Quicknav: Future Schedules | Recruiting Updates | Recruiting Videos | 2013 Recruits | 2014 Recruits | 2015 Recruits | Scholarships | Contact
7 comments

AAU Weekend Wrap (5-4-09)

By Dylan Burkhardt | Recruits | Posted on May 4, 2009 at 2:52 pm

Here is the latest from last weekend on the AAU circuit including a look at Carlton Brundidge, Amir Williams, some talented Indiana underclassmen, Patrick Lucas-Perry, and more.

The Family Playing Well

Amir Williams has struggled with his consistency so far this summer but it appears that he put together a solid weekend at Spiece. Here is what Brian Snow had to say for Rivals:

One of the better performances from a rising junior was turned in by Amir Williams from The Family. In a game against All-Ohio Red, Williams was an impressive force down low. At 6-foot-9 with good athleticism and a long wing span, Williams blocked at least a half dozen shots, and altered numerous others. In fact his presence alone caused All-Ohio to rely exclusively on perimeter jumpers. Then on offense Williams showed some aggressiveness and a decent touch from the foul line. Overall it was a huge improvement from just a week previous in Akron.

Rivals also gathered a school list from Amir, at this point Michigan is his big offer.

Amir Williams has interest from Michigan State, Miami, Notre Dame, UCLA, and Oklahoma to go with an offer from the in-state Wolverines of Michigan.

Carlton Brundidge

While Williams brings the defensive presence, his teammate Carlton Brundidge provides the scoring. The Southfield guard sounds is probably more of an undersized two guard than a point guard but there is no denying that he can fill up the scoring column.

While Williams was the biggest factor on defense, it was Carlton Brundidge that got it done for The Family on the offensive end. The scoring dynamo proved once again that when he is in attack mode very few players can defend him. In the second half of the game alone, Brundidge was near 20 points and simply had moments of dominance.

Brundidge caught several Michigan home games over the winter and he is definitely a prime target in the class of 2011 for John Beilein.

[click to continue…]

7 comments
21 comments

Report Card: DeShawn Sims

By Dylan Burkhardt | 2008-2009 Season | Posted on May 4, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Previously: Stu Douglass (B-), Zack Novak (B), Laval Lucas-Perry (C), Manny Harris (A)

Michigan Northwestern Basketball

O Rtg Usage MPG PPG RPG FG% eFG% 3PT%
106.9 31.8% 30.7 15.4 6.8 50.5% 53.3% 31.7%

The Good

  • Scoring
    DeShawn showed us that he really is the scorer that he was recruited to be. His freshman year was wrecked by family tragedy and his sophomore year saw him live almost exclusively on the perimeter. This year he was forced to the paint — more so  by necessity than choice. Luckily, DeShawn was up to the challenge. He attempted 60 less three pointers this year, but managed to lead the Big Ten in field goals made while making 224 of his 444 attempts (50.5%, 53.3 eFG%).
  • Rebounding
    Because he was forced to play down low, it was crucial that Sims attack the glass. Sims averaged 6.8 rpg (5th in conference) and was tied with Manny Harris for the leading rebounder on the team. He struggled at times in conference play on the glass and his average steadily declined but that was mostly a product of dealing with better rebounding teams in the Big Ten.
  • Improvement
    Peedi improved in just about every facet of the game. This should be expected I suppose but as we saw under Tommy Amaker, improvement should never be taken for granted. Even beyond the numbers, Sims looks more confident within the offense and he continues to find his niche.

The Bad

  • Consistency
    Sims eliminated the Georgetown-esque 1 point performances that we saw in his sophomore year but he still struggled to bring a consistent effort night in and night out. Part of the problem is that his play was so spectacular at times  that you wonder why he wasn’t able to do it every time out.
  • Drifting
    All too often Sims would drift to the perimeter instead of focusing his offense in the interior. It is critical that Sims plays inside out. He has to start inside where he can build his confidence before he starts launching longer jumpers.

