Basketball team may not have the experienced pieces this year..

[palmspringsblue]

Who can be sure of much after watching 2 games and an exhibition.The kids may need more time than they have to develop the court awareness needed and to mesh into a complete team..but my observations..
.... Williams is a nice hustle guy but probably doesn't have the game to be playing the big minutes he probably will have to. Once he gets near the Big Ten , the Bigs will be too big for him and the smalls too quick...He played quite a bit early last season also, before what we hoped was youth, held him back. This years team lost so much that we may need him to be better than I expect or we go more double Bigs and Bufkin ??? emerge ...We know Houstan can get it done at the 3.
....Johns appears to be the exact same player he was last year. He was enough on last years team but not on this one. Davis will be missed a lot...Not much difference playing Diabate on the floor with Hunter than with playing Johns , as he hits some 3s but after that ...Johns is another Tweener who needs a better floor game to be a consistent asset on the floor. He can be good enough if the young kids progress fast.
....Nunez.....all about the shot....if he doesn't hit them , Bufkin may... and Bufkin is a better athlete with potential ball on the floor skills. By the Big season this will be sorted and one of the two will have his minutes cut..
.... Bufkin...obviously he played well and it is easy to like what we saw..I would say that unlike Nunez who came here as a shooter and couldn't shoot , you have to see a nice stroke here from a kid who looks to be quick enough to learn how to defend a second guard. Defend a 3 ? We need to see more minutes from this kid , but he has the potential on a team that needs shooters to grab big minutes. If he can handle the ball under pressure this kid has huge upside and probably knocks Collins down to very few minutes. No he is not a point , but if he has enough floor game to play with Eli , that could really elevate this teams shooting regardless of the other 3 players on the floor ( think Houstan at the 3)..Big upside for himself and the team. My guess is Juwan gets him big minutes asap to see what he has in this kid.
....Collins..can't shoot, very small..we haven't seen the positives yet and he may get buried on the bench before we do..
....Jones..interesting spot here because he does some things well and that may be enough . Besides ? Do we have other options ? If this were 1970-something this kid would be a star...It isn't..He, Williams and even Hunter belong last century. Hunter may play in the NBA because he does have skills and is 7 ft. plus...
Jones can't beat his man off the dribble with quickness and doesn't appear to be a 3 ball guy or a pull up guy...this may allow his defender a lot of options. Jones powers his way inside , which is fine , but usually doesn't allow for easy passes as you are engaged physically with your defender. His handle is ok, we will see on that, but this may put extra pressure on Eli and others...darn..at almost every aspect of the game I think we miss Franz...anyway....He needs to be as good as Smith to get us to where we want to go..Eli is mellow so this guy needs to be the glue with steady play protecting the basketball.
....Houstan..So young that he might be twice the player at the end of the year than he is now. At the least.... he provides shooting, height and a good bball IQ along with zero " stage too big" play. We will see if he can handle the ball more and do some of the Franz gray area stuff. Third man on break, nice pass and tough rebounds. His shooting should keep us from a lot of in game scoring slumps we had a few years ago. There is no question he is excellent and will be a huge plus this year. We still need to see if he can get to the hole without a charge, play man defense, and pass when the defenders rush at him. He may add as much to the team as Hunter did last year..
....Diabate...raw , but doesn't appear as foul prone as I thought he could be. I don't see him being the unreal shot blocker some had mentioned, but he does have a better handle and touch inside than thought. We have played him with Hunter a fair bit..If that works, Johns and Williams may see less time as we beef up the shooting at the 3. Too early to know his impact , but much smoother than thought and he may mesh if he can do enough without needing the ball in his hands. I don't see him being as valuable as Davis as a Hunter sub inside, but he can do more things. Not a sure fire 1 year guy IMO..We will see..
....Eli and Hunter are the same money they were last year. Both could score at will on teams that needed it. Too bad Eli never became a point ,as if he had developed, he has NBA physical and shooting skills and just enough ht. He is top 5 favorite Wolverines for me.

 

[GoBlueToledo3]

This will be an interesting and fun team to watch this year. A lot of players getting game minutes to show what they have or don't have in actual game situations. It appears that Diabate and Williams have locked up spots in the rotation. Looks like Nunez, Bufkin, Collins and Jackson will be fighting it out to get some game minutes.

