Last week I introduced this weekly column that aims to expand on weekly trends for the basketball team relative to season expectations or progression/regression as compared to prior weeks. In short, you can use this analysis as sort of a stock report for the hoops squad in terms of individual + team performance, sets and lineups. THREE UP Dickinson + Diabate.....together. Off-season chatter focused on potential spacing issues with a Hunter/Moussa tandem at the same time. While that concern has some validity, most failed to account for the other end of the court. The possession below against UNLV reflects the peak of this combination. Diabate's size/length/combination wreaks havoc defensively on the perimeter or the paint, while using high-low sets alleviates the spacing concerns offensively.
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To put this lineup into perspective, Michigan was a +13 against UNLV with Hunter/Moussa sharing the court and a net zero when they did not. Juwan Howard isn't getting much offense from the Houstan/Johns/Williams trio, so this is absolutely worth exploring when considering the massive upgrade Diabate gives you defensively.
DeVante Jones' playmaking. The transfer PG has experienced ups and downs (more about that later), but I think folks are really underestimating how good he's been as an on-ball shot-creator. He's averaging 4.6 assists per game with a 30.5(!) assist rate so far.
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He's been superb in ballscreens as a playmaker for others, hitting Dickinson/Diabate on short-rolls + rim-runs for easy baskets. He's also starting to flash the floater that was a big part of his scoring package at Coastal Carolina. The Wolverines desperately need him on the court for 32-35 minutes per game right now because his playmaking allows Eli Brooks to be utilized as a floor-spacing shooter.
Moussa Diabate's ability to stretch the floor. Slim pickings for this week, but Diabate has now hit jumpers in from 18-21 feet in two consecutive games. As I mentioned in my Hello Post, Moussa flashed as a perimeter shotmaker at IMG so this is no surprise to me.
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If Moussa can start hitting the occasional shot from distance, it really unlocks this team's potential from an offensive standpoint. Diabate gives you much more defensively than any of the Johns/Houstan/Williams trio, so if he's hitting outside jumpers at even an adequate clip, he simply has to play close to 30 minutes a night to optimize this team. [AFTER THE JUMP, treys down]