Category: Basketball

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won both of them. These games were the championship round games for the 2K Classic, played in Madison Square Garden, in New York City. On Thursday (11/17/2016), Michigan beat Marquette 79-61, then on Friday (11/18/2016), they beat SMU 76-54. The two wins raise Michigan’s record to 4-0.

What Happened

Michigan didn’t look particularly good or sharp in either of the “Ann Arbor Regional” games in the first week of the season, against Howard and IUPUI, but they were a different team in NYC. They won both games comfortably, and they looked good and sharp and tough. Coach Beilein has had some good teams in his 10 years in Ann Arbor, including the 2012-2013 team that went to the National Championship game, but none of them were what you would call “tough”. They were more “finesse”. At least for the two games in the Garden, this season’s team played tough. They blocked shots, they took charges, they played tight defense, and they scrapped for loose balls. It was quite a change from previous teams.

The Marquette game started out as a close, see-saw battle, and was tied up 15-15 with 13:21 to go in the half. Three minutes later, Michigan was up by 10 (27-17), and five minutes after that, they were up by 20 (42-22). They led by 24 (50-26) at halftime, and never looked back. They did let Marquette get a little close (12 points: 67-55) with 5:30 left in the game, but they pushed the lead back up to 20 (77-57) in 3 minutes, and coasted to the win. It was very impressive. Here are the stats for the Marquette game.

SMU had beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor two years ago, and crushed them in Dallas last year, so this was a chance for Michigan to get some revenge, and they did. Michigan never trailed in this one, running out to a 9-point lead (13-4) in the first four minutes, and pushing it up to 19 points (44-25) at halftime. Once again, they let an opponent get a little close in the 2^nd half (13 points: 44-31 with 19:10 to go), but they got the lead back up to 20 (53-33) in 3 minutes, and kept it there for the rest of the game, growing it to as many as 29 points. It was even more impressive than the Marquette win. Here are the stats for the SMU game.

Michigan shot well overall in both games (50.9% vs. Marquette, 52.9% vs. SMU), they shot 3-pointers well in both games (39.1% and 41.9%), and they shot free throws well in both games (80.0% and 81.8%). They outrebounded Marquette (35-27), but got hammered on the boards against SMU (24-41). They had an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers in the Marquette game, but only 4 vs. SMU. They also had 9 more blocked shots, 5 vs. Marquette and 4 vs. SMU.

Who Looked Good

Even though he only hit double figures in one game, DJ Wilson was the big story in this tournament. He had his first career double-double in the Marquette game, with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He was a little quieter vs. SMU, with 6 points and 4 rebounds, but he still played a team-high 36 minutes, and was a terror on defense. He started both games, and impressed with his play.

Derrick Walton Jr. had a very inconsistent tournament. He scored 0 points vs. Marquette, then led the team in scoring against SMU with 23 points, including 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range.

Zak Irvin had 16 points in each game, along with 7 and 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in each game. He still misses some easy shots, and takes too many long 2-point shots that could be 3-pointers if he would just move back a foot, but it’s hard to complain about the results. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player for the 2K Classic tournament.

Mark Donnal also only hit double figures in one game (15 points vs. Marquette), but he really provided a spark when he came in. He got close to double figures (9 points) vs. SMU, and played good defense in both games.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had double figures in both games (15 and 12), and had 4 rebounds in each game. He struggled a little with his 3-point shot (0-for-4 and 2-for-5), but he played some good defense.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Moritz Wagner didn’t have a very good tournament. He scored 9 points vs. Marquette, but he got in early foul trouble vs. SMU, and only scored 3 points in 11 minutes. He started both games, but Mark Donnal played more minutes than he did, and may take his starting position from him.

Duncan Robinson lost his starting job to DJ Wilson, and did OK coming off the bench. He had 10 points vs. Marquette, but only 2 points (on free throws) vs. SMU. It looked like he had finally found his 3-point stroke in the Marquette game, when he went 3-for-4, but then he went 0-for-2 vs. SMU, so we’re back to square one.

