Freshman Ricky Doyle Knows Self-Improvement Will Be Key to Michigan's Turnaround

Michigan’s Ricky Doyle is one self-aware individual.

There’s really no reason to wonder if the freshman gets “it”—he made that quite clear Thursday after being asked to self-evaluate his progress.

“I feel like I definitely have improved since I got here—significantly since high school,” said the 6’9”, 245-pound power forward. “I still definitely need to improve just all around. I just need to be a better player just to help my team out.

“I need to work on my rebounding. Offensively, I need to work on better ways to find myself open and help my guys get easier passes in to me so I can get an easier shot. Conditioning-wise, I’m still working to be the best athlete I can be… and even just the knowledge—just mentality-wise, just working on that.”

If he does all of that—grabs offensive rebounds, plays a physical game and finds ways to bust loose from coverage—the Wolverines will have slightly better chances of knocking off No. 3-ranked Arizona in Tucson on Saturday.

If he doesn’t, it’ll be a tough return to Ann Arbor for Michigan (6-3), which just dropped consecutive home stands to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (72-70) and Eastern Michigan (45-42)—a pair of games in which he combined for six points and five boards during 39 total minutes.

Doyle knows that he’s capable of more.

And really, he’s proven that he can play at an advanced pace; look at his 12-point, six-rebound effort versus Syracuse (W, 68-65), a long team that features an effective 2-3 zone defense. And although he scored just four points and snagged two rebounds, Doyle held his own against veteran-led Villanova (L, 60-55).

While those were just appetizers and quick glimpses, they serve as entirely more accurate measures of one of John Beilein’s future mainstays. The losses to the Highlanders and Eagles were simply low points of the year, as they're all part of the gig when you're a freshman in the Big Ten. 

While somewhat quietly starring at Ft. Myers Bishop Verot in Florida, Doyle was lauded for his ability to do it all. Dominating at that level led to offers from Creighton, Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and Boston College. The former 3-star recruit, per 247Sports, perfectly fits Beilein's mold of long, athletic and quick. 

However, there is one looming concern: Doyle needs to develop an edge—maybe something similar to what Mitch McGary attained after a year (and prior to a back injury), or something close to what Jordan Morgan brought to the court. So far, he's appeared willing to take only what's given, but Michigan would be much better off if Doyle just took without asking. 

Playing the undefeated (9-0) Arizona Wildcats will be yet another personal challenge—and it’s not going to be fun and games when it comes to checking 6'7", 220-pound sophomore Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and 6'9", 230-pound junior Brandon Ashley.

And then there's the potential dose of freshman Stanley Johnson, a versatile 6'7", 245-pound wing/forward.

“It’s a big opportunity for us this weekend, you know. It’s a real big game, real good opponent,” he said. “So if we do come out with a win, it’s going to be a huge confidence boost for us. We’re going to be doing whatever we can to be prepared for it.

“For me, personally, this is going to be a good self-evaluation. I’ve been putting hard work in. Me and the bigs—you know, Mark [Donnal] and Max [Bielfeldt]—we’ve been working real hard with each other. So it’ll be real good. We’ll be playing against some good competition. Arizona is a very good team as well.”

A slow start isn’t cause to worry about Doyle or Michigan. Once he and his fellow forwards find level ground, the Wolverines should be fine. Beilein said that getting players, presumably Doyle and Donnal, to “recognize concepts” and distinguish different looks between different plays hasn’t been easy.

But again, it’s only December.

And it's a long, grueling season ahead. 

“I think Ricky and Mark are really learning at a great rate,” Beilein said. "It’s just that they were at ground zero…the retention of it is the biggest issues with most young players.”

Follow Bleacher Report's Michigan Wolverines basketball writer Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and references were obtained firsthand by the writer