The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2015-16 BASKETBALL PREVIEW time, he knows he has some poten- tially potent options on the perim- eter. Meanwhile, his assistants are anx- ious to see the puzzle come together over the next month. "Outside of Duncan, D.J. [Wilson, a redshirt freshman forward] and Mo Wagner [a freshman forward], all of them have done it in games," assistant coach LaVall Jordan noted. "Those guys haven't given any indi- cation they won't do it, either. The others have actually done it over the last two or three years. "It's not like you're guessing. They've also put in the work to get more consistent over the summer. From our point, we feel like we've got guys that can shoot the basket- ball. They've made big shots in big games. There's a confidence in our ability to do that, for certain." Assistant Jeff Meyer acknowledges this coaching staff enjoys plenty of choices, in terms of combinations to put on the court. For him, it's about making sure the parts mesh consis- tently well. "We've got a lot of work to do to put all of those options back in place and for us to move together as a team," Meyer said. "I tell our guys often, 'If you want to go fast, you can go alone. But if you want to go far, you go together.'" GUARDS ARE EXPERIENCED Jordan works with a pair of point guards in Albrecht and Walton who have gone deep into NCAA Tourna- ment play. They both had to dig a little deeper last season, though. Walton missed the second half of Michigan's campaign with a foot injury, while Albrecht gutted it out through discomfort before undergo- ing double hip surgery in the off- season. Both are looking for a better BEILEIN'S MARKSMEN THROUGH THE SEASONS Michigan head coach John Beilein likes shooters. He doesn't live and die by the three-pointer, as some suggest, but the Wolverines can live it up at times via the deep ball. They've become better and bet- ter shooters in his time at Michigan, which is now closing in on a decade. Attrition and injuries cost the Wol- verines greatly last season, putting more pressure on those remaining. With the injured returning, supple- mented by newcomers and those gleaning experience last season, the shooting digits should spike once again. Here is a look at the year-by-year shooting percentages entering Beilein's ninth season as head coach. Year FG% 3-PT.% 2007-08 .395 .312 2008-09 .425 .334 2009-10 .416 .229 2010-11 .460 .381 2011-12 .455 .350 2012-13 .484 .385 2013-14 .477 .402 2014-15 .426 .359 — John Borton