If you’d have told us before the season this Michigan basketball team would finish 30-7 coming up just short of hanging two more banners and making the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed, we’d have told you …
Well … that it’s possible.
This is John Beilein’s team, after all, and the Wolverines had a nucleus coming back that included two of the Big Ten’s best defenders. The program is in good hands, and with captains like junior point guard Zavier Simpson and redshirt junior Charles Matthews demanding excellence, they were going to win a lot of games, including most of the ones they should win.
Matthews will move on but Simpson will be back next year, and boy will he have a chip on his shoulder. Beilein talked about this team being “salty” with each other after giving away the Big Ten Tournament championship game to Michigan State, blowing a 13-point lead and then a five-point edge down the stretch. Simpson was one of the saltiest because he hates to lose, and he’s not going to accept one guy not doing what he’s capable of or handling his assignments when everyone else is.
And no, that really wasn’t the case in Thursday night’s loss to Texas Tech. Simpson isn’t overmatched often but he was Thursday, and he was a weakness on both ends of the floor. It’s not often you can say that, but Tech had a great plan against him. As the Michigan players noted, the Red Raiders were extremely well prepared on defense, knowing every U-M player’s weakness (just like a Big Ten team would), and they were more athletic than any Big Ten team.
Out-scheming teams is a wonderful concept, but it’s getting harder and harder given that many teams are switching ball screens with guys who can guard anyone, and programs like Synergy (computer software) can pretty much tell you how to do it.
“If you want to win you’d better evolve,” Beilein said … “The geometry is amazing, but you have to be receptive to both, keep your fundamentals. Important things — communication, stance, great attitudes, having guys that can shoot the ball and pass are all important. But schemes, you’d better continue to change or you won't hang around. That computer changed everything. Everybody is on everything.”
Beilein has, and he will again. They know their deficiencies offensively and make no mistake — they are going to have to be better next year without Charles Matthews’ defense (yes, he’s leaving – he’ll graduate, and he’s ready to move on). Jarrett Culver is an elite player, even better watching him courtside and what he can do with the ball, but Matthews held him in check most of the first half. Watching sophomore Isaiah Livers try to check him … well, it wasn’t the same. Culver took over in the second half and that was all she wrote.
So what of next year’s team (and beyond)?
Beilein is bullish on the future, and he should be. He was asked by a reporter about the foundation of his program.
“How do you feel about it? Do you think it’s okay?” he said in response, intimating he should if he didn’t. “We’ve got everybody back, and we’ll see. You never know. You’ve got transfers, guys will look at the NBA, the same old. “Charles will graduate so we expect him to go pro. But if we have everybody back, it’s in really good shape. There are really only two seniors and only two juniors we’ve got right now. It’s a really young team and we’re really happy about where it is.”
Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis will test the NBA waters without an agent, but that was always going to happen if he had a big year (which he did). Scouts will likely tell him to go back to school, and he loves it at Michigan. He’s also enamored with the NBA, but we think he’ll be back. Sophomore Jordan Poole was going to give it a shot, too, and we’ll see if that still happens. We expect him to return, but he needs a big summer and to become better with the ball, even his shot, before considering that leap. He still drives Beilein crazy with some of his turnovers.
Several more thoughts:
• What’s Luke Yaklich’s future? He wants to be a head coach, period, and he will be perhaps sooner than later. Yes he’s had great personnel and has benefited from three elite defenders in Simpson, Matthews and center Jon Teske, but this guy is a tireless worker and a great recruiter.
Opinion — he’s going to take a job that suits him where he can have success, not just the first job that opens up, but it’s only a matter of time. We know folks like the “coach in waiting” idea, but guys need to cut their teeth as head coaches at other places to get experience before taking a big-time job like Michigan. When Beilein retires (hopefully not for a decade or so), this program should be humming along and still among the best in college basketball. Guys would be lining up.
Keep in mind, LaVall Jordan was the last guy folks were terrified to lose, and he's still got work to do to be solid at Butler.
Beilein still has that itch to coach, though, and he made it clear last night when asked what he’d do next.
“For a few weeks after the season, it’s just an empty place for me,” Beilein said. “I try to figure out what do I do with myself for a couple days. Now we can only have one team meeting, can’t have any type of practices with guys for seven days. The school year is over in two weeks. My wife says, ‘Go recruiting, get the hell out of the house’ otherwise I’d mope around the house all the time.”
Beilein flirted with the NBA last year and might very well have taken the Detroit Pistons job had it opened. Boston’s Brad Stevens told him how good the gig was, and Beilein is always up for the next challenge. Other teams might kick the tires on him, but his age and the fact that he’s now established here (and the way he talks) makes it seem like he’s here until he retires.
Saddi Washington and DeAndre Haynes are also up and comers in the profession, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them get some looks, too. If we had to bet, we’d assume both would be back next year, however.
• Personnel — the Wolverines need more guys to step up, and we suspect they will. It’s not about talent as much as it is between the ears, however. Beilein always talks about how guys play in games when the lights go on. Some guys, like Brazdeikis, thrive on it from the get-go. There are some that don’t, but they can come around and gain that confidence.
Center Jon Teske is a great example. He was lost and scared at times in his first year, and now he’s one of the Big Ten’s best centers with room still for improvement.
That hasn’t happened yet for redshirt sophomore Austin Davis, and it’s hard to envision it at this point in his career. He is mechanical in going through the motions on the court – Beilein always talks about “being a player,” too, and not just handling your responsibility on the court without screwing up. If that’s your objective, you’re not going to make it.
We saw what Beilein did several years ago — a kid with great hands who changed his body completely and held his own against elite big man talents in his class. He plays like a kid who is overwhelmed, however, and not at all aggressive. If he’s ahead in his academics, he’s a guy you could see graduating early and perhaps grad transferring to a smaller school. Beilein did say earlier this year, however, that Davis was not going to leave Michigan without a degree.
To be clear, we are not advocating for a transfer or saying he should.
The confidence factor is also an interesting one as it pertains to some of the freshmen. Many were disappointed with the lack of contribution outside of Brazdeikis — we, too, fully expected Brandon Johns to provide more minutes. He is an outstanding shooter, but he not only didn’t look to shoot in games; he also had many times in practice he would get shut out.
Johns had moments like that on the recruiting trail in front of the Michigan coaches, too. In fact, the Michigan Elite Camp a few summers ago was vital toward him getting an offer. He needed to be assertive and prove himself, and he did. Now he needs to do it on the court when the lights are on. He will be playing stretch four next year, and he needs a big summer and for that switch to go on that ‘hey, I can excel at this level.’
The same applies to point guard David DeJulius. He’s another one who earned an offer by making six or seven triples in front of Beilein at a game after Beilein told him he had a chance to ‘wow’ him and earn an offer. We’d feel better if he made a few in game situations the way Derrick Walton did his freshman year, but he’ll get his chance.
Frosh big man Colin Castleton — no concerns here about him becoming a very good big man at Michigan. He’s your backup five next year and will probably be 15 pounds heavier, shoot the ball more and see a lot more action from the get-go. They’d really like to get Teske’s minutes down, and Castleton should be the guy who helps there before taking his place the following year.
Frosh Adrien Nunez remains a project. We expect (opinion) it will be a couple more years before he’s ready to contribute.
• Of the returning personnel, expect Livers to put in a huge amount of time this summer working on his ball handling. He’s a residual guy now, much in the mold of Glenn Robinson III in that he’s either shooting or running the floor to get his points, not getting his own. They’ll want him to be able to do more of that next year.
Teske will continue to work on his moves down low. Beilein said yesterday they want to feed him, but they’re not going to dump it into him if he can’t finish. He’s one of the hardest offseason workers on the team, though, and he should be in even better shape next year.
Simpson needs to develop more than just the hook shot, and they know it. He needs the little pull-up or a midrange jump shot. That will be his emphasis.
Shooting guard Eli Brooks was really down on himself several times over the last few years, to the point that some teammates thought he might transfer. He picked it up recently to provide some solid minutes, so we’ll see what happens there.
The incoming freshmen … guard Cole Bajema is rail thin, but he’s a sniper. He earned his offer when Beilein told his coach one game against a loaded Howard Pulley AAU team could make the difference.
“I have to make a decision (to offer),” Beilein told him.
Like DeJulius, Bajema responded. He scored his team’s first 19 points and dominated with 30-plus, including a number of threes. So he’s got stones, and he could fill a role like Nik Stauskas did in his first year, a spot up sniper from the corner that spreads the floor.
Jalen Wilson is also an outstanding shooter, plus more. He’s not a great athlete, more in the Vince Edwards (Purdue) mold, but he can really shoot it and could help. U-M will continue to recruit 2019s, too, including Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Lester Quinones.
There are a lot of pieces here, and Beilein is excited to see how they come together. We are, too, and it’s hard to believe we’ll have to wait six months to see it.
