Michigan basketball hosted an open practice on Monday evening which served as fans of Ann Arbor's first live look at their basketball team. I was in attendance and made plenty of observations to share. Here is what I noticed.
The Scrimmage:
Before we jump into players, setting up the stage of where the greater majority of my observations is important. Michigan, to close out the practice, went through about 20 minutes of intra-squad scrimmaging, simulating essentially a first half (with John Beilein even telling his side's at the end to play it two-for-one like the end of the first half). The two starting teams were one in maize consisting of Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Adrien Nunez, Isaiah Livers, and Jon Teske against a side in blue consisting of David DeJulius, Ignas Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole, Charles Matthews, and Austin Davis. Brandon Johns and Colin Castleton both subbed in at the center positions throughout with Johns on blue and Castleton on maize, and walk-on fan-favorite CJ Baird played a brief spell on the maize side.
The maize team won the scrimmage 33-25 despite a slow start. Falling behind 11-2, maize kicked it into gear with a 19-3 run and 21-14 lead. Blue would get within four, but never closer. In terms of scoring, Eli Brooks led the way with eleven points while Jon Teske was close behind with nine for maize. Isaiah Livers also contributed seven. For blue, Ignas Brazdeikis had seven points, five of those coming off free throws, but otherwise their scoring was balanced out well. Now with our establishment of the scrimmage, here's what I thought about the squad, broken down into positional groups.
Guards:
Michigan has three point guards on the roster, but the look shown with two on the floor for the winning side was quite interesting. Eli Brooks was perhaps the star of the practice with a nice knockdown three, several strong takes to the rim, solid passing distribution, and even a very smooth dunk to close out the scoring. His shot looks a bit improved from last year (where it was already solid) and the hope is certainly that he continues to drive confidently to the rim. Expected to fight for back-up minutes with David DeJulius, I think he is comfortably the back-up point guard. DeJulius will go through a year of learning the offense and getting it down while getting better against the ever-menacing Zavier Simpson. I think DeJulius has the best shot of the three, and John Beilein at one point turned his microphone off while stopping practice to talk to David, but in terms of facilitating the offense, I think he has most to improve.
Speaking of Simpson, though, I do believe that he is definitely the right guy to lead the offense at point guard. Entering just his junior year, his drives to the rim were very strong and his wraparounds to Jon Teske in the paint are going to be killer against teams. His shooting form looked slightly tweaked, but I did not note much of a change and while he took a couple mid-range jump shots in drills, I do not recall him even attempting a three. I think that is still the primary concern with Simpson, but Jordan Poole at the two should alleviate some concerns of his shot. Poole won the post-practice three-point shootout against Isaiah Livers by a score of 20/25 to 18/25 and while he did not score but three points in the scrimmage, I think his court vision will still be solid and he won't have as much pressure to try and lead the offense with Simpson on the court.
Wings:
The talk of this position is absolutely going to be who starts at the four position, Ignas Brazdeikis or Isaiah Livers. After the open practice yesterday, I honestly could not get a read on who that will be. Reportedly it was Brazdeikis getting the start against Toledo in the "secret" scrimmage, but the spot certainly could be up for grabs. I think Livers' shot from three looks improved from what was already an effective weapon last season. He has a higher release point than last year and it looks even smoother. Even if he doesn't start, I expect him to have a heavy sixth-man presence coming off the bench. Brazdeikis, on the other hand, did more of his work getting to the rim and making plays inside. I would have liked to see more outside shots from him, just to get a better feel, but coming into the season we knew he could space the floor, and seeing his strong takes is a serious positive.
Charles Matthews did not stand out, but he continually looked to create and should definitely be the factor Michigan fans expect of him. Despite just four points and never truly taking over the game, I didn't see anything to be concerned about. Again, similar to Simpson, I was hoping to see him look for the three-pointer more and he took one or two, but I still believe that is a work in progress and we should see him shoot the ball a bit more. The other wing, Adrien Nunez, was tasked with guarding Brazdeikis for most of the scrimmage and found the bigger player a bit tough to stick with. I don't believe he will factor into the rotation this season, but his shooting form looks so smooth. I think he could make a jump into his sophomore season as a guy that Beilein can rely on off the bench.
