The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/447116
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL has really worked hard to establish, defensively, trust with our coaching staff and his teammates. He's always been able to make shots. We feel much more comfortable, and confident, in the growth he's made on the defensive end." The Wolverine: Freshman forward Ricky Doyle is playing close to 20 minutes a game. Can you talk about his production so far? Meyer: "One of the things we really value is his passion. We've seen that from time to time, and we're looking at establishing a consistency. He's shown flashes of being very, very engaged and passionate as a player on the court, kind of in the mold of a Mitch McGary, energy-wise. "On the road at Penn State, his competitive passion for the game was very evident in timeouts, in huddles. For us as a coaching staff, that was really en- couraging. "Ricky continues to work with Coach [Bacari] Alexander and Coach [John] Beilein on his ability to score one-on-one. What we're striving for is to demand double coverage. Once you get teams collapsing on him, that's going to open up other scoring opportunities for teammates. "His big challenge early on was staying out of foul trouble. That is certainly an area of growth, the last two to three games. Teams have tried to go at him, whether it's Purdue or Penn State. He's done a really good job of moving his feet and winning battles for low-post position. It's kept him out of foul trouble and kept him on the court." The Wolverine: After the Purdue loss, Beilein appeared to challenge this team in terms of toughness. What are your thoughts in that area? Meyer: "We certainly learned a valuable lesson at Purdue. We saw the nature of the Big Ten on the road, particularly when you've got a team with a low-post presence and physicality. You've got to have a more physical mindset. "I always say this: you can be physical without being tough, but you cannot be tough without being physical. Our kids are learning that on the fly. They learned that lesson at Purdue and were able to use that in a positive way on the road at Penn State. The Wolverine: What can this team improve on most over the next month to get where you want to be? Meyer: "Being able to stay connected offensively. There are times we get anxious, not value possessions as we have a need to, in terms of shot selection. A lot of that is just staying connected and continuing to play well together. "That also applied to the defensive end. We need to communicate better. The whole idea of eliminating easy points — in transition, second shots, keeping teams off the free throw line … those are all areas of concern for us defensively. "The challenge for us is making that a priority, and staying connected in terms of eliminating those easy points." — John Borton