Well … that it’s possible.
This is John Beilein’s team, after all, and the Wolverines had a nucleus coming back that included two of the Big Ten’s best defenders. The program is in good hands, and with captains like junior point guard Zavier Simpson and redshirt junior Charles Matthews demanding excellence, they were going to win a lot of games, including most of the ones they should win.
Matthews will move on but Simpson will be back next year, and boy will he have a chip on his shoulder. Beilein talked about this team being “salty” with each other after giving away the Big Ten Tournament championship game to Michigan State, blowing a 13-point lead and then a five-point edge down the stretch. Simpson was one of the saltiest because he hates to lose, and he’s not going to accept one guy not doing what he’s capable of or handling his assignments when everyone else is.
And no, that really wasn’t the case in Thursday night’s loss to Texas Tech. Simpson isn’t overmatched often but he was Thursday, and he was a weakness on both ends of the floor. It’s not often you can say that, but Tech had a great plan against him. As the Michigan players noted, the Red Raiders were extremely well prepared on defense, knowing every U-M player’s weakness (just like a Big Ten team would), and they were more athletic than any Big Ten team.
Out-scheming teams is a wonderful concept, but it’s getting harder and harder given that many teams are switching ball screens with guys who can guard anyone, and programs like Synergy (computer software) can pretty much tell you how to do it.
“If you want to win you’d better evolve,” Beilein said … “The geometry is amazing, but you have to be receptive to both, keep your fundamentals. Important things — communication, stance, great attitudes, having guys that can shoot the ball and pass are all important. But schemes, you’d better continue to change or you won't hang around. That computer changed everything. Everybody is on everything.”
Beilein has, and he will again. They know their deficiencies offensively and make no mistake — they are going to have to be better next year without Charles Matthews’ defense (yes, he’s leaving – he’ll graduate, and he’s ready to move on). Jarrett Culver is an elite player, even better watching him courtside and what he can do with the ball, but Matthews held him in check most of the first half. Watching sophomore Isaiah Livers try to check him … well, it wasn’t the same. Culver took over in the second half and that was all she wrote.
So what of next year’s team (and beyond)?
Beilein is bullish on the future, and he should be. He was asked by a reporter about the foundation of his program.
“How do you feel about it? Do you think it’s okay?” he said in response, intimating he should if he didn’t. “We’ve got everybody back, and we’ll see. You never know. You’ve got transfers, guys will look at the NBA, the same old. “Charles will graduate so we expect him to go pro. But if we have everybody back, it’s in really good shape. There are really only two seniors and only two juniors we’ve got right now. It’s a really young team and we’re really happy about where it is.”
Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis will test the NBA waters without an agent, but that was always going to happen if he had a big year (which he did). Scouts will likely tell him to go back to school, and he loves it at Michigan. He’s also enamored with the NBA, but we think he’ll be back. Sophomore Jordan Poole was going to give it a shot, too, and we’ll see if that still happens. We expect him to return, but he needs a big summer and to become better with the ball, even his shot, before considering that leap. He still drives Beilein crazy with some of his turnovers.
Several more thoughts:
• What’s Luke Yaklich’s future? He wants to be a head coach, period, and he will be perhaps sooner than later. Yes he’s had great personnel and has benefited from three elite defenders in Simpson, Matthews and center Jon Teske, but this guy is a tireless worker and a great recruiter.
Opinion — he’s going to take a job that suits him where he can have success, not just the first job that opens up, but it’s only a matter of time. We know folks like the “coach in waiting” idea, but guys need to cut their teeth as head coaches at other places to get experience before taking a big-time job like Michigan. When Beilein retires (hopefully not for a decade or so), this program should be humming along and still among the best in college basketball. Guys would be lining up.
Keep in mind, LaVall Jordan was the last guy folks were terrified to lose, and he's still got work to do to be solid at Butler.
Beilein still has that itch to coach, though, and he made it clear last night when asked what he’d do next.
“For a few weeks after the season, it’s just an empty place for me,” Beilein said. “I try to figure out what do I do with myself for a couple days. Now we can only have one team meeting, can’t have any type of practices with guys for seven days. The school year is over in two weeks. My wife says, ‘Go recruiting, get the hell out of the house’ otherwise I’d mope around the house all the time.”