 

[orsons]

Who can be sure of much after watching 2 games and an exhibition.The kids may need more time than they have to develop the court awareness needed and to mesh into a complete team..but my observations..
.... Williams is a nice hustle guy but probably doesn't have the game to be playing the big minutes he probably will have to. Once he gets near the Big Ten , the Bigs will be too big for him and the smalls too quick...He played quite a bit early last season also, before what we hoped was youth, held him back. This years team lost so much that we may need him to be better than I expect or we go more double Bigs and Bufkin ??? emerge ...We know Houstan can get it done at the 3.
....Johns appears to be the exact same player he was last year. He was enough on last years team but not on this one. Davis will be missed a lot...Not much difference playing Diabate on the floor with Hunter than with playing Johns , as he hits some 3s but after that ...Johns is another Tweener who needs a better floor game to be a consistent asset on the floor. He can be good enough if the young kids progress fast.
....Nunez.....all about the shot....if he doesn't hit them , Bufkin may... and Bufkin is a better athlete with potential ball on the floor skills. By the Big season this will be sorted and one of the two will have his minutes cut..
.... Bufkin...obviously he played well and it is easy to like what we saw..I would say that unlike Nunez who came here as a shooter and couldn't shoot , you have to see a nice stroke here from a kid who looks to be quick enough to learn how to defend a second guard. Defend a 3 ? We need to see more minutes from this kid , but he has the potential on a team that needs shooters to grab big minutes. If he can handle the ball under pressure this kid has huge upside and probably knocks Collins down to very few minutes. No he is not a point , but if he has enough floor game to play with Eli , that could really elevate this teams shooting regardless of the other 3 players on the floor ( think Houstan at the 3)..Big upside for himself and the team. My guess is Juwan gets him big minutes asap to see what he has in this kid.
....Collins..can't shoot, very small..we haven't seen the positives yet and he may get buried on the bench before we do..
....Jones..interesting spot here because he does some things well and that may be enough . Besides ? Do we have other options ? If this were 1970-something this kid would be a star...It isn't..He, Williams and even Hunter belong last century. Hunter may play in the NBA because he does have skills and is 7 ft. plus...
Jones can't beat his man off the dribble with quickness and doesn't appear to be a 3 ball guy or a pull up guy...this may allow his defender a lot of options. Jones powers his way inside , which is fine , but usually doesn't allow for easy passes as you are engaged physically with your defender. His handle is ok, we will see on that, but this may put extra pressure on Eli and others...darn..at almost every aspect of the game I think we miss Franz...anyway....He needs to be as good as Smith to get us to where we want to go..Eli is mellow so this guy needs to be the glue with steady play protecting the basketball.
....Houstan..So young that he might be twice the player at the end of the year than he is now. At the least.... he provides shooting, height and a good bball IQ along with zero " stage too big" play. We will see if he can handle the ball more and do some of the Franz gray area stuff. Third man on break, nice pass and tough rebounds. His shooting should keep us from a lot of in game scoring slumps we had a few years ago. There is no question he is excellent and will be a huge plus this year. We still need to see if he can get to the hole without a charge, play man defense, and pass when the defenders rush at him. He may add as much to the team as Hunter did last year..
....Diabate...raw , but doesn't appear as foul prone as I thought he could be. I don't see him being the unreal shot blocker some had mentioned, but he does have a better handle and touch inside than thought. We have played him with Hunter a fair bit..If that works, Johns and Williams may see less time as we beef up the shooting at the 3. Too early to know his impact , but much smoother than thought and he may mesh if he can do enough without needing the ball in his hands. I don't see him being as valuable as Davis as a Hunter sub inside, but he can do more things. Not a sure fire 1 year guy IMO..We will see..
....Eli and Hunter are the same money they were last year. Both could score at will on teams that needed it. Too bad Eli never became a point ,as if he had developed, he has NBA physical and shooting skills and just enough ht. veryHe is top 5 favorite Wolverines for me.

Very interesting detailed post my man. One thing not mentioned which we need to focus on and improve drastically is Free Throw shooting. 53% is way below acceptable. With exception of Eli Brooks, no one was been dropping it in consistently from from 15 ft. at the charity stripe.

 

[orsons]

This will be an interesting and fun team to watch this year. A lot of players getting game minutes to show what they have or don't have in actual game situations. It appears that Diabate and Williams have locked up spots in the rotation. Looks like Nunez, Bufkin, Collins and Jackson will be fighting it out to get some game minutes.

