You cannot ignore the loss of DJ Wilson when you look ahead to the 2017-18 Michigan basketball season. DJ gave the Wolverines a versatile 4 man with size, something Michigan hadn’t had in over a decade. However, Beilein will hope to make us forget what we could have had with the additions of grad transfer Jaaron Simmons and redshirt sophomore transfer Charles Matthews, as well as the return of Mo Wagner. The Wolverines have a number of question marks on their depth chart right now. They will have to replace 3 players producing 53% of their scoring as well as their top 3 rebounders. That is a TALL task, but Beilein has done a tremendous job putting the pieces in place to once again quietly compete for a Big Ten title and beyond.
With Xavier Simpson and incoming freshman Eli Brooks as the only point guards on the roster and their consent to do so, Beilein hit the grad transfer market and found himself a point guard to run his offense. Jaaron Simmons was an All-MAC First Team performer at Ohio University who averaged at least 15.5 ppg and 6.5 assists in his two seasons after transferring from Houston. Simmons threw his name in the hat and took advantage of the NBA draft evaluation process. In the end deciding to use his last year of eligibility at U of M. Simmons will have to work on managing his turnovers under Beilein’s system and driving to the basket with his left hand, but he is a scoring point guard that can run the Wolverines offense and help replace Derrick Walton. This also gives Beilein the chance to continue to groom Xavier Simpson for the starting role, giving him another year at backup. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman will look to build on a solid Junior season and can definitely be counted on for double digits points per game all year long. Adding Simmons allows for MAAR to play a similar role as last year and will continue to produce at that 2 guard position. Look for him to score more in 1 on 1 situations late in the shot clock and continue improving his 3 point percentage. Incoming freshman Jordan Poole will compete with sophomore Ibi Watson for time at shooting guard as well as small forward off the bench. Both are high volume shooters, but need to become better defenders. Jordan Poole was a top 75 recruit and one of the better shooters in the nation in this year’s incoming freshman class and will push Watson, who will need to add muscle this summer to see more time. Both Poole and Watson will be relied on to give relief to Adbur-Rahkman and Matthews, but we should see another scenario where starting guards and forwards will play upwards of 30 minutes a game.
Replacing DJ looks to be a two-man job. Charles Matthews (REMEMBER THE NAME) spent his freshman year at Kentucky where he thought he would spend only a year then move on to the NBA, however that did not happen. Matthews was granted a release from UK and enrolled at U of M in June 2016. He sat out all of last year and has put on upwards of 20 lbs of muscle since then. Matthews is an explosive athlete and will help a great deal on the defensive end. He must work on his outside shooting in this offense, but he will get many easy backdoor cuts and lobs just as Glenn Robinson once did. He will replace Zak Irvin at the 3 and will help ease the load of Duncan Robinson being inserted at the 4 spot. Duncan will be spending a lot of time with Coach Sanderson this summer I would presume, after learning of Wilson’s departure. Duncan has size but will have to be much tougher on the defensive glass this year with some of the power forward matchups he will have. He has shown progression on the defensive end (quickness/strength) but he will now have to be relied on for more rebounding. Freshman Isaiah Livers will be counted on for some minutes as well but may lack physical toughness on the defensive end so he could see minutes at the small forward position as well. Beilein mentioned that Livers will be a threat on offense but the 6’8” freshman might love his jump shot too much right now. His athletic ability and shooting for his size set him up for great development while at U of M.
Mo Wagner decided to return to Michigan after attending the NBA combine. He took away a lot from the process but was only leaving if he was guaranteed to be picked in the first round. Mo has come a long way in a short period of time but still has area to improve, mostly on the defensive end. He will allow Coach Beilein to yet again have 5 players on the floor who can shoot the three. Mo’s offense will continue to develop but his focus should be on improving his defensive awareness and rebounding. He is athletic enough to protect the rim and stay out of foul trouble but he must continue to learn schemes and responsibilities to put him in the best position defensively. Jon Teske (sophomore) and redshirt freshman Austin Davis will battle it out for backup time at center. Beilein has been raving about the improvement of Austin Davis but Teske’s size and play proved to be worthy of burning a redshirt last year. Just the practice time each will spend guarding Mo will help them provide tough competition for game scenarios. They will not see better footwork from a big man all year, having to guard Mo in practice.
This Michigan team, just like last year, has little to no expectations going in to this summer before the season. Atop the Big Ten it looks like Michigan State and Minnesota pose the biggest threats. Outside of these two, the Wolverines may have the most talented roster in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have the pieces to make their way in to the Top 25. Going to Maui, playing UCLA at home, playing at Texas, and playing away at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge will allow for the Wolverines to be tested early in the season and figure out what issues must be addressed before the start of the Big Ten. The biggest question mark for this year will be the defensive end. Defense became the focal point of the team in their strong second half of the season and postseason run. Yes, at times they shot the lights out, but they built much momentum off of getting defensive stops rather than making threes. All five positions must rebound on the defensive end this year for Michigan to have success. This team is going to surprise some people once again and Beilein will have them ready come March.
Via Tim Schearer
