Michigan Basketball: Zak Irvin Is Decreasing His Volume

The heaviest point of criticism for Michigan basketball this season has been Zak Irvin, but through the last few games he’s been decreasing his volume.

There’s the inconsistent play, and there’s the defense, and there’s even John Beilein. Michigan basketball fans have found a lot to complain about this season, but no subject—no name—has been brought up as much as Zak Irvin.

The former Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana has had some incredible moments in his career. He’s also had some lowlights. It seems like more of the latter is coming through in the final stages of his Michigan career. But the numbers—as well as what Irvin himself has said—indicate that he’s far from naive.

Irvin knows what’s going on. So does Beilein. Everyone more of less gets it: The guy who takes way more shots than everyone else can’t find his stroke.

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It got to its lowest point with a scoreless performance against Michigan State on Jan. 29. We later learned that Irvin may have been playing with the flu, but he was still on the court for 36 minutes, not visibly hindered by anything. Well, except for his shot. He went 0 for 8.

But maybe the most important number from that stat line isn’t the 0 or the 36. Perhaps it’s the number of shots he took: eight.

That was a fairly hefty compromise for someone who, to that point in the season, was taking 12.3 shots per game. A rivalry game on the road should prompt more, not less, you would think. Not that Michigan fans necessarily wanted him to even take those eight shots, let alone more than his usual 12.

Then we move on through the next three games, and the same pattern is there: Irvin isn’t taking as many shots.

Here’s the rundown:

Michigan State………… 8
Ohio State……………….. 10
Michigan State………… 5
Indiana……………………… 8

That’s a new four-game average of 7.7 shots a game.

What’s more, it’s not like he’s playing less minutes. His season average is 34.6 minutes, and he was on the court for 33.7 minutes a game through those last four contests.

You can also see this demonstrated in his usage percentage (which measures how many times a possession ends with that player in one way or another). Irvin’s usage rate on the season is 23.5 percent. But if you look at his last four games, that number drops to 15.5 percent.

That’s just another, more advanced way to show that Irvin really isn’t being used as often as he was before this bad stretch.

And then there’s his words, which typically aren’t many. But he did say this a few days after Michigan beat Michigan State (Irvin made 1 of 5 shots for 3 points).

"I told the guys this, I know that in order for us to be able to achieve the goals we want, I’ve got to step up. I told them that. I look forward to the challenge.Everyone goes through adversity throughout the season. It’s been my time these last three games and I’ve gone through it. But I’m not going to let that define me in any way for the rest of the year. I told them, no matter what, whether I’m shooting the ball well or not, I’m going to be positive and I’m going to be a leader out there."

Does this sound like a guy who doesn’t know what’s going on? Not at all.

And even though this isn’t the point I’m trying to make here, I think it’s definitely worth noting that Irvin isn’t a useless body on the court. He’s a credible defender—especially on help—and is, in my opinion, an underrated facilitator in the offense, averaging over three assists a game.

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In the midst of the greatest struggle of his time at Michigan—and he might even call it the greatest struggle of his basketball career—Irvin is turning down his volume, trying to find an answer.

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