Xavier Simpson played in both games, but only scored one point, vs. SMU. He played 18 minutes in the Marquette game, when Walton got in early foul trouble, but only 6 minutes vs. SMU. I’m sure he’ll be fine as the season goes on, but he’s having a slow start.

Ibi Watson played in both games, and scored 4 and 2 points. He isn’t getting much playing time (3 and 7 minutes) because he isn’t doing much when he’s out there. Like Xavier Simpson, I’m sure he’ll be fine as the season goes on, but he’s also having a slow start.

Who Else Played

Brent Hibbitts, Sean Lonergan. Jon Teske, and Fred Wright-Jones all played in both games, but failed to score, except for Teske, who hit 2 free throws vs. SMU.

Who Didn’t Play

Andrew Dakich and Austin Davis are both being redshirted this season.

The Big Picture

Just one week after saying that we may have to adjust our expectations for Michigan downward a little for this season, they go into Madison Square Garden and dominate two pretty good teams. Can they keep it up? Will this translate into success in the Big Ten games? We shall see, but things sure look a lot more encouraging than they did just one week ago.

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two more games, one on the road and one at home. On Wednesday (11/23/2016, 5:00 p.m., ESPNU), Michigan plays at South Carolina, then on Saturday (11/26/2016, 7:00 p.m., ESPN3), Michigan plays Mount St. Mary’s in Crisler Arena. The South Carolina game is Michigan’s first true “away” game, and it will be tough. The home game vs. Mount St. Mary’s should be much easier.

Come on down to Crisler for the home game, and check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won both of them. These games were the “Ann Arbor Regional” games for the 2K Classic. These games are technically part of the 2K Classic, but they don’t affect which teams go to the Championship Round on 11/17 and 11/18. They’re just “warm up” games. Anyway, Michigan beat Howard 76-58 on Friday (11/11/2016), then they beat IUPUI 77-65 on Sunday (11/13/2016). Both games were in Crisler Arena. Michigan’s record is now 2-0.

What Happened

Michigan won both games, but they didn’t look particularly good or sharp in either game. They had a very slow start vs. Howard, missing their first 6 shots, and were down 4-0 at the first media timeout. Once they got going, they traded the lead back and forth for the next few minutes, then they went ahead for good. Michigan led by 9 (34-25) at halftime, but Howard managed to make the game close again in the 2^nd half. With 11:14 to go, UM only led by 5 (43-38). A quick 8-0 run by Michigan got the lead back up into double digits, and that’s where it stayed for the rest of the game. It was a long, slow, choppy game, with 47 fouls called. It was virtually unwatchable. Here are the complete stats for the Howard game.

The IUPUI game was a little better. At least the refs didn’t call 47 fouls (only 32). It was a quicker game, and IUPUI was a better opponent than Howard. The lead went back and forth for most of the 1^st half, with IUPUI up by 2 points (32-30) with 4:18 left in the half. Michigan went on a 13-0 run to end the half, and they never looked back. IUPUI stayed within 12-14 points for most of the 2^nd half, until UM pushed the lead up to 19 points (77-58) with 1:39 left. IUPUI scored the last 7 points against UM’s scrubs to make the score look closer than it was. Here are the IUPUI stats.

Michigan didn’t shoot very well in either game (44.4% vs. Howard, 40.9% vs. IUPUI), but they did shoot their free throws very well (23-for-26 vs. Howard, 16-for-18 vs. IUPUI). They barely outrebounded Howard (30-29), but did much better vs. IUPUI (40-31). The biggest improvement so far this season has been blocked shots. Michigan had 4 vs. Howard, and 7 vs. IUPUI.

