Newsstand: Michigan basketball one of nation's top defensive teams over last five years
Tweets Of The Day
One of the reasons why it was so disappointing Michigan Wolverines basketball struggled on defense last season was because it’s been such a good team on that end of the floor in other recent years. According to Hoop Power Analytics, which did its calculations based on Kenpom’s efficiency ratings, Michigan has been the third-best defensive team in the country over the last five seasons.
Michigan slotted 74th nationally in defensive efficiency last season, its worst mark since 2015-16 — when it was also a bubble team and actually barely made the NCAA Tournament, appearing in the First Four and ranked 92nd on defense.
In the four years prior to the 2021-22 campaign, Michigan checked in third, second, 28th and fourth, respectively. Ranking third in the five-year span is even more impressive considering the Wolverines were 74th last season.
Michigan’s emergence as a defensive power coincided with a shift in mentality by former head coach John Beilein, who brought in a pair of defensive coordinators in Billy Donlon (2016-17) and Luke Yaklich (2018-19). In unprecedented fashion, the head coach delegated the defense to those assistants, letting them be the primary voice for the players to listen to. It appears the move paid off, and head coach Juwan Howard has done well on that end for the most part, too.
Five Michigan teams posted perfect multiyear scores in the latest APR report. The Wolverines also had 20 teams perfect in 2020-21. The five squads to post perfect multiyear scores are: Men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s gymnastics, softball and women’s tennis.
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Michigan basketball sophomore guard/forward Isaiah Barnes joined host Brian Boesch on the Defend The Block podcast to discuss his redshirt season last year and his expectations for this coming winter. By all accounts, Barnes took not playing much last season in stride, with a positive attitude resembling a growth mindset.
“Watching from the sideline is kind of like watching film,” the Michigan guard/forward explained on the podcast. “You’re sitting by all of the guys, and they see certain things that are going on, and they point out what you’re not supposed to do, ‘Oh, what is he doing? He’s not supposed to be there. He’s not in his right spot.’ Stuff like that, you hear it from a different view.
“When you’re in a game, it’s not really the same thing because you’re in it and you may not see everything. Now, when we watch film, it’s stuff that I already saw from watching it from the sideline. Now, that’s going to translate to when I get on the court. I watched our guys play in our system for a whole season, so I know what we’re looking for and what we’re trying to do and not trying to do, all that.”
Quote Of The Day
“The coaching staff is kind of giving me the keys to go out there and be extremely aggressive and hunt my shot.”
Former Michigan guard and current Golden State Warriors standout Jordan Poole, who scored 14 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, helping his team gain a 3-2 lead over the Boston Celtics
Headlines Of The Day
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 81 days until 2022 season
• Kyle Terwilleger, MGoBlue: James Henry Retiring after 42 Years as Michigan Track and Field Coach
