U of M Basketball Recruiting Discussion

[WM Wolverine]

Elite bigs imo don't like M's offense, disappointing JB didn't get more opportunities to showcase McGary. MM played less than a dozen games healthy and in condition...

JB targets elite bigs quite well but they always end up going elsewhere else. M isn't even the bridesmaid in their recruitments. I really see it as the 'elite' bigs just don't want to play here, in this offense.

[The Oracle]

Part of it is the bigs he targets too. Didn't even touch Deyonta Davis...nor Jalen Reynolds. He doesn't even recruit bigs that are "athletes" first and formost. They need to have a lot of skill or he won't even go after him. That eliminates a large portion of the bigs right there.

[WM Wolverine]

Agree that JB prefers bigs who can shoot even though his Plan B/C bigs don't really follow that strategy. I'd like to see a wider net in bigs that he targets. M is regularly winning the backcourt battle but is murdered in the frontcourt, usually because the opposition has a big or two who can really work the offensive glass.

[hack]

It's time for a rethink there, yeah. Especially given how much better other teams play to the refs. The rules and the points of emphasis are incentivizing something other than what Beilein is doing.

Good point -- the Plan B/C bigs don't measure up in that way either. I guess you count Donnall as a Plan A big, as a low four-star with size and skill.

I think the case can be made to those bigs, and you can sell McGary's tournament as a part of it. Ironic but we would have been better off had McGary taken advantage of his hot tournament, left and gone late lottery. The staff would have had something to burnish their argument. It's hard to imagine they aren't mentioning McGary and how, when he finally got healthy for that two-week period, he thrived. So perhaps the kids just aren't buying it.

[*JD*]

Part of it is the bigs he targets too. Didn't even touch Deyonta Davis...nor Jalen Reynolds. He doesn't even recruit bigs that are "athletes" first and formost. They need to have a lot of skill or he won't even go after him. That eliminates a large portion of the bigs right there.

Jalen Reynolds was the same year as McGary's class (in fact they were teammates at Brewster Acadamy). I think Beilein did just fine with having LeVert, Nik, GRIII and Spike as the other members of the class. As for Davis, I don't know his story.

[WM Wolverine]

JB also has the policy, if you want an offer, you have to show up on campus. That could hurt recruiting for those that aren't' (already) extremely interested in M. I think an offer gives a kid the incentive to visit and for all of us that's been to the University, when you visit, you can fall in love with the University and Ann Arbor.

[*JD*]

so you're saying that our standard is not to be elite?

This is my point, he's better than the average guy. I didn't realize that's what we were looking for.

Nope. I'd love Beilein to be elite. Only 4 or 5 coaches are. Prior to his 2016 score, Izzo hadn't had a Top 10 recruiting class since 2008, even with all of his Final Four appearances.

Substandard meant below-average to me. He's a good recruiter and most basketball people say he's one of the best coaches in college.

[The Oracle]

Jalen Reynolds was the same year as McGary's class (in fact they were teammates at Brewster Acadamy). I think Beilein did just fine with having LeVert, Nik, GRIII and Spike as the other members of the class. As for Davis, I don't know his story.

Point is, he spent his whole high school career outside his prep year in our back yard and wasn't recruited..just like Davis.

[*JD*]

JB also has the policy, if you want an offer, you have to show up on campus. That could hurt recruiting for those that aren't' (already) extremely interested in M. I think an offer gives a kid the incentive to visit and for all of us that's been to the University, when you visit, you can fall in love with the University and Ann Arbor.

That's a tough call. I do think they do everything shy of giving the actual offer. Many recruiting articles/interviews with recruits that umhoops posts have mentioned a player saying that they've basically been guaranteed an offer if they step on campus.

You could argue that Michigan wants the offers to feel special and valued. Whether that communicates to a 16-year old is up for debate. I would guess it depends on the kid.

[*JD*]

Point is, he spent his whole high school career outside his prep year in our back yard and wasn't recruited..just like Davis.

spartie didn't offer him either, nor did any other B1G team. Yahoo had him rated as the 111th best player his senior year, which was 2011.

http://sports.yahoo.com/usf/basketball/recruiting/player-Jalen-Reynolds-112120

It looks like he then reclassified for 2012, so grades may have been an issue.

He'll be 23 in a couple of weeks and he's now listed as 2 inches taller than he was in H.S. Maybe D.J. Wilson will be getting 10 and 8 when he's 23 as well?

[jaadam4]

Wow, Beilein is taking some shots around here. Maybe I'm not remembering it right but prior to Beilein we weren't exactly setting the world on fire other than possibly sniffing the NIT. He not only got us back to being good again but was in arms reach of a few NC's.

Some of his recruiting puzzles me as well but he's been damned good here with what he had.

[hack]

This year is a test case. Glad they righted the ship last night. I think that was a big-deal win, and a loss could have set things off in the wrong direction pretty quickly.

[Pasadena Blue]

I have no qualms about Beilein's offensive sets, his playcalling, and the offensive development of our players.

I do take issue with his subpar recruiting, inability to teach defense and the art of the rebound, and production of players who are generally soft.

Again, the fact that we were in the abyss before Beilein is not a reason to give him an indefinite pass or put him on a pedestal beyond the reach of any criticism.

Just once I'd like to see reporters ask him, "John why are your teams consistently soft and can't play defense or rebound worth a lick? If you can't teach this stuff, can't you bring in some assistants who can?"

[hack]

True. Michigan decided to start competing again, and that's a good thing. Maybe it's time to get a little more serious about that. We'll see what happens this year.

Michigan’s 39 effective field goal percentage against UConn was one of its six worst shooting performances since the 2012-13 season and left the Wolverines facing a crisis of confidence. Playing three games in three days, they answered with two of their six best shooting performances in the same span.

So they shot that well and still played a tight game with a non-top 25 team? Even if they came out on top, is it really going to take 50%+ shooting from 3 to do it? That's not exactly a plan going forward.

[*JD*]

2018 Canuck Forward Danilo Djuricic made an unofficial visit to campus today.

http://northpolehoops.com/2015/11/29/danilo-djuricic-jahmal-abbey-wright-lead-st-mikes-to-6th-consecutive-freeds-championship/#.Vls0tjZdHIU