Normally these scouting reports are relatively easy to write, but Michigan is a bit of a disaster at the moment, so let's see what I can come up with:
Normally Dug McDaniel would be the starting PG, but he's been suspended for road games in conference this season, so he won't be playing. That's great, because he's their best player, and their defense goes in the tank when he's out. In his place, we have Jaelin Llewellyn, 6th-year player formerly of Princeton. Llewellyn has had a history of injuries and was an afterthought this season up until McDaniel got suspended, and has been averaging 32mpg in away games. He is significantly inferior to McDaniel, as his assist-to-turnover ratio is nearly 1:2, however he is a very good 3-point shooter, at 42.5% in conference play. Despite being 6'2", he is only 45% on layups and an abysmal 14% on midrange shots.
In road games, his theoretical backup is the excellently-named George Washington, a freshman who has had very limited minutes except in blowout losses. Not much else to say about him.
Nimari Burnett is the other starting guard, a transfer from Alabama. He's probably their best all-around player - decent passer, doesn't turn the ball over, good defender, average three-point shooter. Generally though he's their last option on offense, but has had games where he's scored in bunches. On defense, he averages 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks per game.
Terrance Williams is the normal starter at SF, though he missed their last game against MSU due to illness. He has been their best player in conference play (which isn't saying that much), where he's been averaging 12.3 points/game, and has been a solid offensive rebounder and above-average 3-point shooter. Last year at W-R, he scored 7 points and grabbed 10 boards in Michigan's blowout win.
Olivier Nkamhoua was the normal starter at the Stretch 4, however he's out for the season due to surgery and won't be playing. A nice break for us, as he was their 2nd-best rebounder and shot-blocker while also being a decent passer and their best midrange shooter. This likely means we'll be seeing a lot of the cheese man, Will Tschetter. Tschetter has spent this season backing up both Williams and Nkamhoua, and has provided them with valuable depth in his 16mpg, shooting 48% from 3 on roughly 2 shots per game. He's also a good offensive rebounder, however his biggest issue this year has been fouling at an unsustainable rate, so we'll see how long he can stay on the court. Against Purdue he fouled out in 20 minutes and against MD he did it in 23. Last year against us he picked up 4 fouls and 2 turnovers in 10 minutes in the first game and didn't play in the second. Also last year, he started 7 conference games, but only averaged 1.8 points and 2.7 boards/game in 16mpg.
Lastly we have large Center Tarris Reed, a similarly-sized behemoth to our own Big Matt. Reed is one of the best rebounders in the conference, likely second behind Edey, and a top shot-blocker as well. Reed gets to the FT line a lot, but only shoots 67%. Offensively, he's decent at the rim though not elite, and if we can keep him out of the lane on offense, he shoots an abysmal 28% from midrange. He also struggles with turning the ball over, so if we choose to double him in the post, hopefully that trend continues. This year he's averaged 10.4 points, 7.8 boards and 1.7 blocks/game, though in the last 5 games that has gone up to 12.2 points, 9.6 boards and 2.8 blocks in 31mpg. Last year against us, he scored 6 points with 8 boards and 2 blocks in the first game as Hunter Dickinson's backup, but also had 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. In the second game, he was held to just 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 block with 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 11 minutes.
Reed's backup is 5th year graduate double-transfer Tray Jackson, who had two successful seasons at Seton Hall before coming back home for his final year. He has struggled this year though, posting career-lows in overall shooting percentage, 3pt%, FT%, offensive rebound% and turnover%. He theoretically has range from deep, shooting 41.7% from 3 at Seton Hall, but this year is only at 30%. He's a decent shot blocker and defensive rebounder.
As for who else might play...uh, it's hard to say. Jace Howard has missed the last 5 games with an illness, but played in 5 games before that, averaging 10mpg though being largely ineffective. Youssef Khayat is a 6'9" sophomore who's played in a handful of games and could likely see some minutes. The rest are a bunch of walk-ons.
That being said, this is NU basketball, and what seems like it should be a blowout may not turn out that way.
