Will Michigan freshman guards, including Phat Phat Brooks, see more action? 'They played good basketball'
Michigan freshman L.J. Cason saw 17 minutes of action against Illinois and was joined on the floor by classmates and fellow guards Justin Pippen and Phat Phat Brooks for the final few minutes of the blowout loss.
Pippen grabbed 2 offensive boards, drew 3 fouls and made all 6 of his free throw attempts. Brooks, meanwhile, tapped out an offensive rebound to graduate guard Rubin Jones, which led to a Cason three-pointer, and also finished a layup and made an and-one free throw.
Those late-game performances may lead to more minutes for Michigan’s freshman trio down the stretfch.
“We need to trust our bench a little bit more,” May said. “I was very happy with the way those young guys came in and played the last five minutes of yesterday’s game. They played good basketball. They showed an ability to trust each other and try to do the right thing.
“I thought our freshmen came in — Phat Phat, Pipp and L.J. — with about five minutes to go, and I thought they played team basketball. I thought they were working together, they weren’t trying to do it themselves and I thought for a couple minutes those guys showed a glimmer of what can be when we get back to reconnecting and get back to really, really trying to function as a group.”
Michigan was dominated in the rebounding department against Illinois, allowing 19 offensive boards for 30 second-chance points. The Wolverines kept battling until the end, though, not giving up.
“Competition, this game, exposes who we are, in a good way or bad way,” May said. “And I thought those guys, until the very end, played with great character. And even when things weren’t going well with seven or eight minutes to go, I think our guys were determined to fix the block out issues, but then they became block out fouls. So, then you’re splitting hairs, where we’re doing what we ask you to do, but because they’ve gotten so many of them, then they get the benefit of the doubt on those calls.
“But once again, that shows basketball character, that you’re trying to fix an issue that reared its ugly head.”
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No decision yet on starting Rubin Jones or bringing him off the bench
Pippen has been in the rotation the majority of the Big Ten season, and Cason is emerging as a mainstay in the lineup, playing 14, 26 and 17 minutes in the last three games, respectively. Brooks, though, hadn’t seen the floor since Dec. 29 and has only appeared in 11 contests all season. If he earns a role going forward, that would mark quite the switch-up.
One Michigan guard who’s almost certainly going to play more minutes in the near future is Jones, who missed two games with an illness that caused him to lose 10 pounds. He returned Sunday against Illinois but wasn’t 100 percent, playing only 13 minutes off the bench.
“We need to see Rubin today. We need to see Rubin tomorrow,” May said after being asked if Jones was going to be back in the starting lineup. “I mean, last I’d heard, two days before he got back, he had lost over 10 pounds. And we appreciate him trying to play [Sunday] and giving it his all.
“We haven’t talked about what lineups. We’re probably gonna tweak some things, but we haven’t made that decision yet.”
Michigan has already had a shortened bench, and that could’ve led to some tired legs playing in the team’s fourth game in a nine-day stretch. Sophomore forward Sam Walters has missed the last six outings with a back injury, and May didn’t provide an update on his timeline, only saying he’s going to “defer to the training staff.”
