Diaries

I decided to take a look at coaches of the nation’s top teams.  I looked at the six BCS conferences and a hand full of mid-major teams that are top-25ish type teams.

I decided to look at how successful coaches were.  I made a system to rank them:

Wins = 1 point each

Conference Championship (or division championship) = 20 points each

Tournament = 20 points

Sweet 16 = 20 points

Elite 8 = 25 points

Final Four = 50 points

Runner-Up = 100 points

Champion = 200 points

Notes:

Every NCAA tournament selection equals 20 points, after that a coach only gets point for the highest level they reached (a championship team would get 220 points- 200 for winning, 20 for making the tournament)

The logic behind the point system- I figured start with 1 point per win.  Conference championships and tournament bids seem to be a benchmark accomplishment- both of which seem to be a similar level of accomplishment (thus worth equal points).  No points are given for winning just one game- since no one talks about how many rounds of 32 to they made.  The jump from Sweet 16 to Elite 8 is not too high because most casual fans do not remember Elite 8 runs as much.  Points double from Elite 8 to being champion- since fans do remember final fours very well, and who played in the championship game.  I imagine many people will dislike my methodology for points- and if you do use my tables and make yourself your own system if you feel so inclined…

 I got the info from Wikipedia- some of the info changed as I was making the tables on Friday-Saturday (so some coaches were screwed out of a win, but I am not too worried about that…).  This season is counted as a complete seasons (since it seemed silly using fractions for all coached number of seasons), with the exception of first year coaches who I say as having <1 season since their win totals would looked skewed otherwise.  Also, if applicable, coaches with wins that were later vacated are still counted for this data.  Also I counted non-DI wins for coaches- but they did not get any points for titles or non-DI NCAA tournaments.  I included Beilein rankings only counting his D1 figures under the non-BCS coaches if you would like to see his score adjusted (since counting non-DI adds to total points but lowers the point/year average).  I included Jim Calhoun since he is an elite coach who just retired, and included Wooden since his success is unparalleled- and I was curious to see where the two would rank- both are included in the others section.  Also, NIT’s are counted for nothing, because I have never heard boasts about NIT’s… Lastly, I did not account for conference tournament championships because- A- too much data, and B- if you win you go to the tournament and get those points…

Also- I am sure there are some errors (there is a lot of data...)

Super long chart? Super long chart:

(Note- to the right of win, sweet 16, NCAA's, etc are the number of points earned from that total)

Hopefully you made it this far!

Here's a look at the 6 BCS conferences:

To me it seems like the ACC and Big East are clearly the top 2 conferences for coaches. What is clear is that the presence of elite coaches like Coach K and Roy Williams makes a huge impact. 

I was also surprised that the Big 12 by these measurements seemed clearly better than the Big Ten, and very close to the Big East with regards to avg. pts/yr for coaches. 

The PAC 12 was essentially the weakest however you look at it- but I was surprised by the Big Ten's relatively weak showing.  I was surprised the SEC looked competive comparatively- but I think most of that is Calipari and Donovan having such great success.

More charts?  More charts:

FINAL NOTES:

Sorry this post was so long... but I hope it is appreciated (mostly because it took forever to do).  There are a lot of take-aways:

1- Wooden was a very good coach- and it doesn't look like anyone will ever reach that level.

2- Elite coaches are much better than any other coach.  The top ten coaches (pts/yr) are well above any other coaches.  The difference between coach #5- Izzo, and coach #12 Pitino is more than 17 points a year- which is pretty huge- and Pitino is obviously a well above average coach.

3- Thad Matta is pretty highly rankled- and outside of Izzo, Smith (who is pretty far removed from being an elite coach success-wise), and Matta the Big Ten is not very impressive.  Painter has had a surprisingly successful career so far according to these metrics, and Beilein and Ryan get hurt from non-DI success for around a decade each- but the Big Ten doesn't hold up at this point against the other conferences like I thought it would.

4- Coaching at elite programs makes a huge difference- This is also a chicken/egg debate- are coaches elite from being an elite program- or do elite programs just attract elite coaches and allow them the tools to separate from their peers?  What it also points out is how impressive coaches are who aren't at typical elite programs.  Calhoun built a UConn program from nothing to elite, Mark Few has had a tremendous career, and Brad Stevens looks like he is on the fast-track to super-stardom.  I suppose it is not surprising- but for the most part the traditional elite powers have the top coaches.  It is interesting seeing how many coaches started at mid-majors- and it is pretty clear if you do well in the NCAA's or dominate mid-major programs you do get noticed and get a good shot at some decent programs.

