The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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percent shooting overall (33 of 48) in showing an ability to get to the rim and knock down the midrange jumper. "We were so encouraged with his mindset," Meyer said. "He started by shooting the ball very well, but in the third and fourth games he still got to 20 points, but made only three addi- tional threes. He began to drive the ball to the basket. "His mindset of having a balance between shooting the three, which he did so well last year, and adding to it the ability to drive the ball on the half- court when he had space and finish the basketball … There was one play in particular where he rebounded the basketball and went coast to coast to finish, which he wouldn't have done a year ago. And he did it with tremen- dous presence and confidence." And Irvin might not even be scoring option No. 1 when the season begins. Junior shooting guard Caris LeVert, coming off foot surgery, averaged 14.3 points to finish second in scoring in Italy, while sophomore point guard Derrick Walton Jr. played set-up man throughout most of the four games, averaging 7.5 points and 3.3 assists per contest. "I can't say that Caris is 100 per- cent," Meyer said. "But when we needed buckets, he could go get it. He's got that gift. We know we've got a special player. He's just very, very good. "I think he missed the rep time he did not get in May and June. He's locked in right now, getting that now on his own. I'm sure by the time we get ready in October to go at it 20 hours a week preparing for the sea- son, his legs will be back and he will be back in great rhythm." Walton, meanwhile, was a bit pas- sive offensively in the first game, Meyer noted, and was challenged by Beilein to be more aggressive with the ball. He picked it up a bit in game two, but he really flourished in games three and four. When the Wolverines fell behind for the first time, in the second half against Mantova, Walton and Irvin made critical stops that led to transi- tion finishes and a stretch that helped U-M pull away. "That's something I know coaches want to see him do more, be more aggressive and look for his shot a little more," junior point guard Spike Albrecht said. "I tell him all the time, too, in transition, that's where he's at his best — go make plays in transition. "That's what he did in Italy. He was more aggressive, and that will have to be his mentality in the season, know- ing we lost a few guys and are going to need more production from him. "I'm excited. I think he's going to have a really, really good year for us." Albrecht (5.0 points, 2.5 assists in four games) largely took a backseat to a crop of heralded freshmen, but when his team needed him against Mantova, he did what he's done for two seasons already — he stepped up, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shoot- ing after contributing just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in the first three games. The veterans led the way when it mattered, with Irvin scoring 16, LeVert chipping in with 15 and Walton tallying 14 in the finale. Albrecht and LeVert were also out