again, no words from Donlon.
JB was almost pleading, rather than instructing. Heās generally composed in the locker room regardless of outcome, but today it appeared the pressure got the best of him. It sort of felt like this might be a make or break momentā¦a lot of the staff and players had their heads down as they exited the locker room today.
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I would like to see JB make a coaching move to spark the team for the next few games. Not sure what it could be, maybe start X over Derrick or Duncan over Zak. Not sure what but something to cause a spark.
Duncan over someone and much more X would be my vote
Moving forward I would start Walton and replace him with x immediately after his first unacceptable act/ non act. IF that is 30 seconds into the game then cool, yank him. Without regard to how well he is shooting, Repeatedly yank him until his actions show that he is putting forth acceptable effort. At times it is like he takes the path of least resistance at almost every imaginable opportunityāitās actually pretty damn weird.
Is Moe making our overall defense worse? Mark was playing major min in NY, and now he is not the same.
This is the second time youāve mentioned donlonās silence. Is there any rumor of a rift or displeasure anywhere? Are the other coaches contributing verbally? (Meyer/Washington).
They play like heās lost the team. They remind me of Amakerās last few teams - enough talent to be competitive in most games, but not enough to have several mental lapses and still win. Weāre just not very good.
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No rift that Iām aware of. However there was a red flag in my opinion when JB acknowledged in public that he told Billy to "cut him a breakā in regard to Hibbits playing poor defense in a game. 1) Heās undermining an assistant coach 2) that was an opportunity to set a standard of accountability for the entire team and JB does that
Just very poor in my opinion if youāre trying to get the team to play with intensity each and every play.
Iāll say this, Donlon is a VERY fiery coach, if heās silent thereās a reason for it. He talks A LOT.
Saddi and Jerry are very chill guys by nature, they simply arenāt going to be that vocal on most occasions.
Bummer to hear. My belief is as a coaching staff you are on one page in front of the team. If you donāt like what your assistant says you save that for later. If you want someone treated differently (for any reason) you have to discuss it in private.
What are you even referring to in regards to Hibbits? I canāt remember Beilein discussing Hibbits at all in public. Iām going to guess that a comment (which sounds like an off hand remark) about a kid that has played 15 minutes in blowout games probably isnāt the root of the problems.
I also think itās hard to read much into the head coach speaking in the locker room after a bad loss.
Either way, thatās neither here nor there. Team needs to play better defense, however it happens and since the UCLA game the defense hasnāt been as good.
As far as 3 point D goes, only the Iowa game really felt unlucky to me (the shots they were hitting were absurd). Yesterday, Maryland had easy easy shots on the vast majority of their three point attempts. Never made them uncomfortable at all.
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I never said the Hibbits/Donlon matter was the root of the issue
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I openly said that JBs comments after the game were likely based on emotion, as he generally is composed
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I tried to be extremely diplomatic toward the situation and JB in particular when others here are calling for his head. I clearly said I donāt think thereās a rift
That said, since my 12/31 practice nuggets note that Donlon that he wasnāt vocal at all, it has been obvious to my eye that the defense has been nothing short of pathetic.
Additionally, I have a few messages in my inbox from coaches/those who have attended practices in recent weeks that can verify the same - Billy Donlon simply isnāt involved, at least vocally, in practice at this point.
Whether thereās a āriftā, I donāt know and Iām not going to speculate, but it is an odd dynamic that a guy who was once said to be a ādefensive coordinatorā is silent during practice.
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This is a huge problem and if JB knows what he is doing he will make sure Donlon is vocal and running things a little. I find it shocking that Donlon is so quiet and the defense is pathetic.