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Michigan avoided a let down Tuesday night and handled Norfolk State at home. Norfolk State is not a good team but Michigan took care of business with a 34 point win. Michigan might have been a little too fired up early in the game and it showed with their brutal 0-10 shooting to start. The game was only 2-0 Norfolk State at the first TV time out after a pair of free throws. Luckily Michigan settled in after a Stu Douglass three pointer and rolled from there. Highlights!

Michigan played fast and looked to run from the opening tip, Michigan had 75 possessions compared to their season average of 62. You often hear that transition threes aren’t good shots but I don’t think Beilein has a problem with them. Michigan shot 33% for the game from long range and took 27 treys. I thought most of the shots were good looks, there are only one or two questionable shots that come to mind (Stu took a really deep triple).

Overall there were plenty of sloppy moments that had Beilein pulling his hair out, but you can’t really complain that much over a 34 point win.  5 players managed double figures: Manny Harris (16), Anthony Wright (12), Zack Novak (10), Jevohn Shepherd (11), and DeShawn Sims (11). The defense also was very good throughout the night. Holding Norfolk State to 49 points on 75 possessions is impressive.

A couple highlights on an individual basis:

Jevohn Shepherd: Best game he has played at Michigan, Jevohn did a little bit of everything. He hit a three, drove the lane, had some rebounds, didn’t turn it over, and stepped up when Gibson went down. His final stat line: 17 minutes, 11 points (5-9), 3 assist, 0 TO, 4 rebs

Manny Harris: I was a big fan of moving Manny to the wing and he seems a lot more comfortable there. Manny had 16 points on 7-13 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists in only 26 minutes. Manny didn’t force it either, his shots weren’t there early in the first half but he didn’t force things. Norfolk State wasn’t necessarily

“I am just more comfortable and I am stronger. Over the summer I worked on ball-handling, shooting and getting stronger. Now I feel like I am more of a complete player.”

I think Manny wraps it up pretty well, last year he could score, this year he’s doing it all.

Kelvin Grady: Kelvin didn’t shoot it well but had 5 assists to 1 turnover. He looked pretty good running the break at times but he still had some of those “Grady moments”. The one that comes to mind is a pass into Cronin in the high post with less than 15 seconds left in the half that went the other way for an easy layup. A solid game from Grady though and he is definitely starting to get more comfortable.

Stu Douglass: Stu can play, he’s not going to jump out of the gym but he can shoot it and pass it just as well as anyone on this team. I’m still waiting for a game when he really gets hot to see him do some real damage. He just looks really comfortable in the offense and his shoot is a thing of beauty when it goes up.

Zack Novak: Novak struggled a bit in New York City but he looked to be getting back on the right track tonight. Zack had 10 points (4-7) and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. The highlight of Zack’s game was when he took it coast to coast, splitting two defenders for a lay up. I think it’s too early to count Zack out from being a contributor on this team, he missed a week or so of practice before the season and is still catching up a bit.

Anthony Wright: I think it might be time to end this experiment. Anthony missed 5 shots during Michigan’s 0-10 start. I think a lot of the time Anthony just tries to do too much out there, 10 shots in a game is too much for Anthony at this stage in his career. He settled down a bit later in the game and hit some shots but it was not his finest night.

Laval Lucas-Perry: The hype builds… Apparently Tim McCormick anointed Laval Lucas-Perry as the best Michigan point guard since Rumeal Robinson. I didn’t hear the quote but I saw it mentioned in various places. I think this might be a little bit of a stretch for a guy that might not even be a pure point guard but I really do think Laval will make a big difference on this team.

Zack Gibson: Gibson went down hard early on a layup where he got fouled. He landed hard and it’s apparently a tailbone injury. Here’s what Beilein had to say:

“He fell right on his tailbone on the little step across move under the basket. He just fell right on it. He tried to give it a go and he was really in a lot of pain. Usually a tailbone bruise is a matter of a few days we hope, so we have to treat it with ice right now. If it had been a closer game, I think that we could have done a few more things with him, but it as a shame he got hurt, he was having a good night.”

His “good night” included 1 basket, a missed free throw, and 3 boards in 6 minutes. Hopefully Zack is ok but it was nice to see Jevohn get some minutes.

Overall it was a fun game to watch and the crowd was actually not bad for an 8:30 tip against Norfolk. The student section was packed for a game against a team like Norfolk State and it’s safe to say that a little (just a little) bit of excitement is surrounding Michigan basketball.

There were some fun plays, some dunks, and we even outrebounded them 53-37! Fun night at Crisler and Michigan has to keep the momentum rolling. A win over Norfolk State doesn’t really say much (I would guess they will have an RPI of 300+ when all is said and done) but a win is a win.

It’s late so just some quick thoughts on tonight’s 77-55 win over Michigan Tech. Highlights!

