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arorlowski
How concerned do we need to be with the lack of depth at the guard positions? Who are the best wings to slide into the 2 if Dug or Kobe get in foul trouble?
smagagna
Michigan looked good playing more up tempo against Minnesota. Do you think playing more up tempo with a more aggressive defense or changing up defensive looks (seen more hybrid 2-3 zone recently), will help this team defensively, rather than letting teams settle into a half court set? Or was this more of a one-time thing against Minnesota? Especially with Dug starting going forward, would that lend itself more to this style of play, or do you think Michigan’s overall tempo and defensive aggressiveness stay the same throughout the season?
AC1997
As the non-conference schedule winds down, what are the biggest surprises or concerns across the B10 as compared to your pre-season expectations? (players, teams, records, rotations, outcomes, etc.)
umhoops
Yeah, the big concern is foul trouble and not having another option. You need one of those guys on the floor (Dug or Kobe) at any point.
I imagine it would be Jett on the floor initiating the offense, but that would really be an adventure on both ends. You basically have huge questions on offense and defense in a hurry.
If just one is in foul trouble, I’m not as concerned. You can play Jett at the two pretty easily. Youssef seemed to be in the pecking order at Minnesota to get some minutes at the 2/3. Kobe or Dug by themselves can handle getting the team into its sets.
umhoops
Tempo is such a tricky thing to figure out because it depends on both teams. I think we need to see a bit more of a sample to figure out if Michigan is really going to play faster with Dug at the 1. It does make sense to play a bit faster, but the reality is you can’t really play fast against a team that is decent and wants to play slowly. There’s no speeding up Wisconsin for example.
I’m not a big fan of the 2-3 zone (don’t think it is particularly effective and it is very easy to isolate a certain player right when Michigan switches to man) but it does make sense to play it more with the guard depth because you want to keep Bufkin/McDaniel out of foul trouble. I don’t think zone will speed the game up as much as slow it down, though.