MBB - Discipline
When I watched M v. Memphis, one thing in particular struck me when thinking back to the last couple of seasons. You cannot simply peice together eight or nine 6'7 players who would be nasty in a game of one on one and beat Michigan. The reason for this is no matter how many times you show a MBB player that you are in fact the better baller than he is, it does not take him out of his game. The conglomoration of talent theory gets beat down against JB coached teams. Clemson, Tennesee, Memphis, these teams have talent, but they don't have a theme, they don't have a script that they return to whenever they need something, and they don't have a common belief in any particular aspect of their team. They are 12 different components that don't form one particularly focused unit. Teams with discipline and a consistent theme and a belief in one or two particular aspects of their game, Purdue, Wisconsin, Duke, they are very effective against Michigan, but teams like Memphis, they are fish in a barrel.
I like this team a lot after what I saw today. That team has fight, and they have discipline and a belief in a common theme. I know it's early, but that was a very positive afternoon. If you did not see it, watch a replay, you will like what you see.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:28 PM ^
Also: A hilarious Memphis fan on Twitter is calling Michigan mediocre. He wasn't pleased when I called Memphis "12 points worse than mediocre" and claimed that if the Tigers had just pressed more, they would have beaten Michigan by 20.
Gotta love 32 imaginary points.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:43 PM ^
get back to you when Memphis get's a real coach. Beilein coached the pants off Memphis' 34 year old coach. It takes more than a bunch of play-ground stars to beat a well-coached, disciplined team.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:51 PM ^
He definitely seemed over his head at the time and had next to no experience. I hope he can get it together in the next few years, you would hate to see a young guy fail because he was thrown into the fire too early with really high expectations.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:31 PM ^
I would really like them to get it together and play very well the rest of the season. That would make this win look much more impressive for us. And anything that helps M is fine by me
November 21st, 2011 at 7:03 PM ^
So basically, this is that guy's argument:
"Our coach sucks, but if he didn't suck, we'd have won big."
November 21st, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^
Isn't that what we were all saying about a year ago, except about GERG?
November 21st, 2011 at 11:56 PM ^
but c'mon. It's GERG! I mean, surely we get a pass for that one.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^
Coaching > Athletes. Who was the 16 year old that was allowed to coach Memphis by the way? Did he win a contest at his middle school to coach a college basketball team for a day?
November 21st, 2011 at 6:35 PM ^
You sure the shoes had nothing to do with it?
November 21st, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^
No way are those the shoes, socks and warmups we wear all season. Does anyone know if it was an Adidas experiment for some new shoes or perhaps a tourney thing because I noticed Tennessee had the socks and shoes on as well, neither teams use that shade of blue
November 21st, 2011 at 6:52 PM ^
The announcers said they were made especially for this tourney.
November 21st, 2011 at 8:26 PM ^
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November 21st, 2011 at 6:37 PM ^
Having a true point guard in Trey Burke made a huge difference. He was consistently able to break the press and get the team to run the offence. He is very good for a true freshman, can't wait to see him grow as Belein coaches him up!!!
November 21st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
can't beat em - GO BLUE!
November 21st, 2011 at 6:53 PM ^
Teams like Memphis will rarely go far without NBA level talent...and even those teams will struggle when it gets down to the final four.
Michigan is VERY similar to Butler. And look where Butler has been as of late. It starts on the defensive end as well.
Kentucky because of the top notch talent they recruit is the only team that's going to be able to get 5 one on one/superior athletes and say "go play." And I'd always take a good UNC or Duke or Kansas team over that Kentucky team if I had to pick. Memphis is a watered down Kentucky and that's just never going to work. I look at schools like UCF and they're a watered down Memphis which will never work.
Build me a quality basketball TEAM...and that's what Coach B has done. No question. This could be a special year, next year could be even better.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:13 PM ^
I think it works fine for them...Remember Derrick Rose? That is CURRENTLY farther than a UM team has gone lately.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:20 PM ^
This is post-Calipari Memphis though. That would be analogous to the Kentucky example he gave. And Rose was a unique talent - he would lead almost any team pretty far. Memphis isn't getting those kind of guys at the clip Calipari was, and will probably decline almost every year.
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:03 AM ^
check Memphis recruiting classes since Pastner took over. He did not miss a beat in the recruiting department and is still landing 5* players.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:58 PM ^
They do NOT rack the disciprine.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:06 PM ^
Part of it, too, is that Beilein teams are hard to prepare for if you don't see them all the time (e.g., if you're a Clemson, Tennessee, or Duke). He's unconventional enough that it gives teams fits when they're unfamiliar with how we play, and I get the sense that those teams start getting frustrated that they're struggling with a less athletic team.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:49 PM ^
Phi Slamma Jamma...you play to your strength. That line of thinking/coaching has led to bevy of talent going to those schools during their era,and bigtime baskeball being played. In the end do you bring home the hardware,which is all that matters...those schools did or played in the big game.
November 21st, 2011 at 9:01 PM ^
I'm not sure what you're talking about...Michigan? Memphis? I watched the game and listened to the commentators and all I heard was how awesome Duke is and how Coach K's kisses feel like sweet nectar.
November 21st, 2011 at 9:10 PM ^
Did you know Duke has never lost in this tournament? Because I don't think that it was mentioned enough during the broadcast.
November 22nd, 2011 at 4:07 AM ^
I watched the game and I picked up on this factoid.
It was not surprising that the announcers had struggled to prepare much on the Michigan team. It seemed as if they had been very busy during their time in Hawaii. Poor guys, it must be a nightmare being assigned to games so far away from home.
November 21st, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
Can't believe there's no muppets. I was hoping for, but certainly not expecting that win. Other than beating Ohio on Saturday, I can't think of anything much sweeter than beating Duke, but even if we lose I bet we still move up in rankings.