LeVert may get some PT at PG this year.
The rumblings have been there throughout the offseason practices, and while the Michigan assistant coaches were on WTKA’s Michigan Insider Tuesday morning, LaVall Jordan finally came out and said it: Caris LeVert could see minutes at point guard this season.
“I wouldn’t hold that (LeVert and Nik Stauskas playing in the backcourt together) out of the realm of possibility,” Jordan said to Sam Webb during the show. “And (LeVert) played point guard in high school. They would put the ball in his hands late-game, and he was the guy who would initiate the offense and take care of the basketball.”
This may come as a surprise to Michigan fans who watched LeVert as a freshman last year. Often the Pickerington, OH native seemed to rush things on the court and didn’t do a great job of taking care of the ball. He certainly wasn’t a facilitator on the floor.
But a lot can change in one offseason. Jordan said that LeVert has improved tremendously and is up to about 190 pounds. Moreover, LeVert has a natural advantage over smaller guards, for whom visibility of passing lanes can be an issue against taller defenders.
“With Caris and Nik in the backcourt, it gives you a little more of a Darius Morris feel, where guys at the position as a passer, some guys like Trey and maybe Derrick Walton now, they can’t deliver, just due to size,” Jordan said.
But even more than the obvious physical changed LeVert has undergone, it’s his more cerebral approach to the game that has impressed Jordan — and convinced him LeVert has the ability to contribute at the point guard position.
“Last year, his role was a defender, an energy guy off the bench, and anything else was kind of bonus points,” Jordan said. “Whereas this year, he’s really gotten into his film study. The game has slowed down for him, his pace is much, much better and his ability to make decisions to where you can put him in those positions is something we feel comfortable with this year.”
With two players already competing for minutes at the point guard spot, it isn’t likely LeVert would take over the point guard position on a full-time basis. However, this revelation does give Michigan some very interesting options in its guard rotation. If the Wolverines wish to go big on the perimeter, LeVert at the lead guard position opens up the opportunity for a LeVert-Stauskas-Glenn Robinson III look at the first three spots. With each standing at a long 6-foot-6, this could present a defensive nightmare for opposing teams.
With so much speculation swirling around about Michigan’s possible lineups, this throws an added factor into an already-confusing situation. However, Michigan coaches stress that their goal in both recruiting and player development is versatility, and this development would make for even more options for this staff to tinker with.