Huston was looking sweet behind the arch. In B Ten he would not have been called for a charge in the second half. Foul would have been on the D. Really like what I saw from Bufkin. Nunez is so compelled to shoot when he is out there. He would be better at times keeping the flow of the offense in motion. His shot is pretty much same as it was for 1'st 4 years. Just not there.

 

[palmspringsblue]

Very interesting detailed post my man. One thing not mentioned which we need to focus on and improve drastically is Free Throw shooting. 53% is way below acceptable. With exception of Eli Brooks, no one was been dropping it in consistently from from 15 ft. at the charity stripe.

This will be an interesting and fun team to watch this year. A lot of players getting game minutes to show what they have or don't have in actual game situations. It appears that Diabate and Williams have locked up spots in the rotation. Looks like Nunez, Bufkin, Collins and Jackson will be fighting it out to get some game minutes.

I would guess that Williams will be given every chance to get minutes this year as he is at a position of need. BUT...I wouldn't be sure he gets them as we will need to see some shooting percentages and other stats after a few games to see if he is an asset right now. Of the other 4, Bufkin has the best chance to win minutes as of now.. Of the other 3 , I would guess that unless Williams goes flat , they don't get minutes.

 

[BlueBlood Down Under]

Who can be sure of much after watching 2 games and an exhibition.The kids may need more time than they have to develop the court awareness needed and to mesh into a complete team..but my observations..
.... Williams is a nice hustle guy but probably doesn't have the game to be playing the big minutes he probably will have to. Once he gets near the Big Ten , the Bigs will be too big for him and the smalls too quick...He played quite a bit early last season also, before what we hoped was youth, held him back. This years team lost so much that we may need him to be better than I expect or we go more double Bigs and Bufkin ??? emerge ...We know Houstan can get it done at the 3.
....Johns appears to be the exact same player he was last year. He was enough on last years team but not on this one. Davis will be missed a lot...Not much difference playing Diabate on the floor with Hunter than with playing Johns , as he hits some 3s but after that ...Johns is another Tweener who needs a better floor game to be a consistent asset on the floor. He can be good enough if the young kids progress fast.
....Nunez.....all about the shot....if he doesn't hit them , Bufkin may... and Bufkin is a better athlete with potential ball on the floor skills. By the Big season this will be sorted and one of the two will have his minutes cut..
.... Bufkin...obviously he played well and it is easy to like what we saw..I would say that unlike Nunez who came here as a shooter and couldn't shoot , you have to see a nice stroke here from a kid who looks to be quick enough to learn how to defend a second guard. Defend a 3 ? We need to see more minutes from this kid , but he has the potential on a team that needs shooters to grab big minutes. If he can handle the ball under pressure this kid has huge upside and probably knocks Collins down to very few minutes. No he is not a point , but if he has enough floor game to play with Eli , that could really elevate this teams shooting regardless of the other 3 players on the floor ( think Houstan at the 3)..Big upside for himself and the team. My guess is Juwan gets him big minutes asap to see what he has in this kid.
....Collins..can't shoot, very small..we haven't seen the positives yet and he may get buried on the bench before we do..
....Jones..interesting spot here because he does some things well and that may be enough . Besides ? Do we have other options ? If this were 1970-something this kid would be a star...It isn't..He, Williams and even Hunter belong last century. Hunter may play in the NBA because he does have skills and is 7 ft. plus...
Jones can't beat his man off the dribble with quickness and doesn't appear to be a 3 ball guy or a pull up guy...this may allow his defender a lot of options. Jones powers his way inside , which is fine , but usually doesn't allow for easy passes as you are engaged physically with your defender. His handle is ok, we will see on that, but this may put extra pressure on Eli and others...darn..at almost every aspect of the game I think we miss Franz...anyway....He needs to be as good as Smith to get us to where we want to go..Eli is mellow so this guy needs to be the glue with steady play protecting the basketball.
....Houstan..So young that he might be twice the player at the end of the year than he is now. At the least.... he provides shooting, height and a good bball IQ along with zero " stage too big" play. We will see if he can handle the ball more and do some of the Franz gray area stuff. Third man on break, nice pass and tough rebounds. His shooting should keep us from a lot of in game scoring slumps we had a few years ago. There is no question he is excellent and will be a huge plus this year. We still need to see if he can get to the hole without a charge, play man defense, and pass when the defenders rush at him. He may add as much to the team as Hunter did last year..
....Diabate...raw , but doesn't appear as foul prone as I thought he could be. I don't see him being the unreal shot blocker some had mentioned, but he does have a better handle and touch inside than thought. We have played him with Hunter a fair bit..If that works, Johns and Williams may see less time as we beef up the shooting at the 3. Too early to know his impact , but much smoother than thought and he may mesh if he can do enough without needing the ball in his hands. I don't see him being as valuable as Davis as a Hunter sub inside, but he can do more things. Not a sure fire 1 year guy IMO..We will see..
....Eli and Hunter are the same money they were last year. Both could score at will on teams that needed it. Too bad Eli never became a point ,as if he had developed, he has NBA physical and shooting skills and just enough ht. He is top 5 favorite Wolverines for me.

You make it sound like each player’s limitations three games in are going to be their limitations 25 games later.

I suspect that these guys will develop just a bit.

That is not to say that we are playing now like a finished final four product …. We are not.

 

[goodvibes]

Michigan might have the most experienced backcourt in the conference. Jones initially entered the NBA draft and showed very well at rookie camp. Dickinson is an All American. You might have 3 freshmen in the rotation but 2 of them are ridiculous 5 star players. There is no deeper team in the conference. They will take some losses for sure as they put the pieces together but this team is a legitimate title contender.

 

[BlueSwede94]

I certainly understand some of these points, but college basketball is a sport of runs as Coach likes to say, and I think that this team has enough talent and depth to make plenty of runs. Given that we are going to be playing a lot of freshmen this season, I feel like we'll have plenty of ups and downs, but in college hoops it only takes 2-3 players to get hot to win a lot of games. And I feel like some combination of Dickinson, Houstan and/or Brooks/Jones can take over a lot of the games on our schedule.

 

[BlueMonsters]

Just caught a game and a half but their D is nowhere close to what it was the last two years! It was a strength of ours that helped us be a complete team. The O at times looks complacent and not moving at the speed it needs to. Haven’t seen the stats but Buffalo boarded and played right with us.....have confidence in Juwan to polish this up. Not a Nunez fan and a bit surprised the amount of playing time he’s getting....

 

[djsjr5]

Bufkin needs 2 steak dinners each night. He’s razor thin. Good skills though

 

[orsons]

Just caught a game and a half but their D is nowhere close to what it was the last two years! It was a strength of ours that helped us be a complete team. The O at times looks complacent and not moving at the speed it needs to. Haven’t seen the stats but Buffalo boarded and played right with us.....have confidence in Juwan to polish this up. Not a Nunez fan and a bit surprised the amount of playing time he’s getting....

We do hurry shots a lot and agreed, am not a big Nunez fan either. He is definitely a shoot quickly dude still searching for the shot that disappeared on him 5 years ago.

 

[RichardMassive]

It's early, but I'm not in love with our team yet. You can tell we have a ton of talent and a lot of depth, but we aren't playing as a cohesive unit quite yet. I also think our PG play has regressed tremendously and that will hurt us in games...especially early. I thought Jones would be able to break his man down in a half court setting and shoot at a high clip...neither of those appear to be true. Tuesday may very well be an L for us.

I do think we have a very high ceiling if Jones can step up and be the player we hoped he'd be. Freshmen will also have to improve since we're so reliant on them as well. I love Diabate so far though

 

[gdog67]

Very nice post.

I would suggest that Collins was very impressive in the first game, although the exposure was limited, of course. In the second game he was out of control much of the time, and that hurt us and his early chances for playing time. IF he can stay within himself, and not try to go solo and wild, he has what appear to be very good ball handling skills. We may need those against teams that pressure, when foul trouble emerges (a 9th man?). BTW, Eli looked good handling the ball in game 1, but lost the ball several times against pressure in game 2, reminiscent of his PG problems in earlier years. We shall see if he corrects and raises his 2021 level when needed to play at the point.

Bufkin sure looked better in game 2, and at 6’4, with a 3 ball reputation, he could really be a huge addition to the 6-8 deep.

