SB Nation - Jevohn Shepherd

Michigan: Round Two

BoilerTMill — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:32:45 -0000

Both teams need tonight’s game for different reasons, but the underlying subtext will be Chris Kramer, Manny Harris, and elbowgate. Michigan fans arms till up in arms that Harris got ejected for what was an inadvertent elbow. Purdue fans are still up in arms that Kramer was knocked senseless and now has to play with a freaky mask. I would say at the moment that Michigan needs this game more because of its precarious NCAA position. Purdue is going to be dancing regardless of its finish now, so we’re playing for a Big Ten championship and a good seed. Michigan needs a win and a solid finish or it will be back to the NIT.

"We don't retaliate. We just get W's."

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan Record: 17-11, 7-8 Big Ten
2007-08 postseason: Lost 51-34 to Wisconsin in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals
2007-08 final record: 10-22, 6-14 Big Ten
Blog Representation: MGoBlog, MVictors, Varsity Blue, Michigan Sports Center, iBlog for Cookies, Maize'n'Brew, Maize & Blue Nation, UM Hoops

Not a whole lot has changed for Michigan statistically since I did the original game preview for our matchup in West Lafayette. The Wolverines position of being a lock for the NCAA Tournament before conference play started has dropped significantly because of their struggles in Big Ten play. As UCLA continues to plummet that win loses some value as well. Michigan is not a good road team in Big Ten play, winning only at Northwestern and Indiana and needing overtime both times to grab the victory. With two road games remaining at Minnesota and Wisconsin the Wolverines absolutely have to defend their home court tonight.

They have been better at home, but they haven’t exactly made Crisler Arena a place where the Big Ten’s elite fear to tread. Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State have all won with relative ease at Michigan this year. In an interesting twist tonight the student section won’t be as strong since the campus is already on spring break. On the other side, it is also Senior night for three Michigan seniors. They aren’t scoring machines as they average a combined 7 points per game, but C.J. Lee, David Merritt, and Jevohn Shepherd are solid role players that contribute each night. Shepherd had 10 points in our earlier game, so if he adds that contribution tonight with Harris and Sims doing their usual thing we could find ourselves in trouble.

I made the argument before that the Harris ejection really didn’t matter. Purdue has always done a good job against him and he was well below his averages at the point of conflict. Michigan was actually leading at the time as well, so they had proven they can do well without him. Instead of rallying against injustice they crumbled.

Still, the Wolverines are a much better team with him in there. After what happened in Iowa City on Sunday there is plenty of consternation in the Michigan locker room at the moment. Harris was suspended for the overtime period against Iowa in Sunday’s 10 point loss. Coach John Beilein refused to elaborate on the reason why as well.

Our win in game one came like many others have this season. We played a tight first half but blew things open in the second half thanks to suffocating defense that led to an offensive explosion in transition. Home wins over Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin happened in the exact same way. We have struggled in taking that same act on the road and I fear we will need to tonight in order to get a win we must have for the Big Ten title.

I think we should go with the same formula we have used in our last three victories over Michigan. We have to stifle Harris and force someone else to beat us. We will see Zack Novak tonight after he was suspended for the first Purdue game, but this feels like a team that is getting worse as the season goes along rather than better. On the other hand, this game reminds me a lot of our trip to Ohio State last season. In that game, we needed a win to stay in the hunt for the Big Ten title. Ohio State was a team reeling and desperate to get a big win for its NCAA hopes (which ultimately fell short). Doesn’t this sound familiar?

I am assuming Robbie Hummel is playing tonight. If he plays I think we have a win. Be sure to join me right here at 9pm for the open thread. I’ll be watching and posting live from Casa De T-Mill. Purdue 67, Michigan 62

Other notes:

· If you’re on campus and have nothing better to do, head on over to Mackey arena as the women’s team will have its own senior night against Michigan. It’s been a bit of a disappointing year for the ladies as some were predicting a Final Four appearance, but a win tonight would give them 20 wins and would most assuredly put them into the NCAA Tournament for a 15th straight season. Tipoff is at 7pm, so there is plenty of time to go and get back in time to watch the men at 9.

· Incoming recruit D.J. Byrd had minor knee surgery this morning for a torn meniscus, but he hopes to be back for next week’s sectional semifinal in a possible rematch with Danville and Travis Carroll. This is very good news, as his original injury sounded much worse and could have cost him his freshman season next year if it had been ligament damage.