Shining Moments

  • vs. Duke – 28 points (10-16 shooting), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
    The Duke game was the defining moment of Michigan’s season and DeShawn Sims was the star. DeShawn scored the ball inside and out while controlling the glass despite being a non-factor in the first Duke/Michigan match-up that took place only a couple weeks earlier.
  • vs. Purdue - 29 points (13-16 shooting), 5 rebounds
    Another glimpse of just how dominant DeShawn can be. He took the ball right at JaJuan Johnson, who was eventually forced to the bench with foul trouble, and scored inside all night long. This one was an absolute must-win for Michigan’s tournament chances and DeShawn came to play.
  • vs. Iowa – 27 points (12-16 shooting), 2 rebounds, 3 steals
    DeShawn Sims single handily punched Michigan’s NCAA tournament ticket. Michigan went to Sims early and often and just sat back and watched as he made his first eight shots from the field and simply couldn’t be stopped.

The Future

DeShawn has played a dramatically different role in each of his three seasons at Michigan. His freshman year he was a seldom used back-up power forward. His sophomore year he played the “four” in Beilein’s offense which saw him floating around on the perimeter and launching three point shots. And finally, this year he played the “five” where he was almost exclusively an interior player.

The question is where does he go next year? There is a much larger stable of interior players next year but I’m not sure any of them have the ability to score in the post the way DeShawn does. I think we will most likely see a mix of DeShawn at the four and five. Against bigger lineups we will see him play the four along side someone like Ben Cronin while against smaller lineups we will see him down low in hopes that he can exploit a mis-match.

Final Grade: A

DeShawn deserves nothing but an ‘A’. Politics may have forced him off of the All-conference first team, but statistically he had a spectacular season. He was a top five scorer and rebounder and posted an effective field goal percentage of 53.3%. Not to mention the fact that he did all of this while playing down low in arguably the most physical conference in the nation at only 6-foot-8.

Did he have some disappointing performances? Definitely, but over the course of a season, who doesn’t? The improvement that he made in between each of his three years at Michigan has been remarkable. If he can make similar strides before his senior year we should be expecting another special year.

Tags: ,
21 comments
27 comments

Thursday Links

By Dylan Burkhardt | Links | Posted on April 30, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Tags:
27 comments
64 comments

Josh Bartelstein to Walk-on at Michigan

By Dylan Burkhardt | Recruits,Uncategorized | Posted on April 29, 2009 at 9:44 pm


Per ChicagoHoops.com,  Josh Bartelstein is set to be a preferred walk-on next year at Michigan.

Bartelstein, who was personally recruited by Michigan head coach John Beilein, visited the campus in Ann Arbor this past weekend, and knew that is where he wanted to be. Beilein spent the entire day with Bartelstein, and personally escorted him around campus. Beilein is known for having great success with recruited walk-on’s as many have played prominent roles both at West Virginia and Michigan.

Bartelstein selected Michigan over a host of Division I offers including Wagner, San Diego, Elon, UIC, Detroit and Valparaiso.

Bartelstein led Phillips Exeter (who play in the same league as Blake McLimans, Evan Smotrycz, and Nate Lubick) in points and assists last year and appears to be a proficient shooter. It is clear that Beilein is trying to establish a very strong walk-on program. CJ Lee and Dave Merritt were contributors and he has already brought in a number of solid walk-ons including Eric Puls, Corey Person, and Eso Akunne. Last year he was also close to bringing in Northwestern big man David Curletti. These are kids that make the program better, even if they don’t contribute on the floor right away.

This is what NERR had to say on Josh’s play at Exeter last year:

He’s still flying a bit under the radar despite connecting on over 50% of his attempts from the three-point line.  That’s a pretty ridiculous number when you consider he was the opposing defense’s top priority virtually every night.  Bridgton Academy even played him with a box and one.  What many still don’t realize is that he can handle and pass extremely well too.

NERR also has a nice profile piece worth a look.

Video

More Clips: One, Two

History

Bartelstein’s high school career took a turn for the worse when he broke his ankle during his sophomore year.

Tipped to become a starter as a sophomore in 2005-06, Bartelstein suffered a broken ankle in the third game and missed the entire campaign. He still has screws in his right foot.

He rebounded to become a role player at Highland Park during his junior year before finally coming into his own as a senior.

Bartelstein was outstanding last July when he led the Rising Stars Blue team to a Top 30 finish at the AAU National Tournament in Orlando, Florida. He continued that strong play during the high school season by sinking better than 50 three-point baskets.
Bartelstein was a 1st Team All-Conference selection, in addition to being named to the prestigious All-Pioneer Press Team, and also being named to the All-Tournament Team at both the Moline Thanksgiving Tournament, and the Elgin Holiday Tournament.

After a more successful senior season he decided to reclassify to the class of 2009 and complete a post-graduate year at Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire.

One other thing that’s worth a mention, his dad, Mark Bartelstein, is a successful NBA and NFL agent.

Tags:
64 comments
6 comments

Wednesday Links

By Dylan Burkhardt | Links | Posted on April 29, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Tags:
6 comments
22 comments

Andy Katz, Roster Composition and an East Coast Bias?

By Dylan Burkhardt | Uncategorized | Posted on April 28, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Number 9

If you thought Andy Katz was crazy before, he’s not giving you any reason to change your mind. After early entries he has moved Michigan up to ninth in his latest preseason rankings.

The Wolverines make for a strong three-team race at the top of the Big Ten with Michigan State and Purdue. Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims decided to go back to Ann Arbor and weren’t tempted by false hope in the draft. As a result, Michigan should have its strongest team in years.

We should be good next year but I’m still not ready to put us close to the top 10. But hey, all those recruits that want to play for a top 10 team should commit now while Michigan still qualifies.

East Coast Bias?

I saw the idea of bias thrown around in the comments yesterday and apparently it comes from this tidbit from Brian over at MGoBlog.

I’m getting a little skeptical of these reports from NERR because identical ones are showing up at Scott Hazelton’s site. Hazelton runs a basketball school/camp sort of business and Smotrycz is a protégé. The glowing reports might not be 100% fair and balanced, then. Might want to scale those down to places where Smotrycz is not a titan astride basketball.

That’s not to say the last two weeks haven’t been very good for public perception of Smotrycz’s game: every national pundit who’s offered an opinion has been extremely positive, and most have brought him up apropos of nothing except his ability to ball.

I’m not sure what exactly Brian is thinking here but I want to make it clear that the reports are coming from New England Recruiting Report, NBE, Scout, and wherever else. They are not coming from Scott Hazelton. The Hazelton blog is essentially quoting people including Evan Daniels (Scout.com), Reggie Rankin (ESPN), Clark Francis (Hoopscoop) among others who have seen the Mass Rivals play.

The one area where NERR and NBE might be a bit biased is in the sense that they probably are looking for Smotrycz before the national sites. They focus on the east coast so it’s only natural that they pay closer attention to the east coast kids. The bottom line is that these reports aren’t coming from an AAU or camp coach, they are coming from numerous scouting services. Because we have seen such similar reports coming from regional and national sites, I feel pretty comfortable with the reports that Smotrycz is playing exceptionally well.

Roster Composition

With Smotrycz in the fold and the news that the Regan recruitment appears to be cooling off I think it’s time to take another look at how the roster breaks down over the next few years.

2010-2011 — Sorted by Age
Guards (1/2): Laval Lucas-Perry (Jr.), Stuart Douglass (Jr.), Darius Morris (So.), Matt Vogrich (So.)
Wing (3): Manny Harris (Sr.), Zack Novak (Jr.)
Big Wing (4): Anthony Wright (Sr.), Blake McLimans (So.), Evan Smotrycz (Fr.)
Bigs (5): Ben Cronin (So.), Jordan Morgan (So.)

Manny Harris’ status is obviously up in the air which leaves a gaping hole on the wing. With two scholarships available, three if Manny leaves, it appears clear that at least one of those has to go to a wing. Because there are limited scholarships in the class of 2011 I think Michigan will stick to a three man class in 2010.

There are four big men tied up in the classes of 2009 and 2010 with McLimans, Smotrycz, Cronin, and Morgan. After following Will Regan’s play through the last high school season I am convinced that he is a very good prospect and will be a contributor somewhere. The math just doesn’t make sense to include him in this class. I think Michigan has to use their remaining two scholarships on back-court/wing players.

In the class of 2011 there are tons of talented in-state prospects. Big man Amir Williams has scouts drooling over his abilities and Carlton Brundidge can put points up in a hurry. With a three man class in 2010, Michigan will have two scholarships to give in 2011.

22 comments
Page 522 of 616« First...520521522523524...Last »