I don’t see Williams playing the minimal role you suggest being possible, even if Johns, Diabate, and Bufkin ascend. His overall game savvy, ability to rebound, and multiple position potential suggest that he will be a plug and play this year, in differing situations, which will add up to significant minutes. The sum of his parts and (and of the team’s parts when he is on the court) appears to be greater than his “skill level” might indicate. Coaches just plain love a “glue guy”.

Zeb? Who knows? We have very little to go on from last year, other than having seen his significant “athletic” potential. He showed many flaws in his game through most of the year, albeit with limited playing time. Some good minutes in a couple of games make us feel hopeful that a year of development could be another factor in the 2-3 (wing) mix.

We obviously need Johns to be better than last year, and thus far he looks just as uncomfortable as he did. He appears to be the opposite of game savvy, that’s for sure. If he can limit himself to what he can potentially do well (hit the 3 from the corner, and the midrange 2, rebound at the offensive end, and learn how to finish at the rim), it will really help. We just don’t have a 4 that can be on the court with Hunter when we need a corner 3 threat at one end, and a guy with height, size, and decent quickness defensively at the other end. He has to give up the ball to ASAP when ball handling is called for, regardless of where he is on the court. He violates virtually every basic with the ball in his when dribbling, inbounding, passing on the perimeter, etc.

Diabate may well be a good sub for Johns at the 4, when the lineups on the floor against us allow. Especially if our 1-2-3 players all are threats from 3. You just can not give up on the points per possession advantage the 3 pointers made vs. 2 pointers made (per game) gives a team in the ”modern game”!!!

 

[palmspringsblue]

You make it sound like each player’s limitations three games in are going to be their limitations 25 games later.

I suspect that these guys will develop just a bit.

That is not to say that we are playing now like a finished final four product …. We are not.

I agree..but I tried to look at upside and downside of each player and how they would fit into what Michigan needs to win. Just my observations and of course I hope every player on the team plays better than any upside we all thought possible.

 

[palmspringsblue]

Very nice post.

I would suggest that Collins was very impressive in the first game, although the exposure was limited, of course. In the second game he was out of control much of the time, and that hurt us and his early chances for playing time. IF he can stay within himself, and not try to go solo and wild, he has what appear to be very good ball handling skills. We may need those against teams that pressure, when foul trouble emerges (a 9th man?). BTW, Eli looked good handling the ball in game 1, but lost the ball several times against pressure in game 2, reminiscent of his PG problems in earlier years. We shall see if he corrects and raises his 2021 level when needed to play at the point.

Bufkin sure looked better in game 2, and at 6’4, with a 3 ball reputation, he could really be a huge addition to the 6-8 deep.

I don’t see Williams playing the minimal role you suggest being possible, even if Johns, Diabate, and Bufkin ascend. His overall game savvy, ability to rebound, and multiple position potential suggest that he will be a plug and play this year, in differing situations, which will add up to significant minutes. The sum of his parts and (and of the team’s parts when he is on the court) appears to be greater than his “skill level” might indicate. Coaches just plain love a “glue guy”.

Zeb? Who knows? We have very little to go on from last year, other than having seen his significant “athletic” potential. He showed many flaws in his game through most of the year, albeit with limited playing time. Some good minutes in a couple of games make us feel hopeful that a year of development could be another factor in the 2-3 (wing) mix.

We obviously need Johns to be better than last year, and thus far he looks just as uncomfortable as he did. He appears to be the opposite of game savvy, that’s for sure. If he can limit himself to what he can potentially do well (hit the 3 from the corner, and the midrange 2, rebound at the offensive end, and learn how to finish at the rim), it will really help. We just don’t have a 4 that can be on the court with Hunter when we need a corner 3 threat at one end, and a guy with height, size, and decent quickness defensively at the other end. He has to give up the ball to ASAP when ball handling is called for, regardless of where he is on the court. He violates virtually every basic with the ball in his when dribbling, inbounding, passing on the perimeter, etc.

Diabate may well be a good sub for Johns at the 4, when the lineups on the floor against us allow. Especially if our 1-2-3 players all are threats from 3. You just can not give up on the points per possession advantage the 3 pointers made vs. 2 pointers made (per game) gives a team in the ”modern game”!!!

