MGoPodcast 10.28: Light Our Darkest Hour
2 hours and 23 minutes
The Sponsors
This show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan nobody would get our jokes. Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, the University of Michigan Alumni Association, Michigan Law Grad,Human Element, Lantana Hummus, the Phil Klein Insurance Group, and a possible farewell to Peak Wealth Management, who is going to win our bracket thanks to State winning tonight so I'm not talking to him right now (but you still should).
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1. Texas Tech
starts at 1:00
What can we say other than three pointers need to go in? Texas Tech is a great team, Michigan was competitive other than that. In a world where things happen at their percentages, well, it's not the darkest timeline is it?
2. Michigan Basketball 2019-2020
starts at 22:03
Guessing it's just Matthews to replace—Iggy has a lower ceiling, Poole has a higher one but is an obvious "go back and develop in college" guy. Can they rebuild Matthews's lost defense with Livers offense? How do the freshmen grow? Is there another Wagner or two (literally and positionally) on the horizon?
3. Big Ten Basketball 2019-2020
starts at 1:04:50
Rutgers isn't the first, second, third, or fourth-worst team we can think of, and then we go back and add more. Bottom drops out for Northwestern, Year Zero for Big Ten Transfer City in Lincoln, Illinois will go where Dosunyu meeps, Penn State will have a dude but still need a second and a bench, Maryland is failing at one and done but building a program out of top 50 guys, Iowa would look great if they were not so Iowa, Wisconsin and Purdue who knows because they're replacing giant usages, Minnesota probably falls backwards, Ohio State and IU are wait and see on the five-stars they can get, and Michigan and Michigan State are probably the top two again.
4. Spring Football Bits, the Podcast
Starts at 1:52:37
Seth goes off the format right away because we're trying to get excited about this. Onwenu talk and tackles probably means something, quarterback depth means something, really wary of spring hype for the one nose tackle on the roster.
MUSIC
- "Old Yellow Bricks"—Arctic Monkeys
- "Backstreet's Back"—The Backstreet Boys
- "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces"—Ben Folds Five
- “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 a cartoon off the TV that was supposed to sell toys and they made a really great movie for no reason
I'm in the first section where they're talking about spending the off season learning to feed the post. I don't disagree, but I don't know how that happens.
Who was the last player on a Beilein Michigan team who could feed the post? I'm not trying to be facetious about this either, I genuinely can't remember. I've seen better and more varied post entry passes in high school basketball.
It doesn't seem that it is a failing from the players, but in the coaching at this point. I completely understand that post entry isn't a thing for this offense, so obviously they've never prioritized it. But at this point, is there anyone on the coaching staff that really knows how to do it well, or is this going to be like Borges coaching spread principles?
I wouldn't say that. We've had good passing teams in years past. This year's team definitely wasn't the strongest though.
You've got the Touch!
You've got the POOWEEEEEER
If Simpson plays 35 minutes next year and DeJulius is nowhere to be seen as they indicate on this podcast.... eh, OK, I guess. If you liked the final result this season you will be happy because it will look very similar next year.
Ya Im with ya...BIG off season coming for DDJ. The dude was/is/can be a sharp shooter and can rise quick and pop a three on anyone. If he can make a leap it will be interesting to see how JB can combine X and DDJ at the same time. Not sure what that looks like though...
But like you said, if he cant then I can see the same story....not complaining but it is what it is.
Maybe X can get his % up a point or two, would make a solid difference
Ya i love X.... unless he can punish people on wide open threes, Dejulius is gonna have to play 20 mins or more and be highish usage type guy for this team to take the next step. This tourney has reminded me just how important guard and especially scoring point guard play is.
I don't wish bad juju on anyone, but the ceileing with everyone back plus Franz Wagner and either Iggy or Poole making a Stauskus jump to scorer/creator and you have the final four team
If we somehow land Franz, that would skyrocket expectations for me/us. Dude is playing against grown men and looks real solid.
WE NEED MORE WAGNER
I watched LSU-MSU. After about 5 minutes I knew MSU was in the Elite 8. They got anything they wanted. Guys wide open everywhere.
Point being: If Michigan drew LSU in the West and MSU got Texas Tech in the East, there's a high probability we're still playing and they're done and we're laughing about eating subs and mocking Izzo and naming our babies Beilein.
But that didn't happen. Instead we got Tech and they ate us alive (ALL of us, not just Simpson) and now our Senior-to-be PG who has led us to 63 wins in two years is just a blah player who we'd be better off without? We want to give his minutes to an unproven Sophomore who shot 20% this year? That's quite a take with which I vehemently disagree.
