The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/447116
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Sitting Down With Assistant Coach Jeff Meyer Michigan basketball coaches knew this would be a year for growth and quick adjustments to college life and basketball by a host of rookies seeing time on the court. Veteran assistant coach Jeff Meyer spoke with The Wol- verine about that process thus far. The Wolverine: What are the essen- tials in bringing along a young team throughout the course of the season? Meyer: "Young teams are striving to improve, and the challenge is consis- tency. In coaching young teams, not only this year but in years past, you're working daily to try to establish some consistency in your core areas. " That begins with your defensive principles, being able to eliminate easy points for your opponents. That comes with experience. Establishing those principles, collectively, is a challenge. "Offensively, as you've seen with our team this year, it's consistency in valu- ing possessions. You can look at our turnovers, game to game. Some games it's really positive, and other games not so positive. That's always a challenge for young teams. "It's the same with shot selection. It's a work in progress, with younger teams, to establish consistency with what is a good shot, and a good shot for our team? That's relative to skill set, time on the clock, and other factors." The Wolverine: What has allowed freshman forward Aubrey Dawkins to see more minutes as the season goes along? Meyer: "It's those two areas I just identified. Defensively, he has a much bet- ter grasp of our switching patterns, and he's much more connected, day in and day out, in practice with that core group defensively. There is communication, the right position on the court in terms of off-the-ball help defensive coverage. "We strive to develop absolutes — stance, position, vision and communica- tion. But when you put actions into the equation, whether it's ball-screen ac- tions or multiple off-the-ball screening actions, young players have a harder time with being able to effectively defend, and stay connected, in real time. "The speed of the game is an issue. Physicality is an issue. Aubrey, in particular, Meyer (right) said the biggest challenge facing the youth‑laden Wolverines is achieving consistency on both ends of the court. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN