Previously: Hoops Preview Podcast, MGoRadio 1.6 (wsg John Gasaway), Point Guards, Wings Part I (LeVert, Dawkins, Irvin)
Kam Chatman only showed flashes of his four-star ability in 2014-15.
Michigan is deeper this season than at any point during John Beilein's tenure. There's so much depth, in fact, that there's a decent chance at least one of last season's regular contributors drops out of the rotation.
Today's preview post focuses on that depth by looking at backup wings Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Kameron Chatman, Duncan Robinson, and Moritz Wagner. DJ Wilson, who could easily fit into this category, will be covered with the bigs.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog
Year: Sophomore
Measurables: 6'4", 185
Base Stats: 19.0 MPG, 4.4 PPG, 49/29/93 2P/3P/FT%, 1.7 RPG, 27 assists, 28 turnovers
Key Advanced Metrics: 16.5% usage, 92.5 ORating, 1.9 steal %
"Rahk" wasn't expected to be a contributor last season after John Beilein picked him up late in the recruiting cycle. When injuries forced him onto the floor for extended minutes in Big Ten season, however, he emerged as a quality scorer off the dribble—after looking jittery early in the season, he shot 54% on two-pointers in conference play.
Rahkman's rise to a prominent role was critical for Michigan in 2014-15, especially when he took on the scoring burden against Michigan State and Illinois, and even more so when he shadowed D'Angelo Russell in M's upset of Ohio State—Russell needed 17 shot equivalents to score 16 points, had five turnovers against two assists, and looked visibly frustrated with Rahk's defense. John Beilein pointed to defense as the way Rahkman can see extended time on the court this season:
“We haven’t even discussed any redshirt possibilities. Muhammad is not of a young age number one, but he’s got his work cut out for him to get the minutes that he did last year and he knows it. He has some explosion to his game and some speed that we do need on this team. That’s all going to come if he can become an excellent defender on this team then there will always be minutes for him.”
That's in part because Michigan could use a perimeter defensive stopper; it's also in part because there are still significant holes in Rahkman's overall game. He shot 29% from three-point range as a freshman, a figure that must improve to keep from affecting Michigan's spacing. He finished with more turnovers than assists; while he wasn't overly turnover-prone, when he drove to the basket he almost always looked for his own shot, and opponents are going to adjust to that. There's reason to think he can improve in both regards; his impressive free-throw shooting (albeit in a small sample) is a sign his jump shot should come around and he looked confident as a ballhandler last year.
The great news for Michigan is that there isn't nearly as much of a need for Rahk to play big minutes with the return of Walton and LeVert; there won't be minutes to spare at the point and there's a ton of depth on the wing. Rahkman may carve out a role as a defensive specialist or off-the-bench scorer against teams that struggle to stop dribble penetration; anything else he provides would be considered a bonus. He should be a solid role player getting 10-15 minutes; the breakout most likely will have to wait until next year.
[Hit THE JUMP.]
Kameron Chatman
Fuller
Year: Sophomore
Measurables: 6'8", 215
Base Stats: 15.2 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 36/26/68 2P/3P/FT%, 2.5 RPG
Key Advanced Metrics: 21.2% usage, 80.5 ORating, 16.5 DR%, 1.3 block %
It's safe to say 2014-15 didn't go as planned for Chatman, who chose Michigan over Arizona as a top-30 overall prospect coming out of high school. After struggling mightily to find his niche in the offense—and his jumper—he was in and out of the main rotation during conference play, and a couple promising performances late in the season weren't enough to wipe away the memories of too many corner threes badly missing the mark.
The shot chart from last year is ugly (via ShotAnalytics):
In that chart, though, you can see signs of life, namely in the left corner—if Chatman can become a reliable threat from even that one spot, it's possible he can function in Michigan's offense and allow Beilein to put him out there to give the team more size and rebounding. Chatman was one of the better defensive rebounders on the team last year and with his big frame and long arms he's got the potential to be an impact player on the boards. While he got caught last year trying to make too much happen at times, he can also be an impressive passer when he's seeing the floor well.
For Chatman to see major minutes, however, he needs to make major improvements in multiple areas. From what I saw of him at the media open practice, the mechanics of his jumper are improved, and hopefully that translates to his field goal percentage. Even though it's early, this may be an all-or-nothing year for Chatman; either he has a mini-breakout and becomes an important piece of the rotation or he gets passed by younger players—once that happens, it's tough to edge back out in front.
Duncan Robinson
Robinson should go from Bench Mob member to critical rotation piece. [Fuller]
Year: Redshirt sophomore
Measurables: 6'8", 210
Robinson sat out last season after making the unheard-of leap from Division III Williams College to Michigan. His legend grew while he watched games in street clothes due to his practice exploits; Robinson has been busy breaking Nik Stauskas' practice shooting records, and that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen him shoot. Robinson is a dead-eye outside shooter—as the primary option at Williams as a freshman, he nailed 46% of his triples on his way to being named D3 Freshman of the Year.
While the competition level takes a major step up, the rim remains ten feet above the ground, and the three-point arc is still 20'9" from the hoop. Robinson's shooting ability alone will get him on the floor this year, which gives us tantalizing possibilities of a 6'8" version of Jon Diebler raining in open looks provided by LeVert, Irvin, Walton, et al. At worst, he should be instant offense off the bench.
What else he can provide is, for now, a mystery. Robinson's defensive matchup will most likely be dictated by the opponent; more specifically, it'll be dictated by where he can be trusted on defense while he gets used to the higher level of play. Robinson was an excellent rebounder at Williams, so there's some hope he can hold up if he's asked to play some minutes at the four, but it seems more likely Beilein will pick his spots putting Williams out there at the two or the three against less-dangerous perimeter threats.
If Robinson proves capable of handling a big minutes load while holding up on both ends of the floor, his shooting can take this offense to the next level. That's a huge if, of course, but at the very least Robinson should provide occasional fireworks as a valuable bench option.
![]()
Moritz Wagner
Moritz WagnerYear: Freshman
Measurables: 6'10", 225
The freshman from Germany could be a contributor at the four or the five, and according to Beilein he's been practicing at both spots. Wagner would be a very skilled big, boasting three-point range and the ability to take players off the dribble.
Even with help from Jon Sanderson, though, Wagner is still quite skinny, and there's a significant adjustment process for any freshman, let a lone a kid coming over from across the Atlantic. It's not hard to read this Beilein quote...
“We’re trying to teach him two positions. You’ll see him today a little bit. At 6-foot-10 and a half he can play in the middle just hasn’t shown that physical ability to rebound – yet. He will. He’s really a talented young man. You’re going to see a moment here ‘wow that was awkward’ and then ‘oh my goodness did he just do that at 6-foot-10.5.’ Just enjoy it, I don’t know when it’s going to come around but we just love coaching that kid so much. Especially a kid who is 18 coming from a foreign country and learning the language on the fly.”
...take another look at Michigan's roster, and assume he's a lock to redshirt. Unless injuries hit the team very hard or Wagner somehow puts it all together in a hurry, he looks like a guy we'll maybe see in the exhibition before he's locked in the gym for a year of development.