MBB Game

 

Xavier appears to be good and this is a real regular season game.  Same for the next couple of games. 

• Mark Donnal should not be playing meaningful minutes.  He makes no positive contribution—rebounding, screening, passing, shooting, or ball handling. 
• Mo Wagner is tall and long and aggressive/enthusiastic.  His body is way too flimsy and he is probably less street-smart experienced than his American counterparts.
• It is a bit the same with DJ Wilson, although he is a little smoother/more experienced and I believe he is altogether domestic.  He and Wagner are not, now, Big Ten centers.
• Ricky Doyle, the only real center option, is foul-prone, cannot jump, and misses a lot of layups.
• Aubrey Dawkins is not a strong defensive player at this time.  Did he make a shot in this game?  Turnovers.  Again, what exactly does he contribute?

Michigan is in this game because of a few individual efforts—LeVert threes, Walton plays… 

John Beilein keeps putting in different centers—Doyle, Donnal, Wilson, Wagner.  Nothing is working.

It is all very reminiscent of the old LeVert days.  He does it all himself.  And the team is maybe good, or mediocre, but that is all.  Michigan is not playing well as a team. 

Maybe he is told to do it; my observation is LeVert enters possessions looking for his shot.  In this game he has made lazy, disinterested, dumb plays including turnovers and fouls (e.g., end first half, foul 3-point shooter).

As the first half ends Derrick Walton has been a non-factor in a losing game, 45-36.

For Michigan the game shows…  A lack of coaching.  They are not playing as a team.  No hustle, no determination, no leadership, no fire.  Can’t really blame them, what can one player do by himself?  No one else is there.  No one else gets it.

Overall the team lacks—does not play it well—defense.  LeVert, Walton, and Albrecht all have experience and quick hands, and that helps.  Positioning and strength are lacking.  Rebounding, boxing out, and strength (again) are missing around the basket.  Michigan’s players get turned-around, and are out of position a lot.

Threes and shooting are the only way they stayed in the game.

Will the second half be different?

Xavier players are standing under the basket uncontested; no one will put a body on them.  They drive down the lane against the whole Michigan team and lay it in.  Dunks.  Offensive rebounds galore.  Most every time Michigan scored, or made a run, Xavier answered.  Michigan is a terrible defensive team.

We now know that Michigan is not good at end-of-game pressing either.

What was Michigan’s record last year, .500?  I don’t see improvement.

EDIT:  Beilein after the game.  “Overmatched.”  Years away.

It is tough to do, talk after a game like that.  He looks and sounds drunk.  Or maybe he is really pissed and is just holding it in.  He says he knows it, he sees it in practice.

He is a gentleman and that is the problem.  His teams play a little too much like gentlemen.  Maybe he makes roster decisions too much like a gentleman.

“You’re living in the past, man.  You’re hung up on some clown from the sixties.”  It looks like an uphill battle.

Beilein is responsible for every recruit, drill, coach, visit, etc. etc.

Years.  Projects.  Or recruiting.  Why not just give in, surrender to the market.  Recognize the reality.

In the meantime, how about a contract extension?