Hope you all enjoyed this- it is pretty interesting looking at all the coaches past records. I think the data answers pretty much any question you could have about coaches- and I hope you all enjoy data as much as I do. If you notice any clear errors let me know- if you disagree/agree with my ranking systems or anything else let me know in the comments- it could produce some good discussion!

Hey there, MGoCommunity!  Thought I'd put out a little bonus content because, honestly, the Oscars bore me most of the time. I know we're all kind of split on the "WE ON" phrase, but it's presented me a great theme with which to work.  This one is based upon the theme that every game means something and it's all a "march" toward the ultimate goal of a B1G championship and a Final Four run.  Hope you like it.  As always, constructive criticism and/or ideas for future work is appreciated.

Desktop (16:9)

- JonValk

Goal by goal analysis (GBGA) is something I've been doing on my Red Wings blog for a little over a year. I've been meaning to do another Michigan one since I did my first one back in November, but between grad school and getting terrible acid reflux from watching this team I haven't been able to find the time/patience to do so. 

A couple of notes about the images below:

• Dashed lines indicate something that did not happen but could have. The first screencap from the first goal is a good example of this with a pass that could have been made but wasn't. 
• Solid lines indicate the action of the play. Shots, passes, or a player's movement can all be indicated with solid arrows.
• Circles indicate a player integral to the developing play. Also, circles are awesome and fun to use because I don't have to hand draw them.

1st Period

07:58 UM 0 OSU 1: PP Tanner Fritz (9) from Craig Dalrymple (9) & Ryan Dzingel (18)

DeBlois makes a nice read and moves in to intercept a puck that OSU was trying to rim around the boards.

DeBlois carries the puck up the boards but holds on too long. If he moves the puck to his man in the faceoff circle a split second earlier then this play never unfolds, but instead he holds and OSU closes the gap quickly. The passing lane is taken away and DeBlois turns the puck over.

The puck is deflected and goes directly to the OSU player who was in the faceoff circle in the above screen cap. He carries the puck into the slot and creates a holy trifecta of hell for the netfront Michigan defender (I think it's Bennett but the video's so grainy it's hard to tell). The OSU player can attempt to pass it low if probably-Bennett steps up on him, shoot if probably-Bennett stays where he is, or pass to the man at the side of the net if....well, if he feels like it. He chooses to shoot and beats Racine glove side. 

08:19 UM 1 OSU 1: Andrew Copp (7) from Alex Guptill (12)

The OSU netminder stops the puck behind the net and reverses it up the boards to his teammate. Guptill is in on the forechek and gets in the passing lane. The puck hits Guptill's stick and trickles out to the high slot, where Guptill picks it up.

Guptill carries the puck for a second or two before backhanding a shot on net. See that big blue box in the screencap above? So does Copp, who goes hard to the net for a rebound. Lo and behold the OSU netminder makes the save on Guptill's backhand and gives up a rebound to Copp, who taps the puck past the outstretched OSU goalie.

"THIS IS A LOT MORE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT THE CAGE BUT YOU GUYS GET THE IDEA."

12:05 UM 2 OSU 1: Justin Selman (3) unassisted

Hyman picks up the puck behind the net and carries it into the faceoff circle. He doesn't have a pass option thanks to the carbon fiber drawbridge taking away the far side winger, so he instead shoots. His shot is stopped, but a rebound ends up in the slot. 

OSU lucks out and gathers the puck in front of the net. The OSU defender has two options here; skate it left and then either go behind the net or turn it up the boards, or skate into traffic to the right. 

The defender chooses option 3 and decides to pass into traffic. Selman is right there and must have listened to his coach when he was little because he's got his stick on the ice. It pays off, as Selman just has to snap the puck into the open net. How does the OSU defender feel in the above screencap?

HAGERUP FACE

15:48 UM 2 OSU 2: Tanner Fritz (10) from Max McCormick (13) & Clark Cristofoli (2)

This goal's hard to stomach as it seems like a pretty standard and unspectacular play. There's a wide open shooting lane with only one OSU player in front of the net. The problem here is that OSU's netfront player is screening the h-e-double-hockey-sticks (hockey puns, groan) out of Racine. The crease should be cleared by Michigan's defender but isn't, and the byproduct is Racine not being able to track the shot. It hits him and he falls backwards as the puck trickles past the goal line.

