2013-14 basketball season

The Sponsors

This show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan, MGoBlog would be like if the basketball program stuck it out with Amaker all these years.

Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown hosted us (and the Wagners last week), the University of Michigan Alumni Association might know a guy, Ann Arbor Elder Law might've come up with a better retirement plan than Cleveland, Michigan Law Grad will get you out of a ticket if you're racing to lock up a star assistant, Human Element is about to unleash the greatest posbang in the site's history, the Phil Klein Insurance Group is about to be contacted about a very bad policy, Peak Wealth Management is about to have a new client, and HomeSure Lending was probably like Alonzo Mourning dot gif when he heard who just stole Beilein.

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1. Now What?

starts at 1:00

We review the candidates who've come and gone. Ace warms to Yaklich after hearing the names after Juwan Howard. Speaking of Juwan Howard: about the best resume for an assistant you can possibly have. Porter Moser is not on this list.

2. Best of Beilein: Honorable Mentions

starts at 29:31

We all made lists of our top Beilein-era moments, and those lists did not fit into a Top 10, nor a Top 15, nor a Top 20, so here's all of the things that didn't make the list—it's a long non-list.

3. Best of Beilein: 11th-20th

starts at 1:07:07

Now we give our lists. Except we need to talk about our top moments for so long that we're going to need another segment before we even get to the top ten. Sorry not sorry.

4. Best of Beilein: 1st-10th

Starts at 1:39:30

Some you know. Some you're just going to get mad about. A few are obvious, but not in the obvious spot. This is really hard. There's probably a Smiths song in the Music.

MUSIC

• "Cemetery Gates"—Leah Blevins
• "Holding On"—The War on Drugs
• "End of the Road"—Boyz II Men
• “Across 110th Street”

THE USUAL LINKS

• Helpful iTunes subscribe link
• General podcast feed link
• Direct download link (right click/save as)
• What's with the theme music?

It's very on brand that we fit Denard onto this list

Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog

Before I post a partial transcript of John Beilein's press conference, a few player interviews, and photo galleries from both Eric and Bryan, here are my main takeaways from yesterday's basketball media day:

• First and foremost, John Beilein is serious about playing two bigs and having a lot of lineup versatility—this sentiment echoed from Beilein himself down through the players, almost all of whom discussed playing multiple roles in some capacity. Everything from Walton/Spike/Stauskas/GRIII/McGary to LeVert/Stauskas/GRIII/McGary/Morgan is on the table; this team can play small or go very, very big—both Stauskas and LeVert are capable of running the point.
• Mitch McGary's health is a major question mark. Beilein isn't sure if he'll be ready for the first exhibition game—it certainly didn't seem like it—and would only say he's "day-to-day" when asked about a timetable. When asked about the nature of the injury, McGary responded that it wasn't an injury, but a "lower back condition" that the team is being cautious about right now. That's obviously a point of concern, even though McGary maintained that he felt good about where he's at right now and the upcoming season. He's definitely missing critical practice time—Beilein noted that he hasn't had a chance to practice his perimeter defense, a crucial area for improvement if McGary is going to be able to play the four.
• The physical development of the sophomores has been rather remarkable. Glenn Robinson III's improved vertical is getting a lot of attention—yes, he touched 12'3", maxing out Michigan's device for measuring vertical leaps—and similar gains have been made by Nik Stauskas and Caris LeVert. All three look noticeably more muscular; though LeVert is still very much on the skinny side, he's no longer rail-thin, and Stauskas appears capable of playing the three if need be. GRIII, meanwhile, looks the part of an NBA player.
• When asked about their new break-the-huddle mantra this year, Beilein responded that it's simply "champions"—whether that applies to the Puerto Rico Invitational, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Big Ten regular- and post-season crowns, or even loftier goals. Last year's team took the expectations to an entirely new level; it's clear this team is comfortable with that.

For direct quotes from Beilein, player interviews with Jon Horford, Jordan Morgan, and Derrick Walton, and photo galleries from media day, hit the jump.

[JUMP]

Michigan opens the season on—[checks watch smartphone]—oh lord, Tuesday, so it's time to get to this previewin' business. Of course, we already have an entire book dedicated to this, and you should probably check that out, as it goes into far more detail than I'm capable of doing here.

I'm dividing up the team like we did in the book for the positional previews: bigs, wings, and point guards. For the purposes of this preview, I'm considering Glenn Robinson III a wing, though he'll get plenty of run as the nominal power forward when Michigan goes to a smaller, more Beilein-friendly lineup. On that note, let's start with the men up front.

Mitch McGary

Year: Sophomore
Measurables: 6'10", 255
Base Stats: 19.7 minutes, 7.5 points, 59.8 FG%, 44.2 FT%, 6.3 rebounds
Key Advanced Metrics: 16.0 OR% (10th nationally), 22.4 DR% (86th), 3.9 Blk%, 2.4 Stl%

After Jordan Morgan's ankle injury near the end of the 2012-13 regular season, Mitch McGary ascended from highly-touted freshman energy guy to do-everything future All-American with a remarkable run in the NCAA tournament. McGary averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in the Big Dance, dished out six assists (previous career high: two) to break the vaunted Syracuse 2-3 zone in the national semifinal, recorded eight steals in two games against Kansas and Florida, and generally performed like a guy once considered a top-two prospect in his class.

The tournament performance vaulted McGary onto just about every preseason All-American list, often as the first-team center. That's a lot of hype generated largely by a six-game stretch, though McGary—who started his freshman year slow after an injury hampered his conditioning—displayed flashes of greatness from the get-go, pulling down rebounds and forcing turnovers at a very high rate all season.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the big man breakdown, with some bonus '90s rap nostalgia.]