Nice read..I would hope Williams is that guy and they are doing everything possible to make him that guy..My thought is that unless he takes a big step up, the fact that he is playing that many minutes will tell us this team may not be as good as we hoped. Now that is what I see right now. I would suggest that after the pre-Big 10 season is complete it will tell Juwan whether Williams is stable enough to be that guy who can do the things in the gray areas that every team needs. He is not physically gifted so unlike Franz he won't be able to lean on that for a year or so while he tightens up his floor game and figures out what he can and can't do against good competition.
Anyway....with Hunter, Diabate and Johns all inside guys who probably shouldn't be putting it on the floor much, Houston and Williams are now taking the Franz and Brown roles. Will Williams be as valuable as Brown was last year ? Although Houston has nowhere near the defensive skills Franz had , he may shoot well enough on a team that is starving for shooters to be Franz's equal....It goes back to Williams...

 

[palmspringsblue]

Bufkin needs 2 steak dinners each night. He’s razor thin. Good skills though

I hope he stays thin enough to have to stay at Michigan four years to get physically ready for the NBA !!!!!!!

 

[ConqueringHero]

It's early, but I'm not in love with our team yet. You can tell we have a ton of talent and a lot of depth, but we aren't playing as a cohesive unit quite yet. I also think our PG play has regressed tremendously and that will hurt us in games...especially early. I thought Jones would be able to break his man down in a half court setting and shoot at a high clip...neither of those appear to be true. Tuesday may very well be an L for us.

I do think we have a very high ceiling if Jones can step up and be the player we hoped he'd be. Freshmen will also have to improve since we're so reliant on them as well. I love Diabate so far though

Time will tell, but I think that through 2 games some people are underestimating Jones, Williams, and Diabate. Particularly Jones.
Seton Hall will be a huge test... but this exact time last season we had a similar game to Buffalo against a Bowling Green team that was likely worse... and then went to OT with a terrible Oakland team. Even our first couple conference games against PSU and Nebraska were relatively rough (especially PSU).
It is a long season. Obviously the chances that we start 18-1 again aren't super high though.

 

[RichardMassive]

Time will tell, but I think that through 3 games some people are underestimating Jones, Williams, and Diabate. Particularly Jones.
Seton Hall will be a huge test... but this exact time last season we had a similar game to Buffalo against a Bowling Green team that was likely worse... and then went to OT with a terrible Oakland team. Even our first couple conference games against PSU and Nebraska were relatively rough (especially PSU).
It is a long season. Obviously the chances that we start 18-1 again aren't super high though.

I remember last season and our early struggles quite well. Im by no means writing our team off, but I think those crowning them this soon are also acting prematurely. The evidence so far is inconclusive, but hasn’t looked awe inspiring

 

[ConqueringHero]

I remember last season and our early struggles quite well. Im by no means writing our team off, but I think those crowning them this soon are also acting prematurely. The evidence so far is inconclusive, but hasn’t looked awe inspiring

Agree with that. Definitely don’t know exactly what we have yet.

 

[palmspringsblue]

Time will tell, but I think that through 2 games some people are underestimating Jones, Williams, and Diabate. Particularly Jones.
Seton Hall will be a huge test... but this exact time last season we had a similar game to Buffalo against a Bowling Green team that was likely worse... and then went to OT with a terrible Oakland team. Even our first couple conference games against PSU and Nebraska were relatively rough (especially PSU).
It is a long season. Obviously the chances that we start 18-1 again aren't super high though.

Time will tell for sure...Jones and Diabate are still big mysteries . Nothing I have seen so far tells me they can't be excellent addition s here . I hope I am a bit guilty of letting Williams play last year cloud my judgement..but..he is definitely in "have to show me" camp right now.
He doesn't have a killer app skill , so he needs to be pretty good at all of them to demand minutes. If Diabate and Houston play up to the level we hope , that will squeeze Williams minutes. I really doubt he gets minutes at the 2 , as Eli and Jones appear to be only average ball handlers and Williams is well below that . But..with this roster , we will need Williams to be good.

