Michigan returns 92.5% of its scoring from last year, most among AP preseason poll (UNC 2nd – 88.1%). Watch for Duncan Robinson – SHOOTER!!
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) November 10, 2015
Can you guys feel it? A certain crispness in the air, a sense of glorious excitement in your bowels? No it’s not Chicken Parmesan night at the dining hall, it’s time for NESCAC basketball again! Here at NbN we’re going to overload you with so much coverage of the 11 NESCAC teams that you’ll start to resent us and slowly push us away by acting out in school and getting in trouble on the weekends. Before we start that, there’s another NESCAC basketball story that we’d like to follow this year. At Middlebury football games, PA announcer (and assistant basketball coach) Russ Reilly often announces the score of the Michigan game, calling the Wolverines our “sister school.” Once I turned 16 and figured out he was joking because of how much bigger a school Michigan was, it always killed me. If Michigan football was our sister school, then we were Billy Riggins and Michigan was Tim. However, in basketball, Williams College has a much closer familial connection to the Michigan Wolverines. Longtime Williams head coach Mike Maker was an assistant under longtime Michigan head coach John Beilein from 2005-2007, and Duncan Robinson, Williams’ freshman phenom of two years ago, transferred to the Wolverines after his freshman year and is now eligible to play after redshirting last season. Robinson’s career in the NESCAC, while short, was undoubtedly impressive. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while setting a minutes record for freshmen at Williams. However, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Robinson was a key cog on a loaded Williams team that went to the national championship before falling 75-73 to Wisconsin-Whitewater. The centerpiece of that team was All-American center Michael Mayer, which meant that Robinson was often the second option on the offensive end. However, he stood out like a sore thumb every time he played. Whether he was throwing down windmill dunks in warm-ups or moving the ball around in Williams’ beautiful motion offense, his every movement said “there is no one who is better at this than me.” It was clear to all NESCAC audiences that Duncan Robinson was not a Division-III player. It was clear to him as well. Soon after Maker departed to coach Division-I Marist College, Robinson called him to ask if he thought he was suited for Michigan, Maker said “HELL YES,” (not really, but I assume he was thinking it) and called Beilein to make a recommendation. Beilein watched Robinson’s highlight tape, and offered him a scholarship shortly after. Robinson accepted, and sat out last year due to NCAA regulations. The redshirt year may have been the best thing for Robinson’s success at the Division-I level. He comes into this season listed at 6’8” and 215 pounds, which is 30 pounds heavier and an inch taller than he was while at Williams. “The biggest focus of my redshirt was developing my body, putting on good weight and getting a lot faster and stronger,” Robinson told me. And the results are apparently noticeable. When a shirtless picture of Robinson happened to appear on his computer my dad exclaimed, “he looks like a boxer, look at his pecs!”
Proud of this guy! He embraced his redshirt year and improved a lot. #GoBlue #D3toB1G pic.twitter.com/SrhsoK7WmB — Jon Sanderson (@CampSanderson) October 26, 2015
Of course, it is more than his physique that has Robinson already established in Michigan’s rotation. The kid can play some ball as well. Robinson fills an immediate need for Michigan, who often struggled last season when faced with zone defenses that exploited their lack of outside threats. And if there’s one thing Robinson is immediately ready to do at a Division-I level, it is shoot threes. Rumors swirled as Michigan practiced that Robinson had broken Nik Stauskas’ record for consecutive three-pointers made in practice.
This skill has led to early playing time for Robinson. He has played between 15 and 20 minutes in Michigan’s first two wins, and appears to have carved out a niche for himself as an energetic and deft offensive weapon off the bench. Beilein has profusely praised the passing and cagey offensive mindset that Robinson says is a product of his time at Williams. “No matter how much weight I put on, I’ll never be able to dominate players physically at this level, so I’m glad to always have my unique skill set to fall back on,” said Robinson, crediting Coach Maker in particular for making him have such a complete offensive arsenal.
For all the benefits of his time off, there are of course some downsides. Robinson hasn’t played in a truly competitive game in over a year, and he is jumping up several notches in terms of level of play.
“The biggest challenge has been adjusting to the physicality,” Robinson said. “The Big Ten is known for its physicality, and developing my strength and speed to fit in there has been very challenging for me.”
Robinson himself admitted that the adjustment defensively has been difficult at times, and he will have to improve drastically there to start or play regularly at such a high level.
However, anyone who remembers Robinson playing at Williams should believe that he will adjust. He’s a player who was meant to be at this level, and we in NESCAC were privileged to steal him away for one year. Now we get to follow him from afar, and watch as he uses the unique skill set he developed here to succeed under the brighter lights. Michigan takes the court at 7:00 PM against Elon on ESPN, and, in addition to the loyal fans of both schools, there will be some NESCAC fans tuning in to see a native son making good. I can’t wait.