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Photo: Allison Farrand/UMHoops.com |
Michigan’s loss to a conference-less NJIT on Saturday can no
longer be written off as a statistical anomaly. Yes, that NJIT – the New Jersey
Institute of Technology—is not exactly basketball lore. My beloved Wolverines followed
Saturday’s putrid effort with a 45-42 home loss to a bitter in-state rival,
Eastern Michigan. By bitter in-state rival I actually mean a non-conference
doormat that hadn’t beaten Michigan in 17 years.
Michigan’s consecutive meltdowns are low-hanging fruit for
college basketball beat writers. ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan posted an article last
night in which he aimlessly wondered aloud what’s wrong with Michigan while failing
to provide a definitive answer.
Eamonn: I’m here for you bro. Here’s my take:
In the macro-sense, Michigan’s struggles can largely be
placed into two categories: youth/inexperience and (relatively) inefficient
offensive production.
Let me start with the latter since it requires more
explanation. John Beilein’s teams are not known for their defensive prowess –
that is no secret. But average to below-average defense is passable when it’s
accompanied by lethally efficient offense. Michigan had the most efficient offense in the country in each of the last two seasons,
per kenpom (http://kenpom.com/). Watching Michigan’s offense from 2012-2014 was
like watching poetry in motion -- back
cuts, screen slips, floor spacing, deadly shooting – it was basketball in its
purest form.
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Spike Albrecht (left) and Zak Irvin as the buzzer sounded in Michigan's 45-42 loss to Eastern Michigan. Photo: Dustin Johnson/UMHoops.com |
The youth/inexperience issue is equally worrisome. With the exception
of Trey Burke, few freshman are immediately able to become key cogs in
Michigan’s offensive attack because it takes considerable time to adapt to
Beilein’s complex scheme. But I’m at least accustomed to seeing freshman
contribute in some capacity – especially at the guard/wing position. Neither
Aubrey Dawkins nor Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman has seen considerable minutes–-
let alone in crunch time. The result is 38-40 minutes per game for LeVert,
Irvin and Walton barring foul trouble. I’ve been proud of the way the young
bigs, Ricky Doyle and Mark Donnal, have battled, but they miss block-outs and are
late on defensive rotations too often. The drop-off of production at the wing
spots is equally profound in the frontcourt; Jordan Morgan made so many winning
plays.
This is not a coaching issue – Beilein is a top 5 coach in
America; he always always always maximizes talent. This is not a locker-room
issue – this team doesn’t have any cancerous personalities and the team
hierarchy, led by LeVert and Albrecht’s captainship, is well defined. Maybe
Team 99 is starting to accept the unfortunate truth: the leftovers from teams
with four 1st round picks in 2 years plus 5 freshman, none of whom
are ready to contribute, will likely result in an NIT bid. But I’m certainly
not ready to give up hope yet.
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