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• Above: John Beilein on ESPN U with Andy Katz, Kevin Stallings and Andy Kennedy
• U-M’s Beilein talks money, Big Ten, Darius Morris and more
  Beilein chats with the Free Press 
• 8/12/11 -Bartelstein Blog: Summer Days Going Fast, the Rookies and the League
  Bartelstein bloggin’
• Catching Up with Guard Corey Person
• McGary could go directly to NBA from prep school
  This doesn’t seem to be a likely option at this point, but it’s a real option. 
• ESPNU 100 superlatives
  McGary featured for the best motor in the class of 2012
• ESPN Class of 2012 Rankings
  Glenn Robinson III is now ranked 53rd nationally by ESPN.com while Nick Stauskas is ranked 85th.
• ESPN Class of 2013 Rankings
  Zak Irvin is ranked 70th, Mark Donnal is ranked 84th while Derrick Walton is the No. 25 point guard and just outside of the top 100.
• Scout Class of 2012 Rankings
  Robinson at No. 39
• Austin Hatch Caring Bridge Update: August 14th
  “Austin continues to make steady progress on his recovery. He enjoys getting outside for fresh air and sunshine. We are delighted with the excellent medical, nursing and therapy care he is receiving.”

2013 Mishawaka Marian point guard Demetrius Jackson is one of three 2013 guards with a Michigan offer and the explosive guard was followed by head coaches from Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Xavier at the GRBA National Championships in Fort Wayne last week.  Jackson currently holds offers from Michigan and Xavier but could see that list grow during the coming days and weeks.

Here’s footage from our friends at Inside the Hall who filmed two of Jackson’s games at the Spiece Fieldhouse to close out the 2011 live evaluation period.

Our final individual season highlight film features forward Evan Smotrycz. Expectations are high for Smotrycz to make a jump in production next season, but here’s a look at his roller coaster of a freshmen season.

We’ll conclude the highlight series with a final video chronicling the entire 2010-11 season, you can find previous individual highlight reels here or on individual player pages. For more on Smotrycz, make sure to read his report card from April.

Team USA Struggles

Early returns from Lithuania are not encouraging. Team USA’s exhibition losses will either serve as a wake up call or the Americans are going to be in for a long trip to Latvia for the FIBA U19 World Championships. The Americans lost a pair of exhibition games to Lithuanian U19 and U20 squads, 108-75 and 101-72, respectively.

After a strong performance in the first exhibition, Tim Hardaway Jr. struggled in the second game, going 0 for 8 from the field and notching just five points, four steals and three turnovers. Jonas Valunciunas returned from the NBA draft festivities to dominate the American squad, scoring 23 points in 25 minutes.

Team USA will open the World Championships on Thursday with a 9am (eastern) game versus Egypt. Future group play games include Serbia on July 1st (9 am eastern) and China on July 2nd (11:15 am eastern).

Austin Hatch Updates

John Beilein released a letter regarding Austin Hatch to the Michigan community:

Our basketball program and the Michigan community were saddened to hear about the tragedy that affected the Hatch family late Friday evening. Austin needs as much support right now as possible and he continues to be in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

We are grateful that the NCAA has relaxed some of the contact restrictions currently in place to accommodate this unique set of circumstances for our coaches. We appreciate that they and Big Ten office are working with us throughout this situation. Both groups have been in communication with our compliance office and continue to provide valuable insight on a daily basis.

The outpouring of support from our Michigan faithful, coaches, administrators and fans across the country has been overwhelming. We are thankful for all the support that has been offered to the Hatch family. We appreciate that the NCAA will continue to work with us and act in the best interest of everyone involved.

Thanks for your continued prayers for Austin and the Hatch family.
John Beilein

There haven’t been any updates posted to Austin’s Caring Bridge page but 629 people have posted a message of support and over 26,000 have visited. We’ll be sure to pass along any new information of Austin’s condition when it becomes available.

Construction Update

The construction projects inside and around Crisler Arena continue to progress. This is just the first stage of Crisler Arena renovations but by the end of the summer the basketball facilities should look almost like a new campus.

Both the official Michigan Basketball Facebook Page (below) and the wonderful Michigan Stadium Aerials website (above) have been posting numerous pictures of the active construction projects. This first infrastructure phase of Crisler renovations includes hand rails, new (plastic) seats, the new scoreboard and other structural improvements.

