Bernard Robinson shot a respectable 46 percent from the floor
last season, but he knew that improving his jumper would make his
game even better.
- Kate Green
- BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily
Bernard Robinson
That’s why Robinson spent all summer working on his
mid-range shot, taking “game-paced” jumpers every
day.
Although Robinson has appeared in just one of Michigan’s
two exhibitions so far this season, his 8-for-13 performance from
the floor against the NBDL’s Fayetteville Patriots left no
doubt that Robinson’s jumpshot is ready to go.
“(My shot) was clicking tonight,” Robinson said
following Friday’s game. “It felt good out
there.”
“Good” might be an understatement. Robinson looked
as comfortable as ever with his shot, as evidenced by the pair of
pullup jumpers he hit from near the left elbow early in the first
half on Friday.
“You can see his confidence. I think that’s the
biggest difference in Bernard Robinson (from last year),”
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “I think there’s a
sense of purpose about his game, a sense of purpose about this
year, his senior year.”
Robinson’s improvement was evident on Friday not only in
his jumpshot, but also in his overall game. The 6-foot-6 winger led
the Wolverines in points (18), assists (5) and steals (5) and
contributed five rebounds in his 25 minutes.
Turning it up a notch: Michigan’s defensive effort on
Friday was impressive, especially against a squad of NBA-hopefuls
who have experience taking care of the ball.
The Wolverines forced a total of 13 steals against Fayetteville,
leading to numerous easy baskets in transition.
“They are very athletic, and they cause a lot of problems
to open the floor for their offense,” Fayetteville coach Jeff
Capel said. “That’s as athletic a team as I’ve
seen in college in quite a while.”
Defense is something that Amaker has stressed.
When freshman Brent Petway threw down a monster windmill dunk
off a steal in the first half, Amaker was more pleased with
Petway’s effort to get the swipe than with the dunk
itself.
“Sometimes we can just see the end result of something and
not remember what were the steps to get to that end result,”
Amaker said. “I love the fact how he read the play, to get
himself up in the passing lane to knock the pass down to make that
play.”
The waiting game: Joe Crawford, one of the top high school
recruits in the nation, called off a press conference scheduled for
Monday during which he was supposed to announce which college he
would sign with.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Detroit Renaissance High School
has instead opted to wait until the spring period to sign, forgoing
the early signing period which ends Wednesday.
“I want to be sure,” Crawford told The Detroit News.
“I might commit early, but I’m not going to sign until
April.”
Crawford has reportedly narrowed his choices down to Michigan
and Kentucky. He’s ranked as the top shooting guard in the
nation by Athlon Sports.