 

[wiggo05]

Who can be sure of much after watching 2 games and an exhibition.The kids may need more time than they have to develop the court awareness needed and to mesh into a complete team..but my observations..
.... Williams is a nice hustle guy but probably doesn't have the game to be playing the big minutes he probably will have to. Once he gets near the Big Ten , the Bigs will be too big for him and the smalls too quick...He played quite a bit early last season also, before what we hoped was youth, held him back. This years team lost so much that we may need him to be better than I expect or we go more double Bigs and Bufkin ??? emerge ...We know Houstan can get it done at the 3.
....Johns appears to be the exact same player he was last year. He was enough on last years team but not on this one. Davis will be missed a lot...Not much difference playing Diabate on the floor with Hunter than with playing Johns , as he hits some 3s but after that ...Johns is another Tweener who needs a better floor game to be a consistent asset on the floor. He can be good enough if the young kids progress fast.
....Nunez.....all about the shot....if he doesn't hit them , Bufkin may... and Bufkin is a better athlete with potential ball on the floor skills. By the Big season this will be sorted and one of the two will have his minutes cut..
.... Bufkin...obviously he played well and it is easy to like what we saw..I would say that unlike Nunez who came here as a shooter and couldn't shoot , you have to see a nice stroke here from a kid who looks to be quick enough to learn how to defend a second guard. Defend a 3 ? We need to see more minutes from this kid , but he has the potential on a team that needs shooters to grab big minutes. If he can handle the ball under pressure this kid has huge upside and probably knocks Collins down to very few minutes. No he is not a point , but if he has enough floor game to play with Eli , that could really elevate this teams shooting regardless of the other 3 players on the floor ( think Houstan at the 3)..Big upside for himself and the team. My guess is Juwan gets him big minutes asap to see what he has in this kid.
....Collins..can't shoot, very small..we haven't seen the positives yet and he may get buried on the bench before we do..
....Jones..interesting spot here because he does some things well and that may be enough . Besides ? Do we have other options ? If this were 1970-something this kid would be a star...It isn't..He, Williams and even Hunter belong last century. Hunter may play in the NBA because he does have skills and is 7 ft. plus...
Jones can't beat his man off the dribble with quickness and doesn't appear to be a 3 ball guy or a pull up guy...this may allow his defender a lot of options. Jones powers his way inside , which is fine , but usually doesn't allow for easy passes as you are engaged physically with your defender. His handle is ok, we will see on that, but this may put extra pressure on Eli and others...darn..at almost every aspect of the game I think we miss Franz...anyway....He needs to be as good as Smith to get us to where we want to go..Eli is mellow so this guy needs to be the glue with steady play protecting the basketball.
....Houstan..So young that he might be twice the player at the end of the year than he is now. At the least.... he provides shooting, height and a good bball IQ along with zero " stage too big" play. We will see if he can handle the ball more and do some of the Franz gray area stuff. Third man on break, nice pass and tough rebounds. His shooting should keep us from a lot of in game scoring slumps we had a few years ago. There is no question he is excellent and will be a huge plus this year. We still need to see if he can get to the hole without a charge, play man defense, and pass when the defenders rush at him. He may add as much to the team as Hunter did last year..
....Diabate...raw , but doesn't appear as foul prone as I thought he could be. I don't see him being the unreal shot blocker some had mentioned, but he does have a better handle and touch inside than thought. We have played him with Hunter a fair bit..If that works, Johns and Williams may see less time as we beef up the shooting at the 3. Too early to know his impact , but much smoother than thought and he may mesh if he can do enough without needing the ball in his hands. I don't see him being as valuable as Davis as a Hunter sub inside, but he can do more things. Not a sure fire 1 year guy IMO..We will see..
....Eli and Hunter are the same money they were last year. Both could score at will on teams that needed it. Too bad Eli never became a point ,as if he had developed, he has NBA physical and shooting skills and just enough ht. He is top 5 favorite Wolverines for me.

Great analysis. I think Williams impact will pretty big. High basketball IQ and makes winning plays. Not the most physically gifted player but I want him on my team.

 

[palmspringsblue]

Great analysis. I think Williams impact will pretty big. High basketball IQ and makes winning plays. Not the most physically gifted player but I want him on my team.

I haven't bought in yet. I hope he is all that as with him playing as well as many here think he will , we will be very good.
As far as want him on my team..I get it...I will need to see his positive impact outweigh the negative after about 10 games to be sold. If he can actually shoot 3s , not turn it over and play tough defense , he will be plenty good.

 

[Wagner Road Wolverine]

Michigan might have the most experienced backcourt in the conference. Jones initially entered the NBA draft and showed very well at rookie camp. Dickinson is an All American. You might have 3 freshmen in the rotation but 2 of them are ridiculous 5 star players. There is no deeper team in the conference. They will take some losses for sure as they put the pieces together but this team is a legitimate title contender.

This 100Percent we’re deeper then any team in the country.