10 games into the season and the Michigan Wolverines are 5-5, but actually for NCAA Tournament sake they are 4-5, the Northern Michigan win means absolutely squat.
On Saturday Michigan played at Allen Fieldhouse versus, according to the polls, the number one team in the nation (Texas is better IMO). Michigan didn’t embarrass themselves or anything like that, in fact they played fairly well after a disaster of a start which saw them trail 41-18 late in the first half. Now, outscoring Kansas by 12 for the rest of the game (final score was 75-64) doesn’t exactly mean Michigan just decided to go gangbusters on the Jayhawks all of a sudden, instead it could mean the Jayhawks just coasted for the rest of the game, mailing it in, knowing if it got too close they could just turn up the intensity in an instant. Well, the margin never got under 11 after KU built up the big lead. So did Michigan just blow opportunity after opportunity (5-28 3pt fg against a lethargic perimeter defense) to put pressure on KU, meaning Michigan wasn’t as over matched as everybody thought, or was KU that much better that even while KU was in coast mode Michigan could never really get back into the game?
A little of both.
Yes Michigan was over matched in just about every facet, maybe not grotesquely over matched, but significant enough that Michigan would have to play a perfect game (like nail 13 threes) and hold Cole Aldrich to no field goals (oh wait they did that) to beat Kansas. On the other hand, Michigan surprisingly continued to slump from the perimeter (5-28!) and could have very well made Kansas scramble a little just by knocking down just a couple of 3’s in some key moments. Considering Michigan’s 1-3-1 defense was giving Kansas some headaches, all Michigan needed to do was connect. But that’s been pretty much the entire story so far this season—not that Michigan’s defense has been headache inducing for other teams (just Mich fans)—but that Michigan has not drained enough perimeter shots to win.
Grades
So I’m thinking 10 games in is a nice point to hand out grades on all of the key contributors so far. Let’s start off with a guy I thought would be the team’s X-factor back in my season preview .
Zack Gibson B-
His athleticism allows him to make the nice jam and come out of nowhere and emphatically stuff someone, but he’s not a dependable player enough of the time. In short spurts Gibson can look like an integral piece of the puzzle, but more times than not he just wears out his welcome the longer he plays. Keep his shifts 3-4 minutes long and he might be ok. Extended minutes likely means negative results (see Utah game). Gibson, I’m afraid, is what he is–not a Big Ten caliber big man in terms of instincts and total skill, but based on athleticism probably is Big Ten caliber, which makes watching Zack frustrating because there is talent there, just not in the right areas necessarily. The generous B- grade is because Gibson has given this team a lift in quite a few games this season, albeit in limited minutes, but nevertheless has contributed nicely, especially in the Marquette and Boston College games.
Stu Douglass C-
11 for 46 from downtown automatically gives you not one iota of a shot (no pun intended) to earn better than an average grade from me (a C grade is considered average, right?). Stu is supposed to be a sharp shooter and he’s not performing right now. However, the reason he hasn’t slipped into total destruction in my eyes is because he has been thrust into a new position he’s not accustomed to playing—point guard. While Stu’s no John Stockton yet, he hasn’t been a disaster either. He made a couple ugly turnovers against Utah but they weren’t from a lack of skill or concentration, instead they were from him just trying to do a little to much with the ball. Stu is the type of player with good instincts and is capable of handling both the duties of being a part time point guard and arguably the team’s best three point shooter. However, maybe his perimeter game has suffered as a result of more ball handling responsibilities. Stu might be getting a tad more fatigued during the game than he’s used to and as a result his jumper is not as fluid as it should be. Of course it could be nothing of that sort and instead just simply be a confidence issue. As for defense, Stu may not have the foot speed of a C.J.. Lee or a David Merritt, but he’s hanging in there and improving.
Laval Lucas-Perry D+
Laval played pretty well at the Old Spice Classic but besides that he has been invisible at times. He’s knocking down 3’s at a 34% clip, which isn’t dreadful (virtually same % as last season) but it isn’t the desired result coming from a capable shooter in a system dependent on good perimeter shooting. Laval will have to become more consistent in every facet if he even wants to sniff an ‘average’ grade come next time. Right now he just doesn’t bring enough positives to the table. More is expected of Laval and hopefully he turns his whole game up a notch soon.
Darius Morris C-
The Cali kid just oozes big time star potential, but sometimes he has trouble with the most routine plays. Considering he’s a freshman, his strong no turnover performance against Kansas slid him into the C range. His defense and decision making (not to mention jump shooting at times) with the ball in his hands can sometimes be painful to watch but you have to look at the big picture… if the rest of the supporting cast was playing better Morris would have it a little easier. At any rate it should be pretty neat to see how much Darius has improved come the end of the season (hopefully he’ll be making plays for a NCAA tourney team and not a NIT one).