Other Notes

• Darius Morris has made the media rounds with the Los Angeles Lakers including a Q&A with the Lakers’ official blog and a five minute video with the official website as well. The Laker rookie worked out during a two day mini-camp in front of the Laker staff. (Photo: LA Times)
• Demetrius Jackson visited Indiana yesterday and plans to visit Michigan on Thursday. Demetrius has also made recent visits to Xavier (offer), Michigan State and Notre Dame.
• Monte Morris was one of the stars of Michigan’s team camp over the weekend, and the guard continues to list Michigan on the top of his list.
• Steve Haney Jr. visited Harvard, Boston College and Providence over the weekend.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Darius Morris with the No. 41 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Morris averaged 15 points and seven assists during his sophomore season before entering his name in the NBA Draft.

Second round picks are not guaranteed contracts but Morris was the first pick of the draft for the Lakers, who didn’t have a first round draft pick. The Lakers used their other second round picks on Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston) and Ater Majok (formerly of UConn). The other point guards currently on the Laker roster are Steve Blake and Derek Fisher. Shannon Brown has opted for free agency but could also return to Los Angeles.

Morris’s primary goal was to be picked in the first round but he couldn’t ask for a much better scenario as a second round pick. The Lakers don’t have a lot of point guard options going forward and Morris will have the opportunity to play in his hometown.

Here’s Morris after the draft:

• Checking in with Forward Jordan Morgan
  MGoBlue feature story/Q&A on Jordan Morgan
• Ex-NBA star’s son makes a name for himself
  Tim Jr. picking up some major ESPN love at Team USA tryouts (+ video)
• What a difference a year makes for Michigan
  Eamonn compares Michigan’s program now to the ridiculous pieces that were put out last summer.  The same ones that said Beilein was not the answer because Michigan lost to Belgian pro teams. 
• PG Jalen James talks recruiting ($)
  Jalen James notes that Illinois and Michigan stand out among others.  
• Darius Morris NBA Draft Mocks: NBADraft.net: 23rd, ESPN: 23rd,DraftExpress: 35th
  The big day is drawing closer for Morris, who will learn his NBA fate on Thursday evening. The Rockets look like one of Morris’s best chances to be picked in the first round at this point.
• Q&A with 2012 Michigan verbal Nick Stauskas (Part 1 of 2) / Part 2
  No shortage of confidence here. Stauskas will play in the All Canada Classic tomorrow evening in Toronto.
• Will academies kill high school basketball
  An applicable topic for Michigan high school fans as several of the state’s top 2012 prospects are headed out of state, including Javontae Hawkins, Ray Lee and Anton Wilson.
• Izzo Shootout: James Young and Drake Harris solidify themselves as state’s best in 2013 and 2014
  Stephen Bell on the Izzo Shootout
• Q&A: Ray Jackson (Part 1)
  Texas Prep site catches up with Ray Jackson

• Brandon, Beilein and Hoke also answered a series of questions after his speech above.
• Roster for NBA Top 100 Camp
  Glenn Robinson III picks up a nice summer invite 
• Checking in with Captain Zack Novak
  MGoFluff with the Michigan captain
• Michigan guard Tim Hardaway Jr. prepares for U-19 USA Basketball tryouts
  Rothstein chats with Tim Hardaway Jr. before he heads away to  Colorado
• Beilein: ‘This is my university’
  Pat Beilein returns to West Virginia for camp and discusses
• Darius Morris NBA Draft Mocks: NBADraft.net: 14th, ESPN: Next five in, DraftExpress: 34th
• Best of the Big Ten newcomers
  Rivals ranks Michigan’s incoming class fifth in the Big Ten
• Nike Elite 100 perimeter prospects breakdown
  James Young and EC Matthews both earned nice reviews at the Nike top 100 camp.

Because this blog has been around for roughly as long as John Beilein has been at the end of the bench in Ann Arbor, three point shooting has been a frequent topic. Beilein’s teams are obviously known for the three point shot and his teams have ranked in the top 25 for percentage of threes attempted during seven of the last nine seasons.

We’ve debriefed last season quite a bit but haven’t taken a long look at Michigan’s three point shooting and how it affected the season.

1. Last year’s team was John Beilein’s best three point shooting team at Michigan

For even the most casual observers, this fact was pretty clear. Michigan was a good, but not great, three point shooting team on the season. There were still a handful of 2 for 18 or 4 for 28 games but there were quite a few more 7 of 13 or 14 of 28 games compared to the 2009-10 season. The final season three point numbers are still just about average when compared to John Beilein’s teams at West Virginia that shot 35.7% over five seasons.

Where this team truly excelled was where past teams struggled mightily: making threes in Big Ten games. For the first time under John Beilein, Michigan shot the ball better in Big Ten games, significantly better. The Wolverines made 38.1% of their threes in Big Ten games which was the second best in the league, trailing only Ohio State’s impressive 45%, while attempting the second highest proportion of three pointers.

