An evolution and a new breed of Wolverine
D
oes the name Maverick
Morgan ring a bell?
In case it doesn’t,
Morgan was
a center for
Illinois from
2013 to 2017
and had a
perfectly
fine career,
averaging
5.6 points
per game
in 135 total
appearances.
But if you
primarily follow the Michigan
men’s basketball team, that’s
not what you remember him for.
“They are more of a white-
collar team traditionally and at
Illinois we’re about toughness
and together,” Morgan said
of the Wolverines after his
Fighting Illini thumped them,
85-69, in January of 2017.
Michigan, of course, returned
the favor later that year,
ending Illinois’ season on the
way to an unexpected Big Ten
Tournament title and Sweet
16 appearance. But everyone
makes statements they might
regret making later on. I’m not
bringing this up to make fun of
Morgan.
Maybe you remember him,
and maybe you don’t. What you
do remember is his perception.
And, well, if “white-collar”
maybe wasn’t the most refined
wording, it’s not
like it was unfair.
When you
remember the
Wolverine teams
of the mid-2010s,
you don’t think
of physical freaks
crashing the
boards, swatting
shots into the
second row or
driving hard to
the rim. Instead, you think of
precise ball movement, constant
motion and Trey Burke, Nik
Stauskas and Moritz Wagner
draining triples from all over
the court.
You won’t find much of that
on this year’s roster. Where
Burke, the 2013 Naismith
Award-winner, once manned
the point, there’s junior Zavier
Simpson, a pitbull of a defender
with a limited offensive game,
but the heart of the team
regardless. On the wing, visions
of Stauskas and his silky-
smooth 3-point stroke have
given way to redshirt junior
Charles Matthews — one of the
best athletes Beilein’s coached
at Michigan, but a mere 56
percent foul shooter. The holes
created by the departures of
Wagner and Duncan Robinson
this offseason are being filled
by sophomore Isaiah Livers — a
versatile defender and strong
rebounding presence — and
junior Jon Teske — a hulking,
7-foot-1 rim-protecting colossus.
As a team, Michigan shot
above 35 percent from 3-point
range every year since 2011.
Only one player on the roster —
sophomore guard Jordan Poole
— did so last season.
The first glimpse of the
2018-2019 Wolverines came
last Friday against Division II
Northwood. Michigan took just
11 3-pointers, scoring 56 of 90
points in the paint and 24 on
the fast break. It didn’t make its
first three until 19 minutes into
the game. It forced 10 steals,
which led to 22 points. Simpson
and Poole jumped passing lanes,
led the break and got to the rim.
Livers and freshman forward
Ignas Brazdeikis ran the wheels
off the Timberwolves and threw
down transition slams.
It was an exhibition, sure, but
it told this much: these aren’t
your parents’
Wolverines.
“We’re
definitely going
to be another
really good
defending team,”
Poole said.
“We’re going to
want to get up
and down the
floor extremely
fast and get it out
and go. Lot of high-flyers, lot of
attack-the-rim guys, back cuts
and being able to throw lobs.
This is an extremely athletic
team, and we’re able to attack
more and get to the basket
more.”
Michigan coach John Beilein
has spoken of the need to adapt
his complex offensive system to
his team’s personnel. He’s also
aware that his team will rely
first and foremost on an elite
defense.
But it’s one thing for a coach
to tailor his gameplan to the
strengths of his roster, or to
preach attacking, downhill
offense and tough, hard-nosed
defending. Mostly, that’s just
good coaching.
It’s another thing entirely
for a team to take scrappy
defense and aggressive offense
to heart and make it its identity
— especially a team whose
identity, until recently, has been
the complete opposite.
That identity was apparent
when the Wolverines finished
with the third-most efficient
defense in the country last
season. It’s apparent when
Beilein states that Simpson and
Matthews — the upperclass
leaders of the team — will “not
let you not play defense.” It’s
apparent when players and
coaches mention the defensive
improvement of players such as
Poole, whose inconsistent effort
often kept him off the court last
year.
Under Beilein, Michigan
has had five top-30 seasons in
offensive efficiency, per Ken
Pomeroy’s advanced ratings
system. Until last season,
though, it had never had a
defense rank above 37th.
But last season, that all began
to change. A misfit group of role
players, unheralded veterans
and promising
freshmen clicked
with a defensive
mastermind
in first-year
assistant coach
Luke Yaklich,
with Simpson’s
tenacious
leadership
spurring them
on. An offense
that was,
for Michigan’s standards,
inconsistent, did just enough
to win, and occasionally much
more. It all culminated in one of
the more unexpected Final Four
runs in recent memory.
This year, the evolution is just
about complete. The Wolverines
have taken a formula that
worked last season and doubled
down on it this year.
“We built a name last year
that we could be a pretty good
defensive team,” Simpson
said at Michigan’s media
day in October. “This year,
it’s a different breed on this
team, and that breed is more
aggressive.”
In a sport with as much
season-to-
season change
and personnel
turnover
as college
basketball,
however,
flexibility is
key. Maybe in
a year, another
evolution will
take place. Maybe
Poole, Livers and
freshmen such as Adrien Nunez,
David DeJulius and Colin
Castleton start bombing away
in a fashion resembling the
Wolverines of yesteryear.
But it’s unlikely that anyone
will be calling Michigan
“white-collar” anytime soon.
Shames can be reached at
jacosham@umich.edu or on
Twitter @Jacob_Shames
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 // TIP OFF 2018
3B
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Junior guard Zavier Simpson, one of the best defenders on the roster, exemplifies Michigan’s new mentality on the court.
JACOB
SHAMES
“This year, it’s
a different
breed on the
team...”
This year, the
evolution is
just about
complete.