The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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and soul of Michigan's 2014 run to the cusp of the Final Four. "You have guys now who, even before the injuries, were probably going to be maybe third or fourth op- tions, who are now having to be the primary option," Morris said. "Now Zak Irvin has to be the primary scor- ing option. He's getting better off the dribble, but he's far better when there is someone who can get in there and create, like a LeVert or a Derrick Walton could. "Everyone right now is having to play maybe a level or two above their pay grade, in terms of what was expected of them coming into the season." Michigan has g i v e n r i s e t o high-level player d e v e l o p m e n t over the past few s e a s o n s , M o r - ris underscored. S t a u s k a s a n d Trey Burke are prime examples of those a cut below top-rated recruits who became the Big Ten Player of the Year, and in Burke's case the con- sensus National Player of the Year, and earned the opportunity to play professionally after only two seasons of college basketball. The present crop of Michigan sophomores and freshmen won't necessarily turn out like those two, Morris noted. But it's not as if they're not making strong moves forward themselves. "To have the expectation that a guy like Aubrey Dawkins, who has re- ally played well, is going to be able to step in and get 20 a night, at this point in his career … I just don't think he's equipped to do that, just from a mental standpoint," Morris opined. "He hasn't been asked to be the guy. "A year from now, the experience they're getting now in some of these tough situations — and you're go- ing to have pretty much everybody back — I think it will pay dividends for them." At this point, Morris noted, shoot- ing for the NIT should not cause any shame, given the circumstances that developed around this crop of Wolverines. "It's probably the most realistic [goal]," he said. "The non-confer- ence, those two losses to N JIT and Eastern Michigan, really hurts your RPI. It's just a blemish. Up to this point, they haven't had a couple of the really big conference wins that would help cover up those blem- ishes. "That said, I still would not want to play this team, because of how well prepared they're going to be, how hard they're going to play, and the fact that they mix up zone de- fenses. But I think at this point in time, a more realistic outlook … hey, if they get in the NIT, that can pay dividends. DIGITAL BONUS: CLICK THE ICON TO PLAY OR STOP THE PODCAST John Beilein discusses tough loss versus MSU