Michigan basketball post-Old Spice Classic grades
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Michigan finished its Old Spice Classic appearance with a 1-2 record, and possibly out of the Top 25 when the newest poll is released Monday.
It was a rough tournament for the Wolverines, save for Manny Harris in every facet. Here's how they graded out:
Old Spice Classic:
Offense
Manny Harris was nothing short of spectacular. He set the tournament record for assists against Creighton with 11, scored 20-plus points in all three games and had a double-double against Alabama. The rest of the Wolverines struggled. Laval Lucas-Perry and Zack Gibson were decent in stretches but couldn’t stay in the game long enough (Gibson) or be dependable enough (Lucas-Perry) to provide other options. DeShawn Sims disappeared for portions of games. Zack Novak and Stu Douglass barely contributed the entire tournament. Starting point guard Darius Morris looked every bit of the freshman he is.
Grade: C (Harris A, rest of the team D)
Defense
The 1-3-1 zone was effective in all three first halves at the Old Spice. But the Wolverines struggled rebounding, allowing 11 or more offensive rebounds in all three games. Michigan’s pressure was pretty good, too, and in two of three games - Creighton and Alabama - they limited all but one big option for the opponent’s offense. But Michigan’s defense was exposed to slashers and allowing open three-pointers. The Wolverines also needed to crash the boards better.
Grade: C
Coaching
John Beilein’s decision to put the ball in Morris’ hands versus Harris - or even Sims or Novak was questionable at best, considering Morris is a freshman. He second-guessed his call after the game with the media. Beilein also played his starters - especially Harris - heavy minutes in all three games. Harris shined, but considering he was going to be mindful of each players’ minutes going in it was questionable. Beilein also stuck with his starting lineup for at least six minutes to start every game. The coaching staff mixed up defenses well but too often on offense they looked like they were relying on Harris to do everything.
Grade: C-
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.
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These second half " no shows" by U-M remind me of the football season. Which by the way is OVER! Sort of like the Bball season is starting to look.
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Posted Nov 29 2009
This tournament is a great learning experience for the team, with plenty of "coachable moments." They will have to be more patient on offense and show a little more, uh, "Tenacious D" than they did this weekend. Right now, they put up shots too quickly and tend to take a nap if they don't get a turnover right away on D.
This will be corrected, and the team will be fine. After all, it's not like UM was the number two team in the country and just lost to unranked Florida.
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Posted Nov 29 2009
Tater: M is not a #15 Team. Harris made a serious mistake by returning to M this year. He does not have the athlete around him that will allow him to showcase his game. Let's see what December holds for them.
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Posted Nov 30 2009
A comment was removed because of name-calling.
AnnArbor.com Staff
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Posted Nov 30 2009
Some thoughts:
1. LLP is soft on defense and is a shaky ball handler. Having him on the bottom of the 1-3-1 will not work, he is not big enoough, fast enough,strong enough, nor smart enough to play that position.
2. Gibson needs to play more than 8 minutes a game. Play him with Sims allowing Sims to the natural 4 that he is.
3. Novak and Douglas only 6 shots against Bama. They didn't disappear they were not fed the rock.
4. Morris will grow and needs experience. It may be painful at times.
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Posted Nov 30 2009
If you watched all the games this weekend you would have noticed the starters playing most of the game. The problem with this is that for the most part they played horrible (not including Harris). Their bench players, with the help of Harris, built a 15 point lead against Alabama. The starters came back and the lead disappeared. LLP is instance offense off the bench, Douglas should start. Also, Gibson should play 20 minutes he is a stud this year. Beilein needs to go back to the drawing board. Coaching is the problem with this team.
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Posted Nov 30 2009
Tater,
Finally-you said something I agree with: "After all, it's not like UM was the number two team in the country". You got that part right, and probably won't be in your lifetime!
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Posted Nov 30 2009