MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL- '19-'20: Hello Coach Nook!

[Kstat]

Yeah, Izzo typically uses the early OOC games to rant and rave about how bad his team is, to motivate them to play better. They usually figure it out in late January and early February, then make a run in the tournament. Izzo is a crafty coach, if not a goofy one. He's likely to get the best of Howard at Breslin, but Juwan could pull a surprise or two at Crisler.

One observation just slightly off topic, .. I read where John Beilein is having problems with his NBA stars, and his style of coaching. The grumblings seem to be that he's teaching them college ball, when he's supposed to get them playing NBA ball. Imagine that....

He could have had things his way for the remainder of his coaching career at Michigan ....

Talk that with the smallest grain of salt possible. He took over an awful team and they're looking to scapegoat him. He's got a massive long term contract. The players that stabbed him in the back will be gone before he is.

[Kstat]

Yeah, they suck right now. I'd love to see Ohio State play them tomorrow and be down with them until the B10 Tournament. Unfortunately, nothing is won in November and December. I'd be very surprised if Sparty wasn't heavily involved in the B10 race and playing much better come money time.

But, no sane person would have ever predicated that the B10 would have 3 top 5 teams at any point this season, and none of them would be Sparty.

I've never been a big believer in Cassius Winston. Offensively gifted but he may be the worst defender Izzo has ever had starting at point guard. Equal parts soft and lazy and his lateral quickness is shit. He had a lot of guys able to cover for that last season but so far this year teams have been picking him apart.

[Kstat]

[Kstat]

[Kstat]

[Kstat]

[hack]

Illinois's plan was to dictate who got 3 looks, and did it very well. Blanketed our two best three-point shooters, Livers and Brooks, to the extent that they shot only 4 of our 18 shots from 3. They came in with an excellent game plan and are a likely tournament team. This would have been a very nice road win, but Juwan can't make the 3s go down, just as Beilein couldn't shoot them for the players last year in the games that team lost. One thing he can do is to tell Franz to keep shooting. I could have used more micromanaged offense in the second half, and maybe some timeouts once the fouls started, just to slow things down. Might have been a night for Davis and not Castleton, as well.

Sure wasn't fun to watch though, that's for sure.

[*JD*]

B1G teams are now 0-10 on the road to start the season. It's looking like a tough league once more.

[lineygoblue]

Road wins will be like gold this year, no doubt. I think this year is shaping up to be one of the toughest conference seasons we've seen in a while.

Coach Howard is going learn a lot of things on the job and the hard way this season. Its to be expected.

[*JD*]

This is definitely a game Beilein would not have lost.

As great as Beilein was at Michigan, he went 5-5 in road games vs. Illinois. Illinois made the NCAA tournament only 3 times during that span. I think they'll make it this year.

[hack]

I think the offense has precisely the same problem it did last year -- no elite creator. This group needs a system to generate looks, and it has a pretty good one with the Simpson-Teske pick-and-roll. But a team with size and athleticism and a good scheme can take it away if the shooters aren't making their 3s. It happened plenty last year as well and Beilein was no more able to do anything about it than Howard was last night. Certainly I might have preferred more DDJ and Johns, but the answer for this season in particular is to let Wagner play through this until he settles in from 3. Totally different game if he even goes 1-4 from 3 instead of 0-4. Beyond this year, the quickest fix is Josh Christopher.

[WM Wolverine]

^

Yup, Iggy was getting close to being that player by the end of the season.

[hack]

In-season upside possible or likely from:

-Wagner, who will start to can more 3s and see more opportunities open up as a result

-DDJ, who will continue to refine his role as the bench microwave

-Johns, who seems likely to make 3s at a somewhat higher rate, keep it up with the off-ball cutting, and be a defensive beast whilst cutting down on errors

-Castleton, who *might* snap into focus with the ball in his hands and go faster


All that's nice to anticipate, though likely that a fraction of it will come to pass. But last night isn't a demonstration of a hard ceiling.

[paul daugherity]

[*JD*]

Same. You'd have to be a little nutty to think you have this team pinned for who they'll be all season, one way or the other, at this point.