· The baseball team travels to Southeast Missouri State tomorrow for a four game series. The Redhawks took two of three from #16 Alabama last week and won a midweek game against a non-Division 1 opponent to move to 3-1. It is the first meeting between the schools and Purdue probably needs at least a split. An 0-9 start to last season probably prevented an NCAA tournament berth even though Purdue did very well in Big Ten play. We’re already at 1-3 and on a three game losing streak. First pitch of the series is at 3pm Friday.

· If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Fan Post on the right, the Paint Crew is taking on the Izzone in a Coaches vs. Cancer Fundraising Challenge. I have joined the team and set a modest goal of raising $200 here through the site. This is something we can do guys, and it is for a great cause.

· Anyone still interested in joining me for the Big Ten Hoops Day 5k on March 15th in Indianapolis before the Big Ten Tournament championship should e-mail me at tamiller@excite.com. I plan on running in the event and hopefully hopping home for a quick shower before heading to see the Boilers win the title.

· Finally, I will likely not be able to make it to next Wednesday’s Northwestern game. l will probably be covering a high school sectional game that night, so I have posted my tickets on Ebay of anyone is interested.

The Other Shoe: Michigan Pasted By Penn State 58-73

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:08:49 -0000

I hate garbage time during a blow out. It seems to drag on forever and you really never get anything out of it. Sure the bench players get some time, a couple of guys who've seen all of ten minutes all year will drain a trey or two, and the opposition will take a nap letting the score get closer and closer, but the outcome is sealed. And no manner of bench points will make a rats ass bit of difference in what just happened. You, and your starters, got blown out. Now you're counting on your subs to make it respectable.

It'd be fun and hopeful to say that Michigan let one get away last night, but that wouldn't be the truth. Michigan trailed by 30 with 8 minutes left in the game and only made it close because of Penn State taking a nap at the end of regulation. Michigan got pounded by a team their size, their skill level and in the same conference position they were in. The only reason Michigan managed to trail by just seven points at the end of the First Half was defense. Michigan harassed Penn State into a litany of turnovers and offensive miscues that kept the Wolverines in the game. It has to be that, because it sure as hell wasn't the Wolverines shooting.

**Michigan First Half Stats**
FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	BLK	PF	PTS
9-30	2-16	2-6	5	14	4	0	6	22
30%	12.5%	33.3%

That's not going to win you a lot of games. Michigan couldn't hit anything. When players would find themselves in prime shooting positions off a well executed play, they've airmail the ball from three. Regretfully, the guiltiest of this was Kelvin Grady, whose shot seems to have completely disappeared over the last two weeks. Similarly, Laval Lucas-Perry's shot has dried up, making him 2 for his last 17 three point attempts according to UMHoops.com. Making matters worse, when the shots didn't fall, Michigan retreated further from the basket to lob up more ill advised three point attempts. This marks the second straight game three point attempts have outnumbered two point attempts, and even in the Illinois game Michigan chucked up 26 threes compared to 33 two point attempts.

The only player who warrants a pat on the back for his effort last night is DeShawn Sims who posted 21 points and 11 boards. The rest of the starting lineup was 5-26 (Harris, LLP, Novak and Grady), including 1-19 from three. Do the math and you'll see the problem, they took only 7 shots inside the arc. The worst thing is, they hit 4 of them but never seemed to return to the basket.

I'd like to say this is a game where you throw out the tape, but it's not. The team is clearly stagnant and failing to execute even the most basic pick and rolls. During yesterday's open thread we noted dozens of times where the Wolverines would stand around waiting for something to happen or the ball to drop into their hands. Two players making the same cut to the top of the key. Over the last three games, offensive execution has gone out the window in favor of the three point shot, and that's a recipe for a losing streak when it's obvious to everyone your shots aren't falling.

Defensively, Michigan is in trouble. Penn State doesn't have a whole lot of size on their squad, save little used Andrew Ott, who at 6-10 is Penn State's biggest player. But he and Jamelle Cornley had a field day inside against Michigan, combining to go 12-14. And all but two of those attempts were within 6 feet of the basket. Right now Michigan has no one that seems to be able to deal with a presence inside, and our alternatives are somewhat limited. UM Hoops addresses the obvious question, "What about playing Gibson and Sims at the same time?"

Michigan is also dealing with more quality big men at the same time that they are trying to move an undersized guy to the power forward position. The issue here is that Beilein just doesn’t have the pieces to fix this problem. There are two guys that can play center on this roster: DeShawn Sims and Zack Gibson. There are three others who can play power forward: Jevohn Shepherd, Zack Novak, and Anthony Wright. Playing Gibson and Sims together sounds nice but if you do that too much there is no one to back up Sims at the center position.

