Good losses
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|
Date |
Opponent |
Location |
Score |
Comments |
| 12/17/2005 | (#14) UCLA | Ann Arbor |
61-68 |
A close game against the eventual National Semifinalists. |
| 01/14/2006 | (#7) Illinois | Champaign, IL |
74-79 |
Michigan took (and missed) the last shot to send it to overtime. |
| 02/09/2006 | Ohio State | Ann Arbor |
85-94 |
Michigan hung in there with the eventual Big Ten champions. |
Bad wins
|
Date |
Opponent |
Location |
Score |
Comments |
| 01/07/2006 | Purdue | Ann Arbor |
68-65 |
Michigan should have beaten them handily. |
Bad losses
|
Date |
Opponent |
Location |
Score |
Comments |
| 02/11/2006 | Purdue | West Lafayette, IN |
70-84 |
Quite possibly the worst loss in a few years. UM should have won easily. |
| 03/04/2006 | Indiana | Ann Arbor |
67-69 |
Michigan blew a big lead, should have won. |
| 03/09/2006 | Minnesota | Indianapolis, IN |
55-59 |
Michigan should have beaten them handily. |
| 03/30/2006 | South Carolina | New York, NY |
64-76 |
Michigan played a listless, lethargic game, could have beaten them. |
As you can see, there are a lot more “Good Wins” than anything else, and only 4 “Bad Losses”.
Season Statistics
The Athletic Department publishes complete statistics after every game, and they’re very thorough and complete. They’re also a bit much to digest. Here are the “stats lite” for this season.
First, let's look at the team shooting statistics for the season:
| Team | Field goals | 3-Pointers | Free throws |
| Michigan | 842-1753 (48.0%) | 218-582 (37.5%) | 465-617 (75.4%) |
| Opponents | 804-1814 (44.3%) | 222-611 (36.3%) | 367-523 (70.2%) |
| Advantage | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan |
These stats are very positive. Sure, the other guys made more 3-pointers, but they didn't shoot them as well, so it's a minor advantage for Michigan. It's impressive that UM made almost 100 more free throws than their opponents.
Next, let’s check out the team non-shooting statistics for the season:
| Team |
Rebounds |
Assists |
Turnovers |
Blocks |
Steals |
| Michigan |
1115 |
488 |
495 |
132 |
215 |
| Opponents |
974 |
457 |
460 |
110 |
203 |
| Advantage |
Mich |
Mich |
Opp |
Mich |
Mich |
Last season, Michigan lost 4 of these 5 categories, but this season, they turned that around. It's a little disappointing that UM had more turnovers than assists.
Now, let’s look at the individual shooting stats for the season:
|
Player |
Field Goals |
3-Pointers |
Free Throws |
Points |
|
|
Total |
Per Game |
||||
| Lester Abram |
71-134 (0.530) |
17-40 (0.425) |
52-63 (0.825) |
211 |
10.0 |
| Amadou Ba |
2-4 (0.500) |
0-0 (0.000) |
1-2 (0.500) |
5 |
0.4 |
| Graham Brown |
72-113 (0.637) |
0-0 (0.000) |
25-50 (0.500) |
169 |
5.1 |
| Alex Brzozowicz |
0-0 (0.000) |
0-0 (0.000) |
0-0 (0.000) |
0 |
0.0 |
| Ron Coleman |
70-171 (0.409) |
27-75 (0.360) |
25-35 (0.714) |
192 |
5.8 |
| Hayes Grooms |
1-12 (0.083) |
1-7 (0.143) |
9-11 (0.818) |
12 |
0.6 |
| Sherrod Harrell |
4-7 (0.571) |
1-1 (1.000) |
5-6 (0.833) |
14 |
0.8 |
| Dion Harris |
121-300 (0.403) |
69-177 (0.390) |
32-39 (0.821) |
343 |
11.1 |
| Daniel Horton |
187-418 (0.447) |
71-180 (0.394) |
136-151 (0.901) |
581 |
17.6 |
| Chris Hunter |
84-190 (0.442) |
19-63 (0.302) |
57-71 (0.803) |
244 |
8.1 |
| Brent Petway |
51-86 (0.593) |
0-1 (0.000) |
20-35 (0.571) |
122 |
5.5 |
| Troy Sanchez |
0-0 (0.000) |
0-0 (0.000) |
0-0 (0.000) |
0 |
0.0 |
| Jevohn Shepherd |
16-45 (0.356) |
