The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2015-16 BASKETBALL PREVIEW free throw line, leaving plenty of room for improvement for the capa- ble shooter. Alexander also believes he can be much better when he's closer to the rim. "I thought the effort areas for him were really good, but one of the things I'd like to see from him in his sophomore year is the 'less is more' approach in regards to moves around the basket," he continued. "Last sea- son he probably took too many shot fakes. This year we'd like it to be one or two. "A lot of times that's getting used to not being the tallest player on the floor anymore like he enjoyed during his career at Bishop Verot (in Fort Myers, Fla.). At the Big Ten level you're playing guys that are 6-10, 6-11, a couple inches taller than you. Once you get that advantage you need to make that decision to explode to the basket much quicker." Donnal — Michigan's only other experienced scholarship frontcourt player, starting 10 of 29 games in which he appeared — also needed to change his body, and he made huge strides with strength coach Jon Sand- erson over the summer. It wasn't for lack of trying that he struggled to add weight, Alexander noted. The training and strength staff identified aspects of his nutrition ("vitamin intake, things like that," Alexander explained) he needed to supplement, and he responded with a 20-pound weight gain. "Mark has gone from 220 pounds all the way up to 240. That's 20 pounds of added strength, and he's been able to maintain it all through spring, summer and early fall, which gives us cause for optimism," Alex- ander said. "What we're seeing as a result of that is a Mark Donnal in much bet- ter shape. Recently he successfully made it through our conditioning regiment called the gauntlet, a series of sprints with other components, that he hadn't in prior years." Known as the best shooter among Michigan's centers, Donnal took many of his shots outside the paint last year and made 52.2 percent from the floor, including 36.8 percent (7 of 19) from long range. He lost his starting spot and missed three games due to illness last year, but the added weight should serve him well, Alex- ander said. "It should give him more of a pres- ence on the defensive end and of- fensively, similar to Ricky. I'd like to see the added strength and stamina leading to him play longer stretches," the coach said. "For example, when a big guy is playing for us, there are a lot of ball screens, screen-and-roll situations they're in, which requires a lot of ex- ertion of energy. As a result, when se- lect plays come, there are jump shot opportunities to surprise the defense, often times those shots are taken at higher levels of fatigue. "The fact that Mark is in better shape could lead to more consistent shooting this year. Obviously, we'll see when that time comes."