1. Can Mike Smith stay on the floor without killing us, or getting himself into foul trouble, on the defensive end of the floor? There is no doubt in my mind that Smith provides us with our most versatile offensive capability, because he's the only guy on the team I trust to run high pick and roll, draw help, and either get the ball to our shooters for open looks or find the roller at the rim. As to the latter, if we can't run high pick and roll, the utility of Austin Davis drops dramatically, since screening, rolling and finishing off of that action is what he excels at--the thing which can, in some circumstances make up for other limitations. In addition, Smith has easily the best handle and the most experience running an offense of anyone on the roster. However, in the first two games, Smith had a ton of problems on the defensive end, and the competition level is going to get better, not worse. To be fair to Smith, he's very small and has never been asked to play much defense at the college level because of his role at Columbia, and he's certainly giving it 100% out there defensively. Whether that translates into a competence level sufficient to not drag us down on the defensive end will be something to watch, especially given our lack of depth at the guard spot.
2. If Smith can't overcome some of his defensive issues, can we run an offense through Hunter Dickinson? I like Eli Brooks. In contrast to those who think he can't play the point guard spot, I think he can...with, however, some caveats. Brooks can initiate an offense, get people in the right spots, move the ball, and after doing so, present a strong catch and shoot tor attack a closeout threat on the return. In transition, he knows exactly how long to maintain the drive and when to give it up to someone running the wings. What he cannot do is create much for himself, whether in halfcourt or transition, which means he has trouble drawing help and freeing up shooters. That means there has to be someone on the floor who can draw help and dish, or finish by himself. Based on early returns, if Smith isn't on the floor alongside Brooks, that player is most likely to be Dickinson, whose shoting, finishing, and most importantly, passing abilities ocan open things up for others and make this offense hum. That's a very heavy burden to place on a freshman, particularly when we get into league play, and there are going to be games where Dickinson can't fulfill it, whether because of foul trouble (defending Luka Garza, Kofi Cockburn, Trace Jackson-Davis, the Wisconsin duo, etc is going to lead to some games where he sits for long stretches), inexperience, or other reasons. If/when he can though, we're going to be a load to handle on the offensive end.
3. What can be done to get Franz Wagner off of the offensive schneid? Wagner has been a revelation on defense, even against smaller guys, and is easily our best rebounder, especially out-of-area. Where he has struggled mightily in the first two games is in shooting the ball, and in creating off the dribble going to the basket. It's very early, and it may be that all he needs to do is hit a few 3s in a row to turn the light on, but right now, it seems to me that he's pressing and thinking he has to assume a role he doesn't necessarily have to take. To me, Franz has the ability to be an All Big Ten player without being a ball dominator--he's going to get plenty of opportunities from others setting him up for shots inside and out, especially if he learns to cut as efficiently and aggressively as does Isaiah Livers, he'll get some chances to create on his own as the floor opens up, and he has the ability to be an elite finisher. I'd like to see us run some early back door actions for Franz against Ball State to get his confidence up. And then, once a wide open 3 goes down...
4. How can we get more minutes for Brandon Johns? Again, it's early, and there are a load of players at his natural forward position, but Johns has been really, really good in each of the first two games. He's become patient (and a quality passer (!?!) while still being able to use his formidable athletic ability. He's got to play, while not taking minutes away from our best players. To me, that's going to be more minutes at the 5 as the primary back-up to Dickinson, while still getting some minutes at the 4. Johns gives us a presence on the offensive glass, which no one else on the roster gives us, and an ability to go out on the floor and guard a 5 who can stretch the floor . He's an X factor on this team, and he needs minutes to be that.
5. How do we turn Chaundee Brown into something other than a standstill jump shooter on offense? Chaundee, with a few exceptions, has been excellent on defense--much better than I would have guessed against smaller, quicker guys. Offensively, he's been a standstill shooter, with great success against Bowling Green, and not so much against Oakland. He's been a good straight line driver who can finish through contact and make free throws at a high rate throughout his career, and he needs to do that rather than simply settle for 3s. To be fair, the 3s have been open, and a lot of the misses have gone in and out, but he can't fall in love with that shot.