Don't sleep on the Wolverines.
Normally Dug McDaniel would be the starting PG, but he's been suspended for road games in conference this season, so he won't be playing. That's great, because he's their best player, and their defense goes in the tank when he's out. In his place, we have Jaelin Llewellyn, 6th-year player formerly of Princeton. Llewellyn has had a history of injuries and was an afterthought this season up until McDaniel got suspended, and has been averaging 32mpg in away games. He is significantly inferior to McDaniel, as his assist-to-turnover ratio is nearly 1:2, however he is a very good 3-point shooter, at 42.5% in conference play. Despite being 6'2", he is only 45% on layups and an abysmal 14% on midrange shots.
In road games, his theoretical backup is the excellently-named George Washington, a freshman who has had very limited minutes except in blowout losses. Not much else to say about him.
Nimari Burnett is the other starting guard, a transfer from Alabama. He's probably their best all-around player - decent passer, doesn't turn the ball over, good defender, average three-point shooter. Generally though he's their last option on offense, but has had games where he's scored in bunches. On defense, he averages 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks per game.
Terrance Williams is the normal starter at SF, though he missed their last game against MSU due to illness. He has been their best player in conference play (which isn't saying that much), where he's been averaging 12.3 points/game, and has been a solid offensive rebounder and above-average 3-point shooter. Last year at W-R, he scored 7 points and grabbed 10 boards in Michigan's blowout win.
Olivier Nkamhoua was the normal starter at the Stretch 4, however he's out for the season due to surgery and won't be playing. A nice break for us, as he was their 2nd-best rebounder and shot-blocker while also being a decent passer and their best midrange shooter. This likely means we'll be seeing a lot of the cheese man, Will Tschetter. Tschetter has spent this season backing up both Williams and Nkamhoua, and has provided them with valuable depth in his 16mpg, shooting 48% from 3 on roughly 2 shots per game. He's also a good offensive rebounder, however his biggest issue this year has been fouling at an unsustainable rate, so we'll see how long he can stay on the court. Against Purdue he fouled out in 20 minutes and against MD he did it in 23. Last year against us he picked up 4 fouls and 2 turnovers in 10 minutes in the first game and didn't play in the second. Also last year, he started 7 conference games, but only averaged 1.8 points and 2.7 boards/game in 16mpg.
Lastly we have large Center Tarris Reed, a similarly-sized behemoth to our own Big Matt. Reed is one of the best rebounders in the conference, likely second behind Edey, and a top shot-blocker as well. Reed gets to the FT line a lot, but only shoots 67%. Offensively, he's decent at the rim though not elite, and if we can keep him out of the lane on offense, he shoots an abysmal 28% from midrange. He also struggles with turning the ball over, so if we choose to double him in the post, hopefully that trend continues. This year he's averaged 10.4 points, 7.8 boards and 1.7 blocks/game, though in the last 5 games that has gone up to 12.2 points, 9.6 boards and 2.8 blocks in 31mpg. Last year against us, he scored 6 points with 8 boards and 2 blocks in the first game as Hunter Dickinson's backup, but also had 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. In the second game, he was held to just 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 block with 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 11 minutes.
Reed's backup is 5th year graduate double-transfer Tray Jackson, who had two successful seasons at Seton Hall before coming back home for his final year. He has struggled this year though, posting career-lows in overall shooting percentage, 3pt%, FT%, offensive rebound% and turnover%. He theoretically has range from deep, shooting 41.7% from 3 at Seton Hall, but this year is only at 30%. He's a decent shot blocker and defensive rebounder.
As for who else might play...uh, it's hard to say. Jace Howard has missed the last 5 games with an illness, but played in 5 games before that, averaging 10mpg though being largely ineffective. Youssef Khayat is a 6'9" sophomore who's played in a handful of games and could likely see some minutes. The rest are a bunch of walk-ons.
That being said, this is NU basketball, and what seems like it should be a blowout may not turn out that way.
Don't sleep on the Wolverines.
