Michigan Basketball: John Beilein — New Era has Begun

Posted at 12:00pm — 11/2/2007

Michigan Basketball: John Beilein — New Era has Begun

Michigan Basketball new era of basketball tipped off under Coach John Beilein at Crisler Arena Thursday against Ferris State on the Big Ten Network. The floor looks great on camera especially in HD and there is one slight difference than last year on the baselines the words MICHIGAN were actually bright yellow where last year they were the floor color. The lights really make the place look great as well on TV and not to see player shadows or the big shadow under the scoreboard.

Well first off do not get to excited with beating Ferris State 78-40, but it was a very good way to start the season with the “W” in the exhibition game.

This team has the confidence already that I am not sure I saw last year. Players are moving and active on the offense and seem like they have a purpose whiles out there. AGAIN this was Ferris State so do not get to excited. This team looks to be in great shape and will need to (IMO) because they are going to be playing a lot of basketball against teams that are more talented and deeper than they are with the likes of a UCLA, Duke and MSU.

It was nice to see actually some movement on the offense and hitting the open shots. Will they keep that confidence when they play the big teams and hit a rough patch in the beginning of this schedule is my only fear. This schedule could be good or really bad for this team because if they can win some games they probably aren’t suppose to win that will give this team a lot of confidence and will strengthen them. My only fear is the beginning of the schedules is if they get pounded and get some “L’s” from some of the better teams in the nation that they get down on themselves and lose that confidence going into the Big Ten conference.

My only worry form the exhibition game was the turnovers still way too many, but I think some of those can be corrected playing better teams. I think once they got a big lead they was not playing smart basketball and the game got a little sloppy. I hope playing a better team that will gets corrected. Defensively the only weakness I saw was getting to the glass seems like they was not getting the ball or it kept slipping through their hands.

DeShawn Sims who went through probably his toughest year off and on the floor lasts year really looks like a different player out there shooting from three point land, moving around, dribbling, etc. You can tell he has the confidence and wants to excel. The only thing I saw was his hands a little bit trying to rebound balls almost seemed like several times the ball just slipped right out of his hands. Also he needs to go to the hoops a little stronger the one time I am not sure if he thought he might get fouled or not. DeShawn Sims played 25 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals and 2 turnovers.

Manny Harris really looks to be the players everybody has been talking about during the summer workouts. He really goes to the hoop on offense and hits the boards hard on Defense. The only knock on him (IMO) would be for him not to be jumping in the air so much “Recklessly” we cannot afford him to go down. Manny Harris played 20 minutes, 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 turnovers.

Ron Coleman looks like he is more confident shooting the ball early and is playing better defense. Also like all the guys his shot looks better as well. Must be all the practice of shooting the “Beilein Ball”. He played 28 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist and 2 turnovers.

Jerret Smith is still careless with the ball sometimes, but his confidence in his shot seems to have increased and looks more comfortable on the floor this year. The only thing that bothered me was the turnovers he still his careless with the ball sometimes. He played 15 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assist and 4 turnovers.

K’Len Morris seemed nervous tonight at the beginning, but after a while looked like he got comfortable and should be a decent player. Should he be a starter? That might be the only question right now, but since everybody is getting the same minutes it does not really matter. Also it is always good to have a “spark” coming off the bench. He played 21 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

Ekpe Udoh seemed like it took him a little while to get in the swing of things, but he sure did not forget to block the ball. Needs to find his niche on the offensive side, but I think it will come once the season gets in full swing. Ekpe Udoh played 19 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 assist and 1 turnover.

Zach Gibson looks like the kind of player that will fit on the offensive side of the ball. A guy that can be outside handling the ball along with moving inside. I think he will be a good player making more depth on the roster. He played 19 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block 2 steals and 3 turnovers.

Kelvin Grady still looks quick against college players, but not as quick as he did when I saw him play in high school-competition will do that to you. He is going to be very good in handling the PG on defense and I hope can gets some easy steals. Nice to see him getting into the flow of the offense. Also he handles the ball in this offense very well and looks to make the right pass. Kelvin Grady played 16 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 4 assist and 2 steals.

Anthony Wright looks like a guy that come off the bench and take some minutes to give the starters a rest. He is not going to be a world beater out there, but think he could spell this team for a few minutes. He just adds more depth to the team that might need it going up against some of the better teams with depth (msu). WOW what a difference a year makes he looks great on the floor and the TV broadcast said he lost 30 pounds. He played 15 minutes, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist.

Jevohn Shepherd look to me very nervous when the “lights came on” he seems to have that same problem that he had last year. We heard all about how good he might be, but then the lights turn on for real and we do not see it. We saw some sparks from him last night, but needs to be a guy that feels confident coming into the game especially since he should be counted on scoring for this Michigan team. Hope fully he will get the jitters out and just play basketball. He played 12 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

C.J. Lee he is a lot better than I thought and could be used if needed to fill a guard spot. C.J. Lee played 4 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 turnover.

Eric Puls I believe he will red-shirt and needs to get use to college basketball which is not a bad thing. He played 2 minutes had 2 points.

Everybody is going to look at the Ferris exhibition game and say one of two things either this team is going to be better than expected or this team is going to struggle? Right now (IMO) this could be a good team, but the confidence issue is going to be a big part of which way this teams play throughout the season. If they can get some early wins against teams they should not they could battle for a spot in the “Big Dance”. If they struggle early will that makes an impression on them and carry them down like it did last year going down the stretch of the Big Ten. The last several years the last ten games have set the fate with this team and it probably will again. How will they react and how will they finish? Time will only tell.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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