DeShawn “Peedi” Sims showed signs of improvement from his tragedy filled freshman year and handled to transition to a new coaching staff in stride. DeShawn had his good moments such as starting out the first half of the UCLA game hot and scoring 22 against Ohio State at home. But overall DeShawn just gave us a glimpse of his potential and never proved to be the player we needed him to be night in and night out. I think DeShawn is one of the most critical pieces to this teams success moving forward so it’s encouraging that Beilein has declared DeShawn his special project. More after the break… Continue reading ‘Report Card: DeShawn Sims’
Kelvin Grady was one of the most inconsistent players on the Michigan team this year. Of course this is normal for freshman who are not the Kalin Lucas, Manny Harris and Robbie Hummels of the world. It was still gut wrenching to see Kelvin wow you with his good play against teams like Georgetown, Duke, or Iowa and then turn around and make you sick by disappearing or turning the ball over. After the break I’ll look at the positives and negatives of Kelvin’s season and what he needs to do to improve. Continue reading ‘Report Card: Kelvin Grady’
I think Anthony Wright and Ron Coleman were two players who were called “perfect Beilein fits” before the season because of their touted three point shooting. While he didn’t have an outstanding season you have to remember that Anthony came to Michigan as the unheralded recruit that we stole from Woffard. He took a redshirt his freshman year and burned off enough pounds to actually be able to start a few games this year for Michigan. I would say he certainly over achieved in terms of what anyone thought he was capable of but there is a lot of room for improvement going onward.
The Good
Ant had some big games when he really showed off his shooting ability this year. His best two games of the year were probably at Illinois (5/8 3pfg for 15 points) and vs. PSU (3/5 3pfg for 13 points). Ant certainly wasn’t scared to shoot and looked very comfortable working to get open shots, whether it be popping out or coming off picks. I would say that Anthony definetely improved as the season went on and that he looked far more comfortable on the court. Ant’s steady increase in minutes as the season went on shows that Beilein also saw some improvement in Ant’s game. Ant also made strides on the glass. Some early games he had me pulling my hair out with poor box-outs and lazy effort but by the end of the year he really hit the glass hard.
The Bad
He took a lot of shots and shot a low percentage. While Ant has the prettiest three point stroke on the team the numbers are a bit staggering. Wright attempted 123 three point shots and only made 35 (28.5%) and had the third lowest three point shooting percentage on the team. Another negative is 14/29 (48%) free throw shooting for the year which ranks 2nd to last on the team.
Defense. Defense. Defense. The bottleneck in Ant’s game right now is quickness and defense. While he works hard he is just so physically limited on the defensive side of the ball he doesn’t have the quickness to guard the wing in the Big Ten.
The Future
Ant Wright’s future in the Michigan system clearly revolves around his ability to shoot the three ball which is a major plus for John Beilein. However I think the real question with Anthony is where is his true spot on the floor. At 6-6 235 he is traditionally too short to be a 4 and too big to be a 3. However I think that you are what you can guard and because he is too slow to guard Big Ten wings on the perimeter that he is a better fit at the 4. Especially in Beilein’s system which requires mostly outside play from the power forward.
Next year I still see Anthony playing backup to both the three and four spots. There is no one else behind DeShawn at the PF to push him and if Ant can keep improving on the glass he can be a weapon off the bench at the 4. I think the long term goal for Anthony is to be a Roger Powell type, a skilled tough undersized 4 who had a great Big Ten career.
Three point numbers should improve next year when Ant is not relied on as much in the offense to take shots one would hope. His stroke looks nice so you would think it will start falling if he is not worried about forcing it. I think the additions Laval Lucas-Perry, Novak and Douglass will pry into his minutes some by forcing Manny to become the starting 3. However there is definetely a role for Anthony in this offense if he can hit his threes off the bench.
Thomas McCanna is going to be helping out around the site in various ways and he agreed to write a review of the season. I figured that you have heard what I have to say on the season every game so it would be good to get an outside perspective. After this I am going to work on putting together a report card/review of each players season and what they need to work on. But here’s Thomas’ recap:
Going into the 2007-2008 season, there was a sense of rebirth in the Michigan Basketball program. Tommy Amaker had done an admirable job of putting some respectability back into the Michigan Basketball program after the Ed Martin scandal and the failure of his predecessor Brian Ellerbe. Unfortunately, restoring a clean image was the best Amaker could do in his 6 year run at Michigan. Amaker seemed to always be on the fringe of getting the program back to national relevance, but whether it was injuries, poor performance on the floor at the worst possible times, or some tough luck in recruiting, Amaker just could not get the program over the hump.
John Beilein was hired in April of 2007 and he came to the Michigan program with a reputation as a rebuilder of ailing programs. His track record at Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia suggested that given time, Beilein could get Michigan back to national relevance. In his early days after his hire, Beilein made it clear that he was no miracle worker and getting Michigan back to the NCAA’s would be a process. Beilein also said in no uncertain terms that he came to Michigan because he thought he could recruit the kind of talent that could bring UM back to an elite level.
Continue reading ‘Guest Blogging: The 2007-2008 Season’
Not much to say about this one. Didn’t think we would win but didn’t think we would lay an egg light that. 10-50 (20%) shooting is just terrible, not sure how anyone can shoot much worse than that. Not to mention that we made 1 field goal inside the arc in the second half. I didn’t see the game but these numbers are just ugly. Ant Wright had 11 points but I wouldn’t say he had a “good game”. DeShawn and Manny combined for 3-22 shooting and 10 points. One positive I guess is DeShawn’s rebounding, he grabbed 8 boards today and he has definetely made progress on the glass. Jokes about Michigan State’s low point totals this year are no longer allowed and with it being March I would suggest any Michigan fan not make any basketball jokes at all. I’ll post the Novak interview tonight.
Post Game Press Conference (Ron, Peedi and Beilein at the end):
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