The one thing that differentiated last year’s team from previous Beilein teams was that there were multiple legitimate three-point shooting threats. The next chart compares the top five three point shooting percentages (w/ over 20 attempts) over the last four seasons:

Only one shooter on the 2009-10 team (Vogrich with just 28 3PA) shot the the ball more efficiently from three point range than the fifth best shooter on the 2010-11 team. Even more importantly, the top five shooters from the 2010-11 team return next season and should improve.

Shooting depth is important because of it’s direct effect on the effectiveness of offensive spacing. If you spread the floor with five players that are all threats to make threes, the defense has to defend significantly differently. Which leads to the next point …

2. Last year’s team converted on a high percentage of two point shots

Yr	2P%
2010-11	51.7
2009-10	49.8
2008-09	50.4
2007-08	45.2

Plenty of the two-point shooting credit has to go to Darius Morris. Morris was phenomenal creating his own offense and hitting an array of different shots in and around the painted area. Morris converted 53% of his 347 two point attempts and Jordan Morgan was even more impressive around the hoop, finishing 63% of his 225 2-point attempts.

But Michigan’s shooters deserve plenty of credit for opening things up in the middle of the floor. It seems odd to think that 2-point shooting numbers would improve significantly as the roster loads up on three point shooters but Beilein’s teams at West Virginia show a similar trend. Beilein’s final three teams at West Virginia all shot over 52% on twos, ranking in the top 30 nationally, despite being renowned for their three point prowess.

Before the season started, I questioned whether there would even be anyone to attempt 2-point field goals. Morris was an average 2-point shooter as a freshman and most other players, both returning and incoming, had reputations as perimeter shooters. At 51.6%, Michigan actually had the third best 2-point shooting percentage in Big Ten games ranking well ahead of teams like Wisconsin (49.5%), Purdue (48.4%) and Michigan State (47.4%).

3. Last year’s team didn’t attempt dramatically fewer three point shots

Year	Record	3PA/FGA	Rnk
2010-11	21-14	43.0%	13
2009-10	15-17	43.3%	12
2008-09	21-14	47.9%	7
2007-08	10-22	40.7%	42

On the season, Michigan attempted almost the same proportion of shots from three point range as the year before. The previous two seasons both saw far fewer threes than year two of the Beilein era when Michigan attempted almost half of its field goals from behind the arc. If anything, the shift in philosophy came during Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims’s final season rather than last year.

Many pundits proclaimed Michigan’s late season turnaround as a product of shooting fewer threes. The Wolverines did attempt fewer three point shots over the final 15 games but not nearly as many as some would lead you to believe. Over the first 20 games, Michigan attempted 43.2% of its field goals from three point range and went 11-9. The Wolverines went 10-5 over the final 15 games and attempted 41.8% of their field goals from behind the arc. That’s a legitimate difference but it’s far from dramatic and could also be explained by attempting fewer threes late in games while trailing.

There’s no getting around the importance of three point shooting in this offense. John Beilein’s teams are going to attempt a lot of threes, not just because of roster composition but because the three point shots open up the rest of the offense. The good news is that as Michigan’s three point shooting continues to improve, the rest of the offensive should improve in parallel. The bad news is that if the three point shooting regresses next season, other elements are liable to bog down as we saw during the 2009-10 season.

• 2012 College Basketball Recruiting Rankings – ESPNU 100
  Glenn Robinson III at No. 60 and Nick Stauskas at No. 100
• Five Michigan teams record perfect APR scores; all 27 varsity programs avoid NCAA penalties
  Hoops team appears to be in very solid shape. With three rotation players in the Business and Engineering schools, I wouldn’t expect this number to be in much danger going forward.
• Byrd to have surgery | LSJ Blogs | Joe Rexrode
  Russell Byrd is having foot surgery again. He’s scheduled to be out for four months but with all of the problems he’s had before playing a game in East Lansing, it’s probably time to start worrying about the career implications.
• Top newcomers in Big Ten basketball
  Seven newcomers that Jason King feels are better than any of Michigan’s additions 
• Denzel Watts 2013 Flint Carman
  Spring video of 2013 guard target 
• Ed DeChellis bolts Penn State … for Navy
  Pretty surprising move that leaves Penn State in a complete bind. DeChellis appears to have opted for job security while taking a $200k pay cut. Dana O’Neill reports that DeChellis would have been fired for not making the tournament last season and that he was entering the final year of his contract.
• The one thing that might screw up college basketball is college football
  Gasaway examines the latest Big Ten proposal to increase monthly stipends to college athletes and the negative effects it would have on college basketball.
• 2013 College Basketball Recruiting Rankings – Super 60
  Notables: James Young 34, Malcolm Hill 36 and EC Matthews 45
• Michigan State is now recruiting 2013 PG Jalen James.