Manny came to play. I don’t know if he’s been reading his press clippings, but it was one of the most efficient games I’ve ever seen him play. I know it was exhibition but it really gave a glimpse of how good he can be as he gets more comfortable on the wing in this offense. He scored on cuts, from long range, slashing, on the break, in just about every way possible. He forced one three early on and botched a lay up or two but other than that he was flawless. The stats speak for them self: 30 points, 30 minutes, 10-15 shooting (3-5 long range), and 7 boards.

Why is Anthony Wright starting? I’m sure there is a method to Beilein’s madness but I don’t get it. DeShawn is our best rebounder and best post player yet he is sitting behind a streaky one dimensional shooter who is undersized as his position. I think it probably has something to do with the post rotation and how Peedi is getting some time at the five but I just don’t like it. There is the argument that DeShawn is some instant offense off the bench but I don’t buy that either. I would much rather start the (more) consistent player and bring the streaky shooter off the bench. I did think that playing Peedi in the center of the 1-3-1 with Gibson on the wing was an interesting idea and it seemed to work ok.

Ant Wright: 27 minutes, 2-5 shooting for 6 points, 7 rebounds. (Ant scored the first six points and all of his shots were threes)
DeShawn Sims: 23 minutes, 5-9 shooting for 10 points, 12 rebounds.

The Freshman. It seems like Beilein is just going to play the hot hand of Zack Novak and Stu Douglass. I was worried about Zack after the exhibition game but he looked much better today while Stu blended in. Their combined stat line: 40 minutes, 1-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 7 assists to 3 turn overs. Both Zack and Stu are some of the best passers on this team and even when their shots aren’t falling they are still a weapon.

Rebounding & Defense. I was impressed with the 1-3-1 overall tonight and think that we will see a lot of it this year. They trapped, scrapped, and fought hard on D in the 1-3-1. Beilein’s philosophy seems to be to trade a couple easy buckets for the turnovers that the zone can create. Rebounding is still a huge issue, a tiny Michigan Tech team out rebounded Michigan in the first half. Michigan narrowly edged the Huskies in rebounding 37-32 for the game. This is going to be a problem and honestly I’m not sure what can be done about it. Offensively Zack Gibson played very well but he only had 2 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Overall this was a fine performance and if Manny can bring this game night in and night out there might be a couple exciting games in Crisler tihs year. Tomorrow’s game is scheduled for 8pm against Northeastern and will also be televised on ESPNU. Northeastern edged by IUPUI in a game where star Matt Janning shot 4-13 (3-8 3pt). This Northeastern game is one that I’ve had circled on my calendar as Michigan’s first real test this season so it should be a little more interesting than these GLIAC battles.

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.

• Mark Snyder says UM is getting more comfortable after some addition by subtraction.
• Fluff on Ben Cronin, hard not to root for him.
• Anthony Wright on becoming the teams third scoring option.
• Stuart Douglass came out on fire last night for Carmel hitting four of five three pointers and scoring 16 of his 21 in the first quarter.
• Brent Petway won the D-League dunk contest (video at NBA.com). “Petway finished Taylor off when he scored a perfect 50 after he bounced the ball high into the air, jumped, wove the ball through his legs and threw it down”
• Wolverine’s heed Beilein’s demeanor.
• Fuller mention from CSTV’s top big men available (scroll down, listed by height).
• Cronin dominates some more: 21 points, 15 rebounds and a school-record 17 blocked shots in three quarters. Beilein was in the crowd and had to like what he saw.
• More from Mason Plumlee’s visit to Duke which went “really good”. Say bye-bye to Mason, but hey at least he visited twice and his family loved Beilein.
• According to Rivals we will host an 08 visitor tomorrow from Indiana. Be sure to look at our 08 hot board here.

• Ebuka’s team lost last night and has been eliminated from the Georgia state tournament. Ebuka scored 31 points in a 75-51 loss. A couple things that were passed along to me about Ebuka that I thought I should mention. First it seems like his stats are somewhat padded in the sense that he plays all 32 minutes whether the team is winning big or not. Second, it sounds like the instate schools, Georgia Tech and Georgia are really paying attention to this one. So it seems like this one might be a long shot for Michigan and we might need a little Carlos Brown style magic.
• Update on Plumlee from Scout: “Everything has changed” ($$)…. Looks like we might be able to kiss this one goodbye.
• Stuart Douglass and Carmel fell to Warren Central. Douglass was key in getting the game to overtime: “The Warriors led 63-59 near the end of regulation, but Michigan-bound Stuart Douglass hit a 3-pointer with 15:2 seconds left. Warren turned the ball over trying to get it inbounds, and Moore threw a perfect alley-oop to Morgan Newton to put Carmel up 64-63 with 10 seconds to play.” but Warren Central proved to be too much in OT.
• Michigan Daily on Ant Wright becoming a reliable sixth man.