Matt Vogrich D-
Has scored a total of 4 points (1-8 3pt fg) since the Northern Michigan game in which he shot the ball like he was Jason Kapono in the 3-point contest. It’s been a struggle against the D1 schools though, and just not on defense either. Tentativeness has plagued the freshman, especially in the last two games which he has been yanked out within the first minute of each appearance because of careless turnovers. I’m not a fan of quickly pulling a kid out of the game for an instant mistake, but when you are already on a short leash your decision making must be the top priority. Defensively Matt’s foot speed and strength is not close to Big Ten level but with added hustle and more acute knowledge of his defensive assignments he can overcome some of that for at least this season. This upcoming “off-season” period for Vogrich will be essential for him to improve all aspects of his game.
Anthony Wright D
For the most part bad on defense, non-existent on the boards and the few shots he’s throwing up are just not going in. Only part of Wright’s game that is consistent is his passing, but a couple of pretty back door feeds every so often will only get you so far. I remember a basket Anthony made during the Old Spice Classic that had me dumbfounded as to why he couldn’t do it more often… he received a pass in the corner, made a good pump fake and drove sharply to the basket and finished with a nice lay up. Haven’t seen anything close to the same from him since. An aberration I guess. Oh well, at least Anthony is good at driving a car.
Zack Novak C+
Yet another player who is struggling shooting from the perimeter, especially recently (0 for his last 11 from deep). Zack’s struggles are a little easier to swallow since the guy is regularly matched up with stronger, more athletic players, yet still battles and battles and does so much for the team that doesn’t always show up in the box score and doesn’t often get the attention from your average run of the mill hoops fan. Without Zack’s grit and reckless abandon Michigan’s pedestrian defense and rebounding would really be in major trouble. And that’s a huge reason why Beilein plays Zack so much, but for this team to be successful Zack must find his 3 point stroke, and fast. 25% from deep is not going to cut it from a 6’4 guard with little to no off the dribble playmaking capabilities.
DeShawn Sims B-
When you really look at DeShawn’s overall body of work, there’s not much to really complain about– good free throw shooter, decent rebounder, unselfish, can score from anywhere on the floor and capable of playing quality defense. But consistency is often the issue with DeShawn. He’s flat out disappeared in three high profile games this year (Marquette, Boston College, Utah). But in the Kansas game he came up big on both ends of the floor. The game before versus Detroit Sims had season highs in both points (23) and rebounds (12). Take out Vogrich’s 5-5 from 3pt territory against NMU and DeShawn owns the best 3pt % on the team, at a mediocre 35.3%. Sims is the perfect second option when he actually decides to descend from the clouds and play ball.
Manny Harris B
Nearly everything about Manny’s game has improved from this season to last season, except, and it’s a shocker, his 3pt %. Manny’s playing more minutes, shooting a better fg%, dishing out more assists, turning the ball over less, stealing the ball more and rebounding a lot more. Still, fans expect more from Manny, and it’s no secret why. Manny is a top 20 NBA draft pick in my eyes, probably in the eyes of a lot of GM’s too, and there’s a lot of pressure on him to lead this team to bigger and better places than last season. Part of the load Manny is supposed to carry is leadership. So far I’m not sure how well that has worked out. Manny, along with DeShawn, aren’t the most outspoken guys you will ever meet. The leadership thing is still a work in progress.
Manny’s shot selection is often a concern among many Michigan basketball fans, and sometimes rightly so. Settling for the 3 seems to be the problem, when most times Manny can get by his man and have a better opportunity for something else. But with this team’s lousy shooting display so far, you can’t really blame him too much. Manny is “heating” up some from the long line, he’s 11 for his last 23 after starting out the season 4 for 29.
Head Coach John Beilein B+
Can’t gripe much about the job Beilein has done so far. Though, the decision at the end of the Alabama game to put the ball in the hands of Darius Morris is still confusing to me. But at least Beilein admitted it was a mistake soon after the game.
Beilein’s offensive system has worked everywhere he has coached, and it certainly worked last season. This season’s been a struggle but it’s only about a third of the way through, give this team a chance to start off strong in Big Ten play. Beilein can’t make open 3’s for this team, he just has to hope he’s recruited the right guys for his system and that they perform on game days. If anything, the way Michigan fought back and kept it competitive against Kansas showed me Beilein is making progress with this team, especially defensively, and that better results are on the immediate horizon.
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