2nd Period

02:59 UM 3 OSU 2: Phil Di Giuseppe (7) from Boo Nieves (17) & Jon Merrill (4)

PDG looks like he's going to carry towards the blueline when he cuts hard and turns it back down ice. He absorbs a hard hit along the boards and starts to carry behind the net. It looks like PDG is going to try and thread a pass through the crease....

Which he sorta does. Is it a shot? Was it supposed to be a pass? It doesn't matter because the puck deflects off of something (the goalie's skate? a stick? Tacopants?) and ends up in the net.

05:16 UM 3 OSU 3: Max McCormick (11) from Tanner Fritz (22)

Bennett tries to feather a puck at the blueline and turns the puck over. OSU ends up with a 3-on-1, and if there's one thing that this year's Michigan hockey team has taught us it's that a situation like that probably won't end well.

Hey look, it doesn't end well! The pass goes to the right winger, who emphatically wrists is past Racine. Trouba does just about everything he can here. It's just a terrible overall situation.

3rd Period

05:25 UM 4 OSU 3: Alex Guptill (11) from A.J. Treais (13) & Jon Merrill (5)

Guptill attempts his best Pavel Datsyuk impression here and in the process creates what the play-by-play man called the best goal he's seen all year. He starts by dangling outside the defender.

Guptill then pulls the puck inside and skates through the faceoff circle, then again pulls the puck outside his body.

He then pulls the puck back inside and backhands a shot past the assuredly confused goaltender.

11:20 UM 5 OSU 3: Andrew Sinelli (2) from Justin Selman (5) & Jon Merrill (6)

This goal is so straightforward I'm going to write about it in passive voice to make things interesting (or more frustrating, whichever). The puck is carried through center by Sinelli. The puck is carried towards the faceoff circle by Sinelli. The puck is shot by Sinelli. The net is hit by the puck that was shot by Sinelli. The goal is scored by Sinelli.

15:56 UM 6 OSU 3: EN Phil Di Giuseppe (8) from Kevin Lynch (13) & Bool Nieves (3)

PDG actually does a really good job of protecting the puck here, carrying it past two defenders and dumping it into the empty net to put the nail in Ohio State's coffin.

NEXT UP:

Friday and Saturday tilts against Ferris State at Yost. Ferris State is currently tied for fourth in the CCHA with Ohio State, while this past weekend's sweep of OSU moved Michigan up to ninth. Of note is that both Friday and Saturday's game will be televised; Friday's on CBS College Sports Network and Saturday's on Fox Sports Detroit.

In a diary entry that got a lot of play last week, MosherJordan took a look at the research reasons for Big Ten expansion, specifically the CIC and if expansion could be an attempt to increase the B1G's share of the federal research dollars pie. I took a great interest in the topic, and I have decided to look at it in a few ways. As a caveat, I'm not a statistician, but I want to put out some data, and maybe more knowledgeable people can make more of this. First, here are all top-100 research universities in the US in pure rank order from 2009, with 1990 research dollar amounts in the middle, and percentage growth from 1990-2009 on the far right, and a national average at the bottom.

As a fairly important point, all current and future B1G members are in the top 100 as of 2009, with IU being the lowest. Also, total dollar amounts drop off pretty fast outside of the top 50 or so. Now, here are those same numbers from just the B1G schools in that time:

So, based on pure average, the B1G actually did a scoche better than the national growth average during that time in research dollars (the median number is somewhere around a 70% growth rate nationally, and 60% for just the B1G), but to some extent the fact that some of these universities actually had such large budgets to begin with could hurt their room for growth, with Albany(!) actually just about tripling their research, which is easier to do as it was small to begin with. Notice Hopkins didn't bump much percentagewise, as it had less room to go up. Here's the chart just for the top 25 research universities:

Now, the averages look a little better for the B1G, with 55% growth for the top 25, and about 60% for the B1G as a whole, and the B1G does the same on median here, with the previously stated 60% growth rate for the B1G, and only 55% nationally.

Expanded to the top 50, it looks like

70% national growth median, 60% for the B1G, and overall average almost exactly equal.

