2019-2020 B1G Basketball Thread

[MarqHusker]

Mildly on topic.   Bobby Knight purchased a home approximately 3 miles from Assembly Hall.  One of those local soap operas that if you're not from around here it is simply hard to understand.

I sense most folks simply don't care anymore whether Knight ever 'returns' to Assembly Hall again, but it sure does get some people riled up.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe.  I remain skeptical of the idea of much larger players being slid to positions like that. Then again, it’s not the easiest to build a lineup where that happens. What would Michigan‘s look like?

Since Wagner is advertised as a 2/3/4, unless Juwan has a more rigid expectation, the talk is to place him after someone emerges from the Brooks/Nunez/DDJ/Bajema/Johns/Castleton group as the hardest to leave off the floor. If it's Brooks/Nunez, then Wagner is a 3/4. If it's Johns/Castleton, then Wagner is a 2/3.

Perhaps these are most likely:

1. Simpson
2. Brooks/Nunez
3. Wagner
4. Livers
5. Teske 

or

1. Simpson
2. Wagner
3. Livers
4. Johns/Castleton
5. Teske

The second is a much higher ceiling offense. 

[ELA]

This is a much less talented team than several Amaker teams, yet I somehow feel more confident that a rookie coach will at least get this roster to the tournament, which Amaker, who I still think is a good coach, never did.  And I don't know how to reconcile all of those beliefs.

[Anonymous Coward]

Did Amaker have rather talented teams? I never thought he did.

[ELA]

Did Amaker have rather talented teams? I never thought he did.

The Horton, Abrams, Hunter, Harris, Sims bunch had more pure talent.

[Anonymous Coward]

To help me contribute: How are you comparing them?

[ELA]

If you have John Beilein Michigan's 2004? roster or next year's roster, I think the 2004 roster would have a better season.

[Anonymous Coward]

That could be true. Not to cop out too hard but I don't trust myself to contribute beyond a comparison of recruiting rankings and draft prospects. And on those categories, I was wondering if the 2020-21 starters couldn't be better regarded than the 19-20ers (similar in recruiting; better in draft).

How would Horton, Abrams, Hunter, Harris, Sims stack up with you versus Simpson, Poole, Iggy, Matthews, and Teske?

[ELA]

That could be true. Not to cop out too hard but I don't trust myself to contribute beyond a comparison of recruiting rankings and draft prospects. And on those categories, I was wondering if the 2020-21 starters couldn't be better regarded than the 19-20ers (similar in recruiting; better in draft).

How would Horton, Abrams, Hunter, Harris, Sims stack up with you versus Simpson, Poole, Iggy, Matthews, and Teske?

I'd take the later group, but not by a ton.  And the weird thing is, I think Amaker is a pretty good coach, I just don't fully understand how he couldn't maximize talent better.  My biggest problem with him was that he never seemed to be able to develop guys.  They'd show up, show a ton of promise, and leave as seniors as basically the exact same player.

[Anonymous Coward]

Then you must disagree with me - maybe even strongly - that trading Poole/Iggy/Mathews for, let's say, Wagner/Livers/Woods is either net neutral or somewhat net positive in terms of realistic draft potential. And that'd be before accounting for small year-to-year improvements in Simpson/Teske.

I agree with you on Amaker, by the way. Well at least at Harvard, I do. At a P5 like Michigan, I bet he'd have been a better fit to follow a guy like Beilein than a guy like Ellerbe. Most coaches would prefer that, I guess. But Amaker seems particularly ill suited to build a well-oiled machine from scratch. He seems like more of a maintainer or slow growth tweaker.

[ELA]

Then you must disagree with me - maybe even strongly - that trading Poole/Iggy/Mathews for, let's say, Wagner/Livers/Woods is either net neutral or somewhat net positive in terms of realistic draft potential. And that'd be before accounting for small year-to-year improvements in Simpson/Teske.

I agree with you on Amaker, by the way. Well at least at Harvard, I do. At a P5 like Michigan, I bet he'd have been a better fit to follow a guy like Beilein than a guy like Ellerbe. Most coaches would prefer that, I guess. But Amaker seems particularly ill suited to build a well-oiled machine from scratch. He seems like more of a maintainer or slow growth tweaker.

Who is Woods?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha. Johns. This is like the eleventh time I've made that mistake. Don't they read the same to you?

[ELA]

Then yes, major downgrade.

I think Iggy was a Wooden candidate if he returned, and Matthews was the best wing defender in the nation.

[Anonymous Coward]

Then yes, major downgrade.

I think Iggy was a Wooden candidate if he returned, and Matthews was the best wing defender in the nation.

I still think Michigan can have three elite defenders next year (same as last year). Matthews is better on D than Livers, sure, but Livers is  a sufficient upgrade on Iggy defensively that the team could be close to replacing Matthews's impact. Poole was also the weakest defensive link by far. Wagner would have to be significantly worse than Poole on defense to negate that, but the scouting report points in the opposite direction on that. Also: offense. Isn't the line-up I posted a likely upgrade in PPP from last year?

And then there's the simple-minded conversation I'm least likely to mess up. Whereas Poole, Iggy, and Matthews went in the late-first, second, and undrafted, Wagner, Livers, and ____ have to ultimately be favored to draft higher.

You asked me for a specific lineup though and I gave you this. Which lineup might have come closest to changing your mind?