Dare we call the offense a well oiled machine today. Drives, back doors, threes, mid range shots all generated by running the offense. Particularly gratifying has been Zak's improvement. His contribution today was huge, but most of it was not three point shooting. He's terrific on those little curls into the lane where he can take it to the hoop, hit the short jumper, or find the big if the opponent come out to help. He made so many plays and good decisions.
Irvin's play has taken a lot of pressure off Spike. he'll still give us the occasional three or the clever drive for a lay-up, but he mostly runs the show now. Keep he offense moving, make the crisp pass, break the press. MAAR is the secondary ball handler. But he's the guy who can get to the rim, and he's been a better shooter than expected. He defends well, and, as a team, we were pretty good on our switches and our help side defense compared to earlier in the season. Illinois helped us with cold shooting, but not too many of their looks were wide open. When they went to the hoop, we contested almost everything.
Dawkins could end up being one of the great stories in Michigan basketball history. Unheralded recruit who busts out late in his freshman season and goes on to an All B1G career. I've seen a lot of freshmen have that red hot game or two from three and then come back down to earth. Dawkins has steadily improved over the course of the season and has put three stellar games in row together. Illinois has a rep as a pretty good defensive team, and you had to figure that there would be special emphasis on Dawkins. But we spread the floor, were patient and Dawkins got his looks. Most freshmen would be firing up bad shots after the run he's had, but he let the game come to him. His recent forays down the baseline for dunks has added another dimension. Glen Robinson with a jump shot.
The team is doing a great job of reading the opponent and making the right plays. The learning curve has lowered. Interestingly, the guy who looked like he would be our best freshman - Doyle - has struggled the most late in the season. Fortunately Max has come on in ways that we never expected. More than made up for Ricky's play. I thought that Donnal gave us some high quality minutes today, too. In fact, the most striking aspect of today's game was how everyone played a role. No one looked lost or out of place. Chatman didn't score, IIRC, but I thought he played well nonetheless. His length and ball handling ability made him a nice outlet against the press, he's greatly improved on defense - with a way to go.
Wiscy will be tough. We played with them at Crisler, but they are really rolling, and Kaminsky is a game changer. They are a great offensive rebounding team with a big edge in size. Win or lose, it will be interesting to see whether they can stop Dawkins and Irvin, who have played exceptionally well lately. Someone like Chatman may have to step up to give a shot. Should be fun.
Lastly, did I hear Bardo say that Beilein is the best coach in the country? Also, you could tell that Jimmy Jackson was a fan, too, and really enjoyed how we play the game.
Irvin's play has taken a lot of pressure off Spike. he'll still give us the occasional three or the clever drive for a lay-up, but he mostly runs the show now. Keep he offense moving, make the crisp pass, break the press. MAAR is the secondary ball handler. But he's the guy who can get to the rim, and he's been a better shooter than expected. He defends well, and, as a team, we were pretty good on our switches and our help side defense compared to earlier in the season. Illinois helped us with cold shooting, but not too many of their looks were wide open. When they went to the hoop, we contested almost everything.
Dawkins could end up being one of the great stories in Michigan basketball history. Unheralded recruit who busts out late in his freshman season and goes on to an All B1G career. I've seen a lot of freshmen have that red hot game or two from three and then come back down to earth. Dawkins has steadily improved over the course of the season and has put three stellar games in row together. Illinois has a rep as a pretty good defensive team, and you had to figure that there would be special emphasis on Dawkins. But we spread the floor, were patient and Dawkins got his looks. Most freshmen would be firing up bad shots after the run he's had, but he let the game come to him. His recent forays down the baseline for dunks has added another dimension. Glen Robinson with a jump shot.
The team is doing a great job of reading the opponent and making the right plays. The learning curve has lowered. Interestingly, the guy who looked like he would be our best freshman - Doyle - has struggled the most late in the season. Fortunately Max has come on in ways that we never expected. More than made up for Ricky's play. I thought that Donnal gave us some high quality minutes today, too. In fact, the most striking aspect of today's game was how everyone played a role. No one looked lost or out of place. Chatman didn't score, IIRC, but I thought he played well nonetheless. His length and ball handling ability made him a nice outlet against the press, he's greatly improved on defense - with a way to go.
Wiscy will be tough. We played with them at Crisler, but they are really rolling, and Kaminsky is a game changer. They are a great offensive rebounding team with a big edge in size. Win or lose, it will be interesting to see whether they can stop Dawkins and Irvin, who have played exceptionally well lately. Someone like Chatman may have to step up to give a shot. Should be fun.
Lastly, did I hear Bardo say that Beilein is the best coach in the country? Also, you could tell that Jimmy Jackson was a fan, too, and really enjoyed how we play the game.
