Michigan Madness was a fun time despite the smaller crowd of only 3,500. Most of the players echoed the sentiment that it was a good first step, you have to start somewhere and this was a building block. Hopefully next year the first day of practice doesn’t coincide with Michigan’s fall break and the Athletic Department puts a little more effort into marketing the event.
Zack Novak was the man of the hour thanks to his impressive performance in the dunk contest. He also looks slimmer and more defined than last year and it’s clear that he focused on getting his body in shape this summer. In response to Novak’s dunk, Beilein put it best, ““I wouldn’t have believed that in a million years.” Novak also knocked down a couple three point shots and looked smooth in the scrimmage.
The scrimmage consisted of two four minute halves and was little more than a glorified open run. It was clear that everyone was taking it easy and the number one goal was to not get hurt.
Not surprisingly, Manny Harris was the most impressive player on the floor. Manny scored in a multitude of ways whether it was in transition taking the ball to the rack or with the pull-up jump shot. Harris also managed to take the three point contest championship along with Carmen Reynolds.
The freshmen (and Cronin) appeared pretty much as advertised. Here are some quick notes:
- The starting lineups in the scrimmage were: Lucas-Perry, Vogrich, Harris, Wright, and Gibson versus Morris, Douglass, Akunne, Novak, and Sims.
- Laval Lucas-Perry was the other Wolverine who looked to have made strides with his conditioning. Laval ran the point for the Blue team and looked a step quicker and smooth in transition. The key for LLP is becoming more comfortable in the offense, an improvement that should come with another year in the system.
- Stu Douglass didn’t shoot the ball that well in the scrimmage but he looked to be more aggressive with the ball rather than settling for jumpers.
- Darius Morris will give Michigan a solid ball handling option but his three point shoot leaves something to be desired.
- Matt Vogrich has a pure shot and I think he has a surprising amount of quickness and length which make him intriguing down the line.
- Blake McLimans played solid defense against DeShawn Sims and has a quick trigger on his jump-shot at a legit 6-foot-10. McLimans also had a buzzer beating layup to win the skills competition.
- Ben Cronin is huge and he even showed us that he can make the three. He looks a little awkward at times but you have to remember just how hard it is to run as a 7-footer.
It’s hard to take much from the scrimmage but if you want to try, you can see the video of the entire thing here.
I started out writing a breakdown of the shooting guard position but I realized that there was going to be a problem with these positional breakdowns: Zack Novak.
Zack is the wildcard. It’s hard to quantify lots of the things he does on the court and he doesn’t even have a true position. There has been talk in the comments here that Novak will be the odd man out in this year’s rotation. To those questioning Novak’s role next year I offer you one simple statistic: Zack Novak led Michigan in minutes throughout the Big Ten slate, not Manny Harris or DeShawn Sims but the freshman forward from Chesterton.
Zack Novak will play this year, and play a lot, the only question is where.
Continue reading ‘Position by Position: Zack Novak’
Previously: Stu Douglass (B-)
| O Rtg |
Usage |
MPG |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
eFG% |
3PT% |
| 106.0 |
14.0% |
28.7 |
6.7 |
3.5 |
1.4 |
50.5% |
34.4% |
The Good
- Shooting
Zack can definitely shoot the three and he hit enough big shots this year to prove it. Zack shot the ball well at the beginning of the year and then hit a wall through the middle of January. The Big Ten season clearly wore him down but he bounced back well down the stretch. Zack loves the corner three and when he’s open he’s a good bet to knock it down. I don’t think he is quite as good at creating a good look for himself as someone like Stu Douglass but he did shoot a higher percentage than Stu.
- Hustle Plays
It’s hard to quantify something like this but there is no denying that Zack has a nose for the basketball. It seemed like Zack was always the first one to a 50-50 ball or would manage to tip out a rebound despite giving up half a foot to the opponent. These hustle plays are the reason that Zack led the team in minutes per game during conference play (13th in the conference, 2nd highest average for a freshman) and continues to see the floor despite match-up problems.
- Mental Toughness
This is a bit hard to distinguish from the hustle plays but Zack was tough. He had the attitude that he wasn’t going to take crap from anyone and he was going to leave it all on the floor. He begged to go back in the game after Alex Legion bloodied him and he was a key cog in both of Michigan’s miracle comebacks. Not to mention the fact that most 6-foot-4 freshmen don’t play 30+ minutes per game in the most physical conference in the country at the power forward spot. Zack has the attitude that the coaching staff loves and I have no doubt that he will become a leader on this team.
