Dusty May's feedback after Michigan season-opening win, Sam Walters' quick release, more
Michigan Wolverines basketball sophomore forward Sam Walters is a sharpshooter. The Alabama transfer started off hot, going 2-of-3 from three-point range in a 101-53 season-opening victory over Cleveland State. He went 6-of-12 from long range in two exhibition games and shot 39.4 percent on 99 attempts with the Crimson Tide last season.
His shot is hard to contest, with his quick trigger and height at 6-foot-10 both being major factors.
“I’ve had a bunch of different jump shots in the past, so I used to have a no-dip three, which is like super fast,” Walters noted. “I have different ways of shooting. I know, especially when I got to college, guys kinda know what my role is, so they’ll close out pretty hard. So I gotta get my shot off fast. It’s kinda always something I’ve worked on.”
Michigan had two exhibitions against mid-majors in Oakland and Toledo and the opener versus a Horizon League opponent. Now, it’ll play a high-major, set to square off with Wake Forest — which was picked to finish third in the ACC — Sunday in Greensboro, N.C.
“They’re really exciting,” Walters said of early-season tests against high-major opponents. “Wake Forest is a good team, they were good last year and they’re projected to be good this year. I think it’s gonna be a good test for us early in the season to show where we are. I think it’s good to have the film against a really good team to see what we can build and what we can continue to keep doing better.
“I’m really excited. They have some really good players. My former teammate [guard Davin Cosby] is there, as well, so I’m excited to play against the guys that I know and a really good team. I think it’s gonna be a good test for us, especially early in the season to play a good team in their home state.
“They got really good bigs. I think they’re pretty good defensively. And they’ve got some really good guards. They can shoot the ball really well. They have good depth, as well. So I’m really excited to see how we play against them.”
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Michigan’s opener against Cleveland State was nearly flawless, and head coach Dusty May gave the team props, even though there are areas to work on moving forward.
“He was happy about the way we played, but he also preached that we did what we were supposed to do,” the Michigan forward said. “We’re confident about who we are as a team, even though we respect our opponent, we’re confident in who we are as a team and we did what we set out to do. We’re happy for 24 hours and then just move on to the next, because we have a big test coming up.
“He was happy, but just preached for us to move on to the next one.”
The Wolverines allowed Cleveland State to grab 20 offensive rebounds (44.4 percent of missed shots). They also turned the ball over 16 times.
“Not giving up as many offensive rebounds and continuing to build our defensive consistency every game,” Walters said of Michigan’s next step. “That’s one of our main points of emphasis is just being a good defensive team, building our identity and then continue to flow on offense, play fast and continue to build our principles.”
