8 — Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines could run on Duncan

Robinson gives 

Michigan another 

3-point threat

By SIMON KAUFMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Friday night, Duncan Robinson 

did 
his 
best 
Nik 
Stauskas 

impression.

After sitting out last season due 

to NCAA transfer rules, Robinson 
made his long-awaited debut in 
an exhibition against Le Moyne. 
The redshirt sophomore guard 
entered the game with 13 minutes 
left in the first half, caught a pass 
from redshirt freshman forward 
D.J. Wilson on the left side of the 
arc and fired. Swoosh.

“Coming off the bench, I 

usually like to get a couple of 
minutes under my belt before I 
jack one up,” Robinson said. “But 
D.J. made a good pass on that first 
one, and I found myself open.”

Just 64 seconds into his 

Michigan career, the Williams 
College transfer looked to be as 
smooth-shooting as advertised — 
as Stauskas-like as advertised.

Truth be told, Stauskas wasted 

even 
less 
time 
introducing 

himself to Michigan faithful. 
On Nov. 1, 2012, in an exhibition 
contest 
against 
Northern 

Michigan, 
Stauskas 
debuted 

five minutes into the first half. 
Six seconds after coming off the 
bench, then-freshman forward 
Glenn Robinson III dished to 
Stauskas, who drained a 3.

A bit less time off the clock than 

it took Robinson, but that might 

be the only difference. Consider 
this: In Stauskas’ debut, he went 
5-for-8 from the field, 4-for-6 
from 3-point range and tallied 17 
points in 19 minutes. On Friday, 
Robinson 
was 
6-for-10 

on 
field-goal 

attempts, 3-for-
6 from deep 
and totaled 15 
points 
in 
18 

minutes.

Robinson 

might be just 
the 
piece 
to 

fill 
the 
void 

Stauskas 
left 

beyond the arc. In the 2013-14 
season, the Wolverines attempted 
794 3-pointers and made 319 of 
them. Stauskas accounted for 
29 percent of those made. Last 

year, after Stauskas left to the 
NBA, Michigan suffered from 
the perimeter — making 70 
fewer 3-pointers and attempting 
nearly 100 fewer. In Stauskas’ 

sophomore 
season, 
Michigan 
ranked 
first 

in 
3-point 

percentage 
in 

Big Ten games, 
but 
without 

him last year, it 
ranked eighth.

Take 

away 
two 

inches 
from 

Robinson’s 6-foot-8 stature and 
add three-finger goggles in front 
of his eye after a made 3-pointer, 
and you might not be able to 
tell the difference between him 

and the 6-foot-6 sharpshooting 
Stauskas.

Robinson 
might 
not 
have 

all the swagger that Stauskas 
had, but he does have one thing 
that 
the 
former 
Wolverine 

doesn’t: 
Michigan’s 
practice 

shooting record. Last December, 
Michigan men’s basketball coach 
John Beilein said Robinson broke 
the team’s practice shooting 
record that formerly belonged to 
Stauskas. Stauskas — now playing 
with the Philadelphia 76ers — 
told the Daily this summer he 
has heard that Robinson might 
even be able to take him in a 
1-on-1 shoot-off.

One thing Stauskas had that 

Robinson 
doesn’t 
have 
yet, 

though, is a spot in the starting 
lineup. The last time he came off 
the bench was in high school; he 

doesn’t 
completely 
remember 

when. At Williams, Robinson was 
the only freshman starter who 
coach Mike Maker had in his six 
years there, and for good reason. 
Robinson led the Red Foxes to a 
28-5 record and shot 45.6 percent 
from deep in his only year with 
the team. For now, Robinson is 
OK with his off-the-bench role.

“There’s 
definitely 
some 

advantages to coming off the 
bench,” he said. “You’ve got to 
get a feel for the game in the first 
couple of minutes. Maybe see 
what’s working offensively as 
a team, what (the opponent) is 
doing and stuff like that. (It’s a) 
new perspective, but I’m willing 
to embrace any role on this team.”

Any role. The reemergence of a 

Stauskas impressionist wouldn’t 
be a bad one for him to fill.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

“There’s definitely 
some advantages 
to coming off the 

bench.”