6. Can we keep up the crazy assist numbers we've had over the first two games? Lost, perhaps in the justifiable caterwauling about ridiculous turnover numbers in the first half against Oakland is the fact that when our passes weren't being stolen, they were leading to assists or wide open shots. We had 24 assists on 28 made field goals against Oakland, and it could have been even better had we not clanked open 3 after open 3, all generayed off of ball movement and crisp passing, for a 30 minute stretch of the game. This is an extremely unselfish team with multiple guys who can pass the ball. I don't expect to have 47 assists in a two game stretch, or a ratio of nearly 80% of assists to made baskets under normal circumstances; if that continues, however, it bodes extremely well.
7. Can Michigan learn to more effectively control dribble penetration? On the flip side to 6, our opponents have only 21 assists on 47 made baskets, a ratio which, if continued throughout the season, would be an extremely low such ratio. That's good and bad--good because it's normally harder to successfully create and complete a shot without help than it is to complete one where help has come, but bad because in many cases, the reason for the number has been that we're letting guys penetrate and finish against us far too easily. Cleaning that up is a key to reaching this team's ceiling. And it may determine what our best lineups are--who can do so may matter as much as who is necessary to run the offense. We could, of course, play zone to try to cut off penetration, and we actually did that successfully a bit against Oakland in the second half, but I wi;; believe that as a major staple when I see it as a major staple.
8. Can Isaiah Livers continue to play at the level at which he's currently playing? Despite the Livers/Juwan dust-up Sunday night, and the few plays which precipitated it, we're seeing the best of Livers to date. He's shooting it even better than he normally does, defending at a high level, including two necessary and impressive blocks against Oakland, and passing and seeing the floor better than he has in previous years. Having team leaders step up is a huge part of any team's success. In the past, Livers has struggled some on the offensive end against smaller opponents who can get into his body and not give him room to operate--that has not been the case thus far against smaller opponents. Hopefully, it continues.
9. How will Terrance Williams and Zeb Jackson develop? Obviously, Williams is much further along, though for this year, our roster and depth makes his development less essential than Jackson's development. Williams can contiue to do what he's doing now--cut, make entry feeds, finish around the basket, hit the glass--to make an impact; for Jackson, he needs playing time to develop, something normal for most freshmen, and particularly important after last year's limited time at Monteverde. There are going to be some real growing pains if we try to force feed that. Whether Juwan is willing to accept that, and whether we can overcome the inevitable mistakes, will be things to track.
10. Will we try to adjust to others, or make them adjust to us? This year, because we have flexibility, we can go either route--this is entirely different from last year, where we had largely small guards and one dimensional centers in our rotation. John Beilein almost always made opponents adjust to the way we play. It will be very interesting to see how Juwan approaches this decision, and tell us a lot about him as a coach going forward.
2. If Smith can't overcome some of his defensive issues, can we run an offense through Hunter Dickinson? I like Eli Brooks. In contrast to those who think he can't play the point guard spot, I think he can...with, however, some caveats. Brooks can initiate an offense, get people in the right spots, move the ball, and after doing so, present a strong catch and shoot tor attack a closeout threat on the return. In transition, he knows exactly how long to maintain the drive and when to give it up to someone running the wings. What he cannot do is create much for himself, whether in halfcourt or transition, which means he has trouble drawing help and freeing up shooters. That means there has to be someone on the floor who can draw help and dish, or finish by himself. Based on early returns, if Smith isn't on the floor alongside Brooks, that player is most likely to be Dickinson, whose shoting, finishing, and most importantly, passing abilities ocan open things up for others and make this offense hum. That's a very heavy burden to place on a freshman, particularly when we get into league play, and there are going to be games where Dickinson can't fulfill it, whether because of foul trouble (defending Luka Garza, Kofi Cockburn, Trace Jackson-Davis, the Wisconsin duo, etc is going to lead to some games where he sits for long stretches), inexperience, or other reasons. If/when he can though, we're going to be a load to handle on the offensive end.
3. What can be done to get Franz Wagner off of the offensive schneid? Wagner has been a revelation on defense, even against smaller guys, and is easily our best rebounder, especially out-of-area. Where he has struggled mightily in the first two games is in shooting the ball, and in creating off the dribble going to the basket. It's very early, and it may be that all he needs to do is hit a few 3s in a row to turn the light on, but right now, it seems to me that he's pressing and thinking he has to assume a role he doesn't necessarily have to take. To me, Franz has the ability to be an All Big Ten player without being a ball dominator--he's going to get plenty of opportunities from others setting him up for shots inside and out, especially if he learns to cut as efficiently and aggressively as does Isaiah Livers, he'll get some chances to create on his own as the floor opens up, and he has the ability to be an elite finisher. I'd like to see us run some early back door actions for Franz against Ball State to get his confidence up. And then, once a wide open 3 goes down...