Who Looked Good

The two senior starters, Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr., both had a good week. Zak had 11 and 15 points, and Derrick had 20 and 13. Zak hasn’t found his 3-point stroke yet (1-for-6 and 0-for-2), but Derrick has (4-for-7 and 3-for-7). Zak still takes too many long 2-point shots for my taste, but he makes most of them, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Moritz Wagner started both games, and he looked pretty good in the Howard game (8 points), and better in the IUPUI game (13 points). He shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line for the week, and had a total of 9 rebounds. Not bad. He still isn’t looking very sharp on defense, but he’s getting better.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman didn’t play in the exhibition game, due to a minor ankle injury, but he started both games last week, and he looked pretty good. He hit a pair of 3-pointers vs. Howard to get Michigan going early, but that was all the scoring he did in that game. He had 12 points vs. IUPUI. He is still Michigan’s best player at driving to the hoop through traffic and finishing strong.

DJ Wilson had a very good week coming off the bench. He got close to double figures in both games (9 and 7 points), but he contributed in other ways. He had 8 rebounds (3 offensive) vs. Howard, and 14 rebounds (4 offensive) vs. IUPUI. He also had 1 blocked shot vs. Howard, and 5 vs. IUPUI.

Mark Donnal had a pretty good week coming off the bench. He had 12 points vs. Howard, and 8 vs. IUPUI. He plays better defense than Wagner.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Duncan Robinson started both games, but didn’t play very well. He is in a major shooting slump from 3-point range, which is usually the strength of his game. He was 1-for-3 vs. Howard, and 1-for-2 vs. IUPUI. Don’t be surprised to see Wilson starting in place of him.

Xavier Simpson looked pretty good in the Howard game (5 points), but didn’t do much in the IUPUI game. Can run the offense fairly well, but so far he hasn’t shown us any “wow” passes or great decision-making. He’s still learning.

Ibi Watson scored 2 points in each game. He fired up five 3-point attempts between the two games, and missed them all. I expect him to start hitting them soon, and be a 35-40% shooter from 3-point range.

Who Else Played

Brent Hibbitts, Sean Lonergan. Jon Teske, and Fred Wright-Jones all played in both games, but failed to score. Since Teske burned his redshirt, he’s the 3^rd string center this season.

Who Didn’t Play

Andrew Dakich hasn’t played yet in one exhibition and two real games. I don’t know why.

Austin Davis is apparently being redshirted this season, barring a serious injury to any of the 3 other centers (Wagner, Donnal, and Teske).

The Big Picture

We may have to adjust our expectations for Michigan downward a little for this season. So far, they have underachieved, and they look like they may have chemistry problems. If they play the way they did last week against any of the upper-level Big Ten teams, they’ll get blown out. They were way too sloppy and shot way too poorly. Fortunately, they have time to get things straightened out, but we better start seeing improvement soon.

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two games, in the Championship Round of the 2K Classic. These games are both in Madison Square Garden, in New York City. On Thursday (11/17/2016, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2), Michigan plays Marquette, then on Friday (11/18/2016, 4:30/6:30 p.m., ESPN2), Michigan plays either SMU or Pittsburgh. Matchups with all 3 of these opponents are toss-ups. We’ll know a lot more about this season’s team after we see how they do in this tournament.

Check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

Quick Look

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game last week, and they won it handily. Of course, it was an exhibition game against a Division II team, but still. Wins are wins. On Friday (11/04/2016), UM defeated Armstrong State 77-49 in Crisler Arena. This was an exhibition game, so Michigan’s record is still 0-0.

What Happened

Since it was an exhibition, Coach Beilein got to play almost everyone, and he got to try lots of different lineup combinations. Michigan pulled away early, and was never seriously challenged. The lead hovered in the 14-16 point range for most of the 1^st half and the beginning of the 2^nd half, before UM pushed it up into the 20s.

The game was sloppy for both teams, with 13 turnovers for Michigan and 19 for Armstrong State. Michigan shot pretty well (32-for-63 = 50.8%), but only OK from 3-point range (6-for-19 = 31.6%). Here are the complete stats.

The starters were Zak Irvin, Sean Lonergan, Duncan Robinson, Moritz Wagner, and Derrick Walton Jr. Lonergan started in place of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who didn’t play due to an ankle injury. Andrew Dakich also didn’t play. I don’t know why.

Who Looked Good

The star of the game was Wagner. He only played 25 minutes, but he was the leading scorer, with 15 points. He shot well (7-for-9, 1-for-1 from 3-point range), only had 1 turnover and 2 fouls, and even grabbed a couple rebounds.

