Archive for the 'David Merritt' Category

Game 9: Eastern Michigan at Michigan Post Game

Published
by
Dylan
on December 13, 2008
in 2008-2009 Season, CJ Lee, David Merritt, DeShawn sims, Jevohn Shepherd, Kelvin Grady and Manny Harris
. 17 Comments


After a rough first 9 minutes, Michigan regrouped and took care of business. This one was a tale of two halves, Eastern got out to an early 18-11 lead and Manny Harris went to the bench with 2 fouls when the Michigan “role players” stepped up. Everyone is calling for David Merrit and CJ Lee’s minutes to go to Laval Lucas-Perry but they at least gave Beilein something to think about today.

A couple of notes about the teams performance in general. The turnover percentage was phenomenal, Michigan turned it over on only 7.1% (5 out of 70) of their possessions and had 24 assists. Michigan also shot the ball very well, 52.2% (48.5% 3pt) for an eFG% of 64.2%. This is starting to look a lot more like patented “Beilein ball”, hold onto the ball and make 16 threes (school record!).

The only glaring flaw was the poor rebounding (also typical of Beilein ball). Eastern Michigan rebounded 37.2% of their missed shots and Michigan didn’t really get a body on anyone to box out all night. Jerry Dunn actually went with man to man almost exclusively in the 2nd half and scrapped the 1-3-1. I would assume this had to do with Eastern getting some easy looks coupled with the poor rebounding and going with something he’s more comfortable with.

Player Bullets:

  • Dave Merritt: Dave had a big first half and really stepped up when Michigan was down early. In the first half he made both of his three point attempts and also had 3 rebounds. Merritt finished the game with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.
  • CJ Lee: CJ and Dave showed exactly why they are chosen as captains. CJ also hit a pair of three pointers in the first half when Manny went to the bench and Michigan was down. CJ isn’t the best shooter but those were just huge shots and he was ready when he was called on.
  • Manny Harris: Manny decided to put on a clinic in the second half. Manny was held to 2 points (and 3 assists) in 8 minutes in the first half after picking up his 2nd foul. In the second half he decided to show off his three point shooting, including a stretch where he hit two threes in a row and scored 11 straight Michigan points. Manny finished the game with 22 points in 23 minutes on 8-16 (4-7 3pt) shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO.
  • Jevohn Shepherd: Shepherd is another guy who had a huge first half. In the first half Shep was 6-7 for 13 points. He didn’t get going in the second half but he wasn’t afraid to make plays in the first. Shep’s improvement is clear and he has established himself as the starting 4 on this team. Overall it just seems like the game has slowed down for Jevohn, as someone that has been a fan since he was a recruit I’m glad to see him playing well.
  • Kelvin Grady: Yet another guard who had a huge first half. Kelvin was letting them rain from long range with 3 three pointers in the first half. Kelvin added a layup in the second and finished with 11 points on 4-5 (3-4) shooting and had 3 assists and no turnovers. He looks far more comfortable and confident on the court and that’s going to pay dividends down the road.
  • DeShawn Sims: DeShawn looked to be on cruise control today. He scored 18 points but was only 7-17 (1-5 3pt) and really seemed to be settling for decent shots instead of getting inside.
  • Zack Gibson: Scored some points in garbage time but is really struggling with his confidence. Michigan is going to need him this year so hopefully he can get it together.
  • Eric Puls: He’s got the Beilein stroke! Great to see him get in there and make a three late.
  • Ben Cronin: Cronin not getting in the game pretty much seals his fate as a redshirt. I noticed Pat Beilein talking to Ben for a while during the last time out and it looked like he was explaining the situation to him. I also got an email that Beilein mentioned Cronin would redshirt at an alumni function before the Maryland game.
  • Others: Quiet day for the freshman, it was good to see Stu make a three but Novak never really got going. Anthony Wright didn’t get many minutes but didn’t force things either.

Overall Michigan took care of business and got the easy win. It was a little sloppy early but I think not having Beilein on the bench could be part of that. Hard to complain about a 31 point win no matter who it’s against. Hopefully Beilein can rest up and is ready to go next Saturday’s game at the Palace which should be the debut of Laval Lucas-Perry.