Bigs:
There are two key stories here: one is Brandon Johns, the other is the depth of the side. First, Johns. Johns practiced almost exclusively at the five and scrimmaged at the five, guarding Teske on several occasions. Coach Beilein mentioned they indeed have "four" solid bigs that could see the floor. As a small ball five, I think Johns is a great and super interesting option to turn to off the bench. He is athletic and yes he will need to get a bit stronger to battle in the Big Ten trenches, but I think the small ball five is a great idea especially with Johns. We saw it briefly last season with Livers, but I think Isaiah is much more a true four than a plug-in five.
Next, the depth. All three more conventional centers had their moments. Jon Teske looks absolutely huge on the court and I have him tabbed as a break-out player. He shot the three twice (missing both, but still promising) and made a mid-range jumper in the scrimmage. With the proper development, he could turn into Isaac Haas with a jump shot, which is a scary thought for the Big Ten. His length on the court is unreal, and he will be fun to watch. Austin Davis showed off a mid-range jumper as well and it looked very smooth. He was solid on defense, moving his feet well and staying with Teske overall. Colin Castleton has serious length as well and made a great block on an attempted Davis lay-up in the scrimmage as well. Of the three, he seems most willing to take the three and his hustle to win his maize team the final possession of the scrimmage did not go unnoticed. Overall, I like what I saw with all three bigs.
Final Thoughts:
I think this Michigan team will be very deep early on, but likely level off to eight or nine men rotating by conference play. In terms of a starting line-up for the regular season opener, I will predict Simpson, Poole, Matthews, Brazdeikis, and Teske, with Livers, Brooks, and Davis as your key bench players, and Johns coming in with regularity. If this Michigan side can continue to make the strides Beilein and the coaching staff believes they are capable of, they will be very dangerous this season.
Zeb Jackson:
Now, a quick run-down of Michigan's latest commit. 2020 guard Zeb Jackson, from Toledo, Ohio, committed as the first 2020 recruit. Michigan has one more confirmed open scholarship for 2020, but that accounts for no attrition. Jackson is a left-handed combo guard that is ranked 66th in the country by the 247Sports composite and 58th overall by the 247 experts. It's a great recruiting win for Luke Yaklich (Jackson's lead recruiter) as Jackson had high interest from Butler and Ohio State, as well as Michigan State interest. Jackson currently stands at 6'2" and has serious ties to Zavier Simpson's father, an AAU coach in Ohio.
In terms of play style, I would say that Jackson is exactly what you would hope for in a Beilein recruit. A smooth jumper, strong drives to the basket, and an outstanding left hand but solid right as well, Jackson is a playmaker for himself and others. You could, and I would, make the argument that he will be the highest-touted point guard recruit under John Beilein since Derrick Walton. With the 2018-19-20 recruits Beilein has brought in, there seems to be an emphasis on guys that can score multiple ways. Jackson is already so solid in all aspects of his game, watching him improve for another two seasons is going to be a treat, and I expect him to be in the top-50 in no time.
Next up for the 2020 class from Michigan is surely a big man. Walker Kessler is a top-20 2020 recruit who is set to take his official visit on campus this upcoming weekend and would figure to get an offer then. He is a near-seven-footer than can shoot the three and 2020 is a class where Michigan will need to prioritize a big man with Teske set to graduate after 2019 and no guarantee of a fifth year for Davis in that season. Ethan Morton is the other name to remember. The only 2020 recruit not named Zeb Jackson to get an offer from his class, he is knocking on the door of a top-50 composite ranking, even if 247 has him closer to number 80. A knockdown shooting small forward that is equally good with his left hand or right hand, he would figure to grow into a wing role despite being just 6'4" right now. He holds offers from Butler, Indiana, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Creighton, Oregon, Marquette, and Michigan, and has made official visits to Indiana, Purdue, and Stanford. The future is looking exciting for Michigan basketball, but for now, the present is looking as bright too.