Irvin also had 15 points, but he was much less efficient than Wagner: 6-for-12, and 1-for-4 from 3-point range. He did grab 4 rebounds and a couple steals.

Walton hit double figures, with 12 points. He also shot 50% (3-for-6), grabbed a couple rebounds, and had 7 assists.

DJ Wilson played well in his new role on the wing. He had 10 points, on 4-for-10 shooting, and 9 rebounds. He also had a couple blocked shots, and played pretty good defense. He ran the floor well, and seemed to be much more comfortable out there.

Freshman Ibi Watson scored 7 points in 18 minutes, and looked pretty smooth out there.

Who Looked Not-So-Good

Robinson had a fairly mediocre game: 6 points on 3-for-7 shooting, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range. All 3 of his 3-point attempts were wide open; he just bricked them.

Freshman Xavier Simpson played 14 minutes, but failed to score. He looked fast and fearless, and he had 5 rebounds, but he needs to chip in a few points.

Mark Donnal was the backup at center, and he had a quiet game. He scored 2 points on 1-for-2 shooting in 7 minutes of action. He did have 4 rebounds.

Who Else Played

Lonergan played 20 minutes, and made both of his attempts for 4 points, along with a couple rebounds.

Freshman Jon Teske was the 3^rd center, and he played for 4 minutes. He made both of his attempts, for 4 points.

Freshman Austin Davis was the 4^th center, and he only played for 3 minutes. He made his only attempt, for 2 points. It sure looks like he’s going to be redshirted this season.

Redshirt freshman Brent Hibbitts played for 4 minutes, but failed to score.

Converted manager Fred Wright-Jones played for 2 minutes, but failed to score.

The Big Picture

What can we learn from an exhibition game? Not much. Michigan was obviously quite a bit better than Armstrong State, and they took care of business. It wasn’t pretty, but it was good practice. Michigan looked about as good as expected. On to the real games.

Note: At one point, Michigan did have 4 of their 5 “W” players on the court at once: Wagner, Walton, Watson, and Wilson. Only Wright-Jones was missing. I just noticed that all 4 of those names have 6 letters. Weird, huh?

What’s Next

This week Michigan plays two games, in the “Ann Arbor Regional” in the 2K Classic. These games are technically part of the 2K Classic, but they don’t affect which teams go to the Championship Round on 11/17 and 11/18. They’re just “warm up” games.

On Friday (11/11/2016, 9:00 p.m., BTN Plus), Michigan plays Howard, then on Sunday (11/13/2016, 12:00 p.m., WatchESPN), Michigan plays IUPUI. I expect Michigan to win both games handily, and get more chances to experiment with different lineup combinations.

Come on down to Crisler Arena to see how they do, and check back next week.

Go Blue!

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team finished their season last week with a loss in the 2^nd round (after the “First Four”) of the NCAA Tournament. They finished the season with a final overall record of 23-13 (10-8 in the Big Ten), which is decent, but not as good as hoped for or expected.

Season Wrap-Up

For the second season in a row, UM was hampered by big injuries to key players. Last season, it was Derrick Walton Jr. and Caris LeVert. This season it was LeVert again, and Spike Albrecht, the only 2 seniors on the team. Albrecht played a total of 69 minutes in 8 games before he finally retired on 12/11/2015, so he missed 28 games, including the entire Big Ten season and postseason play. LeVert played a little more (15 games, missing 21 games), but only played 48 minutes in Big Ten play, and none in the postseason. In both seasons, LeVert was leading the team in most offensive statistical categories when he went down. They were big injuries, and it took a while for the team to adjust and recover.

At the beginning of the season, I divided the games on the schedule up into 3 categories: “Should Win”, “Should Lose”, and “Toss Up”. Here was my initial guess that those games:

• Should Win (14) – Northern Michigan, Elon, Houston Baptist, Delaware State, Northern Kentucky, Youngstown State, Bryant, Penn State (home), Minnesota (home), Rutgers, Penn State (neutral), Purdue (home), Northwestern (home), Iowa (home).
  