17 Comments

Position By Position: Point Guard

Published
by
Dylan
on October 31, 2008
in 2008-2009 Season, CJ Lee, David Merritt, Kelvin Grady, Laval Lucas-Perry and Players
. 14 Comments

There are plenty of options at the point guard this year but probably no real playmakers. The point guards on the roster (alphabetical):

  • Kelvin Grady - 5′11″ Soph.
  • Laval Lucas-Perry - 6′3″ RS Fr. (combo guard, eligible at midseason)
  • CJ Lee - 6′0″ 5th Yr Sr
  • Dave Merritt - 5′10″ 5th Yr Sr

It’s hard to pick a starter at this point, Kelvin and CJ both got  substantial playing time throughout last year, both starting for stretches. Merritt came on strong at the end of the year (who could forget his effort in last year’s Ohio State game). Here is a side by side comparison of Kelvin, CJ, and Merritt’s stats from last year. Kelvin started 25 games to CJ’s 7.  Here are the quick hitters from their stats last year:

Name MPG PPG FG% 3FG% A TO A:TO
Kelvin 24.4 5.6 40.3 35.93 2.8 1.3 2.15
CJ 11.4 2.1 33.3 28.03 1.3 .6 2.17
Merritt 10.7 1.6 38.5 50 .9 .6 1.5

For right now I’m going to focus on the bulk of the non-conference season before Laval Lucas-Perry is eligible. At this point I have trouble handicapping the race at starting point guard. I wouldn’t be shocked if any one of CJ, Kelvin, or Dave trotted out next Thursday as the starting point guard. This might sound like crazy talk to some people who just expect Kelvin to be the guy but I don’t expect Kelvin to be the starter early on.

Kelvin GradyThe popular choice to start at point guard from the fans perspective is Kelvin Grady, he is the scholarship point guard and everyone expects him to be the answer. Thus far he just hasn’t shown that he can separate himself from the pack and be the guy. Kelvin Grady clearly has the most potential and best athleticism of the bunch, he even has the best shooting numbers and a comparable assist to turnover ratio to CJ Lee. The fact remains that all through last year he just couldn’t eliminate the poor mistakes. Whether it be forcing passes, shots, or just dumb turnovers, Beilein isn’t going to accept that at the point guard spot on this team.

CJ Lee appears to be the leader of the group, someone who isn’t afraid to talk on the court and help out his teammates. CJ plays smart and takes relatively good care of the ball but he just isn’t a threat to score like Kelvin is. CJ shot only 33% from the field to Kelvin’s 40%. Kelvin was by no means a consistent player but when he was on he could hit the three and score the ball better than CJ. Throughout most of last year CJ’s jump shot was not a thing of beauty.

Dave Merritt is a guy who doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses or glowing strengths. I think CJ is a better defender than Merritt while Kelvin is better at scoring the ball but Dave is just the safe play out of the group. Merritt isn’t going to force passes or shots, but he isn’t going to make any plays on his own either. I worry about Merritt against tight ball pressure but he didn’t have that high of turnover numbers so maybe this is just in my imagination.

Beilein is in a jam because Kelvin is the younger guy with the most potential and 2 more years ahead of him. But with the arrival of Darius Morris next year you have to to wonder if Kelvin will ever be the starting point guard for this team. If Kelvin can’t beat out CJ and Dave this then you have to think that Darius Morris would be the starting point guard for this team next year (he might be anyways).

Because of Kelvin’s higher ceiling (athletically and offensively) it is critical for this team for Kelvin can elevate his game and take it to the next level. Beilein has said that he only wants to go eight or nine men deep and if he does it appears someone at the point guard spot is going to be left behind.

I think that CJ Lee is your early season starter but the minutes will break down pretty evenly (with some coming at the two). Beilein will probably use CJ, Dave, and Kelvin situationally. CJ is the better defender, Kelvin the better shooter, and Merritt is the most transparent.

