Paging all point guards

Watching Tuesday’s Michigan State @ Michigan affair was pure poetry in the read it and then forget it kind of sense.

Beilein put a penetrating point guard into the game,
can it be too much to ask
no more former walk-ons making you lame
there’s just but one guy up to the task,

But he has now fallen to third in line,
why all of the Wolvie fans wonder
could it be he needs to refine
or is this just solely Beilein’s blunder

Kelvin Grady, sophomore point guard for the Wolverines, has apparently fallen out of favor with Coach Beilein. It has gotten to the point where Grady, the only point guard who can hit the broadside of a barn and drive past defenses and dish it out (ie. make plays), is now not adept enough to get quality minutes for a team in DESPERATE need of decent point guard play.

I don’t know what lesson Beilein is trying to teach here, but it’s not working and it’s certainly holding the Wolverines back. Versus MSU, senior guard C.J. Lee (former walk-on) played 37 minutes and led the Michigan offense to 42 total points on 2 assists and 1-4 shooting. This is the guy who has taken over the main point guard duties for the team. He’s a hard worker and somebody every coach would want on their side. But he’s very limited. He does not have the quicks Grady has and certainly does not have the shot making ability either. However, Lee does not turn the ball over much at all, so he is often deemed as the safe choice. That is all fine and good except for the fact that the Wolverines have a roster full of jump shooters (save Harris and Sims) with no ability to create their own shots. Running Lee out there and then subbing in David Merritt for back up duty (former walk-on), even more limited than Lee, is a recipe for disaster, especially for the motion offense Beilein likes to run. Teams facing Michigan have figured out how to stop them– it’s by not allowing Manny Harris to penetrate (Walton and the whole Spartan D played great against him Tuesday) and pushing the offense farther and farther way from the basket because after all, Lee and Merritt do not have any penetrating skills to scare anybody. Therefore there are not a whole lot of opportunities for uncontested shots on most occasions. Most of Michigan’s offense on Tuesday came from forcing turnovers and the fine work underneath by DeShawn Sims, but not a lot of anything going TOWARDS the hoop.

Now I will point out that Grady did see the court on Tuesday night for about 7 minutes and had very little impact on the game. However his confidence has to be shot right now (DNP vs. UConn) after being demoted behind two less talented guards. But, see, according to Beilein (and I agree with coach about the defense) Lee and Merritt right now are playing better defense and there’s just not enough room at the position for Grady to see significant minutes.

But it isn’t working.

You can get away with playing 4 on 5 against Penn State (last win for Michigan-Grady just 1 minute), but against the supreme teams in the nation (UConn, MSU) it’s not going to work.

This team is falling faster than A-Rod’s credibility right now and what they really need is a offensive re-birth or something. These rotation/lineup shuffles have got to stop. Play the right people. Make sure they know their roles. Go with your most skilled guys– the players who can shoot and break down defenses.

Live with the occasional defensive lapse and the unforced turnover, insert Grady back into the rotation. He can be a difference maker on the offensive end and right now Michigan’s offense is mind-blowingly inadequate, or as Kevin would say, lousy and stinky.