The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/201975
McGary thinks he can. Either way, assistant coach Bacari Alexander insists, the rookie who shone so brightly as a freshman should be a force this year. "His ability to pass the basketball, his ability to on-deck the basketball, and his size that gives him the ability to post smaller defenders," Alexander pointed out. "Close to 70 percent of our opponents last season used a guardtype stretch four in their four-guard, one-big offensive schemes. We can take advantage of that by using Mitch's size to post him. "With teams that use a traditional four man, we can use Mitch McGary's quickness and explosiveness to create leverage plays for him, to draw defenders and make teammates better. There is a multitude of things we can do. Coach Beilein has plenty of choices on how he wants to use his tool box in the front court." In McGary's absence, a healthy Horford has shown he can do plenty, not only with defense, rebounding and intimidating potential shooters, but also running the floor in a way that opens up other possibilities. "Jon possesses the ability to be one of the best running big men in the country," Alexander said. "He has the ability to use his length to alter or block shots. His shooting range gives him the opportunity to stretch a defense in pick-and-pop scenarios or transition, drag screens if you will. "Jon has really demonstrated a multi-faceted approach to his arsenal that we're excited about, and I hope he gets the opportunity to display that this year." Injuries have held Horford back the past couple of years, and the same could be said for Bielfeldt, but both are healthy this fall. The rugged redshirt sophomore knows how good that feels. "The uncertainty of your health is one of the worst things to have," he said. "Going into a season and knowing I feel good, I can fight for my spot, I can do all the things I need to do without pushing myself too hard and being held back by physical issues is really a comforting feeling." "Max Bielfeldt has a bruising physique that is Big Ten ready," Alexander observed. "But what complements that strength and size is his ability to make threes. He has demonstrated through the preseason the ability to make threes at a high clip. We're hoping he can continue to do that, which could give us the opportunity from time to time to have a Pittsnogle-eque effect in Coach Beilein's system. "Max is also an underrated defensive rebounder, who has the ability to carve out space and secure caroms, which will ignite our fast break. He'll play a supplemental role, and can expand that role through the consistency he's able to display in the minutes he earns." Whether Bielfeldt conjures up any flashbacks to when Beilein coached multi-faceted big man Kevin Pittsnogle at West Virginia remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Morgan has already demonstrated a team-mindedness that played into the NCAA Tournament chemistry. After a severe ankle injury during