The Scrimmage:
Before we jump into players, setting up the stage of where the greater majority of my observations is important. Michigan, to close out the practice, went through about 20 minutes of intra-squad scrimmaging, simulating essentially a first half (with John Beilein even telling his side's at the end to play it two-for-one like the end of the first half). The two starting teams were one in maize consisting of Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Adrien Nunez, Isaiah Livers, and Jon Teske against a side in blue consisting of David DeJulius, Ignas Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole, Charles Matthews, and Austin Davis. Brandon Johns and Colin Castleton both subbed in at the center positions throughout with Johns on blue and Castleton on maize, and walk-on fan-favorite CJ Baird played a brief spell on the maize side.
The maize team won the scrimmage 33-25 despite a slow start. Falling behind 11-2, maize kicked it into gear with a 19-3 run and 21-14 lead. Blue would get within four, but never closer. In terms of scoring, Eli Brooks led the way with eleven points while Jon Teske was close behind with nine for maize. Isaiah Livers also contributed seven. For blue, Ignas Brazdeikis had seven points, five of those coming off free throws, but otherwise their scoring was balanced out well. Now with our establishment of the scrimmage, here's what I thought about the squad, broken down into positional groups.
Guards:
Michigan has three point guards on the roster, but the look shown with two on the floor for the winning side was quite interesting. Eli Brooks was perhaps the star of the practice with a nice knockdown three, several strong takes to the rim, solid passing distribution, and even a very smooth dunk to close out the scoring. His shot looks a bit improved from last year (where it was already solid) and the hope is certainly that he continues to drive confidently to the rim. Expected to fight for back-up minutes with David DeJulius, I think he is comfortably the back-up point guard. DeJulius will go through a year of learning the offense and getting it down while getting better against the ever-menacing Zavier Simpson. I think DeJulius has the best shot of the three, and John Beilein at one point turned his microphone off while stopping practice to talk to David, but in terms of facilitating the offense, I think he has most to improve.
Speaking of Simpson, though, I do believe that he is definitely the right guy to lead the offense at point guard. Entering just his junior year, his drives to the rim were very strong and his wraparounds to Jon Teske in the paint are going to be killer against teams. His shooting form looked slightly tweaked, but I did not note much of a change and while he took a couple mid-range jump shots in drills, I do not recall him even attempting a three. I think that is still the primary concern with Simpson, but Jordan Poole at the two should alleviate some concerns of his shot. Poole won the post-practice three-point shootout against Isaiah Livers by a score of 20/25 to 18/25 and while he did not score but three points in the scrimmage, I think his court vision will still be solid and he won't have as much pressure to try and lead the offense with Simpson on the court.
Wings:
The talk of this position is absolutely going to be who starts at the four position, Ignas Brazdeikis or Isaiah Livers. After the open practice yesterday, I honestly could not get a read on who that will be. Reportedly it was Brazdeikis getting the start against Toledo in the "secret" scrimmage, but the spot certainly could be up for grabs. I think Livers' shot from three looks improved from what was already an effective weapon last season. He has a higher release point than last year and it looks even smoother. Even if he doesn't start, I expect him to have a heavy sixth-man presence coming off the bench. Brazdeikis, on the other hand, did more of his work getting to the rim and making plays inside. I would have liked to see more outside shots from him, just to get a better feel, but coming into the season we knew he could space the floor, and seeing his strong takes is a serious positive.
Charles Matthews did not stand out, but he continually looked to create and should definitely be the factor Michigan fans expect of him. Despite just four points and never truly taking over the game, I didn't see anything to be concerned about. Again, similar to Simpson, I was hoping to see him look for the three-pointer more and he took one or two, but I still believe that is a work in progress and we should see him shoot the ball a bit more. The other wing, Adrien Nunez, was tasked with guarding Brazdeikis for most of the scrimmage and found the bigger player a bit tough to stick with. I don't believe he will factor into the rotation this season, but his shooting form looks so smooth. I think he could make a jump into his sophomore season as a guy that Beilein can rely on off the bench.
