9th Annual Abla Report
The 2007-2008 University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Team Scouting Report
Reviewed after non-conference game against Radford on November 9, 2007.
By Tim Abla
1 Jerret Smith (Jr.)
did not play (DNP)…one game suspension
2 C.J. Lee (Jr.)
played backup point with Smith suspended…not a lot of playing time, not a lot of impact…3-point specialist, but probably won’t play much when Smith returns
3 Manny Harris (Fr.)
started…best player at driving to the basket on the team…a little too “hoppy” at the moment, needs to just attack and be aggressive instead of being tentative…good quick hands on defense, great zone defender…will get plenty of steals…comfortable shooting with the left hand even though he’s a righty…can go right or left when attacking the basket…clearly talented…not sure about the quality of his outside shot yet…not necessarily a floor general…great on the fast break…will average 9-12 ppg…looked good in this high-pressure zone defense
5 K’Len Morris (Fr.) (medical redshirt last season)
crafty player…won’t be a headline player but fills a roll on this team…clearly took minutes from Shepherd…excellent cutter in this offense…only a 5 ppg guy…another good fast break guy…active on offense and defense…not the best looking shot ever — puts a weird side rotation on the ball sometimes
12 Anthony Wright (Fr.)
not afraid of putting up an airball 3-pointer…decent bulk…mainly hangs out in the corners on offense…not sure he’ll be a big impact player this year…got a decent amount of playing time for not doing a whole lot…at least hustled on the defensive end
15 Jevohn Shepherd (Jr.)
only got garbage time minutes — not a good sign…never accomplished much under Amaker, thought he might be more suited for this offense but apparently not…looks like a non-factor unless things change (kind of a disappointment)
22 Ekpe Udoh (So.)
the only returning impact player who seemed out of place…for some reason Gibson seemed to fill his role a little better than he did in this game…loved his freshman season, I’m hoping he’ll fit in better as the season moves along…not a big fan of him shooting outside of 10 feet, but anybody can shoot from anywhere in this offense when open…teams will give him the outside shot…looks like he’ll come off the bench behind Gibson…needs to learn to attack the offensive glass like Gibson does…nobody blocks more pairs of shots on one possession than Udoh…just seemed like he wasn’t in synch on offense yet…will be a (disappointing) 7-9 ppg player, but the blocks will be big…needs to rebound better on defense…clearly could use more bulk
24 Ron Coleman (Sr.)
started…only contributing senior…people expect senior leadership out of him but I don’t think he’s a floor leader…still has a nice shot…probably a 7-8 ppg player…not necessarily the best offense for him…solid defensively, not spectacular or a huge steals guy…at best the fifth most important player on this team
32 Zack Gibson (So.)
started…absolutely knows his role on offense — when a shot is put up get to the glass, crash the net…and does his job well…best example of what a good coach can get an average player to do…looks to me like he’s taken minutes away from Udoh…could use more bulk, as could most of our big guys…decent looking FT, but too many moving parts could hurt his percentage…6-8 ppg player, 9 would be a bonus…bulk of points will be via offensive rebounds…decent athleticism — not spectacular but not a plodder by any means…he and Grady are probably the wildcards of this team…ceiling is only so high, though…
34 DeShawn Sims (So.)
started…barring injury, will absolutely lead the team in scoring…probably by at least 3 points…may not be the greatest shooter, but the way the offense runs he’ll get plenty of shots…looked a tiny bit lighter to me, most likely from the extra running this team does…still decent bulk up top though…takes his share of threes, definitely more of an outside presence than last year…gets to the line fairly well, can he hit FTs?…the way this offense puts up shots he could average anywhere from 14-20 ppg…will be interesting to watch when playing bigger opponents…definitely more active offensively than last year…seems to bounce between the wing and the basket and back, where he shoots most of his threes…I don’t know if he truly fits the role he’s playing, but nobody else on this team could do it better…doesn’t stand out defensively
44 Kelvin Grady (Fr.)
started…shoots the three better than the two — seems to rush the two a little…sweet lefty half-court bounce pass between two defenders on the fast break for an easy layup…even as a freshman appears to be a leader on the floor who knows what each player should be doing…instructed other players multiple times throughout the game…definitely small, can he overcome his size to be an impact player?…my guess is yes, he just seems to have “it”…probably will never be a major scorer, but one day he could be a Dee Brown type terror…just have this feeling we’re going to love him down the road…not sure about this year — will be interesting to see how he and Smith split minutes at PG…odd number for a small PG — think he wanted the 1 jersey?…needs to become more aggressive once he’s crossed half court with the ball…another 6-8 ppg player…quick and pesky enough to get 2-3 steals/game…didn’t seem to be a liability on the defensive end, we’ll see how that plays out over the course of the season…certainly fits the pressure zone defender role well…as mentioned, perhaps the teams’ wildcard along with Gibson
Miscellaneous Team Notes
the first interesting Michigan basketball team in a long time, clearly due to coaching…the theme of this team clearly is “attack” — attack on offense, on defense, and in transitions…the contrast between this team’s offensive and defensive activity compared to recent years is astounding…there is no complacency in any facet of their game…but can the talent match the intensity?…if we see 10 shot clock violations by this team all year I’ll be shocked…it’s not that we jack up crazy shots, but with the increased movement you just don’t need to wait 34 seconds before hoisting up a prayer…the team will average 10+ points more than last year’s team and probably 20+ more shots/game…headbands are legal again…absolutely love the pressure defense…it’s interesting watching a pressure zone defense, it’s very aggressive and doesn’t sit back and let the offense do what it wants…the double team in these zones is extremely effective — it’s quick and puts a lot of pressure on the offense when the other three guys fill the passing lanes at the same time…almost seems like we run more plays on defense this year than we ran on offense last year…you just have to see this team play to understand how much of an effect coaching has had on the players…this team will get plenty of steals, but the flip side is it gives up a few bunnies…you can tell the offensive glass is a priority, not an afterthought…at least one player attacks the offensive glass each time…can they bring the same defensive rebounding intensity?…we didn’t foul nor did we draw many fouls, which is odd considering the activity of the team on both ends…not many FTs were shot by either team…not confident about the quality of FT shooters on the team…will push the ball whenever possible, clearly a running team…no real meaty guys on this team…will struggle in half court defense against bigger, more methodical teams that work the ball down low…the players have clearly been instructed to take offensive rebounds right back up at the basket aggressively…we’ll draw plenty of fouls that way…you just sense that for teams to beat us they’re going to have to play well — we’re not going to give many stinker games away like in previous years…the question is whether or not this set of players can be effective in the Big Ten…the number of 8 minute scoring droughts will go from about every other game in previous years to never…everybody in this offense has the green light to shoot…nearly everyone has the confidence to shoot (but not necessarily the ability)…Beilein is always instructing the players, no more sit back and watch from the sidelines…maybe used one timeout — because of a blowout that was never in doubt?…the only time I saw Beilein yank someone was when they stood around during a shot and didn’t attack the glass…not sure there are any super-high energy guys on this team now that Petway is gone
Facility notes
1) The new lights — wow. Definitely take a little getting used to as a fan. You quickly learn to not look up in the lights. They do an awesome job in lighting the floor though. I half wonder if they could affect a shot here or there when taken at certain angles. Definitely makes Crisler look better in the lower bowl (but the upper bowl looks dark).
2) The video screen looked new, but I could be wrong. Looked better than I remembered it. I think the sound system sounded improved too.
3) Enjoyed the “Enter Sandman” with the dimmed lights as the team entered the arena, but I don’t know if they quite deserve the dramatic entrance yet.
Most important questions for the season
Apparently I didn’t actually supply the answers in some early versions of the Abla Report. 🙂
1) Will Udoh impress or regress?
2) Do we have the shooters required in this offense or will we kill ourselves with missed threes?
3) Will the lack of size kill us in the Big Ten?
4) Will the attacking style work against good teams or just bad teams?
5) Is Sims good enough to fill the role he apparently has been given on this team? Can he make third team All Big Ten?
Predictions
Obviously I’m more excited about this team than any team in the past several years. The obvious improvement as a direct result of coaching is astounding. We looked more like a cohesive team in the first ten minutes than we did all of last year. The sum of the parts will be good, but I don’t know if the parts can make the sum great. The difficult schedule doesn’t help — we’ll probably have our worst non-conference record in years, but that’s more as a result of us not playing Middle Tennessee School for the Blind 12 times. Not to mention only six non-conference home games, two of which are pretty tough. The start of the Big Ten schedule will also be rough. Taking all of this into consideration:
15-15 record, 9-9 in the Big Ten regular season, somehow I have a funny feeling this style of play could do well in tournaments so I’ll give us one Big Ten tourney win
Sixth place Big Ten regular season
No NCAA tourney, hopefully at least an NIT bid
Good things in years to come