4-15 (0.267) |
12-24 (0.500) |
48 |
1.8 |
| Courtney Sims |
143-226 (0.633) |
0-0 (0.000) |
74-104 (0.712) |
360 |
10.9 |
| Jerret Smith |
20-47 (0.426) |
9-23 (0.391) |
17-26 (0.654) |
66 |
2.4 |
Forget about the subs and scrubs, and look at the "regular" players. Graham Brown shot 63.7%, which is very good. Courtney Sims shot 63.3%, Brent Petway shot 59.3%, and Lester Abram shot 53.0%. Even the players who shot below 50% did OK: Daniel Horton with 44.7%, Chris Hunter with 44.2%, Jerret Smith with 42.6%, Ron Coleman with 40.9%, and Dion Harris with 40.3%. Only Jevohn Shepherd failed to crack 40%.
It was also encouraging that Michigan had more scoring balance this season. Last season, only 2 players averaged in double figures, but this season there were 4 of them.
Finally, let’s check out the individual non-shooting stats for the season:
| Player |
Rebounds |
Assists |
Turnovers |
Blocks |
Steals |
| Lester Abram |
70 |
22 |
29 |
5 |
21 |
| Amadou Ba |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Graham Brown |
240 |
38 |
55 |
9 |
26 |
| Alex Brzozowicz |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Ron Coleman |
89 |
27 |
32 |
3 |
17 |
| Hayes Grooms |
4 |
15 |
11 |
0 |
7 |
| Sherrod Harrell |
10 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
| Dion Harris |
90 |
86 |
49 |
3 |
29 |
| Daniel Horton |
84 |
174 |
115 |
11 |
64 |
| Chris Hunter |
115 |
11 |
45 |
30 |
18 |
| Brent Petway |
80 |
9 |
8 |
19 |
8 |
| Troy Sanchez |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Jevohn Shepherd |
29 |
15 |
18 |
4 |
2 |
| Courtney Sims |
189 |
25 |
78 |
47 |
9 |
| Jerret Smith |
34 |
59 |
41 |
0 |
10 |
These stats are fine. The point guards (Horton and Smith) had more assists than turnovers, and the big guys (except Petway, who missed a third of the season) had more than 100 rebounds each.
Team Honors
Regardless of the awards announced at the Basketball Bust, here are my awards for this year’s team:
Most Valuable Player: Daniel Horton
Best Defensive Player: Graham Brown
Most Hustle: Graham Brown
Most Improved: Chris Hunter
Best Dunker
(ever):
Brent Petway
Final Grades
It’s time for final grades for the team, and Coach Amaker:
| Name |
Midterm Grade |
Final Grade |
Comments |
| Freshmen | |||
| Phillip DeVries |
Inc. |
Inc. |
He hasn’t played at all. |
| Kendric Price |
Inc. |
Inc. |
He hasn’t played at all, due to being red-shirted. |
| Jevohn Shepherd |
B- |
B- |
He's a smaller, lighter version of Brent Petway. He's a leaper, and he's very fast and athletic. He can hit 3-pointers, but he's not a very good shooter. |
| Jerret Smith |
B |
B |
He's a natural point guard, and he's done pretty well out there. He seems fairly poised, but he's not a very good shooter. |
| Sophomores | |||
| Ron Coleman |
B- |
B |
After a slow start this season, he improved as the season went on. |
| Alex Brzozowicz |
Inc. |
Inc. |
He didn’t play much at all. |
| Juniors | |||
| Lester Abram |
B+ |
B |
He started off strong this season, but had a rough 2nd half, due to injuries. |
| Amadou Ba |
C |
C |
He didn’t play much at all, but when he did, he did OK out there. He's not very quick, and he isn't a natural basketball player, but he tries hard. |
| Dion Harris |
B+ |
B |
He was just turning into a weapon, when he hurt his ankle. It took several games back for him to start to regain his form. |
| Brent Petway |
Inc. |
B |
He didn't play at all in the non-conference portion of the season, due to academic ineligibility. He did OK during the Big Ten season. |