Bigs:
There are two key stories here: one is Brandon Johns, the other is the depth of the side. First, Johns. Johns practiced almost exclusively at the five and scrimmaged at the five, guarding Teske on several occasions. Coach Beilein mentioned they indeed have "four" solid bigs that could see the floor. As a small ball five, I think Johns is a great and super interesting option to turn to off the bench. He is athletic and yes he will need to get a bit stronger to battle in the Big Ten trenches, but I think the small ball five is a great idea especially with Johns. We saw it briefly last season with Livers, but I think Isaiah is much more a true four than a plug-in five.
Next, the depth. All three more conventional centers had their moments. Jon Teske looks absolutely huge on the court and I have him tabbed as a break-out player. He shot the three twice (missing both, but still promising) and made a mid-range jumper in the scrimmage. With the proper development, he could turn into Isaac Haas with a jump shot, which is a scary thought for the Big Ten. His length on the court is unreal, and he will be fun to watch. Austin Davis showed off a mid-range jumper as well and it looked very smooth. He was solid on defense, moving his feet well and staying with Teske overall. Colin Castleton has serious length as well and made a great block on an attempted Davis lay-up in the scrimmage as well. Of the three, he seems most willing to take the three and his hustle to win his maize team the final possession of the scrimmage did not go unnoticed. Overall, I like what I saw with all three bigs.
Final Thoughts:
I think this Michigan team will be very deep early on, but likely level off to eight or nine men rotating by conference play. In terms of a starting line-up for the regular season opener, I will predict Simpson, Poole, Matthews, Brazdeikis, and Teske, with Livers, Brooks, and Davis as your key bench players, and Johns coming in with regularity. If this Michigan side can continue to make the strides Beilein and the coaching staff believes they are capable of, they will be very dangerous this season.
Zeb Jackson:
Now, a quick run-down of Michigan's latest commit. 2020 guard Zeb Jackson, from Toledo, Ohio, committed as the first 2020 recruit. Michigan has one more confirmed open scholarship for 2020, but that accounts for no attrition. Jackson is a left-handed combo guard that is ranked 66th in the country by the 247Sports composite and 58th overall by the 247 experts. It's a great recruiting win for Luke Yaklich (Jackson's lead recruiter) as Jackson had high interest from Butler and Ohio State, as well as Michigan State interest. Jackson currently stands at 6'2" and has serious ties to Zavier Simpson's father, an AAU coach in Ohio.
In terms of play style, I would say that Jackson is exactly what you would hope for in a Beilein recruit. A smooth jumper, strong drives to the basket, and an outstanding left hand but solid right as well, Jackson is a playmaker for himself and others. You could, and I would, make the argument that he will be the highest-touted point guard recruit under John Beilein since Derrick Walton. With the 2018-19-20 recruits Beilein has brought in, there seems to be an emphasis on guys that can score multiple ways. Jackson is already so solid in all aspects of his game, watching him improve for another two seasons is going to be a treat, and I expect him to be in the top-50 in no time.
Next up for the 2020 class from Michigan is surely a big man. Walker Kessler is a top-20 2020 recruit who is set to take his official visit on campus this upcoming weekend and would figure to get an offer then. He is a near-seven-footer than can shoot the three and 2020 is a class where Michigan will need to prioritize a big man with Teske set to graduate after 2019 and no guarantee of a fifth year for Davis in that season. Ethan Morton is the other name to remember. The only 2020 recruit not named Zeb Jackson to get an offer from his class, he is knocking on the door of a top-50 composite ranking, even if 247 has him closer to number 80. A knockdown shooting small forward that is equally good with his left hand or right hand, he would figure to grow into a wing role despite being just 6'4" right now. He holds offers from Butler, Indiana, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Creighton, Oregon, Marquette, and Michigan, and has made official visits to Indiana, Purdue, and Stanford. The future is looking exciting for Michigan basketball, but for now, the present is looking as bright too.
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