So, my conclusion right now is inconclusion. On pure average the B1G outperforms the national average in research growth during this time by an infinitesimal amount, but on median growth, not so much. Penn State, which would seem to have the most to gain from this arrangement, did not outgain the national median, though outgained the conference median, for what it's worth. So, maybe there is a new strategy that we might see in a few years to shuttle research dollars the CIC's way, but it's not apparent from the last 20 years of data.

EDIT: My lack of math skill was made very obvious, as in my original post, I simply averaged the percentage growth, which I went back and corrected.

A big salute and thank you to Michigan basketball’s remarkable 2012-13 senior class

As we well know, Michigan football coach Brady Hoke stresses the importance of senior leadership. The 2012-13 Michigan Wolverine basketball team has outstanding senior leadership. Despite being one of the youngest teams in college basketball, with some of the biggest pre-season hype, the Wolverine hoopsters were ready to go from day one of the season, and have been poised beyond their years all season long. A great deal of credit for the basketball’s team’s success can be directly attributed to their 5 exemplary seniors: Matt Vogrich, Blake McLimans, Josh Bartelstein, Eso Akunne, and Corey Person.

These young men will never get the notoriety justly heaped upon Stu Douglass and Zack Novak as program builders. These players will largely be overlooked when people look back at the resurrection of Michigan basketball under the guidance of John Beilein.  These five have stayed with the program for four years, five in Corey Person’s case and have seen it gone from a fledgling program to one of the best in country. The legacy left by Blake McLimans, Matt Vogrich, Josh Bartelstein, Corey Person, and Eso Akunne, will be something they will cherish in the coming years, and we as Michigan fans should applaud and recognize today.

It is easy as a player to become disgruntled and disillusioned when more talented players join the team, threatening your status on the team, and causing you to lose playing time you think you deserve. After last season, Evan Smotrycz, Colton Christian, and Carlton Brundidge left the team for one reason or another; It happens all the time in college basketball, especially when younger more talented players join the program. Instead of becoming disgruntled, these 5 seniors have continued to exhibit great leadership while operating in the background.

Here is a quick look at the 5 seniors. As you will see from the stat sheet, these guys are at the bottom of stats in terms of the glamorous stat of basketball: scoring points. Between the five, they are averaging about 4.4 points and 3 rebounds per game. In terms of leadership: they are at the top of the charts.

Corey Person :

The only one of this year’s seniors to enroll in 2008, the rest came in 2009. In another few weeks Corey Person will become the first Michigan player since Dugan Fife to be a part of 4 NCAA Tournament teams. Quite a lofty accomplishment, and one not many in the storied history of M basketball can claim.

From Corey’s bio on mgoblue: Fifth-Year (2012-13) ...Returned for fifth-year of play ... Enrolled in U-M's Rackham Graduate School ... Senior (2011-12) ... Helped U-M to its first Big Ten title in 26 years .. Junior (2010-11) ... U-M Athletic Academic Achievement…Freshman (2008-09) ... Helped U-M to its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance and the program's first since 1998 ... Prep Career ... Kalamazoo Central High School (2008) ... Associated Press Class A All-State team (2007) ... Detroit Free Press Class A All-State, first team (2007) ... Detroit News Class A All-State, third team (2007) ... Two-time Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference (SMAC) Player of the Year (2007, '08) ..

Matt Vogrich :

Has shown great leadership throughout his career and never more so than this season. Vogrich started the first six game of the season, then lost his starting position to freshman Nik Stauskas, then his minutes to freshman Caris LeVert. Not an easy situation to be thrust into but Matt seems to have handled it with great aplomb.

From Matt’s mgoblue bio: Junior (2011-12) ... NABC Honors Court ... Academic All-Big Ten ... U-M Athletic Academic Achievement ... U-M's Sixth Man Award…Helped U-M to its first Big Ten title in 26 years .Sophomore (2010-11) ... Academic All-Big Ten ... U-M Athletic Academic Achievement ... Freshman (2009-10) ... U-M's Bodnar Award for Academic Achievement ... U-M Athletic Academic Achievement ... Prep Career ... Lake Forest High School (2009)… Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois (2009) ... Associated Press All-State first team (2009) ... IBCA All-State first team (2009)… Personal ... Enrolled in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business ... Business major

Blake McLimans :

Every year it seems Blake McLimans gets pushed a little further into the background, but he has persevered and helped lead to a resurgence in M basketball that few saw coming. My best memory of Blake was a remarkable length of the court outlet pass for a dunk, during Blake’s sophomore season. The outlet pass was as good as any outlet we’ve seen from Mitch McGary.

