I got to the State Farm Center about an hour and half early for the game on Saturday, and I had a chance to watch Finke go through a long work out.
I was surprised to see so much improvement since I saw him play last. You tell he's been working really hard on his body and his skills during his sit-out year.
Michael has excellent footwork in the paint, is highly skilled at 6-foot-10, and can use either hand. He's not an above the rim athlete, but is nimble on his moves inside and can run the court.
His shot looks really good to about 17 feet, good rotation, nice release. He's deadly at the elbow and short corner. When he moves out to 3-point range it's a little flat right now.
Overall, a really nice looking player now who can put up 8-10 points in the Big Ten and will continue to improve. Finke will push both Black and Paul next year, IMO. I wouldn't expect him to sit the bench.
I was surprised to see so much improvement since I saw him play last. You tell he's been working really hard on his body and his skills during his sit-out year.
Michael has excellent footwork in the paint, is highly skilled at 6-foot-10, and can use either hand. He's not an above the rim athlete, but is nimble on his moves inside and can run the court.
His shot looks really good to about 17 feet, good rotation, nice release. He's deadly at the elbow and short corner. When he moves out to 3-point range it's a little flat right now.
Overall, a really nice looking player now who can put up 8-10 points in the Big Ten and will continue to improve. Finke will push both Black and Paul next year, IMO. I wouldn't expect him to sit the bench.
