Death From Wherever Comment Count

Ace

SPONSOR NOTE. HomeSure Lending is once again sponsoring our NCAA Tournament coverage this year, and once again that is going rather well. I'm not saying Michigan's second run to the FINAL FOUR is due to this great partnership of sports blog and home-financing expert; I'm not saying it isn't, either. I certainly don't want to test this theory. If you're looking at buying a house this spring/summer you should talk to him soon.

ICYMI. Tuesday's mailbag covered Moe Wagner's impact on opponent strategy, the John Beilein inbounding myth, and an interesting hypothetical about Beilein as an NBA coach. Wednesday's covered Loyola matchups, small ball, Jon Teske, and why Z keeps getting robbed (off the court). Brian posted the Loyola Chicago preview yesterday.



Up, then down, then very up. [Patrick Barron]

I was going to write another mailbag today but I'm past the point of rational thought. I should've seen this coming. This team, all season, has bucked expectation seemingly every time they settled into a pattern.

Heading into the season, this was going to be Moe Wagner's team. Or maybe Jaaron Simmons' if his MAC stardom translated, which we quickly learned did not. Perhaps Charles Matthews would fulfill his obvious potential and run the show, which appeared to be the case in November. Then he reverted to Turnover Matthews, the player we belatedly learned had been present for much of his mandated redshirt year, and we hoped he'd give up on being the centerpiece. He did, until the team needed a hard-driving centerpiece in the NCAA Tournament and he won West Region MVP.

Zavier Simpson started the first four games before coming off the bench in favor of Eli Brooks for the next 12. I wrote this on December 6th when exploring potential season outcomes:

For as good as Darius Morris was a sophomore, he simply wasn't ready for a starter's role as a freshman. Despite major differences in stature, Morris's statistical profile wasn't too different from Zavier Simpson's: very low usage, higher turnover rate than assist rate, awful outside shooting. (I know Simpson has shot okay from three this year but opponents are leaving him all alone out there and it's killing spacing.) Morris needed a full year before he was ready to run an efficient offense; if this year's PGs need a similar timetable, Michigan is probably missing the tournament.

I concluded that Brooks would do enough to help the Wolverines make the tourney as a bubble team. My personal Zavier Simpson mea culpa tour started eight days later.



The core. [Barron]

Duncan Robinson, a senior captain, had his starting job taken by a younger player for the second consecutive season, this time while mired in a shockingly uncharacteristic shooting funk. He continued to be a liability on defense until, suddenly, he no longer was that at all, through some combination of dogged work paying off and Luke Yaklich's tactical wizardry. While he stayed out of the starting lineup, he's one of the best five with commensurate playing time, and the team is evidently unbeatable when he scores six or more points.

The other returning senior, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, looked like the effective role player he'd pretty much always been for much of the year. When Michigan needed someone to grab control as Matthews struggled, however, he took the wheel.



Rolling with it. [Barron]

Talented freshmen Isaiah Livers and Jordan Poole had to deal with the considerable learning curve of John Beilein's system plus a newfound emphasis on defensive fundamentals that'd make it much harder for the average freshman to make a quick impact. Both marinated for a while before the blowout loss at North Carolina provided them with extended minutes against real competition. They settled into roles; those roles changed; they adapted, often by the day. Poole went from playing season-saving microwave against Houston to two statless minutes against Florida State.

Jon Teske earned the nickname "Big Sleep" as a freshman in large part due to how completely out-to-lunch he looked on the court. Some offseason chatter had him losing ground to a different big, Austin "Big Country" Davis, who'd redshirted behind Teske last year. Teske held off Davis and had a strong start to the season, using his size to overwhelm lesser opponents, before his production faded when conference play began in earnest. Sometime around Valentine's Day, "Big Nasty" awoke, and this big guy screams at Isaac Haas after dunking in his grill.



Hello, Big Nasty. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The last time Michigan made it here, the circumstances could hardly have been more different. While the 2012-13 team had lost Stu Douglass and Zack Novak from the starting lineup, every other contributor returned save Evan Smotrycz. The team had a clear leader in Trey Burke, a clear second option in Tim Hardaway Jr., an experienced big man in Jordan Morgan, and a group of prodigious freshmen that quickly settled into well-defined roles. The only significant change in how the team functioned throughout the season was Mitch McGary's postseason breakout, which wasn't too difficult to see coming.

This team isn't like that, not one bit. They play great defense no matter who is on the floor and squeeze enough offense out of their collection of misfit toys to grind out wins. Occasionally it all comes together and they blow a team to bits; more often, it's a matter of waiting to see how the game will dictate which player ultimately takes the lead. Not many teams make it this far in such fashion. For your college-to-pro comparison, you don't need to look far: hello, 2003-04 Detroit Pistons.

Will it end the same way? We'll see. Which player will take the lead? Who knows. Will it matter? I have no idea.

Neither does John Beilein, I'm guessing, but he has a much better plan of how to handle that. If you need me, I'll be curled up in a ball of anticipation.

Comments

HHW

March 30th, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^

That MAAR has been the most important player of the Beilein era at Michigan. He’s really been the steady hand through early exits and injuries. Never thought a 2 Star would have this much impact on the program. Salute!

