Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Back At It-Michigan Ends Week Long Break

Posted at 6:00am — 12/20/2014

Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Back At It-Michigan Ends Week Long Break

The air went out of the tires, the psyche left the building, and Michigan stands at 6-4 with the Big Ten season perilously close. The state of the Michigan basketball program is obvious. What is not obvious is how much this team can show the necessary growth to gain confidence and log wins.

After beating a good Oregon team and playing an excellent Villanova team tough, Michigan beat Syracuse then lost to two teams deemed to be almost certain home wins, NJIT and EMU. NJIT played intensely and Eastern’s zone was very effective, still, signs for worry were obvious.

While the two losses were not expected, it would have been naïve not to suspect at least a period or two of tough times this year. Gone are the three inside players, McGary, Morgan, and Horford that gave Michigan enough inside presence to maximize the talents of the also gone outside players, Stauskas and GRIII. Shuffled into the picture are seven newcomers and three veterans that are struggling to build a core of talent that can compete with major teams.

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The two newcomers in the middle have limited physical ability. Doyle is aggressive, Donnal is passive, but neither has contributed much to the team scoring against good competition. But, the nature of Michigan’s team mode of operation is to fail to get big guys low and involved. On defense, both are slow jumpers and frequently are spectators as an opposing player easily scores. This of course is linked to another Michigan operational mode, not fouling;

The perimeter newcomers have disappointed. But in their defense, at least three or four had to play at a high level this season to keep Michigan relevant in the conference title chase. Chatman is currently an enigma, but his game may come around. He looks like a guy who is struggling in all facets of the game and one that certainly will not contribute on the level of past Michigan freshmen. Other freshmen have seen playing time decrease against better completion.

Walton has been hurt and Spike is simply trying to play past his limitations. But few guys love to play as much as Spike. Walton has not engineered the offense as much as one would have suspected a month ago. Until Walton gets healthy and takes charge, things will remain tough.

Walton, LeVert, and Irvin were fine supporting players last year. The question was whether they could equal a high producing core. The question remains unanswered. Caris just cannot carry a team when the defenders worry little about the other four guys on the floor. Irvin is a cannon and sometimes he hits the target.

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Michigan Wolverines

The inability to have even a minimal inside game provides opportunities for the defenders on the edge to put tremendous pressure on the Michigan perimeter shooters. This plays into the hands of opponents as Michigan has shown insufficient patience and forced many bad shots, both jump shooting and dribbling into traps past the perimeter.

On the fast breaks, the quick pull ups are not going in with enough regularity. On the other end of the basketball spectrum, Michigan is again chasing the ball, squeezing in and not getting to the open perimeter shooter.

The rebounding, like the shooting, went south as well. Michigan is frequently flatfooted, outhustled, and almost always out-positioned.

The psyche of a young team is delicate. Once the bubble shrinks, an inversion seems to immediately follow. Gaining confidence through winning is probably more likely than gaining a heavy dose of mental toughness.

Coach Beilein has his hands full and he knows it. His style is to teach and be patient. But the next two years must yield recruits that have a chance of contributing early. Michigan will need a point guard that can control a game, at least one more Stauskas-like shooter, and a true force in the middle. But for now the present is where the program is on hold.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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