Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Detroit at Michigan — Recap
Nov 20, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Derrick Walton Jr. (10) shoots while defended by Detroit Titans guard Carlton Brundidge (23) in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Posted at 7:00am — 11/21/2014
Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Detroit at Michigan — Recap
Michigan Beats Detroit
Detroit Mercy, founded by the Jesuits and associated with the Sisters of Mercy, had little idea of having mercy upon Michigan Thursday night. Michigan won the game 71-62 by executing late and holding on to a serviceable lead in the end game phase.
Make no mistake, Detroit Mercy is a good team and will win games at the mid major level this year. Michigan made the result more in doubt than perhaps it should have been.
The offense struggled much of the first half, looking out of synch and several Michigan guys, namely Zak Irvin and Kameron Chatman, helped keep Detroit even with continuous misfires. Irvin eventually got hot and contributed, but Chatman did not and spent the second half as a spectator.
The impatience and quick shots take the leadership and direction away from Derrick Walton Jr. Michigan is a much better offensive threat when the ball is controlled by Walton. The streak in the second half when Michigan fired four blanks on three-point attempts shows how the quick shot offense is a double edge sword. But in the John Beilein tradition, Michigan will keep running the philosophy until good results are achieved.
The Michigan players appeared to be bumped frequently going to the hoop and the officials seemed to be in the Big Ten mode as to severity of bumps ratio to foul calling. There were times when Michigan players were not bumped and still missed easy shots.
The Beilein all out three-point attack mode was off and on, fortunately it was on when Michigan was still in a tight game with under ten minutes to play. When the ball was attempted to be taken inside, not much resulted, making the aim and fire more tempting.
Caris LeVert and Walton showed the best play and were consistent on both sides of the court. As mentioned here many times before, Walton’s rebounding is a true asset for a team that is clearly rebound challenged in the middle.
The freshmen still have the not sure look and there will be no quick cure. Kameron Chatman is just going to have to regroup mentally. Coach Beilein’s cure may be to force Chatman to play within the offense and not throw the ball at the hoop upon first touch. Just let the older players lead and hit the easy opportunities when available.
Caris LeVert is not yet a money in the bank dominating type, but he does not zone out and disappear when money time arrives. Caris was a nice compliment to Nik Stauskas in crunch time last year. His evolution will not be overnight. Caris can isolate on a defender or get loose to receive the ball. So, he will be available if Beilein calls his number when the game is on the line.
Michigan’s inside defense again will be troublesome and the rotation again seems slow. The three point shooters for Detroit had easy looks either because the Michigan defenders relaxed or were late rotating back, especially to the corner. This is Michigan getting a dose of its own medicine as Coach Beilein loves to dump a guy in the deep corner and wait for shot because the defense vacated the premise.
It was not a disaster. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the reality that the freshmen are not developing at warp speed. The Michigan system is more sophisticated than the typical college offense. There are nuances that must be observed and mastered. Zak Irvin is just starting to climb into the I get it club and he is a talented sophomore.
This group has a long way to go and that is an observation not meant to be insulting, just accurate. A good example of this assessment is the need to play Spike and Derrick at the same time so that the offense can have some semblance of efficiency and discipline. This puts Michigan in a position where one talented wing must be sacrificed.
Now the real season starts as Michigan plays a very good Oregon team. Get ready for ups and downs.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu
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