XiX

March 30th, 2018 at 5:59 PM ^

of a mullet: Stone-cold assassin who rarely smiles on the court but huge cheerleader and coach on the bench. Or maybe Chris Paul on and Cliff Paul off?

Think I'll quit while I'm ahead(?) and just say I'm gonna miss that guy next season...

charblue.

March 30th, 2018 at 7:35 PM ^

He's experienced a lot of success and been responsible for making a lot of it happen in combination with Derrick Walton and Zak and company. I remember the last time Michigan went to the Final Four, Walton and Zak were incoming players on hand for it in Atlanta.

As far as I am concerned, he is the MVP of the team. Others might point to Moe, and Moe is the man, but MAAR is the catalyst who makes this team hum.

sarto1g

March 30th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^

Whatever happens, the last 2 games plus the one tomorrow are house money. Any other season, that Poole shot rims out and we spend the offseason wondering how MAAR’s last shot didn’t go in. Win or lose, seniors can hold their heads high about how the season turned out

mistersuits

March 30th, 2018 at 3:21 PM ^

One thing I found interesting about Duncan's story is that his freshman year at Williams he played a major role in the 2014 DIII Final Four, dropping 30 points in the semifinal vs Amherst and 17 in the title game vs Wisconsin-Whitewater, despite his team losing on a buzzer-beater layup. I want him to win a title and come full circle!

ScruffyTheJanitor

March 30th, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^

I love so many things about this team. I love the fact that they look like a weird collection of talents from different eras (from the big, bruising white guy in John Teske to the big, athletic German of Mo Wagner), I love point guards that play defense, play an old man's game, and have some attitude; I don't know that any PG has ever combined all three like Zavier Simpson. I love MAAR and the fact that his expression would look the exact same whether he won a million dollars or he heard that nuclear hellfire was about to end human existance. I love that Duncan Robinson worked hard enogh that I actually can trust him on the defensive end for multiple possesions. I love that Jordan Poole has more swag and enthusaism than anyone he plays against, and that I expect him to play an important role in our final game in the season. I love that Charles Mathews overcame his scouting report-- and his past- and now can get to the rim at will. I love how much people hate Mo Wagner just because he's having so much fun while their team loses. I love Luke Yaklic and whatever the hell kind of voodoo magic he performed to create a stifling defense.

And damnit, I love John Beilein for deciding two years ago that defense wasn't just going to be emphasized, it was going to be how we contend.

CLion

March 30th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^

The previous team led by Burke was insanely talented. You could argue that team is an upgrade at every single position relative to this one. Still not sure who wins head to head though, thanks to Yaklich and I don't know what, some sort of X/Z factor? Maybe McGary dominates Wagner, not sure.

Regardless, I don't think Nova or KU is quite on the level of that Louisville team and this team just wins games. Just need two more baby. 

In reply to by CLion

snarling wolverine

March 30th, 2018 at 8:00 PM ^

We hold Moe to high standards.  When he doesn't give us 15+ we call it an off night.  But as FSU and Purdue have noted, even when he's off you still have to respect the threat he poses.  He forces teams to change the way they defend, more so than McGary.

Matthews is a better all-around player than freshman-year Stauskas.  Nik then was not the playmaker off the dribble he became as a soph, and defensively he was never very good.  He had the edge only in shooting, and even there he was pretty streaky that season.  

 

 

CLion

March 30th, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^

Sorry for spamming, but it's real simple right now. Win two fucking games and go fucking blue. You guys worked your asses off to get here. You didn't cut corners. You didn't take money. You came to a university that prides itself on doing it the right way; doing it the hard way. You're not misfit pieces; you're warriors.

You don't deserve it though. No one deserves it. It's just a matter of taking it. You're a Wolverine. Do you know about wolverines? They don't give a fuck. You think they're concerned about a wildcat? Do you know that in the Philly area they don't even know how to pronounce water? It's embarrassing.

In a world of one and dones, cheating, and meglomaniac college basketball coaches, let's show them the ways of Michigan men. Rip their fucking hearts out and cut down the nets.

 

 

snarling wolverine

March 30th, 2018 at 7:39 PM ^

There's nothing more satisfying IMO that a team that exceeds expectations.  This year's been really satisfying.  I'm just trying to soak it in as much as possible.  It's amazing to be back in the Final Four.

The whole Big Ten is looking up to us now.  Sparty's been done for two weeks.  Ditto OSU.  Purdue's Final Four drought goes on another year (last trip was in 1980!).  IU, for all its history, hasn't been this far since 2002.  Maryland won it all that year but hasn't been back.  Illinois hasn't been here since '05 and can't even make the tournament anymore.  

It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

UM Griff

March 30th, 2018 at 8:30 PM ^

Who only wanted to be a high school teacher has succeeded so spectacularly at Michigan. He has crafted this team into a finely tuned machine that handles any situation and any opponent’s skill set with ease. The team is loose but focused (contrast that with MSU’s stress and drama).

It is hard to believe basketball season is almost over - I am going to have a hard time letting go of this team - they are so special.