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

[Hannibal]

What in the hell has happened to Teske? His defense sucks this year.

[Hannibal]

Welp. That's ball game. Still zero road wins on the year.

[Kstat]

[Hannibal]

Lots to be concerned about. Teske getting abused by opposing bigs repeatedly looks like a major regression to me. Last year he could battle an elite big like Happ to a draw but this year guys are getting career highs and then some.

[Kstat]

Lots to be concerned about. Teske getting abused by opposing bigs repeatedly looks like a major regression to me. Last year he could battle an elite big like Happ to a draw but this year guys are getting career highs and then some.

[Hannibal]

9-9 in the B1G seems kind of likely at this point.

[WM Wolverine]

Livers is needed, this wasn't a bad loss, road wins will be rare in the B1G. Frustrating when the game isn't called the same at both ends.

[hack]

Teske's defense does seem to have regressed this year, no question. But I don't know that I hate the strategy. It was the same strategy as last year; Yaklich wasn't sending help. Yaklich did have Charles Matthews on the wing though, and this year's team lacks that kind of defender.

I agree that Livers is really missed, and that the conference this year is insanely strong. It's a very different year than last year. I don't agree at all that Juwan has embarrassed himself in road games. He's not the one shooting clean looks from 3 at sub 25%. And it's not as if Beilein last year was able to really scheme around the shortcomings. He just had a defense with Matthews as an elite piece as well as Z/T, and Teske has definitely not been the defender he was last year.

[Niffla]

Going to very likely get smoked on the road against Iowa next. How is UM even still ranked by the way? Haven't they lost like 5 of the past 8 or something?

And yes Teske is just getting abused game after game in the post. I get that he's kinda being hung out to dry, but the guy is 7'2" and was a really nice force on the defensive end a season ago. Now every big who's matched up with him in the post is having a career game it feels like.

[*JD*]

Lots to be concerned about. Teske getting abused by opposing bigs repeatedly looks like a major regression to me. Last year he could battle an elite big like Happ to a draw but this year guys are getting career highs and then some.

Happ averaged 23 and 10.5 against Teske last year. He had trouble with mobile/strong guys like Tillman, Jordan Murphy, and Bruno Fernando as well. It's far more pronounced this year, though. Juwan's been putting him out on an island and we don't have a guy like Charles Matthews to occasionally help down yet still recover to his man. I think Juwan's got to start sending help here and there or Teske will continue to get torched. The emphasis on not giving up 3's doesn't seem to be adding up to getting wins.

A good point was made on the radio yesterday by Michael Spath/Chris Young. Teske is much more involved on the post, which takes more energy. That could also contribute to his giving up position on the other end.

More or less, the team is about where I thought they'd be, when thinking about things in the summer. The November success got me excited that they might exceed expectations. They still might but there has to be some player-development between now and March. Eli Brooks has to find his confidence again. One of either Johns or Castelton needs to step up. Johns has shown glimpses but less so since the new year began. I think DDJ and Franz are coming along well. Obviously, we need Livers back to make any noise in the B1G or the Tournament.

This is all a year of learning, for players and coaches. The Sweet 16 would be great. Next season, my expectations will be higher, especially if Todd stays on board and Livers returns. We'll certainly miss Simpson but we should have a much more dangerous offense overall.

[hack]

IMO Castleton being hardly playable is a surprise and a real factor there. He showed enough flashes last year to make me think he'd be able to give 15 very solid minutes.

As for the future, there's going to be more talent, especially if Christopher comes in. We'll miss Simpson a ton, but I'm really excited about the prospect of having DDJ at PG dribbling up the court, passing off to Christopher to initiate the offense, and spotting up along with Wagner and probably Livers, who isn't drawing much NBA interest. Very curious to see whether Todd ties his decision to Livers presence. Livers could blow up in March, or take his chances as a second-rounder, or maybe he'd perceive himself as best served coming back and trying to play his way into the back end of the first round.

IF they get Christopher, C is the big question next year. Dickinson's size and polish leads people that know more than I to expect he can contribute as a freshman. IF Todd is here, you might have 5-10 minutes a game with a small lineup with him at 5. But Castleton really needs to come through next year as well or C is could be a serious hole.

[Niffla]

IMO Castleton being hardly playable is a surprise and a real factor there. He showed enough flashes last year to make me think he'd be able to give 15 very solid minutes.

Yeah Castleton taking a step back is unexpected. He appears to be playing with very little confidence out there. And Johns -- he has shown some flashes here and there, but what's up with him hanging out around the 3 point line so much and shooting threes like he's Livers? The other day against Purdue he shot like 5 or 6 threes. And on the season he has shot a total of 61 shots -- with a third of them coming from beyond the arch (he's a 27% three point shooter).

Now I'm no expert, and I know he's capable of hitting one once in a while, but shouldn't he be down in the post more? Like a lot more?

[hack]

The offense needs him to make enough of those. Spacing.

[WM Wolverine]

Johns can really shoot in practice/ shoot around. He's been hesitant, turned down good looks from deep. Offense looks tons better with Livers on the floor.

[hack]

Would be great if Johns can scale up what he can do this year, but I'm fearing this year is his year of flashes. Could be a monster next year though. Could help out at C.