ANN ARBOR — Michigan had just scored, and instead of getting back to the other end of the court, Roddy Gayle Jr. hung around the baseline. Nimari Burnett lingered near the 3-point line. Trey Donaldson was just inside half court. Something was up.
Tarleton State inbounded to Jordan Mizell. After he took a few dribbles, Gayle and Donaldson pounced. Mizell tried to escape towards the sideline before turning up the court, but Burnett was waiting. Mizell lost possession as a referee blew his whistle for a 10-second violation.
Michigan would successfully deploy the full-court press again at various points throughout the game.
And as Gayle revealed after Michigan’s 72-49 win, the Wolverines hadn’t practiced it. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Gayle said. “And it kind of worked.”
Dusty May and his staff have tried several tweaks in the opening weeks. The press, for example, is designed to speed up the game. The Wolverines want to play fast, want more possessions because they believe they have the offensive skill that will win out over a larger sample size. They’ve got the length and depth to make pressing effective, as it was on Thursday.
“It is very hard to play a full 40 minutes against us, especially if we can apply that pressure full court,” Gayle said. “I don’t see too many people being able to match our intensity and our pace.”
Part of that equation is Michigan’s depth. Once again, 11 Wolverines played meaningful minutes on Thursday. Even May admitted that is too large a rotation on a game-by-game basis. He said it will be different guys on different nights. “Are there going to be guys outside the rotation that need to bring something to a specific game? Absolutely,” May said.
It would seem Michigan has a set seven-man rotation, with the others a potentially rotating cast depending on the game. Any of the three freshmen, for example, could get 8-10 minutes one game and a DNP the next.
The various lineup combinations probably haven’t helped offensive cohesion, at least in the turnover department. Ball security was an emphasis entering Thursday’s game and Michigan was much improved. One Wolverine was removed after just a couple of minutes because he didn’t step towards a pass that was stolen. It was one of just 11 turnovers on the night, Michigan’s lowest turnover rate of the season.
Tre Donaldson kept up his strong start to the season. He looks like the type of point guard that looks for his teammates early before asserting himself as a scorer when needed. He finished with 13 points and five assists on Thursday. At least once or twice a game, he has raced past everyone on the court for a streaking layup.
“He’s taken what the game gives him,” May said. “We’ll live with some Tre Donaldson over-aggressive turnovers” — he had two against Tarleton — “because he puts so much pressure on the defense.”
Vladislav Goldin had his best scoring output as a Wolverine with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting, but it should have been more. The 7-foot-1 center missed a few right at the basket (and he went 4 of 7 on free throws).
“As far as not converting around the rim, it’s tough,” May conceded. “These are shots he normally converts. They’re not dropping.”
For now, the concern level is low. May saw over the past three seasons at Florida Atlantic what Goldin can do. “We’re not going to spend a lot of time and energy worrying about those shots going in,” May said. “We want to generate those types of shots again and again and again. … We’re very confident when the time is right that he’s going to make a high percentage of those shots.”
Overall, Michigan moved in the right direction on Thursday by limiting turnovers, controlling the glass, and dominating for a stretch just before and after halftime. It just took longer than expected to take control of the game, both in the first half and for good.
“It’s nice to finish our homestand with a win in another game that I feel like we learned something about ourselves,” May said.
“It was an odd game where we didn’t convert very well around the rim, we didn’t make our open rhythm shots, we missed several front ends (of free throws). For us to still have this margin with all that happening is a testament to our guys.”
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