4. How can we get more minutes for Brandon Johns? Again, it's early, and there are a load of players at his natural forward position, but Johns has been really, really good in each of the first two games. He's become patient (and a quality passer (!?!) while still being able to use his formidable athletic ability. He's got to play, while not taking minutes away from our best players. To me, that's going to be more minutes at the 5 as the primary back-up to Dickinson, while still getting some minutes at the 4. Johns gives us a presence on the offensive glass, which no one else on the roster gives us, and an ability to go out on the floor and guard a 5 who can stretch the floor . He's an X factor on this team, and he needs minutes to be that.
5. How do we turn Chaundee Brown into something other than a standstill jump shooter on offense? Chaundee, with a few exceptions, has been excellent on defense--much better than I would have guessed against smaller, quicker guys. Offensively, he's been a standstill shooter, with great success against Bowling Green, and not so much against Oakland. He's been a good straight line driver who can finish through contact and make free throws at a high rate throughout his career, and he needs to do that rather than simply settle for 3s. To be fair, the 3s have been open, and a lot of the misses have gone in and out, but he can't fall in love with that shot.
6. Can we keep up the crazy assist numbers we've had over the first two games? Lost, perhaps in the justifiable caterwauling about ridiculous turnover numbers in the first half against Oakland is the fact that when our passes weren't being stolen, they were leading to assists or wide open shots. We had 24 assists on 28 made field goals against Oakland, and it could have been even better had we not clanked open 3 after open 3, all generayed off of ball movement and crisp passing, for a 30 minute stretch of the game. This is an extremely unselfish team with multiple guys who can pass the ball. I don't expect to have 47 assists in a two game stretch, or a ratio of nearly 80% of assists to made baskets under normal circumstances; if that continues, however, it bodes extremely well.
7. Can Michigan learn to more effectively control dribble penetration? On the flip side to 6, our opponents have only 21 assists on 47 made baskets, a ratio which, if continued throughout the season, would be an extremely low such ratio. That's good and bad--good because it's normally harder to successfully create and complete a shot without help than it is to complete one where help has come, but bad because in many cases, the reason for the number has been that we're letting guys penetrate and finish against us far too easily. Cleaning that up is a key to reaching this team's ceiling. And it may determine what our best lineups are--who can do so may matter as much as who is necessary to run the offense. We could, of course, play zone to try to cut off penetration, and we actually did that successfully a bit against Oakland in the second half, but I wi;; believe that as a major staple when I see it as a major staple.
8. Can Isaiah Livers continue to play at the level at which he's currently playing? Despite the Livers/Juwan dust-up Sunday night, and the few plays which precipitated it, we're seeing the best of Livers to date. He's shooting it even better than he normally does, defending at a high level, including two necessary and impressive blocks against Oakland, and passing and seeing the floor better than he has in previous years. Having team leaders step up is a huge part of any team's success. In the past, Livers has struggled some on the offensive end against smaller opponents who can get into his body and not give him room to operate--that has not been the case thus far against smaller opponents. Hopefully, it continues.
9. How will Terrance Williams and Zeb Jackson develop? Obviously, Williams is much further along, though for this year, our roster and depth makes his development less essential than Jackson's development. Williams can contiue to do what he's doing now--cut, make entry feeds, finish around the basket, hit the glass--to make an impact; for Jackson, he needs playing time to develop, something normal for most freshmen, and particularly important after last year's limited time at Monteverde. There are going to be some real growing pains if we try to force feed that. Whether Juwan is willing to accept that, and whether we can overcome the inevitable mistakes, will be things to track.
10. Will we try to adjust to others, or make them adjust to us? This year, because we have flexibility, we can go either route--this is entirely different from last year, where we had largely small guards and one dimensional centers in our rotation. John Beilein almost always made opponents adjust to the way we play. It will be very interesting to see how Juwan approaches this decision, and tell us a lot about him as a coach going forward.
