Michigan Guts Out Win Over Feisty, Skilled Eastern Michigan
Michigan was the home team on Friday night at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit, but it didn't feel like it for much of the game against Eastern Michigan. The EMU contingent traveled well and supported their local star Emoni Bates in his Eagles debut, and Bates did not disappoint. The Ypsilanti product scored 30, and was a problem for the Wolverines all night, but it was not enough.
Michigan was down at the half, but made enough plays, hit enough free throws and defended just enough to get a 88-83 win over the Eagles in LCA. There are some things that will work for Michigan all season, but there also seem to be a few things that could be issues all year. Here are some of those things — good and bad — that stuck out in the disappointing loss.
EMU Definitely Wanted It
As I tweeted during the first half, there are 12 Michigan natives on EMU's roster. That passion of playing against big, bad Michigan was present from the second the Eagles walked into the arena. Throw in Emoni Bates, who has been a state of Michigan legend since he was 15 years old, and you had the making of a really energetic atmosphere that clearly helped power EMU. Noah Farrakhan was hitting difficult, big shots in the first half, Bates was filling it up and the role players were feeding off of all of it.
Update On Joey Baker
I was impressed with Baker in the opener against Purdue-Fort Wayne. He knocked down some threes, physically looked the part and did what he was supposed to do off the bench. Against EMU, he looked very slow and couldn't stay in front of anyone. He picked up two fouls just trying to guard the ball and then a third by jumping on top of someone while going after a loose ball in just four minutes of action. He scored just one point in five minutes of action and finished the night with four fouls. Physically, he does have a great look with long arms and broad shoulders, but his lack of foot speed makes it look like he's going to struggle on defense all year.
Terrance Williams II Is Better At Everything Than He Looks
Williams is such an interesting player to me. First of all, his energy, attitude and work ethic are welcome and needed on every single basketball team at all levels. But what always surprises me, is how good he is at everything. Whenever he shoots, I think that he shouldn't, and then it goes in pretty consistently for a scrappy 4-man — he was 3-for-7 from distance against the Eagles. Whenever he's bringing the ball up the court, it doesn't look like he should be, but he almost always makes the right play and rarely turns it over. He's generously listed at 6-7, but plays much bigger. He rebounds well, has a knack for making put backs and can really finish with efficiency over bigger, longer players. He can also pretty much defend 1-5. You probably wouldn't want him on a point guard or a 7-footer, but he can do it and won't get embarrassed. The dude just does a little bit of everything and he does it all quite well.
Tarris Reed Jr. Physically Does Not Look Like A Freshman
At 6-10, 260 pounds, Reed is put together. He has some work to do on his help defense and off the ball offense, but one on one and physically, he's already there. Even with his build and decent moves for a frosh, it's a big drop off from Hunter Dickinson to him. That could be an issue for quite a few games as the youngster tries to figure it out.
Michigan's bench is a problem
Michigan's starters are quite solid but once that second unit comes in, things get pretty dicey on the offensive end. Even in the starting five, Dickinson and Jett Howard seem to be the best offensive players by a wide margin. Williams is in that mix, but him getting 20 would be a very pleasant surprise. Kobe Bufkin has shown flashes but definitely hasn't done it with any consistency and newcomer Jaelyn Llewellyn seems to be a little apprehensive still as the starting point guard. After those three "scorers" on the first unit, it's pretty thin. Beyond those five guys, it's really thin. I just don't know how much you can count on freshmen Dug McDaniel and Reed or guys like Joey Baker or Jace Howard. If the starters have any semblance of an off night, or Dickinson gets dinged or in foul trouble, it's going to be tough for Michigan to generate points.
Emoni Bates Is A Bucket
It doesn't matter if you can't stand the kid because he was once committed to the Spartans and has a bit of a checkered past — the dude can score the freakin basketball. He finished the night with 30 points and did it from everywhere. His most impressive play of the night was was a pull-up three from the logo.
He almost willed Eastern Michigan to a win, but the Wolverines did just enough to get the W. Still, it was pretty cool seeing a kid from Ypsi play like he did on that stage. He will be a problem in the MAC, for sure.
