It’s been a rough start for Michigan basketball so far. The team has started 3-2 with their wins coming over mid-major teams and their losses coming against Seton Hall and Arizona, the latter of which was a convincing blowout where Michigan could not get any foothold in the game. While there have been multiple issues on the court, some major points revealed themselves in the game against Arizona. Michigan’s main areas of concern have been shooting, turnovers, ball screen defense, and lack of proper screening.
Shooting Woes
In Michigan’s losses, the team shot 1-14 (7.14%) from three-point range against Arizona and 3-15 (20%) against Seton Hall. Seton Hall, however, did not double Hunter Dickinson in the paint and Hunter scored 18 points in that game. The Arizona loss stung much more because Hunter would get double-teamed immediately after he caught the ball. Michigan’s lack of shooting hurt Hunter’s ability to score from post-up situations because doubling Dickinson did not threaten Arizona’s overall defense. They forced Hunter to pass the ball immediately and then would rotate a bit to Michigan’s shooters on the perimeter. This affected Dickinson’s production against Arizona as he shot 4-10 from the field, and had 11 points. Arizona forced him to become a passer, yet he had no assists either.
I fully expect other teams to double team Hunter Dickinson for most of the season. They will try to make him a passer first and prevent him from dominating the paint. This threat to Michigan’s offense provides a unique challenge to the coaching staff. A lot of the shooting comes from overall confidence from the players. Establishing confidence for Houstan, Jones, and Johns will provide other options for Michigan as the season progresses. Jones and Johns need to look for their shot right away without being hesitant. Brandon Johns Jr. often shot fakes right away instead of shooting the ball, while DeVante’ Jones seemed hesitant to shoot anything besides a floater in the lane. The lack of confidence in the jump shot will lead to a clogged lane, and make it even more difficult for Dickinson to dominate.
The double team strategies for other teams need to be countered by Michigan. Getting Dickinson the ball in positions where he does not need to take more than one dribble will be key in keeping him involved in the offense. Dickinson establishing himself early will create more open looks for many of the other shooters. Getting shooters in a rhythm will come with practice and game reps.
Ball Screen Defense
Michigan’s ball screen defense against Arizona got exposed but also proved to be an issue against teams like Seton Hall who had strong mid-range players. Arizona tore through Michigan’s ball screen defense with their alley-oop threats and their strong guard play. The guards showed patience when attacking Michigan’s big players and made timely reads with pocket passes, lobs, and floaters.
This play in the second half I have noted above shows how Arizona’s guards would read Michigan’s defense. In this case, Michigan plays the ball screen similar to an “ice” where they try to keep the ball handler to a side of the court. However, Michigan’s big men often got caught playing too close to the guard which allowed the big man to roll to the rim almost unimpeded. The triangle I drew above shows how Brandon Johns should be looking at the screening action. He needs to see his man, #10, and the ball and keep both within his space. If the roll man gets behind Brandon, then it becomes an easier read for the guard.
Brandon played too close to the ball handler, and Arizona’s guard made an easy pocket pass. As the play progresses, Johns tries to recover to his man but never tries to get his body back in front of the ball. He stays on the side of #10 and allows an easy drive to the rim. Moussa appears to be afraid to leave his man to help stop the drive; however, help defense needs to prevent an easy basket especially right when the man jumps to dunk. Diabate needs to recognize the timing of helping as well as the easy lane to the basket. If Diabate jumps at the right time, then Brandon Johns can box out Diabate’s man. Arizona’s #10 drove from the top of the key to a dunk with no resistance. That cannot happen if Michigan wants to continue its run as one of the best defensive teams in the country.
Turnovers
Turnovers plague even the most offensively potent teams in the country. Michigan’s shooting woes can be attributed to hesitancy while their turnovers are a result of over-aggression. DeVante’Jones had a couple of plays where he tried to make a play on defense by reaching for steals or trying to drive the lane with a defender set. Caleb Houstan had a couple of charges as well, and Moussa Diabate tried to dribble between a double team to get to the basket. Eli Brooks even had some uncharacteristic mistakes where he stepped out of bounds. These players actively assert themselves to create shots for themselves or others, but the patience and pace needs to change for these guys to keep possession of the ball.
Turnovers like these kill the momentum of a team. Not getting a shot at the rim, especially with a struggling offense, can further hurt the flow of Michigan. Michigan had 15 turnovers last night against Arizona, with 10 in the first half. The team averages 13.6 turnovers per game and has 68 turnovers total over its first five games. The majority of these turnovers have been self-inflicted as well with various travels, charges, and shot clock violations. Since a lot of these turnovers are the result of simple mistakes, Michigan should be able to correct most of these with practice and confidence.
Lack of Solid Screening
A lot of Michigan’s sets have complex screening systems, but in both losses this year, Michigan’s players have not been setting good screens. In particular, I have noticed this regression from Caleb Houstan. Often, if a player sets a good screen, then they will be more open for a good shot. Houstan set very good screens in the Buffalo game at the beginning of the year which opened up Dickinson for more post-up plays and provided Houstan with space for his shot. In the last few games, Houstan has abandoned these screens to try to get open quicker, and this hurts.
On top of poor screening, Michigan has allowed other teams to push the offense further away from the basket. I have pointed out in a couple of videos that Michigan has been running various sets under pressure and further from the basket. Arizona forced Michigan away from the basket and prevented easy passing lanes to Dickinson in the paint. A pass from farther away will give defenses more time to adjust. To remedy this issue, Michigan players need to get into
the body of their defenders and create separation before catching the pass. This separation creates havoc on the defenders since they have to scramble to stay in front of the offense.