From Blake’s mogoblue bio: Senior (2012-13) ... Helped U-M go undefeated (13-0) in non-conference play for the first time since 1985-86 and match the program's best start (16-0, 1985-86) ... Junior (2011-12) ... Helped U-M to its first Big Ten title in 26 years…Freshman (2009-10) ... U-M's Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player Award ... Prep Career ... Worcester Academy (2009) ... Three-sport star at Hamburg, lettering in basketball, baseball and volleyball ... Played as an outside hitter in volleyball ... Led Hamburg to two New York State Championships ... 2007 All Western New York second team ... 2007 ECIC Division II conference title ... Right-handed pitcher in baseball with an average fastball of 85-90 mph. Personal ... Given name is Blake Jeffrey McLimans ... Born on May 1, 1990 in Buffalo, N.Y. .. Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts ... Economics major

Eso Akunne :

Eso has played some important minutes for M over his four years and has hit a few big shots for the team. Eso takes some flak for his shot selection, but he does have the ability to knock down the three. Not the prototypical point guard but he always gave it everything he had. Eso Akunne has already been a leader even in HS.

From Eso’s mgoblue bio: Senior (2012-13) ...Played in 15 games off the bench ... Helped U-M go undefeated (13-0) in non-conference play for the first time since 1985-86 and match the program's best start (16-0, 1985-86) ... Junior (2011-12) ... Helped U-M to its first Big Ten title in 26 years …Prep Career... Father Gabriel Richard High School (2009) ... . Team captain (2007, '08, '09) ... etroit Free Press Class B All-State, first team (2009) ... Detroit Free Press Class C All-State, first team (2008) ... Detroit News Class B All-State, first team (2009) ... Personal ... Given name is Eso Hyacinth Akunne ... Born on May 24, 1991 in Silver Spring, Md. ... Son of the late Dr. Josephine and Dr. Hyacinth Akunne ... Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts ... Political Science major

Josh Bartelstein: For you and I, That’s Team Captain: Josh Bartelstein

For a guy who’s only played 57 minutes in four years and has scored a grand total of 6 points in his career to be named Captain of the team, is truly a remarkable testament to the leadership qualities of this young man. Coach Beilein has called Bartelstein, “one of the best leaders” he has ever seen, and Beilein has also said, when Josh talks, “the other players listen” From Josh’s mogblue bio: Senior (2012-13) ...Team Captain ... Helped U-M go undefeated (13-0) in non-conference play for the first time since 1985-86 and match the program's best start (16-0, 1985-86) ... Junior (2011-12) ... NABC Honors Court ... Academic All-Big Ten ... U-M Athletic Academic Achievement ... Helped U-M to its first Big Ten title in 26 years ... Sophomore (2010-11) ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Prep Career ... Phillips Exeter Academy (2009) ... Team captain ... Set Phillips Exeter record for most three-pointers in a season (52) ... Personal ... Given name is Joshua Max Bartelstein ... Born on July 17, 1989 in Highland Park, Ill. ... Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts ... Sport Management major ...

Congratulations to Michigan basketball’s 2012-12 seniors:  Josh Bartelstein, Eso Akunne, Blake McLimans, Matt Vogrich, and Corey Person. Michigan basketball wouldn’t be where it is today without the significant contributions of these outstanding young men.

NEEDS MORE DENARD

(Click the Image to See Full Size Version)

All apologies for dropping this a day late.  Just some stuff on the professional side of things that demanded immediate and front-burner attention.

I'm not going to presume to know what's gone wrong with UM's hockey season this year; I've attended no games and watched only a few periods of action.  The bottom line is, I just wanted to draw Denard all suited up for action.  I mean, can you blame me?

Friday Fun will involve me drawing something about Michigan athletics.  I'll do it on Friday, and it might even be Fun.

THE BLOCKHAMS™ runs (typically) every Wednesday here at MGoBlog and on its official home page.  Also, don't forget to check out the Friday Fun, my weekly single panel comic based on trending Michigan events, available on Twitter and the home page every Friday.

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