The Bad
- Versatility
Similar to Stu Douglass, Zack needs to add a few more elements to his game. Right now on the offensive end he isn’t much more than a spot up shooter. Zack showed flashes of a little bit of mid-range game here and there but it really isn’t in his repertoire. He doesn’t need to be Manny Harris but if he can do just a little more he will be much more dangerous.
- Physical Ability
It’s hard to point to negatives on the production side when you look at Zack. He basically did about everything that you could expect. The bottom line is that his ceiling is limited by his height and athleticism. If he was a little taller, faster, or quicker you would have a completely different player. Instead he is stuck at 6-foot-5 — hopefully with some work in the S&C program he can continue to improve athletically.
- Position
Zack can probably play the 2, 3, or 4 on this team but he probably isn’t a good fit for any of them. The mantra goes: you are what you can guard. Right now I’m not sure Zack can guard any of those positions that well. He’s too short to guard the four and probably too slow to guard the two or three. This is going to be the biggest problem for Zack going forward — where does he play?
Shining Moments
- vs. Duke – 14 points, 26 minutes, 4-7 3pt FG
This was Zack’s coming out party with four three point makes on the biggest stage. The most important shots were the back-to-back threes that turned a three point deficit into a lead that Michigan would never relinquish. DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris carried the team that day but Zack Novak gave them the lift that pushed them over the top.
- vs. Minnesota – 36 minutes, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6-10 3pt fg, and 2 assists
Michigan was in a familiar position, their backs were up against the wall and Minnesota was headed to Ann Arbor. A loss would have ended likely Michigan’s NCAA tournament chances and Minnesota was no slouch. Zack came to play and knocked down a season high six three point shots for a game high 18 points in a smooth Michigan win.
The Future
Where does Zack play down the line? I would assume that he will get some minutes backing up Manny next year at the three, 5-10 minutes per game. I would also assume that he still plays some four, especially against smaller teams, maybe 15 minutes per game. There is also the chance that Zack could play the two-guard where he played for the first half of last year. Essentially his versatility in terms of position is his greatest strength as well as his greatest weakness.
Zack seems unlikely to play 30+ minutes per game next year but I just have a hard time picturing the coaches keeping him off the floor. I don’t care what influx of talent Beilein brings in, it will be hard to knock Zack out of the starting line up and at least the rotation. It seems like there is always a spot for hustle, heart, and shooting in the John Beilein system.
Final Grade
Some people were a little surprised that I only gave Stu a B- but I think when everything plays out it will make sense. I don’t want to be accused of grade inflation and while I mentioned expectations in the first post but it’s more or less a comprehensive measure and expectations are just one part.
Final Grade: B. Even though he didn’t produce in the scoring column every night I don’t think this team wins nearly as many games without him in the lineup. Zack essentially was expected to be a spot contributor at best and by the end of the year you couldn’t pull him off the court.
Michigan announced today that they will suspend Zack Novak for one game.
“We are taking swift and appropriate action with Zack for the unacceptable incident that occurred at Ohio State,” said Beilein. “After speaking with Zack, he understands the severity of his actions. He expressed regret and embarrassment for his behavior. I hope Zack will learn a valuable lesson from this imposed discipline.”
This is probably the right decision but it is a shame that Zack won’t get to play in his return home to Indiana. Zack also has plenty of experience playing against the Purdue kids so it would have been an interesting match up as well. Anything more than a 1 game suspension would be a little ridiculous in my opinion but I don’t have a problem with one game. Hopefully Jevohn Shepherd and Anthony Wright are ready to step up.
Related:
Now that’s how you win in the Big Ten. Michigan didn’t look like they could handle Illinois on the defensive end early on but they tightened up the D in the second half and made the big plays down the stretch to pull off a W. It was a back and forth game and Michigan did just enough to pull off the win and avoid a damaging 0-2 start.
The story today for Michigan was balance. Michigan had 5 players in double figures and almost had a sixth in Kelvin Grady. In a game that featured 7 ties and 9 lead changes it was crucial for Michigan to have more than one option on the offensive end. Michigan isn’t going to be able to get by on the combo of Manny and DeShawn alone in the Big Ten and it’s encouraging to see complementary players stepping up.