I frown about putting two 6 foot and under guys on the court at the same time but with Manny’s move to the wing, lack of depth at the two-guard, and Laval sitting out until December 20th I’d assume it will have to happen in the non-conference season. None of the three are good enough scorers to be a traditional two-guard but both guard spots play similar roles in Beilein’s offense.

I’ll look more at the two guard in my next position breakdown and more about Laval Lucas-Perry’s addition to the roster in December.

14 Comments

Monday Links

Published
by
Dylan
on October 6, 2008
in 2008-2009 Season, David Merritt, Manny Harris, Matt Vogrich, Players and Recruits
. 1 Comment

1 Comment

Lee and Merritt Awarded Scholarships

Published
by
Dylan
on September 8, 2008
in CJ Lee and David Merritt
. 1 Comment

Congratulations to CJ Lee and Dave Merritt for earning scholarships for the 2008-2009 season. Both of them are stellar students and it’s great to see them get a scholarship. It’s also nice that both of them are coming back, it would be tough to see Merritt’s career end after his great performance in the OSU game followed by injury.

Beilein on the scholarships:

“It is an honor for our program to be able to award scholarships to these two high-achieving young men,” said Beilein. “Both C.J. and David have continued to show every day what it means to be true student-athletes at the University of Michigan. They have earned these scholarships because of their positive attitude, hard work and dedication to the basketball program. They are a reflection of the type of quality individual who help strengthen our program.”

Read the full MGoBlue Press Release for more quotes.

1 Comment

Merritt Done For Season

Published
by
Dylan
on February 19, 2008
in 2007-2008 Season and David Merritt
. 4 Comments

Dave MerrittDavid Merritt got the results back from his knee injury and his best game in a Michigan uniform might be his last. U-M announced today that Merritt is done for the season and will get surgery on his medial meniscus on Wednesday afternoon.

“We feel just terrible about what has happened to David,” said Beilein. “He brought such a strong effort and other immeasurable intangibles to our team every day in practice and in games. His overall stats are not even close to what David means to this team. He is just a wonderful leader both on and off the court. The way he played against Ohio State was a testament to what he means to this team. He kept us in that game and that will not soon be forgotten.”

4 Comments

Stuart Douglass Videos

Published
by
Dylan
on February 18, 2008
in David Merritt, Recruits and Stuart Douglass
. 6 Comments

A couple quick Stuart Douglass videos here. Stu is #15 on Carmel (white/blue) and you can see him hitting a couple (deep) threes and dishing out a nice assist. Stu is going to play next year and I am almost positive of that. He brings something that this team lacks, consistent three point shooting. I also don’t think of him as a Reed-Baker-Deluxe type of player either. He is a legit 6-3+ and knows how to play the game. Since Beilein’s camp this summer I had heard good things about Stu and was not suprised at all when we offered him. Yes he may be a three star, and yes he may only average 14ppg, but the kid will come in and hit the ground running. I am not really worried about whether his star ranking goes up but I do hope he has success and can win the Indiana state title. I think it shows something about a kid when his team is winning games. Look at Manny last year when he guided his Redford Huskies all the way to the state finals. Also one note on the team, Lacy has the latest on yesterday’s hero Dave Merritt here, it didn’t sound good yesterday but we will see.

[youtube 81IPZvaRlzg Carmel vs Lawrence North]

6 Comments

Game 23: Ohio State at Michigan

Published
by
Dylan
on February 16, 2008
in 2007-2008 Season, David Merritt, DeShawn sims and Manny Harris
. 15 Comments

Manny Harris OSUPost-Game: Wow. What a game, a lot of thoughts on this one. The first half was fun to watch, a lot of up and down and high scoring. A Big Ten game high scoring? Letting OSU shoot 68% in the first half was clearly not good defense but in the second half we tightened up and held them to 33%. We cut down on Butler’s penetration and made Koufas work for his points. In the first 5 minutes we really stuck it to Koufas and he was rattled and got pulled. We were up about 4 points with 4 minutes left and I got a little deja vu but this team held in there and showed a lot of heart with 3 freshman and 2 sophomores on the court.

David Merritt: What can you say. Kid had the crowd going wild in the first half and was just making plays NOBODY ever thought he would make. We were struggling to score and he made big buckets three times. He should have had one more layup and that desperation three at the end almost went.