It isn’t like Beilein is leaving Greg Monroe on the bench:

Jevohn Shepherd is a 6-foot-5 wing who isn’t much of an offensive threat and isn’t going to stop a guy like Jamelle Cornley or Marcus Landry.

Zack Gibson is a shooting guard trapped in a 6-foot-10 body; he is a finesse player and he’s not going to turn into a banger over night.

Anthony Wright is a 6-foot-6 forward who made a great backdoor pass against UCLA but has very little athleticism or hustle and is a career 27.4% three point shooter.

Zack Novak is 6-foot-4 but he gets to more loose balls than anyone on the team and despite struggling a bit of late is shooting 39.5% from long range.

Pick your poison.

My response is fairly simple, we're dying anyway right now, what's the worst that can happen. Maybe we can be exposed even worse down low in the future with Gibby and Sims out of the lineup, but the end result is the same if we don't change things up. We need size out there, even if it means playing 6-10 stick figure Eric Puls on a regular basis. I'm not kidding. He can go 1-5 just like Grady, but at least we've got the threat of a shot block in the middle and less of a turnover risk.

Another player worth another look and little more playing time is Air Canada, Jevohn Shepherd. Shepherd was the only guy on Michigan's team that showed any aggression toward the basket, and went 2-2 inside, while bricking a three. He's got the quickness to take the ball off the dribble and the length to make things happen down low. To be fair, he's a lousy defender, but at least he's got the quickness and the balls to go to the basket, and that's what this team needs right now.

Finally, I've gotta give some props to Gibson. Gisbon had a decent game, and if Michigan's going to be able to compete in the Big Ten they're going to need a lot more out of their big man. Keep it coming Gibby.

As for the rest of the group, pray that 4 games in 10 days with limited practice time is truly the cause of Michigan's swoon. Otherwise that clunk you just heard was the other shoe dropping on what was once a promising season.

Stats after the jump...

Final - 1.20.2009	1	2	Total
Michigan Wolverines	22	36	58
Penn St. Nittany Lions	29	44	73

Complete Coverage >

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
DeShawn Sims, F	29	10-14	0-0	1-2	4	11	0	0	0	2	0	21
Zack Novak, G	28	1-4	0-3	4-4	2	2	1	0	0	1	3	6
Manny Harris, G	26	1-9	0-5	2-2	1	3	1	0	0	1	2	4
Laval Lucas-Perry, G	25	2-8	0-6	2-2	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	6
Kelvin Grady, G	23	1-5	1-5	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Stu Douglass, G	26	3-8	3-8	0-0	0	2	3	2	0	1	0	9
C.J. Lee, G	12	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
Anthony Wright, F	3	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Merritt, G	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
Jevohn Shepherd, F	9	2-3	0-0	0-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4
Eric Puls, C	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zack Gibson, F	11	2-3	1-1	0-2	0	3	0	0	1	0	4	5
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		22-56	5-30	9-13	7	24	9	3	1	9	17	58
		39.3%	16.7%	69.2%

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Jamelle Cornley, F	30	8-10	0-1	1-5	1	11	1	0	0	0	0	17
Jeff Brooks, F	19	1-3	0-2	0-0	1	4	1	0	0	1	2	2
Andrew Jones III, F	22	2-3	0-0	2-2	4	5	2	0	0	1	2	6
Stanley Pringle, G	31	5-12	2-2	0-0	1	6	1	4	0	2	3	12
Talor Battle, G	34	4-10	4-7	3-4	0	2	6	0	0	4	2	15
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Chris Babb, G	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Will Leiner, G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Jackson, F	19	1-3	0-1	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	2
Cammeron Woodyard, G	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Danny Morrissey, G	28	4-5	3-4	0-2	2	6	4	0	0	2	1	11
Andrew Ott, F	10	4-4	0-0	0-3	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	8
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		29-50	9-17	6-16	10	35	18	4	0	13	12	73
		58.0%	52.9%	37.5%

Michigan Basketball Routs Norfolk State 83-47, Prepares for Savannah State Before ACC/Big Ten Challenge Match-ups with Maryland and Duke

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:06:25 -0000

"We want to stay focused and play every game like it's a national championship game."