| Courtney Sims |
B+ |
B- |
He still needs to play stronger and meaner inside, but has a nice touch, and great hands and agility. He "disappears" out there too often. |
| Seniors | |||
| Graham Brown |
B+ |
B+ |
He did all the little things to help Michigan win. He's not a big scorer, but he's a strong presence inside, and a fierce competitor. |
| Hayes Grooms |
B- |
B- |
He didn’t play much, but he played fairly well when he was in there. He has decent ball-handling skills, and decent speed. |
| Sherrod Harrell |
B- |
B- |
He didn’t play much, but he played fairly well when he was in there. He has decent ball-handling skills, and good speed. |
| Daniel Horton |
A- |
A- |
He was a true leader out there, and he occasionally picked the team up and carried them on his back. He had a great senior season, both as a scorer, and as a ball-handler. |
| Chris Hunter |
B+ |
B+ |
He was Michigan's star 6th man. He had a very nice jumper, including good 3-point shooting. He had good ball-handling, especially for his size. |
| Troy Sanchez |
Inc. |
Inc. |
He didn’t play much at all. |
| Coach | |||
| Tommy Amaker |
B+ |
B |
He's a decent recruiter, a good practice coach, and a decent bench coach. He needs to recruit another good, solid class, and soon. |
As you can see, almost all the grades went down, even though the disappointing finish to the season wasn’t any one player’s fault. It was a team effort.
Looking Ahead
The future looks reasonably bright for next season. The bad news is that Michigan loses 5 "regular" players off this year's roster (Brown, Grooms, Harrell, Horton, and Hunter). The good news is that there are several good returning players (Abram, Coleman, Harris, Petway, Shepherd, Sims, and Smith), along with Kendric Price, who will play as a redshirt freshman. The Wolverines have also signed 2 promising new freshmen (K'len Morris and DeShawn Sims), they have a verbal commitment from a third player (Anthony Wright), and they're in the running for a fourth player (Patrick Beverley). This is a good nucleus, but there won't be as much depth as this season, and it's hard to replace players like Brown and Horton. The big thing that Michigan will be missing is height. There will be lots of 6'6" – 6'8" players, but not enough 6'11" players.
Let’s take a quick look at the 2 incoming freshmen who have already committed and signed for next season:
K'len Morris
6’4”, 185 pounds, W
Grand Blanc, MI
He’s listed as a wing in some publications, and a shooting guard in others. He’s a great shooter, and a very versatile player.
DeShawn Sims
6’8”, 220 pounds, F
Detroit, MI
He's a good shooter, and a slasher heading to the hoop.
Here's the player who has given Michigan a verbal commitment:
Anthony Wright
6'6", 240 pounds, F
Sterling, VA
He's a good passer, a good shooter, and a good ball-handler.
Finally, here's the player that Michigan is still in the running for:
Patrick Beverley
6'2", 175 pounds, G
Chicago, IL
He's a great scorer, not afraid to drive the lane.
As you can see, there is reason to be optimistic. Be sure to check back in November, when I start writing columns for next season. Until then…
Go Blue!
Drew
Montag
UMGoBlue.COM Basketball Editor
dmontag@umgoblue.com
Drew Montag is the Basketball Editor for the
UMGoBlue.COM. Drew graduated from the University of Michigan in 1978
and has both football and basketball season tickets.
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