Even in a balanced effort, Zack Gibson was the star of this one. Gibson was forced to step up when Novak went to the locker room in a bloody mess after colliding with Alex Legion. Gibson poured in 8 second half points including a triple and two dunks that had the crowd at their feet. Gibson brought energy to the game when Michigan needed something to get them over the edge.
Michigan was stellar offensively and played one of their best offensive games against a very solid Illinois defense. Michigan’s offensive efficiency (121.3) was the highest allowed by an Illinois defense that ranks in the top10 in defensive efficiency (avg 85.2). Michigan shot the ball very well with an eFG% of 59.4% and got to the line when they had to. They also held onto the ball with a turnover rate of 13.1% against a team that usually forces turnovers on almost 25% of possessions.
In a battle of offense versus defense it was Michigan’s defense that came through down the stretch. The defense held Illinois to 25 points in the second half after giving up 39 points in the first. They managed to shut down Calvin Brock in the second after a first half where it seemed like no one was guarding him. Zack Novak was no match for Mike Davis in the post but he fought hard and the bottom line is that Mike Davis can’t guard Zack Novak either. Illinois went with only one of the big guys for large stretches of the game so that they could try to guard Michigan. I was convinced at half time that this Michigan team wasn’t going to be able to guard anyone all year but I think slowly but surely they are learning how to get after it on defense.
The Big Ten is a dog fight right now and Michigan needed this one. There are 6 teams at 1-1 and preseason favorite Purdue is sitting at 9th. Michigan has the out of conference wins to boost their resume come March but they aren’t there yet, this is how games will be in the Big Ten night in and night out. Next up Michigan attempts to win a game at Assembly Hall and knock off the dreadful Hoosiers for the first time since 1995 before coming home for a tilt with Iowa. Michigan will be favored in both games and really needs to be sitting at 3-1 a week from now.
Player Bullets:
- Zack Gibson: Zack was feeling it on offense today and scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting and added a monster block in only 17 minutes. The best moment for me was when Gibson called for the ball and drove into the lane for a huge slam late in the game. The shock of the Crisler crowd was priceless. Michigan is a much better team when Gibson is playing at a high level offensively and hopefully this boosts his confidence.
- Zack Novak: Novak is a warrior, Zack hit shot after shot in the first half and it seems like he doesn’t miss. When you consider this is only his 14th game in college his confidence is pretty remarkable. Novak had 11points on 4-5 (3-4 3pt) shooting and added 3 boards and one assist. Novak is going to be giving up size in every game but he also forces defenses to guard him on the perimeter.
- Manny Harris: Manny isn’t going to be able to pick apart defenses like he could against the Florida Gulf Coasts of the world but he had a solid game in my opinion. Manny had 16 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 block, and 3 huge steals. He made a lot of big plays on defense (but also fell asleep a couple times) including a huge block and a couple run out slams. Hopefully Manny can find his three point stroke (0-5) but he needs to start taking better threes rather than frustration threes.
- DeShawn Sims: Solid but unspectacular night for Peedi with 13 points and 9 boards. DeShawn hit some huge threes but didn’t get that involved in the paint. In the end though I’ll take a near double double every night from DeShawn especially when other guys are stepping up.
- Laval Lucas-Perry: 13 points on 4-1 (3-7 3pt) shooting and 5 assists with 1 turnover. Solid night for Laval in his first start. Laval is still adjusting but you can see that he is getting more and more comfortable. LLP also had a big block on defense and brings the size and toughness to the D that we really need in the backcourt.
- Kelvin Grady: Kelvin had 9 points on 3-6 shooting including the huge layup late in the game. Both Kelvin and LLP are starting to get in the lane more and it adds a new dimension to Michigan’s game.
- Stu Douglass: Stu’s minutes are decreasing quickly but he is a solid backup for Laval. Stu had 2 assists and no turnovers off the bench today and didn’t take a shot.
- Anthony Wright and Jevohn Shepherd: DNP. There just aren’t any more minutes at the power forward when Novak and Gibson play this well. Shep is more athletic than Novak but he just can’t score it like Zack. I don’t think we will see much Ant Wright the rest of the year.
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