• Should Lose (3) – Ohio State, Maryland (away), Wisconsin.
  
• Toss Up (14) – Xavier, UConn, 2^nd round Battle 4 Atlantis, 3^rd round Battle 4 Atlantis, NC State, SMU, Illinois, Purdue (away), Maryland (home), Iowa (away), Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota (away).
  

I was way off in listing Purdue and Iowa as “Should Win” games, even though UM did beat Purdue in Ann Arbor. So, of the 12 true “Should Win” games, Michigan won all 12 of them.

Michigan did indeed lose all 3 of the “Should Lose” games.

Moving the Purdue (home) and Iowa (home) games to the “Toss Up” category, UM did pretty well, beating the 2^nd round opponent in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament (Charlotte), the 3^rd round Battle 4 Atlantis opponent (Texas), NC State, Illinois, Maryland (home), Nebraska, Purdue (home), and Minnesota (away). That’s 8 out of 16.

In fact, Michigan beat every team they were expected to beat, and only lost to teams that they were expected to lose to. They beat a few of the teams that they weren’t expected to beat: Texas, NC State, Maryland, Purdue, and Indiana (Big Ten Tournament). The only problem was that when they lost to a team they were expected to lose to, they often lost big, and looked bad doing it. In particular, the Xavier, UConn, SMU, Indiana (home), and Michigan State games were depressing.

Final Grades

Here are the final grades for the team, with mid-term grades in parentheses:

Freshman Eligibility

Brent Hibbitts: Inc. (Inc.)

Brent was voluntarily redshirted. I expect him to be a practice squad player for his whole career.

Moritz Wagner: B (B-)

Moe started strong early, especially in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, then disappeared for most of the rest of the regular season. He came alive again in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. When he played with confidence, he looked great, but when he played tentatively, he looked lost. A summer in the weight room will do wonders for him.

DJ Wilson: C (B-)

DJ showed some promise early in the season, then faded from view. He showed flashes of potential, but there were many times that he just seemed to run up and down the court without wanting to get involved. He can still find a role on this team going forward, but he needs to focus a little better.

Sophomore Eligibility

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman: A- (B-)

MAAR got better as the season went on. He was the best player at slashing to the rim, and he showed great athleticism against bigger players. He doesn’t have the court vision of a point guard, and he doesn’t have the 3-point touch of a shooting guard, but he is fast and fearless.

Kameron Chatman: C- (C+)

Kam had a hard time getting into the games, but once he did, he either did very well or very poorly. After a horrible 3-point shooting slump to start the season, he hit some big shots down the stretch, including the dramatic game-winner against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. He has boatloads of potential, he just needs to get some consistency.

Aubrey Dawkins: B- (B)

For a while, Aubrey looked like he was going to be “the best 6^th man in the Big Ten”. He is a great 3-point shooter, rebounder, and dunk artist, but he’s a liability on the defensive end. He went into a shooting slump at the end of the season, and that limited his minutes and effectiveness. He can still be a great 6^th man, and even a starter, but he needs to work on his defense, and get more consistent with his 3-point shot.

Mark Donnal: B (B-)

Mark voluntarily redshirted his first season, so he had sophomore eligibility, even though he was listed as a junior on the official roster. He began the season as a starter, lost his spot to Doyle, and almost disappeared. When he got into the non-conference games, he didn’t do much. Then the Big Ten season started, and he suddenly woke up. He had several 20+ point games in league play, and became the clear choice for the starting center. If he can start from that point next season, he could be a force in the Big Ten.

Ricky Doyle: C (B)

Ricky began the season as the backup center, played his way into starting, then regressed back to the backup position, and below. It turns out he had undiagnosed sleep apnea and asthma issues. Maybe once his medical issues are addressed, he’ll get back to his previous level of play.

