UM Hoops.com

In other point guard news today, C.J. Harris verballed to Wake Forest. C.J. wasn’t at camp this week (as was previously planned) so this is not a huge surprise.
Continue reading ‘C.J. Harris to Wake Forest’

• 2009 NBA Draft Rankings
  Manny Harris at #69.
• UD’s Morgan on a mission to improve
  Jordan Morgan piece from the Free Press.
• Fingerle Lumber for sale
  The Fingerle Lumber property has always been rumored as a place for athletics facilities expansion.
• Another Great Team Camp Recap
  Another message board poster, another camp review.
• MGoBlog Has a New Look
  Made the switch to Drupal. A new design is probably needed on UMHoops, hopefully by the end of the summer.

as expected is in Ann Arbor today. Playing on a team with Stu Douglass, Nate Lubick, and Corey Person.

Here are two message board posts from people who were at team camp. Make sure to click through because there is more information. W3 has more great info from camp on the Rivals FREE boards, here is what he had to say on Morris:

I love this kids game. Very strong with the ball. Great handles. He is a pass first type of PG with a scorer’s mentality – best of both worlds.

A slick physical player. Initiates contact consistently, whether on the dribble up court, trying to get open or on defense. Nothing malicious but sneaky, bothersome tactics to set a certain tone. I think I liked it so much because that’s how I play At the very beginning of the second game vs Romulus, Darius and a G from their R almost got into it, because both players were doing the same thing to irritate one another.

Didn’t do too much outside damage today but he didn’t really have to. He could get by just about every defender on campus.

I got to talk to Darius himself, and also his Mother and Father. He thought I was Lubick’s younger brother (I don’t think I look like I’m 18 or a Lubick, but what the hey). Any how, he is an A+ kid. He was very kind to my son. Said he is EXHAUSTED from all of the camps and traveling but loves it at the same time. He went down hard (stayed down for awhile) in the first game only to come back and LOCK DOWN the teams best player when no one else could. He is a straight competitor. All three Morris’ said they can’t wait to see the campus tomorrow. A very friendly and warm family. BTW…this kid threw some ridiculous passes. One I haven’t seen before I could see the fatigue in him the third game…but still he played fairly well.

maizeragin 05 on Stu Douglass:

Stu will bring high basketball IQ, solid shooting, and even better passing to the team next year. I would project that he gets some starts during the year. I could see him getting 6ppg and a few dimes. However I think that his contributions span to much more than shooting the ball well, and his game will not show in the box score, which is just fine with him as long as it means some wins. Stu went up against a lot of kids “with nothing to lose”, and I was impressed by his competitiveness each day, he seemed hungry to show people his style of play, and does not seem like a soft player by any means.

I didn’t make it to camp, and don’t think I am going to today either but here are a couple links. It seems like Nate Lubick was definitely one of the top players there and played very well. Stu also played well a year after he basically earned his spot at U-M at team camp. Mike Talley played well while guys like Herbeck and Simmons definitely struggled a bit. Read Wolverine3’s entire report here, but here are his notes on a just a few players:

Nate Lubick- Has great control of his body. Always knows where he is on the court and especially the post. Great footwork when he recieves the ball and knows what to do with it. Wide frame, but he kind of hunches over. Didnt even notice him until I saw the face. Thin down low, yet semi-explosive. Tons of talent…great outside shot…at the start they were just shooting around…kid hit 7-8 threes in a row. Played hurt a bit the second session.

Stu Douglass- SIIIIICK shot. Better handles then I thought. He looks (on this day) more ready, physically then Novak in my opinion. He will be a great asset THIS year. Already knows how to use EVERY screen he gets to his advantage. Almost like Rip when using the screens, but sometimes his teammates got in the way of the play not understanding, so he didn’t have every opportunity he could have…but he will this season. GREAT vision. Made tons of accurate passes on the run. At one point Talley Jr took him off the dribble 2-3 times in a row. Stu then went on to hit 6-8 threes. He gets very good elevation of his shot. Must improve footwork on D.

Jordan Morgan- Kind of the opposite of Lubick. Doesn’t have great hands. Decent footwork, but good at times. Has a hard time getting his shot off under the rim, but has an array of post up moves from the block. Impressive off the dribble from the 3point line a couple times. Very good passing skills. Knows where the open man is…he and Lubick seemed to have liked playing with each other. Set each other up multiple times. They coached Jordan up as much as they could, stopping every drill to show him the “right” way to do things…sometimes he got it, sometimes he didn’t. Has lots of potential though. Had a couple of MONSTER ducks that almost tipped the hoops over.

Rivals and Scout were there as well and here are a few of their articles:

• Photos from the Beilein Elite Camp ($)
• Beilein Elite Camp: Several standouts ($)
• Elite Camp Day 1 – Sam’s Blog ($)
• Elite Camp Day 2 – Dre’s Blog ($)

One other note, I got an email from the guys over at InsidePrepSports to add Sultan Muhammed (Grand Rapids CC) to the list of ‘10 recruits so he might be someone to keep an eye out for.

• First off, Eric Gordon highlights of him shooting from just about mid-court in Crisler make me sick. That being said I think Eric will be a stud in the NBA despite his size.
• A side note on Eric Gordon: Eric says the “Big Ten is more of a grind out game” and helps his toughness. I guess this is one way of looking at what is often times a negative stereotype of the Big Ten.
• Joe Alexander off the board at #8. How much of an effect Beilein had on Alexander (who credits Beilein for his offensive knowledge and is a former 3 star recruit) is up for debate. However I do find this article interesting which talks about Alexander shooting drastically less three pointers this year and how much it improved his game. Alexander shot 40-131 (30.5%) his sophomore year compared to DeShawn’s 43-142 for a near identical 30.2%. Alexander shot only 41 threes last year and he is standing on stage in New York City. Shooting less three’s isn’t necesarily Beilein-esque but I would love to see DeShawn develop more of a post and mid-range game this year.
• Darius Morris is at the Nike Steve Nash Skills Camp this week and that means he probably won’t be in Ann Arbor until sometime this weekend because the Nash camp runs Wednesday to Friday with departures Saturday.
• Franklin becoming a prime target nationally ($)
  Also listed at #8 in ESPN’s top 30 NBPA performers.
• The Renn Duo has landed: Malik Hairston 48 and Joe Crawford 58.
• Updated Visitors Confirmed: Nate Lubick, Ben Simmons, and Jordan Morgan.