Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Hoopla Starts

Mar 30, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein reacts in the first half of the finals of the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Posted at 5:30am — 11/13/2014

Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Hoopla Starts

Michigan Rebuilding Will Not Be Easy

As the title of the article states, Michigan is rebuilding. The team is again young. In a two year span Michigan has lost early exit underclassmen Trey Burke, Hardaway Jr., Nik Stauskas, Robinson III, and the big man in the middle, Mitch McGary, a guy Michigan fans saw precious little of in his two seasons at Michigan. In addition, the leadership and defense of Jordan Morgan will be hard to replace.

This should be a fun team to watch, but caution the expectations. Pure shooter Stauskas can be replaced with other shooters, but do not discount the other contributions Stauskas made, including an excellent understanding of the game and an ability to love and compete on the big stage. As poor as the offensive contributions of Morgan and Jon Horford were at times, both could provide some decent defense and rebounding.

Rebounding will most likely be a big problem unless the wing players LeVert, Irvin, and Chatman help the almost non-existent experience and limited athletic ability of the centers and/or four forwards. Doyle, Bielfeldt, and Donnal can provide minutes, but this team needs more than floor time. At a bare minimum the inside guys need to produce around ten points and ten rebounds a game to let the perimeter players better fit their skill set.

The freshman class was not highly rated by the big services. But there is what can be termed latent potential and a couple of guys may be present in this class who may become the next Beilein sleepers. D. J. Wilson has the big wingspan and good athleticism all coaches love to see on the court. He will not be a wow player at the start of his career, but he has been stated to have good work ethic and was coming on at the end of the recruiting process. Wilson has been hurt.

Aubrey Dawkins is another son of a coach to head to Ann Arbor. Like the others he was rated a three star prospect. Dawkins will be pushed to equal Hardaway Jr. and GR III’s success, but like LeVert he has grown a couple of inches since the recruiters called it a day. Dawkins and Wilson help provide very good length that comes in handy in the passing lanes.

Kameron Chatman was a top fifty type in some ratings. He is capable of scoring and provides the versatility Beilein will need with this roster. Chatman will need to bulk up some and become meshed with the upperclassmen.

Muhammed-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Aubrey Dawkins, and Ricky Doyle were considered mid conference candidates, but had some beauty in the eye of the Beilein beholder. Odds are that one of the three will shake out good contributions this year and two will have to work hard to get extended time.

The veteran three, Irvin, Walton, and LeVert will need to do more than just contribute to the scoring column: all three must get better across the board or Michigan will not compete with the first division types of the Big Ten. Besides improving on defense, all three will need to sense what will work best on the court and turn that ability into what Beilein prizes: few turnovers and efficiency. Simply getting the ball and looking for a shot will be insufficient if Michigan wants to compete with top twenty types.

Walton follows in a line of Beilein point guards that had very good freshman years. The last two, Morris and Burke, went on to the NBA after their sophomore seasons. Walton may not have the ingredients the other two possessed, but do not discount his strengths that include a very strong floor sense, the ability to go inside and shoot outside, and strength. Walton can get off the floor and get a rebound very well for a guard his size.

Mar 30, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert (23) drives past Kentucky Wildcats guard/forward James Young (1) in the first half in the finals of the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY SportsCaris LeVert has consistently reduced his famous Caris moments. Indeed, Caris loves to score and certainly can. He does so in difficult situations, partly from athletic ability and partly due to having no shooter remorse. Caris is a big time scorer but has become a high level defender who can also provide assists and adequate rebounding. He is exciting and should be an elite big Ten player.

Irvin is a gunslinger, and when he is hitting the results are certainly exciting. He has not had glowing praise regarding defense, floor patience, and rebounding. When he misfires frequently over a short time, or before the offense is set up, the potential point swing to the other side is a concern. Irvin may be a better pure shooter than Stauskas. But Nik, in his sophomore year, became expert at picking his spots and letting the game come to him; instead of forcing an excess of shots Nik used superb judgment mixed with a desire to win.

With the make-up of this 2014-15 team, a nice clear defensive rebound could result in a running game that will be tough to stop. Besides Albrecht and Walton, LeVert and Irvin can get out or even lead a break.

Spike Albrecht will continue to provide dividends on one of the best “insurance policies” Michigan ever secured. Albrecht knows his strengths and limitations and still has the uncanny ability to hit a big shot to the dismay of opponents. Spike will play in relief of Walton and also alongside him.

So, beware of bold, unrealistic expectations, but also understand that players get better in this program. Personal development is the gasoline in Michigan’s tank. This trait provides some extra mileage over the long haul. The question is how much gasoline can be generated this year.

There will be growing pains, sometimes perhaps brutal and ugly. But Beilein teams tend to learn from such occurrences. The Big Ten is loaded, especially Ohio State, who again is absolutely loaded with veteran and supreme young talent. This year there is much more potential for offensive performance from Ohio State. Michigan State and Wisconsin will compete for top ten national standings as well. The road to the tournament will be rougher this year, but the excitement value remains. Professor Beilein will be like the conductor who will rehearse and not take no for an answer.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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