Just another reason why Manny Harris is the best thing to happen to Michigan Basketball since Glenn Rice was rainin' three's twenty years ago. Just like Rice, Harris led the way again with 16 points and 15 boards in Michigan's runaway victory over the Norfolk State Spartans Tuesday night.

Despite a cold start, Michigan ran away with Tuesday Night's game halfway through the first half. When all was said and done, Harris was just one of five Wolverines in double figures and the Wolverines had led by as many as 35 points in the blow out. Anthony Wright, Zack Novak, DeShawn Sims, and Air Canada himself Jevohn Shepherd all pitched in double digits.

Another encouraging sign was the play of the defense. Michigan held the Spartans to 30% shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers, including 7 steals. Equally important the Wolverines only turned the ball over twice. I'll repeat that. Equally important the Wolverines only turned the ball over twice. Wow. That mixed with stifling defense = awesome.

via detnews.com

If there are concerns, it's three point shooting. Anthony Wright posted double digit points but went 2-6 from three, and Stu Douglass went 2-5 from beyond the arc. Equally concerning is that Kelvin Grady hasn't seemed to find a shooting rhythm yet, going 1-4 from beyond the arc and only taking two shots inside it. These are, of course, minor nit picks in a blowout win. Wright shot 40% from the floor. Douglass was 3-7 overall. Grady dished a team high 5 assists.

Michigan is firing on all cylinders following its outstanding run in New York. They'll look to keep the momentum going on Saturday, November 29, 2008, when they welcome Savannah State to Crisler Arena for a 2pm tip off. Get your tickets here.

Momentum is going to be key over the next two weeks. Michigan travels to College Park, Maryland to take on the Terrapins on December 3rd in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. Then on Saturday, December 6th, the host Duke to close out the tournament.

While the UCLA win was a nice start to the season, Maryland will be the true measuring stick of how far this team has come and where it fits in the NCAAs, the NIT, and Big Ten. Maryland draws No. 5 ranked Michigan State in the Old Spice Classic on Thanksgiving Night. The Terps have started relatively strong on the season, going 3-0 and posting a blow-out exhibition win. The only oddity on the score sheet is a 89-74 overtime win over Vermont. It was a game Maryland probably should've lost before the Terp's Greivis Vasquez hit a three pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. The Terps then proceeded to run the holy hell out of the Catamounts, allowing only a single bucket in the extra session.

Maryland is also a lot like Michigan; they are really, really young. There is only one senior on the roster, a grand total of four upperclassmen, and nine underclassmen (6 sophomores and 3 freshmen). Like Michigan they're a bubble type team that will go as far as their best player and their coaches' abilities to get the most out of their young talent. Like Michigan, the Terps lean on a special player, Greivis Vasquez, whose name I challenge you to pronounce correctly on the first try. Vasquez is Maryland's unquestioned leader and most dangerous player. Vasquez is 6-6, shot 43% from the floor and posted 2nd team all ACC honors last year. Another thing to keep in mind, Vasquez is a member of the Venezuelan National Team and led the ACC in assists. If there's a better one-on-one match-up for Manny Harris, I can't find one. This guy will be a true test for Michigan's defense all by himself.

But it's not just one player, the Terps are getting balanced scoring out of their starting five. The Terps have four players averaging 10+ points on the season, and the fifth at 9 a game. Like all Gary Williams teams, this year's Terrapin squad shoots the ball well, with all five starters over 40% from the field. For more Maryland related info, check out SB Nation's outstanding Maryland site The Testudo Times and their Vermont wrap up.

So with that in mind, Savannah State will be a good tune up for the Terps and for a lurking Duke team that looks as good as it's No. 4 ranking. I expect the Terps to give Michigan State a fairly good run on Turkey Day, so watch it and take note of how they play the Spartans. The Maryland/Michigan matchup promises to be a great test for both young teams.

Go Blue!

Poll

How Are You Taking Michigan's Early Season Basketball Success?

It's nice, but it's too early to tell how the season will turn out.

54 votes

Really excited, this is a good team with a shot at post season play

41 votes

I'm thinkin' NIT easy.

12 votes

I'm thinkin' NCAA's!

35 votes

Woooooooooo! National Championship! Wooooooooooooo! All your trophies are belong to us! Wooooooooooooo!

7 votes

Still crying over football season. Will check on Basketball in February.

18 votes

It's anice start, but this team's still a few years away from the post season.

4 votes

I can't watch. I've been hurt too many times. They'll break my heart again.

4 votes

Basketball?

10 votes

185 votes | Poll has closed