ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – John Beilein knew he had a young team, and with his system the learning curve can be steep. The realities of that were driven home by this weekend, especially Saturday’s 65-56 loss to UTEP that saw them struggle in the second half against an athletic team.
The Wolverines were out-played in the first half, but managed to go into the locker room tied at 29. They shot just 36 percent from the field, but had just five turnovers and got to the line enough to be in that position. But in the second half, UTEP had all the energy and didn’t let Michigan get many second shots, winning the rebounding battle 40-31. Leading scorer Tim Hardaway, Jr. never got untracked, scoring just six points on 1-8 shooting.
Michigan never got going shooting the ball from long range. Leading shooter Stu Douglass was 2-7, while Evan Smotrycz was 1-3 in just 10 minutes, and Hardaway was 0-5 from deep. Big man Blake McLimans missed all four of his shots from behind the arc as well. Rarely did they get a good look, and that was evidence that this team has a ways to go in Beilein’s system.
“We have a young team that has a long way to go. They will get better, they want to get better,” said Beilein. “We don’t necessarily have the quickness that we needed to take away some of the things that they did to us tonight. So we need to be better fakers, better passers, deceive people a little bit more.”
All of those things are basketball fundamentals. That the Wolverines need to get better at them means there may be some un-teaching that Beilein has to do based on habits formed at earlier levels of play. They aren’t lacking athleticism, but were up against a superior team in that category on Saturday and it won’t be the last time that happens.
The young Wolverines got an idea of where they stand this weekend, as Syracuse and UTEP were by a good margin the two best teams they have played. The games were also the first ones away from Ann Arbor, adding to the test at hand for them. The good news is that they were in both games, losing a one-possession game to Syracuse the night before. The bad news is they lost both games, and they were against teams closer to the level of talent they will see in the Big Ten than any of the first three teams they played and defeated by an average of 24 points.
“That length and that speed, we had not seen,” Beilein said. “We hadn’t seen that in any other games that we had played. It was the first time we had seen it, and whether it was a backdoor cut, a dribble drive or a pass to the outside hand, we had to learn through that.”
The Wolverines were also out-rebounded in both games after posting a double-digit rebounding edge through the first three games. This happened against a UTEP team that had been out-rebounded by five per game entering Saturday night and figures to have issues in that area all season long. It’s not a surprise that Michigan didn’t score much in the paint, considering the emphasis on shooting in Beilein’s system, but the 42-12 edge UTEP had in points in the paint doesn’t speak well of the Wolverine defense.
But with the youth, this is to be expected to some degree. This team isn’t lacking talent. Darius Morris leads the team in scoring and assists and is probably the most talented player. Hardaway needs to get stronger but has shown his scoring ability thus far. Smotrycz fits this offense perfectly and has made an immediate impact. Jordan Morgan could be a nice inside player, and Douglass is shooting well in a reserve role.
It all has Beilein hoping there is a way to change the learning curve. He has no questions about the team wanting to get better.
“It’s a team that we’ve got to watch grow, and push through the rough times,” Beilein said. “I’m an avid film-watcher, and we will break this down for these guys, and say, ‘What is the best way to spike the learning curve from what we saw this week?'”
He will no doubt want to do that soon, because it doesn’t get easier. A road game at Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge is up next, then Harvard visits. After a few more home games, Big Ten play starts before the calendar turns to 2011.
The Wolverines now have an idea of where they stand after this weekend, having played the two toughest teams on their early schedule. It’s clear that this young team has work to do, and Beilein is sure to get right to it.
