I Miss @MHoops.

[buttaball]

That old poster here (not sure he has an active account) was an absolute genius at breaking down Michigan games and its players.

I venerated his posts as highly as a moderator's.

That said, it seems to be really quiet on here, considering Michigan had its season opener last night and avoided laying a stinker like MSU and IU.

As for Michigan...It was nice to hear comparisons of Dug to other DMV, Baltimore area, and Virginia guard prospects and their toughness and skill.

Dug looks as if he has already hit what I thought was his ceiling: Zavier Simpson with a really good jump shot. Dug even had a clever half hook finish off the glass, but that floater down the baseline was filthy. He will be a star, as he was trending that way toward the end of last season ( 16 points vs Toledo, 19 vs Vandy).

Nkamoua looks like another team leader.

I was impressed far before the second-half dunk fest (I think it was like 3 dunks and a J in 2 minutes), as Olivier showed a huge amount of energy on both sides of the court which meshed great with Dug and seemed to be infectious. I was stunned that O.N. is so versatile- He played energetic D, made great passes, and scored garbage putbacks, and layups. shot 11-16 (1-4 from 3 ) for 25 pts, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Pleasant Surprises:

1. T-Will: 15 points, 6 rebounds, played great D (2 blocks), and stretched the floor (3-5 from 3). Surprisingly good D
2. Burnett put me in mind of MAAR, as a physical big-bodied guard with some ball handling and (surprisingly) 3-point shooting. Needs to improve defensive awareness (4 fouls), though he has a past reputation as a defensive player.
3. The Tschetter Man finally hit some of those in-and-outs. D looks better as well- The effectiveness better matches the energy.
4. A nice early sign that shots were falling for all three of these guys, but VERY early.

OK games but more expected to come:

1. Terrace Reed: Injured or sick (?) as a game time decision. Not 100%, but still effective: 4-4, 1-2 FT, 7 rebounds in 20 minutes.
2. Tray Jackson: Maybe pressing based on reports of how much he wanted to prove himself at home in front of the fans, friends, and family. but like Reed, he didn't play poorly, but only took 3 shots and hit one after being far more aggressive in the scrimmages. He did contribute 4 rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in his 20 minutes. Not ready to start thinking: "Johns" yet.
3. George Washington showed that he's not afraid to shoot, taking 4 on a 16 minute 0-fer. He looked much bigger than his listed 6'2" 170...I would guess more along the lines of 6'3" 185" Zeb Jackson sized. He had a nice blocked shot erroneously called a foul, a rebound and an assist.

First game:

1. Is this how the team will look? We have seen Jekyll and Hyde performances from game to game over the last two seasons.
2. The team looks more "free and easy", bigger, more athletic, less TO prone, and better on D.
3. Speaking of better on D, as the game continued, Michigan improved on closing that hole in the D allowing straight drives to the basket; Still a concern to me.
4. High energy of Nkamoua and Dug will carry the team...They must stay healthy. This team is thin everywhere but PF/C.
5. Speaking of healthy, if Llewellyn can come back and provide 5-8 minutes of good ball-handling, passing, and hitting FTs, that would really shore up that group.

Once agaain very early, but as good a start as we could've hoped for considering MSU and IU...

 

[Fritzie]

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[buttaball]

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[911Blue]

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