Michigan faces a bit of a rebuild with seniors Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin having graduated, and forward D.J. Wilson now in the NBA as Milwaukee’s first round pick (No. 17 overall). Head coach John Beilein is excited to see how his new group responds.
There are pieces, and his anxious to see how they al fit.
“It is a puzzle,” he said. “I think I must have liked putting puzzles together as a little kid, because I actually enjoy this process I have to go through. It’s a lot of work, but if you don’t enjoy it — between guys transferring, going to pros early, graduating, recruiting — you’re not going to survive. You can’t look at it as a problem. You have to look at it as an opportunity to prove again that your program can continue winning despite any adversity or transition you have.”
There are only three players returning that played significant minutes last year, he noted, but while they lost four, they replaced them with six.
“The message right now is, ‘Take it one step at a time.’ We’ve got to grow as a team probably a little more quickly than normal, knowing we have this [Maui Jim] tournament, two conference games in December, UCLA, Texas, North Carolina, Detroit waiting for us after Maui. We can’t worry about those things right now. We have to value each day in the summer.”
One big piece expected to contribute … Kentucky transfer and redshirt sophomore wing Charles Matthews.
“We have big plans for him. He really showed us last year, his transfer/redshirt year, that he has a large amount of talent,” Beilein said. “I’m sure as he goes into playing what we hope is major minutes, that he’ll start off where he left off in practice. That’s the hope.
“I know that down the road as he continues to develop, we plan on him being a key piece to our puzzle as we put these pieces back together again.”
NOTES
The Maui Jim field is weaker than many in past years, and U-M should have as good a shot to win it as anyone. The Wolverines open with LSU, a team that finished last in the SEC last season.
“The field, if you look at the whole thing, is an incredible test for everybody,” Beilein said. “You know so little about your team, and you find out a lot. There are some defining moments sometimes, good and bad, that can change the course of your season.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the program that Will Wade is going to build at Louisiana. His pedigree, it’s incredible how quickly he’s moved through the ranks. Every team in this tournament — including Chaminade, being an old Division II guy — is going to be a great challenge, but a great opportunity for growth as well.”
They’re going to try to get a good mix of business and pleasure, he added.
“Players’ relationships and their bonding is essential to having a good team,” he said. “You must dive off a cliff while you’re in Hawaii. That may be as mandatory as going to a practice. This is a once in a lifetime experience for many of our players. At the same time, they’ve got to go over there with the idea that so many times, the NCAA Tournament, you make it in November and December.”
• Beilein said the assistant coach search has been a slower process than expected.
“I wish I could give you an update. That would mean I’d have it done,” he said. “I’m still in the process of doing it. I can explain it to you later on, maybe, someday … It’s taking longer than I anticipated, but it’s OK. The bottom line is to get the right guys to lead us into the future.”
• Moritz Wagner scored 20 points in the second half and made 8 of 9 field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes to lead Germany over Turkey, 80-77, in FIBA Tournament play. He finished with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, made 7-of-11 free throws and pulled down six rebounds.
The Germans will play again at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.
