The maturation of this Michigan basketball team was very apparent this summer.
In the absence of Daniel Horton for much of the summer (whom was gone with USA
basketball) the other players on the team learned to become more comfortable
with playing bigger rolls on the floor. While it certainly was exciting to see
them develop that trait, the question of whether or not they would still depend
on Horton to carry them offensively still remained. Friday night versus the
Oakland Grizzlies, that experience proved very valuable. On a night when Daniel
Horton wasn’t on top of his game, a number of his teammates stepped to
the forefront to propel Michigan to an 84-58 blowout!
Early in the game, Michigan’s low post players made their presence felt
in the paint on both ends of the court. Courtney Sims started out very strong,
crashing the boards on the offensive end for Michigan’s first points (as
well as the first points of his career) and rejecting an Oakland shot on the
other end (his first of 6!). While both Sims and Chris Hunter did outstanding
jobs of altering shots down low, their high post passing skills proved to be
just as impressive. They were key in triggering many of the Wolverines early
points. On Michigan’s two subsequent possessions, Sims hit Hunter with
a nice entry pass down low for a dunk and Hunter hit Robinson with a perfect
bounce pass on his basket cut for the easy “and-1”. Oakland kept
pace with the Wolverines and were only down 1 point (7-6) when Dion Harris entered
the game for Daniel Horton (who was in foul trouble) at 15:24.
Dion came off the bench and immediately sparked the offense, nailing a three
to put Michigan up 10-6. That was the first of many big plays for last year’s
Mr. Basketball…, all of which had his coach claiming that his young star
is playing beyond his years. “Certainly Dion Harris’ play was as
solid as you could ask of any player, regardless of this being his first performance
or his being a freshman,” Amaker said. “Dion doesn’t play
like a freshman.” The Grizzlies tied the game again a short time later,
after which the Wolverines went on their first big run of the night. In a contest
that can ultimately be described as a series of runs, Michigan scored 11 straight
points over three minutes to get out to a 21-10 lead. Oakland came back with
7 straight points of their own to cut the margin to 4 with 9:43 to go in the
first half. Senior Bernard Robinson Jr. stopped Michigan’s scoring drought
when he went up the left baseline and converted on an acrobatic double clutch
shot followed by an easy deuce off of a nice bounce pass (from Dion) to make
it 25-17. The Grizzlies, however, just would not go away. They tied the score
twice more... at 27 with 6:32 remaining and then at 31 with 4:15 remaining.
That’s when Mr. Reliable, Lester Abram, took over and led Michigan on
their most important run of the night.
Dion Harris, who once again played outstanding game from the point guard position
(9 points and 5 assists in the first half) flew up court on the break, evaded
defenders with a right-to-left behind the back dribble at mid-court, and then
found Lester wide open for a 3-pointer to give the Maize and Blue 34-31 lead.
Lester would be responsible for the Wolverines next 4 points …and 6 of
their next 11 to key a 14-3 run. Coach Amaker has begun to expect such performances
from his unassuming star. “You can count on him,” Amaker said. “That’s
the way he has been. We’re very fortunate to have him because he’s
very consistent, very reliable, and quietly does his job a workman-like manner.”
Abram matched Robinson Jr’s first half offensive output at 13, and helped
send Michigan into halftime with a 45-34 lead
Lester came out of the lockerroom and scored the first two points of an 8-0
run, which was capped off by two huge dunks from Chris Hunter. After that outburst,
and despite their best efforts, the Grizzlies wouldn’t get any closer
than 16 points. The defensive intensity was present in the first half, but it
was even greater in the second stanza. The combination of Robinson Jr., Abram,
and Harris frustrated Oakland scoring machine Mike Helms, holding him to 15
points on only 6/17 shooting. Coach Amaker indicated that his team really focused
on hindering Helms’ scoring chances. “We talked about trying to
make him a 2-point scorer, not letting him get open threes, and even fouling
him to put him on free throw line,” Amaker said. “We were hoping
to make it very difficult for him off the dribble for two-point shots. I also
thought our guys were really unselfish to put their bodies on the line to take
charges.” Helms eventually fouled out on an offensive charge with a little
over 9 minutes remaining. The Wolverines were up 70-51 at that point and expanded
their lead to 28 points late in the game before winning 26. Coach Amaker was
very encouraged by his team’s performance. “I thought our kids really
responded. I thought our energy and maybe even our depth wore them down. We
didn’t have a great performance out of Horton, so for us to be able to
have this kind of game without him playing up to his best says a lot about the
potential of our team right now.”
On the evening Michigan was led by Bernard Robinson Jr. (who had another outstanding
floor game), with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals… Lester
Abram with 19 points and 3 rebounds… and 15 points and 6 assists from
Dion Harris. For the entire boxscore, please click here.
Other Notables:
A few New York Yankees sat courtside to take in the game. We recognized Derek
Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Jason Giambi.
Dion Harris continues to prove that he can handle significant minutes at he
point guard slot with another strong assist game (6).
For more game links from mgoblue.com, click below:
Event
Recap
Quotes
Postgame
Notes
It was a strong recruiting evening as most of the top Detroit area programs
and coaches were in the house.
-Durand “Speedy” Walker of The Family.
-Coach Nate Oats, Ronald Coleman, Jerret Smith, and the rest of the Romulus
squad
-Cass Tech Coach Robert Shannon and Chris Douglas Roberts
-Coach Derrick McDowell, Jamal Locke, Brandon Wolfe and the rest of the Detroit
Redford squad
-Detroit King’s Ramar Smith (along with a host of teammates)
-Pershing Basketball Team - (Jabari Currie and Deshawn Simms were reportedly
in the house, though I did not spot them personally.