Fuller – MGoBlog
For the second time in three years, John Beilein scrambled to fill some scholarships late in the recruiting cycle due to unexpected early draft entrees. The first time, he landed Caris LeVert – who’s since blossomed into perhaps the best NBA prospect Michigan’s had in years – and Spike Albrecht, already a cult hero among Michigan fans. The next duo to commit late in the process was Aubrey Dawkins and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman: the two weren’t ready early in the year, but were thrust into big roles after key season-ending injuries to two starters. Abdur-Rahkman hardly played before Derrick Walton injured his foot; he was nearly indispensible afterwards:
Partially because Michigan was down to just two scholarship guards, Abdur-Rahkman’s minutes on the bench (usually due to first-half foul trouble) usually meant that Michigan would struggle to stay afloat in that time – Dakich and Lonergan weren’t ever meant to play many (if any) high-leverage Big Ten minutes, but they did. For example, consider Abdur-Rahkman’s best game, an efficient 18-point performance in a loss against MSU. When Rahk picked up his second foul with about ten minutes left in the first half, Michigan led by seven; when he returned to the court after halftime, Michigan was down five. They lost in OT.
To appreciate Rahk’s value – which doesn’t show up in his traditional or advanced metrics (low ORtg, TO rate > Assist rate, 29% from three, etc.) – consider the rotation guards Beilein’s had at Michigan. Of those, there are precious few plus defenders: Rahkman is likely on his way to becoming one, but Michigan hasn’t had a nominal stopper since Stu Douglass graduated. After so many offense-first guards and swingmen, having a guy who you can really trust on defense is another arrow in Beilein’s strategic quiver. Judging defensive value is always somewhat of a crapshoot, but it’s rather clear that – outside of a healthy Walton, perhaps – Abdur-Rahkman could very well be the best defender on the team.* If he improves his three-point shooting, he’ll be a strong candidate to retain his role, even with Michigan’s increased depth across the board.
*Caris LeVert’s defensive value is speculative at best, though he does have the most potential on that end of the floor for the next level. Besides, very few offensive focal points have enough energy to be similarly impactful on defense, especially in college.
[Hit the JUMP for more Rahkman talk]
Did we find a Philly gem?
Kyle Lowry is the best example of a Philly Guard in the NBA.
(I know Abdur-Rahkman is from Allentown, which is a little more than an hour from Philadelphia, but I won’t let geography get in the way of hoops mythology and an admittedly specious set of suggestions.)
While not the basketball Mecca that New York used to be or Chicago and LA are now, Philadelphia has still contributed immensely to hoops culture, producing greats like Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant, and – more relevant to college hoops – the series of rivalries between the “Big Five” of Villanova, Temple, St. Joe’s, La Salle, and Penn. Among other smaller Philly hoops stories, there’s the idea of the “Philly Guard” archetype. It’s hard for me to pin down exactly what that label entails, so here are a few quotes that will (hopefully) be illustrative:
From a 2013 article on a mid-major player returning to play Drexel:
Throughout the journey, though, Harris has not forgotten his Philadelphia roots. Robeson High School is where he developed into the basketball player he is today. Tough. Gritty. A “never say die” attitude. His style is everything you would expect out of a Philadelphia guard.
From a random 2009 scouting article:
The prototypical philly guard, Minnis has a filthy cross over and toughness to spare. Small in size, his nickname is "Biggie", which just goes to show how big his game really is. He can score in the paint, but needs to step up his defensive play if he wants serious D1 attention.
Quick, exciting, and passionate: Watson is the epitome of a “Philly Guard”. His stats may not blow you out of the water, but he is a crunch time performer and will always make things interesting. Unpredictable, this guard can light it up or drop dimes all day.
From an ESPN longform on the death of playground basketball:
He spent three years in the Chosen League and believed it helped turn him into a Philly guard -- a brand of player known for his fearlessness as much as his ability.
From a scouting article on a prospect Louisville was interested in:
"I absolutely think that wherever he ends up, someone is going to get a steal because Traci is a diamond in the rough, man," Carr said. "He's a pit bull, a Philly guard, as tough as they come."
As far as I can tell, the construct of a “Philly Guard” exists somewhere in the intersection of Allen Iverson and Rocky, an attacking combo guard bestowed with toughness and competitiveness platitudes. Though Abdur-Rahkman is 6’4, his high school film (and flashes of his play at Michigan) suggests that he could very well be a traditional Philly guard… despite not being from there. Only 20% of his two-point field goals at Michigan were assisted, he can play the one or the two (though Beilein’s system makes little distinction between the two), and he often injected life into a lost season with occasional bursts of physical ability – my favorite is when he pretty much made Jake Layman run and hide instead of contesting a dunk attempt.
Rahk is one of my favorite players on the team, mostly due to his uniqueness – there’s something about his game that can’t be replicated by anyone else. Since we’ve only seen half a season of him, it might be a while before I can pin down that essential quality about him, but I’m firmly on the bandwagon. Maybe this label will fit him in time, maybe not.
Player Comparisons
Beilein tried to explain away Abdur-Rahkman’s offensive struggles late in the season by saying that his amount of work on the defensive end made it so he couldn’t develop his offensive game as well as he would have liked.
Still, there are some interesting comparisons here. Of the fellow freshmen, Nunn emerged as a sophomore to become one of Illinois’s biggest scoring threats; Gesell has become something approximating a league-average starting PG in the Big Ten; the jury’s still out on Smith, who didn’t play well as a freshman. As for the seniors, Maniscalco and Gordon were all pretty mediocre seniors; Grant was way better on defense than he was on offense.
An interesting name is Stu Douglass, whose freshman season shows up at #15 for Rahk.
Outside of the disparate rate of three pointers / total FGA (Douglass was pretty much #justashooter that year), the two are quite similar. Needless to say, Rahkman does have to improve his three-point shooting and can’t turn it over as much without the added value of ball-distribution.
* * *
It will be an interesting season for Rahkman, especially after the return of Caris LeVert. John Beilein has rightfully preferred short benches and heavy starter minutes at Michigan, so between Walton and LeVert, there will be precious few minutes at the one and two. Rahk is almost assuredly the fourth guard behind Spike, if Spike’s ready to go by the time the season starts. Right now, Rahk looks to be the odd man out if Michigan goes to a rotation of Walton, Albrecht, LeVert, Irvin, Dawkins, potentially one of Wagner or Chatman, and the big men.
This is perhaps unprecedented depth for Beilein at UM and he’s shown a willingness to adapt in the past. Rahk’s best role might be situational – he could be a specialist and play alongside any of Albrecht, LeVert, or Walton in the backcourt. Plus a perimeter defender is a luxury for Michigan, so he might be on the court out of necessity. It’s going to be interesting to see how Rahk develops in that critical freshman-to-sophomore offseason – if he gains a reliable three-point shot, he’ll almost definitely play and could play big minutes against certain teams. Regardless, he’ll be just a sophomore so there’s still plenty of time for him to make a significant impact at Michigan.