We're still #6 on KenPom. We're still #4 on Torvik. In the friggin' COUNTRY. We won 30 games. We bring back everybody. This is going to get better before it gets worse.
i dont think we beat duke personally and we'll get to test your theory vs TT this week
I like MSU in that game
Disagree. I think it will actually stay about the same before it gets better.
I know. You said that already.
Oh, that Reggie is back.
We weren't going to beat any team with the way we shot in that game. Tech's defense significantly handicapped us, but we didn't make a single jump shot until there were ten minutes remaining, and there were actually a lot of open shots (see below). Tech was very good, but I think the fact that they played a team that couldn't buy a basket from more than two feet out made them look incredible:
KTCM’s misses were so far off the mark.
This guy gets it. If all we lose is Matthews, we have to be better. The other 6 returning rotation players have room for growth, some have substantial room. The four freshmen who sat will have huge room for growth and become contributors. Not just DDJ, both Johns and Castleton can make huge contributions next year, maybe even Nunez. And then you add two freshman.
why is everybody so damn gloomy.
Who said we would be "better off without?" .... no one said that, but the reality is if we cant attack switches with solid shooting from outside then we will see similar results against MSU. No one is dogging Simpson, he is a beast, but the growth of DDJ will be a big factor.
I'm not wholly disagreeing with this idea, but Michigan made the national title game last year with a more limited Simpson. What the difference was they had a more dynamic offense around him. Simpson is a fantastic defender and very good passer, plus a solid offensive player in the right circumstance. He improved his game offensively in the off season, and if guys like Iggy, Poole, and a couple of the other shooters so the same I don't see how they can't be really good next year with Simpson getting the lion's share of the minutes. What they need DDJ to do is give more during the Brooks minutes, which until the very end of the year were mostly a wasteland of offensive continuity . A really good shooter off the bench or next to Simpson would be killer, especially as a secondary ballhandler. Think MAAR-lite.
Agree. The difference was the bind Wagner could put their "switch" in when teams started doing that to solve X. Wagner could take a big guy out and drive past him. Or just rain threes over a guard. The "switch everything" model worked for a minute last year, but ultimately we had too many options.
The Teske-Simpson combo featured two guys who couldn't punish a switch. Simpson couldn't shoot over a 5 (imagine a center trying to check Senior Derrick Walton or Trey Burke, lol). And Teske couldn't punish a guard (again, let Winston try to go man with Mo Wagner).
They have 6 months to unlock that problem. Betting against that when they return nothing but upper classmen seems a bit foolish. This wasn't a major issue. Michigan beat 5 NCAA tournament teams in the month of March alone...by an average of 18 points. They lost to two and that leaves a sour taste, but it's not like this thing is busted.
I feel as if many parts of this podcast were made exclusively for me. Thank you.
(Could've sprinkled in "The Touch" or "Dare to be Stupid" as bumper music though. Missed opportunity!)
Re: Spring Football Bits, most of the focus has been on the offense but the defense is in a real bind. Just when we've finally built up decent O-line depth, the D-line depth from the Hoke/Mattison days is gone. Now, Brown has put together top-tier defenses with used toothpicks and chewing gum, but he's missing a Mo Hurst up front if we're going to dare talk about November.
The only real depth issue is at Nose Tackle, which sucks with Solomon gone but that is apparently life. Yes, obviously you want to be able to cycle guys through at both tackle spots and Mason being talked up there isn't good news, hard stop, unless it's a "we just want to move him around a bunch of places" type of thing, not indicative of play quality.
But I feel confident that they have solid production at both ends and the secondary should be solid. I'm actually most worried about LB, as that's a spot where Bush covered up a lot of smaller issues. They have the talent here and I'm excited to see what Nua can do with the line. And it's been a long time from the Hoke/Mattison "gravy train" (which wasn't all that great) on the defensive line and they've handled it fine already.
I love Transformers. Well done.
Never stop complaining about autobench, Brian.
I spend time on this blog for football. Don't harsh my football buzz guys!
Pretty sure Miles Sanders is going to the league, guys... PSU sux
Dangit. I got him confused with Ricky Slade. It's him or Noah Cain. They have all the 5-star RBs.
Yes... and Devyn Ford. They recruit RB better than anyone other than Bama, probably.
They also do have a TE. Freshman Pat Freiermuth.