Beilein flirted with the NBA last year and might very well have taken the Detroit Pistons job had it opened. Boston’s Brad Stevens told him how good the gig was, and Beilein is always up for the next challenge. Other teams might kick the tires on him, but his age and the fact that he’s now established here (and the way he talks) makes it seem like he’s here until he retires.
Saddi Washington and DeAndre Haynes are also up and comers in the profession, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them get some looks, too. If we had to bet, we’d assume both would be back next year, however.
• Personnel — the Wolverines need more guys to step up, and we suspect they will. It’s not about talent as much as it is between the ears, however. Beilein always talks about how guys play in games when the lights go on. Some guys, like Brazdeikis, thrive on it from the get-go. There are some that don’t, but they can come around and gain that confidence.
Center Jon Teske is a great example. He was lost and scared at times in his first year, and now he’s one of the Big Ten’s best centers with room still for improvement.
That hasn’t happened yet for redshirt sophomore Austin Davis, and it’s hard to envision it at this point in his career. He is mechanical in going through the motions on the court – Beilein always talks about “being a player,” too, and not just handling your responsibility on the court without screwing up. If that’s your objective, you’re not going to make it.
We saw what Beilein did several years ago — a kid with great hands who changed his body completely and held his own against elite big man talents in his class. He plays like a kid who is overwhelmed, however, and not at all aggressive. If he’s ahead in his academics, he’s a guy you could see graduating early and perhaps grad transferring to a smaller school. Beilein did say earlier this year, however, that Davis was not going to leave Michigan without a degree.
To be clear, we are not advocating for a transfer or saying he should.
The confidence factor is also an interesting one as it pertains to some of the freshmen. Many were disappointed with the lack of contribution outside of Brazdeikis — we, too, fully expected Brandon Johns to provide more minutes. He is an outstanding shooter, but he not only didn’t look to shoot in games; he also had many times in practice he would get shut out.
Johns had moments like that on the recruiting trail in front of the Michigan coaches, too. In fact, the Michigan Elite Camp a few summers ago was vital toward him getting an offer. He needed to be assertive and prove himself, and he did. Now he needs to do it on the court when the lights are on. He will be playing stretch four next year, and he needs a big summer and for that switch to go on that ‘hey, I can excel at this level.’
The same applies to point guard David DeJulius. He’s another one who earned an offer by making six or seven triples in front of Beilein at a game after Beilein told him he had a chance to ‘wow’ him and earn an offer. We’d feel better if he made a few in game situations the way Derrick Walton did his freshman year, but he’ll get his chance.
Frosh big man Colin Castleton — no concerns here about him becoming a very good big man at Michigan. He’s your backup five next year and will probably be 15 pounds heavier, shoot the ball more and see a lot more action from the get-go. They’d really like to get Teske’s minutes down, and Castleton should be the guy who helps there before taking his place the following year.
Frosh Adrien Nunez remains a project. We expect (opinion) it will be a couple more years before he’s ready to contribute.
• Of the returning personnel, expect Livers to put in a huge amount of time this summer working on his ball handling. He’s a residual guy now, much in the mold of Glenn Robinson III in that he’s either shooting or running the floor to get his points, not getting his own. They’ll want him to be able to do more of that next year.
Teske will continue to work on his moves down low. Beilein said yesterday they want to feed him, but they’re not going to dump it into him if he can’t finish. He’s one of the hardest offseason workers on the team, though, and he should be in even better shape next year.
Simpson needs to develop more than just the hook shot, and they know it. He needs the little pull-up or a midrange jump shot. That will be his emphasis.
Shooting guard Eli Brooks was really down on himself several times over the last few years, to the point that some teammates thought he might transfer. He picked it up recently to provide some solid minutes, so we’ll see what happens there.
The incoming freshmen … guard Cole Bajema is rail thin, but he’s a sniper. He earned his offer when Beilein told his coach one game against a loaded Howard Pulley AAU team could make the difference.
“I have to make a decision (to offer),” Beilein told him.
Like DeJulius, Bajema responded. He scored his team’s first 19 points and dominated with 30-plus, including a number of threes. So he’s got stones, and he could fill a role like Nik Stauskas did in his first year, a spot up sniper from the corner that spreads the floor.
Jalen Wilson is also an outstanding shooter, plus more. He’s not a great athlete, more in the Vince Edwards (Purdue) mold, but he can really shoot it and could help. U-M will continue to recruit 2019s, too, including Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Lester Quinones.
There are a lot of pieces here, and Beilein is excited to see how they come together. We are, too, and it’s hard to believe we’ll have to wait six months to see it.
Last edited:
