2nd Annual Abla Report
The 2000-2001 University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Team Scouting Report
By Tim Abla
0 Leon Jones
loses playing time to the freshmen, but got a lot of PT down the stretch; down three with 1.4 seconds left, hit the first two free throws, but missed the third after a time out; needs to show some leadership, possibly at the risk of losing minutes though
1 Avery Queen
typical little guy — quick, has a tough time getting the open shot, and a liability on defense against bigger guards; played fairly under control; at times looked like he had an open shot, but got caught in the air when bigger guys closed on him; started ahead of Searight and got more first-half minutes, but Searight got more second-half minutes; dribbles the ball at a normal-looking height, but for him he’s dribbling the ball around his head(!); well-built; when he does get a shot off, has an ugly rotation on the ball (many times no rotation at all); seems to understand that he won’t get a lot of shots off
3 Maurice Searight
appears that he and Queen will be the main point guards (these two probably weren’t on the court at all at the same time); should be a pretty good ball handler — reminds me of Gaines; big calves; seems to have a bigger upside than Queen; plays under control in half-court game, but needs to slow down a little in the running game; can drive to the hoop, and passes well after driving the lane; I don’t remember him taking any outside shots or free throws, so nothing can be said of its quality; may like the 360-degree spin move a little too much
21 Bernard Robinson, Jr.
will more-than-adequately fill the shoes of Jamal Crawford; will lead the team in scoring if LaVell Blanchard doesn’t; has a beautiful outside shot, and accurate from 3-point land; lefty; has a true double pump in his free throw, which in one 2-shot sequence got a lane violation on his first attempt, made the second and third, but got guys in the lane on the third shot also; a little out of control at times, but overall an offensive force; needs to bulk up some; long arms; very fluid offensively; could be a pretty lethal combination with Blanchard; great finisher; reminded me of Mo Peterson a little; silky-smooth long-range shot with nice rotation; doesn’t square up exactly towards the hoop; had opponents crying foul about his free throw, while refs just told them to watch the ball
23 Gavin Groninger
seems to have bulked up some this year; lost playing time to the freshmen, may split minutes with Jones; still a three-point specialist, but Blanchard and Robinson can also hit the three, which may limit his usefulness
25 Josh Asselin
should benefit greatly from being on the floor with Moore; still commits the stupid foul; needs to regain the aggresiveness he showed as a freshman; again, will get a good chunk of his points from cleanup around the hoop; capable of being a team-leader along with Blanchard on this team of freshmen and sophomores; could be the X-factor after two ho-hum seasons
30 LaVell Blanchard
did not play (DNP)
34 Josh Moore
will be a significant contributor this year; needs to gain some touch around the hoop, but definite potential there; has possibly the nicest looking free throw of any big man I’ve seen, including more arch than most big guys; good-sized upper body, but needs to get stronger in the legs — lack of leg strength can be seen in slowness up and down the court, low ups, and being pushed around a little (granted, he was playing against 7’4″, 325 lb. Priest Lauderdale); won’t be pushed around as bad by most centers; has a decent spin move with back to the basket; slow, but still fairly quick; didn’t commit stupid fouls, but needs to stay on the floor and keep his arms straight up; mainly shoots little hooks in the paint, so will be a huge force when he finds some touch; decent rebounder, and will get better at defensive rebounding
45 Chris Young
the same solid rebounder, decent defender, ok 12-footer, hard worker he’s been all along
Miscellaneous Team Notes
undersized in the forward area, but athletic; freshman appear to be more under control than last year’s crop; need to improve passing a little (what’s new); will be big-time streaky (what’s new II); thin in the big men (only Moore, Asselin, and Young) — especially if Asselin continues to get in foul trouble; still quite young, with Asselin being the only senior of significance; won’t be quite the running team like last year, but still will get a good share of fast breaks; needs to get stronger defensively; didn’t commit a lot of fouls even though playing against a quality team; will surprise some teams this year; should be a NCAA bubble team or definite NIT team