With regards to basketball:
Operating under the assumption that Poole, Iggy and Cassius are all back, I do agree that the B1G comes down to MSU and Michigan. MSU has to be the clear cut favorite going into next year, the clear one to Michigan's 2. They went 3-0 against us this year, won the B1G regular season and tournament over us, and made it to the Final Four again (at a minimum). They'll be returning the best player in the B1G (possibly the country) and the next most important from their roster in Tillman. If roles were reversed, we'd be freaking out if anyone claimed MSU was on the same level as us going into next year.
If MSU struggles or disappoints next year, I think its because of a few things. I agree with Dave that Ward is a flight risk, why stick around to be unpaid when you're going to play less as a senior than he did his first 3 years. I also assume Ahrens is done (graduating, getting married this summer and ravaged by injuries his whole career), and even if he isn't how effective/healthy is he? Watts is expected to sign with MSU but he just tore his rotator cuff. I'm not a doctor but I assume that would put a big hamper on his potential freshman year.
All of this is to say one issue might be depth. If those three guys are all gone/injured, MSU's bench consists of the same 3 of the same 4 freshmen it is currently (Loyer, Kithier, Brown, Bingham) plus Malik Hall. If those guys don't all perform then they're basically Michigan from this past year in terms of bench minutes.
The other issue is losing McQuaid/Goins. Those are two senior leaders, good defenders and good 3 point shooters. Goins doesn't have an obvious replacement (Bingham or Brown if they go small but how does that look). McQuaid does in Langford but McQuaid was probably what MSU wanted from Langford this year, if not better. If Langford comes back and is the same guy, taking usage from Winston and being his inefficient self, that probably hurts MSU.
For Michigan the concerns are obvious. Need the freshmen to develop, need shooting, need a bench. Outside of that the obvious concern is replacing Matthews. Livers is a - defensively comparatively and a + offensively, but in my mind only when the offense is working well. If Z is doing his thing and getting to the middle of the floor, then Livers at the 3 point line as a floor spacer is exactly what we need. If the offense is stalling though, as we've seen so often, Livers is even less reliable/useful at creating his own shot than Matthews is, and that scares me a little.
Thank you for hitting on McQuaid/Goins. I know neither looks that impressive. They don't have an NBA future. But those guys are friggin' nails. They are Seniors. They've seen some shit. Losing them is not a good thing for MSU. (I know you didn't say that, Bambi, just emphasizing because most seem to be overlooking them as a loss).
Overall, MSU was light years better without Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson. It doesn't make sense. The pieces don't always add up to the total. Each team is different. You take out those reliable consistent role players and add in wild card underclassmen and your team takes on an entirely different dynamic.
If MSU is so much better without Jaren Jackson, why didn't they beat Syracuse last year?
The first five minutes of the Spring Bits section was unbelievably frustrating to listen to. Thank you Seth for powering through Brian's resistance to discussing football.
Can someone help me out on why Jordan Poole is even being discussed as an option for the Draft?
During the big ten season, he averaged 35 mins/gm, Shot 53% from 2, 33% from 3, 1.9 assists and 1.7 turnovers. Defensively, he was the 4th or 5th worst player on his team at any given time.
Hitting that shot against Houston seems to have created too high of expectations from him.
BTW, McQuaid averaged 34 mins/gm, shot 39% from 2, 43% from 3, 2.3 assists and 0.7 turnovers.
It's all about the ceiling for Poole. He should come back and increase his draft stock tenfold.
Listening to the guys discuss Michigan State unearthing another guy who unexpectedly starts hitting 3's, and I think they already have. If you've watched the last 2 MSU tournament games you'll notice that Tillman is taking and hitting his 3's. I don't recall him doing that at all during the year. We didn't cover for it when we played them. Given his skill set, and if he wants an NBA career, adding a 3 point shot is an obvious improvement for him that he needs to have given his dimensions. He's also agile enough for them to be able to play him at the 4 if they want to as well. Tillman could be Goins next year if they so desired. That allows them to play Ward and Tillman together if they want, go small with Brown or Henry at the 4 with Tillman at the 5, or play Bingham at the 5 with Tillman the 4. I think the latter 2 options are superior, as they play much better without Ward, but the off season matters and people improve. All I know is that I fully expect Tillman to be a competent if not better 3 point shooter next year.
Can somebody please tell Brian to stop pronouncing “Bajema” like that? The others have it right with less emphasis on the E. Living in West Michigan that pronunciation makes me cringe.
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