Manny Harris: This is our leader, and luckily he’s only a freshman. I am fully confident that Manny will lead this team back where they need to go. Kid was hitting his threes and if he is making those he is too versatile to guard. He has the slow release on his three with the knee bend but its almost like that helps him with his pump fake. Made the big free throws down the stretch (unlike that other Harris) and gutted out the win.

Manny Harris and Ron Coleman CelebrateDeShawn Sims: Hit some huge threes, but most importantly had 7 rebounds. Kid might finally be getting it, you have to go hard for 40 minutes. He also did a great job on defense I thought, sticking with smaller guys off switches a lot. He has gotten a lot of flak all year for his poor defense but he might be turning the corner.

Another great part about today was everyone stepping up and making plays when they were needed. Ant Wright had a three and a facial on the baseline (notice Ant played 27 minutes and Ronnie only 15). Zack Gibson had a huge offensive rebound and put back. Ekpe was a monster on D with 6 blocks (and 4 steals and 5 points) also hit his free throws at the end. Kelvin Grady with the big time steal and a couple huge buckets that made up for his lackluster play early.

Great effort, the crowd was great. Rich Rodriguez was great at halftime, Beilein went and thanked the Maize Rage before the game as well for their support through tough times all year. Let’s hope this is the start of turning the corner. Also one other note, this Matta/Beilein rivalry is personal and it has history. Could make for a fun series between Michigan and Ohio State in both sports. These two guys know each other from their Richmond/Xavier days.

Recruiting Note: Zack Novak was in attendance.

Continue reading ‘Game 23: Ohio State at Michigan’

15 Comments

Position Battles

Published
by
Dylan
on February 11, 2008
in 2007-2008 Season, Anthony Wright, CJ Lee, David Merritt, Jevohn Shepherd and Kelvin Grady
. 13 Comments

Here are some thoughts on the point guard and small forward positions and who should get the minutes. These are the two positions that are really up for grabs on the team. Sadly they are up for grabs because there really isn’t a great option at either position it seems. All the players at the one and three have deficiencies in their game. Would be interested in your thoughts in this one as well so leave some comments!

Small Forward

Ron Coleman is doing nothing. Against Penn State he shot 0-2, had 0 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnover in 17 minutes. Jevohn Shepherd had 2-5 shooting, 2 rebounds, 4 points, 3 assists, 1 turnover in just 13 minutes. Anthony Wright playing some three and some four was 5-7 (3-5 3pt), 3 rebounds, 13 points, 2 TO in 23 minutes.

By the numbers Anthony played 10 minutes at the SF along side DeShawn Sims. I don’t think this has happened often this year and it will be interesting if Beilein continues to go with that look.

Anthony Wright is playing the best out of this group by far, however Jevohn Shepherd has started to do some things that are encouraging. Shepherd has done a very good job rebounding and getting to the hole.

The question is who should start. I would start Shepherd at the three and play him around 20 minutes per game. Give Wright 10 minutes each backing up the three and four and then give Ron what’s left (about 10 minutes at the three).

Point Guard

The Kelvin Grady debate is a big one on the message boards. Kelvin Grady provides a hope for future improvement for a lot of fans and one argument is to play him more often because of his youth. However he still struggles to be consistent, sometimes he looks great, other times he has trouble making simple passes and running the offense. Continue reading ‘Position Battles’

13 Comments

Illinois & Quick Hitters

Published
by
Dylan
on January 16, 2008
in 2007-2008 Season, David Merritt, Ebuka Anyaorah, Kyle Cassity, Recruits and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Post Game: Rebounding. Defense. Free throw. Toughness. Missing all of them, Pruitt dominated us inside, Randle dominated us on the wing. Michigan showed flashes like they have all season but the Illini were too much in the end. Simply have to play the full 40 minutes, no more 30 minute games. 9-17 FT shooting is not acceptable either, these are things that should probably be correctable though so we will see. Beating a lowly Iowa team at home should be possible. Continue reading ‘Illinois & Quick Hitters’

1 Comment