Duncan Robinson: B+ (A-)

Duncan started the season red hot from 3-point range, then cooled down as the wear-and-tear of the long Big Ten schedule ground him down. On the positive side, as his 3-point shooting cooled off, he got much better at other phases of his game, especially rebounding and driving to the basket. His defense could still use some work, and another summer of Camp Sanderson will certainly help. If he can build up his conditioning and endurance, he could be one of the elite shooters in the Big Ten (and the nation) next season.

Junior Eligibility

Andrew Dakich: C (Inc.)

Andrew has voluntarily “burned his redshirt” the last two seasons, and has certainly helped the team when it needed him. He plays hard when he’s in, but he’s obviously a step slower and a lot less athletic than the scholarship players on the other teams. The opposing defenses get to play 5-on-4 when he’s on the floor, since he refuses to shoot, even when he’s wide open. Still, he provides valuable rest for the main rotation guards when he’s in, and he can “hold the fort” for a few minutes.

Zak Irvin: B (B-)

Zak had a slow start to the season as he recovered from pre-season back surgery. When both seniors (Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert) went down to injuries, he and Derrick Walton Jr. stepped up as on-floor leaders. Zak wasn’t particularly efficient, but he managed to score a lot of points when his team needed them. He played hard, and he provided good leadership.

Sean Lonergan: Inc. (Inc.)

Sean was voluntarily redshirted this season. I expect him to play sparingly next season as a redshirt junior.

Derrick Walton Jr.: A- (A)

Derrick was the other on-court leader, once the seniors went down to injury. He played pretty well all season, but he was obviously running out of gas near the end. He was asked to carry a heavy load, due to the injuries, and it took a toll on him. He should have much better support next season (see “Looking Ahead”, below).

Senior Eligibility

Spike Albrecht: Inc. (Inc.)

Sure, Spike played in parts of 8 games, but usually only 8-10 minutes. He had double hip surgery in the off-season, and he never looked comfortable out there. He finally “retired” on 12/11/2015, ending this season, and possibly his career. A medical redshirt season is still possible, so he might be back next season, but there’s a problem – UM is out of scholarships for next season. So, maybe Spike will play a “grad transfer” year somewhere else. I hope he’s back at UM, healthy and ready to play.

Caris LeVert: A (A)

I saved the best for last. Caris only played half a season, but he played it well. He missed all but a few minutes of the Big Ten season, and all of the postseason, but he still contributed before his injury. He will be missed.

Looking Ahead

I’m an optimist, and I usually wrap up every season with all the reasons that next season will be better, but there are several reasons to be more excited about next season than usual:

• Once the team adjusted to “the new normal” (both senior captains out indefinitely), they played pretty well. They had a couple bad stretches, but they also beat some teams they weren’t expected to beat. All those players are coming back.
  
• A couple of the first-year players (Duncan Robinson and Moe Wagner) stand an excellent chance of making the big leap forward that Coach Beilein often gets out of his players.
  
• MAAR was one of the most improved players I’ve seen in many seasons. If he can continue that trajectory, he’ll be an NBA-level player next season.
  
• Coach Beilein has an excellent recruiting class coming in next season.
  

Let’s take a quick look at the incoming freshman for next season (courtesy of UMHoops.com):

• Austin Davis (6’10”, 240 pounds, C/F) – Austin finished as runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Michigan. He’s an old-fashioned, back-to-the-basket, physical center. He’s a good scorer, rebounder, and defender. He could use some conditioning. Hello, Camp Sanderson.
  
• Xavier Simpson (6’0″, 170 pounds, G) – Xavier was Mr. Basketball for Ohio, and he’s the point guard of the future. He’s not very tall, but he can run an offense, and he can score.
  
• Jon Teske (6’11”, 210 pounds, C/F) – Jon is often listed as 7’0″ or 7’1″. He’s a rim-protector, which Michigan hasn’t had in years, and he can score. He’s another player who could use some time in the weight room, in his case to bulk up a little.
  
• Ibi Watson (6’5″, 180 pounds, F/W) – Ibi will remind us of Caris LeVert, once he gets the hang of the college game. He’s got the same tools.
  

Be sure to check back in late October for the season preview.

Go Blue!