The evening started with the pre-game warm-ups and if Saturday night was any
indication of what’s to come, I expect a lot of Michigan fans to get to
their seats a bit early once the season starts. There were a few rim-rattling
displays put on by Courtney Sims and Dion Harris, but the award for best aerial
demonstration obviously has to go to none other than Brent Petway. My talk of
his high-flying antics must sound like a broken record by now, but it’s
hard not to marvel at his above the rim ability. There probably isn’t
a dunk this young man CAN’T do. He broke most of them out last night.
Reverses, windmills, tomahawks…you name it and he did it. On every occasion
there was a gasp of disbelief from the 5000 on hand. It was truly a treat to
watch.
|
|
|
Courtney Sims |
Dion Harris |
Brent Petway |
click to enlarge |
click to enlarge |
click to enlarge |
The evening started with the pre-game warm-ups and if Saturday night was any
indication of what’s to come, I expect a lot of Michigan fans to get to
their seats a bit early once the season starts. There were a few rim-rattling
displays put on by Courtney Sims and Dion Harris, but the award for best aerial
demonstration obviously has to go to none other than Brent Petway. My talk of
his high-flying antics must sound like a broken record by now, but it’s
hard not to marvel at his above the rim ability. There probably isn’t
a dunk this young man CAN’T do. He broke most of them out last night.
Reverses, windmills, tomahawks…you name it and he did it. On every occasion
there was a gasp of disbelief from the 5000 on hand. It was truly a treat to
watch.
|
Coach Ramsey |
click to enlarge |
The team was split into two squads; one maize and one blue. The maize squad,
coached by Coach Ramsey, consisted of Daniel Horton, Dion Harris, Lester Abram,
JC Mathis, Chris Hunter, Amadou Ba, and Colin Dill. The blue squad, coached
by Coach Swenson, consisted of Dani Wohl, Sherrod Harrell, Bernard Robinson
Jr., Courtney Sims, Graham Brown, Brent Petway, and John Andrews. The Blue team
took the opening tip when Courtney Sims out leaped Chris Hunter at mid court
and they quickly scored two points on a nice post move by Graham Brown. Those,
however, were the only points that Coach Swenson's blue team would score for
quite a while.
|
#5 Dion Harris drops a nice
pass to Chris Hunter for 2! |
click to enlarge |
What makes Dion Harris so special is the fact that he is highly skilled in
all areas of the game. He can handle the rock, hecanshoot it, he can pass, and
he can defend. Because he doesn’t always score points by the boatload,
the entirety of his contribution can sometimes be overlooked. However, Mr. Harris
is going to fill up a stat sheet. He makes the other players on the court around
him better. The first points of the game for the Maize team came when Dion made
a lefty drive into the lane and kicked it back to the right baseline when the
defense committed to stopping him. JC Mathis received the pass and went up with
the reverse for the deuce. For the maize team’s next basket Dion scooped
a loose ball out of the air and found a cutting Lester Abram for an easy score.
They got out to a 6-2 lead before the first break at about the 15-minute mark.
However, Dion came back out on the floor and extended the lead to 9-2 with a
sweet looking jumper from beyond the arc. Coach Ramsey has referred to Dion
as “Old School” in prior conversations, and the young man’s
performance last evening was certainly deserving of that moniker. He finished
the game with 8 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound. Dion, however, wasn’t
the only player that turned in a good all around effort.
|
Daniel Horton nails the 3! |
click to enlarge |
Daniel Horton was the recipient of one of Dion’s assists and matched
freshman’s tre’ with a three pointer of his own for his first points
of the game. That jumper extended the maize team’s lead to eight at 12-4.
Unlike last year when, Daniel had to look for his shot the majority of times
down the court, he was much more focused on getting the offense set up and distributing
the ball to his teammates. Daniel returned Dion's favor on a fast break when
he hit Harris with a perfect pass that allowed Dion to drive down the lane and
put up a righty scoop after shielding the defender with his body. Danny finished
the night with 7 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. He was also stellar on the
defensive end notching 1 block and 1 steal.
|
Bernard Robinson Jr. |
click to enlarge |
With Dion and Daniel dropping the tag team on his squad, Bernard Robinson Jr.
decided to really assert himself. Dani Wohl ran the point for the blue squad,
but when they got down Bernard took control of the ball. He scored four quick
points off a jumper and a leaner in the lane to cut the lead to 15-9 (aided by
a 3 pointer from John Andrews). That inside outside versatility was par for the
course all evening for the senior forward. He showed a more consistent stroke
all summer and continued to do so in the scrimmage. Despite his efforts he couldn’t
get the blue back in the game alone. He had help from one Michigan’s other
big time freshman…Courtney Sims.
|
Courtney Sims takes it up strong! |
click to enlarge |
Sims had a rough go of it early, getting three of his shots blocked
and being called for a travel. However, during a stretch near the midway point
he scored 6 of the blue team’s eight points over a two-minute period to
cut the lead to one point at 20-19. He showed outstanding moves in the post
and also displayed very nice touch. He and Bernard really fed off one another.
The blue team took it’s first lead since the opening score of the game
when Bernard nailed a three from the left elbow (toward the south goal) to go
up 24-23. Bernard finished with 14 points to lead all scorers and Courtney finished
with 6, but they couldn’t hold off a comeback by Coach Ramsey’s
maize squad and eventually lost a very close game, 36-35. (To view the full boxscore, click here.)
Other observations:
JC Mathis is really going to help the team. He has underrated offensive skills
was very effective driving to the basket. He has a nice face up game that will
become even more effective if/when he develops a more consistent jumper from
15 feet. While, he’s not a guy that can jump out of the gym, he utilizes
great positioning down low to grab a lot of boards.
John Andrews is a testament to the health of this program. This is surely a
kid that could be a scholarship player at one of the MAC schools in the state
(or at Harvard, which is where his scholastic record allowed him to be accepted
to), but this staff was able to get this young man to walk on at Michigan. At
6’5” 211 pounds he’s playing wing for the first time and possesses
a very nice stroke from deep. However, he’s going to have to work on his
handles to become a player that can see time in the lineup somewhere down the
line in his career.
Graham Brown looks like he is in the best shape of his life. It is obvious
that his offensive moves have benefited from his summer competing against some
of the world’s top collegiate players. He’ll be a fixture in the
post throughout the season.
Brent Petway is an overwhelming athlete! The young man is simply amazing! That
being said, don’t make the expectations for him too high. He’ll
electrify a lot of breaks during the season, but it will be a year or two before
he’s a consistent double-digit scorer. He has a ton of raw skill, but
Tommy and his staff are going to have to bring the rest of his game along. His
jumper is better, he has packed on a few pounds, and he’s improving his
dribbling skills…. but he’s still a work in progress. Therefor,
tempered expectations would be the best advice. Still…I’m sure that
he’s going to bring the crowd to its feet on more than one occasion this
year.
Both Brandon Wright and Chris Douglas-Roberts (along with the Cass Tech staff)
made it in for their unofficial visits and looked to be having a good time.
Wright is bigger than I expected. He’s a legit 6’9” and weighs
in currently at 193lbs. Chris has grown since the summer and looks close to
6’6”. If he is able to continue to add muscle to his frame, the
young man could be VERY VERY good! It’s apparent that the way Michigan
uses the 1, 2, and 3 (and allows them to all handle the ball) is going to be
quite beneficial in his recruitment. I’ll have more on these prospects
in the coming days.
(Brandon Wright on the left and Chris Douglas
Roberts to the right)
