The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/589596
2015-16 BASKETBALL PREVIEW in big man Caleb Swanigan. This is the third Big Ten game of the year and will be a challenge, to say the least. TOP FIVE QUESTION MARKS 1. How are the minutes allocated? This is a great "problem" for the coach- ing staff to have, but it's a challenge, too. The Wolverines have 12 players vying for time under a coach who likes to use eight, maybe nine, in the playing rota- tion. Not only will some players likely be disappointed with their playing time, but head coach John Beilein will have to spend more time searching for the combinations that maximize this team's talent … and there's plenty of it. Six guys are all but guaranteed to play big minutes: senior shooting guard Caris Levert, junior point guard Derrick Wal- ton, junior wing Zak Irvin, sophomore center Ricky Doyle, sophomore wing Aubrey Dawkins and senior point guard Spike Albrecht. That leaves redshirt freshman D.J. Wilson, redshirt sopho- more Duncan Robinson, redshirt soph- omore Mark Donnal, sophomore Kam Chatman, sophomore Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and freshman Moritz Wagner to battle it out for playing time. We like Wilson and Robinson's chances to see significant playing time, so … 2. How do the coaches keep every- one content? If the eight we expect play the major- ity of the minutes that leaves a handful of talented players potentially wanting more. Wagner didn't come to Ann Arbor to redshirt and probably didn't expect to — and he might be too good to keep off the floor, regardless. Guys improve at different speeds, and he's picking up the system very quickly. But what of Abdur-Rahkman, another who had huge moments last year — in- cluding 18 points at MSU — and former prep All-America Chatman? Again, both have the talent and ability to vie for sig- nificant playing time, but — radically and selfishly speaking from the Michi- gan fan's standpoint — how much bet- ter could this team be down the road if they or others who might not see signifi- cant minutes agreed to a redshirt? That may or may not be an option, but it's something to consider. Otherwise, expect a player or two to perhaps look to move after the season. Attrition is a Senior point guard Spike Albrecht is expected to be one of the Wolverines' top six players, but how playing time shakes out after that could get interesting with such a deep roster. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL