Basketball Media Day Wrap
The freshmen, new uniforms, and oh my god what in the hell
Today's basketball media day was perfectly described by another reporter as "not a newsmaking event*," which seems a tad ironic but that's Michigan athletics these days. You can tell the freshmen have already been coached not to say anything interesting, and I'm not even going to bother transcribing the player roundtables as a result. Just imagine the football pressers and replace "football" with "basketball" and you have a good idea of what you missed.
I will, however, post some highlights from John Beilein's press conference.
Bullets ahoy:
- The team has had 16 hours of summer workouts in addition to the usual weight training, plus 12 hours of recent skill training. Starting Friday they practice 20 hours a week.
- The William Davidson Player Development Center is almost complete. It's a "sensational venue" to practice in while Crisler is being redone.
- Beilein's had one look at Crisler about a month ago, and says "it looks like a brand new building, like we built a $200 million building." Calls it a tremendous asset for recruiting and very fan-friendly.
- Mitch McGary is helping replace the energy void left by Zack Novak, who he says was "really instrumental in everyone's life."
- It's too early to name a starting five. During the first two weeks of practice he'll put two or three freshmen on one team, two or three on the other, and watch how they adjust. The last few weeks were much more for skill development than team development. Probably won't name a lineup in the next 2-3 weeks.
- Trey Burke is up to 190 pounds, and it's a good 190. Praises strength coach Jon Sanderson for his work with the whole team (I can say from seeing him up close that Tim Hardaway Jr. looks very impressive physically right now, definitely bigger than last year).
- Tim Hardaway Jr. has "taken a little bit of Novak," in that you can hear his presence on the court.
- "This is a good rebounding team." Has more of an inside presence than past Beilein squads, McGary and Jordan Morgan in particular. The offense may be more predicated around offensive rebounding as a result.
- The freshmen are very coachable, and have been getting help from both the coaching staff and their fellow players. He says the team is as intelligent as any he's had. Cited Glenn Robinson III specifically as a player who's picked up new information and put it to use on the court ten minutes later. At the end of a recent practice, Josh Bartlestein, Corey Person, and Eso Akunne each had pulled freshmen aside to teach them something.
- When he got here, the question in the Big Ten was who was going to be the sixth or seventh team into the NCAA tournament. Now the fight may be over who will be the eighth or ninth team in.
- When asked about how he'll handle high expectations and preseason rankings: "I think John Beilein is always going to have a chip on his shoulder."
- As for if he thinks they're a top five team: "I don't pay any attention to that." Says he doesn't watch other teams practice, so how could he know? [Good point, coach.]
- There's four, five, maybe even six players who could see time at the four or the five. Loves having the versatility, notes the importance of the four—Kevin Durant and LeBron James were playing the four in the NBA playoffs last year. Last year he didn't feel he had a choice at the four after Jon Horford got hurt.
- The goal is to win the Big Ten title. [Of course it is. Fergodsakes.]
- Nik Stauskas has "a natural ability to find the bottom of the basket," but what makes him a difficult guard is that he can also put the ball on the floor and drive to the rim. Also showing the ability to keep his head up and find the open man, and he's putting in effort on defense because he knows that's how he'll see the floor.
- Last year there wasn't a player who felt comfortable spelling Trey Burke as the primary ballhandler. There's a lot more confidence in Spike Albrecht being able to come in and run the point to give Burke a rest. Stauskas and Caris Levert can also put the ball on the floor.
- Beilein used most of the 16 hours of summer workouts on offense. The staff watched the NBA much closer than ever before and cut more NBA film than in the past to see how they utilize two post players.
- The team hasn't spoken about the loss to OHIO in the NCAA tournament. They're very proud of the Big Ten championship and will talk about the tourney loss if they get back there this year.
- The only injury is a "foot stress issue" for Corey Person. Otherwise there are a few nagging issues but nothing major.
- No captains have been named yet.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. will split time between the two and the three. Lots of options on the roster, so they'll wait and see how things shake out during practice.
That about covers it. Here's a shoe:
----------------
*said unnamed reporter even preceded that with "as expected"; we're not bitter!
October 10th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^
We better not actually wear those Baylor-esque shoes for a game. Is it that hard to keep a consistent color scheme?
October 10th, 2012 at 7:20 PM ^
I think the shoes/socks look fine, and even good, but not with the jerseys. They just don't match the jerseys. I'm confused.
October 10th, 2012 at 11:06 PM ^
WHO GIVES A SHIT what the shoes look like. We finally have a "final four" type team, for the first time in a long time. And you guys are bitching about the SHOES (!!!???), seriously? Half the people on this board: "Oooo I know we just one the national championship, but OMGZ did you see those hideous wrist bands!? "Idk about this Dave Brandon." Stop bitching about irrelevant shit. We have probably the best team we have had since the fab 5 (whos fame was largely based on their change of culture in CBB as a whole... Dont hear too many people bitching about their black socks or long shorts.
October 11th, 2012 at 8:54 AM ^
October 11th, 2012 at 9:16 AM ^
"The color of those shoes are awesome."
-The Ultimate Warrior and everybody else in 1990.
October 11th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^
The Fab Five fashion comparison is way off. Michigan isn't setting a trend here by wearing awful colored shoes. We saw countless teams march out in neon God-knows-what-color uniforms and shoes last year much to everyone's praise or ridicule depending on what you like. My problem here is that they aren't setting the trend, they're trying way too hard to mimic other fashion-forward schools, and completely failing. That's not necessarily on Brandon, or Beilein, and it's certainly not on the basketball team, but Adidas has failed miserably to make us look like the other cutting edge teams. I am fine with looking new, cutting edge, different, or whatever. Instead we look color blind.
October 11th, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
I agree with some of your post (aside from the seemingly unnecessary anger) with one exception. These shoes cannot be "irrelevent" if I have to see them every time I turn on the TV and am blided by the footwear. And unfortunately if I would like to watch TV with my wife I will hear "O my God I cannot watch this game because those hurt my eyes". For once, I don't think she is being over-dramatic. Those things hurt my eyes
October 11th, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^
But the shoes are gross?
October 11th, 2012 at 10:49 AM ^
I'd tolerate maize shoes and sock, but it has to be the same maize as the jersey. This hurts my face.
October 10th, 2012 at 8:37 PM ^
What, our normal "Maize" highlighter yellow is not bright and bold enough? Now we've got to go to Baylor's screaming-yellow-so-flourescent-its-almost-green color?
October 10th, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^
Either the shoes, or the socks would look okay.
Both?
October 10th, 2012 at 6:43 PM ^
little dealie would be great--or black! The good thing is opposing teams are gonna be mesmerized.
Stopped any complaints about the unis dead in their tracks, though, so. . . upside.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:39 PM ^
If stealing our shoe idea from Oregon makes us more appealing for top recruits, then it is sacrifice I will always make...
EDIT: I don't mind them myself, but liked the colors of last year better.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:39 PM ^
are we Oregon?
We need to get rid of those shoes
October 10th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
I would comment on the actual text of the article, but I went blind after looking at those shoes.
Jerseys are nice though.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^
Looks like we've found a way to wear Maize shoes that match our Maize football pants /s
October 10th, 2012 at 6:44 PM ^
If you squint, Albrecht kinda-sorta looks like Novak.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:02 PM ^
you're right.
October 11th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
I would argue the shoes neccessitate squinting
October 10th, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^
That colorway of socks and shoes were specifically made for Baylor last year, I dunno why our equipment guys ordered shoes and socks that are clearly nowhere near matching our maize.
But if any of you are interested: http://www.adidas.com/us/product/mens-basketball-rose-3-shoes/SO045?cid=G48788
October 10th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^
MGoBlog doesn't like anything new. I wonder how the long shorts and black socks would have played on here in 1991. No doubt most of you guys would have preferred they keep wearing the John Stockton shorts and medium lenght white socks.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 7:00 PM ^
My point still stands, black shoes and black socks are also not a Michigan color. Our players think highlighter yellow shoes are cool and want to wear them, I'm not surprised some of the old folks on here don't like it.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:18 PM ^
Good point about the black, but black still is/was a common shoe and sock color in sports regardless of team colors. A lot of people wore black undershirts etc. It's a pretty neutral color. These are a near-yellow safety green which is way too close to maize/yellow that we wear on our jerseys. If they were highlighter yellow shoes/socks like how our alternate "maize" jerseys were last year (and look to be this year) that's fine. Not my taste, but it could at least look cool and match (what a novel concept). This is tantamount to Ohio State wearing bright neon orange shoes with their scarlet jerseys and shorts (which surely we would all have a good laugh at).
October 10th, 2012 at 7:04 PM ^
If the Louisville Cardinals can be Orange, we should be just fine with green. That's right, our brand is as strong as Louisville.
October 10th, 2012 at 8:22 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 7:00 PM ^
Wrong. When it's new and it sucks ass, like unfortunately everything, it seems, then yea Get Off My Lawn.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:17 PM ^
I like the new uniforms. I really do, and I'm pretty sure Brian said the same somewhere. I also liked the Under The Lights uniforms as a one-off (though they look way better on the players than on fans—those stripes definitely call for shoulder pads).
Those shoes, however, are NEON GREEN. This is a problem.
October 11th, 2012 at 12:01 AM ^
Thank you! I hadn't scrolled down and read the rest of the posts, but i said something similar. The amount amount of bitching that is done on this board (especially about jersey?jersey colors) is absurd. As you pointed out, I dont hear too many people bitching about the fab 5 long shorts and black socks. All i hear is praise from them.
October 11th, 2012 at 10:27 AM ^
I'm glad you brought up the Fab 5, because there's a HUGE difference between their uniforms and these Baylorigon derivatives. The Fab 5 followed our tradition of being "leaders" in being (among) the first to create a sports fashion trend. So, even if someone didn't like black socks, at least we were the first to do it.
The current uniform is clutching to the tail end of a terrible trend, thus making it the opposite of the Fab 5 look. What's next Ed Hardy jerseys?
October 11th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^
I'm not sure this is entirely acurate. Michael Jordan was the first to start wearing baggier shorts, but maybe the black shoes black socks being inovative is a valid point however. I do agree they are not the first to bring in neon colored shoes, but they are just shoes and socks, the uniforms are still maize and blue.
October 11th, 2012 at 7:38 PM ^
Look, I doubt that the Fab5 were the first to wear baggy shorts or black socks, but they certainly weren't on the tail end of a fad. I wouldn't mind super bright sneakers...if they were some form of remotely close to matching yellow/maize, but these aren't. To me, the rest of the uniform is...meh. The bball uniform isn't as tradition-rich as football, so I don't mind playing with it as long as we don't get the Nike-Duke/UNC or the full Baylorigon treatment.
By the way, here's a pic of Jordan in 1991: http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0808/iooss-bp.html
October 10th, 2012 at 6:58 PM ^
Brandon is the worst brand manager I've ever seen. Only in his world is this Maize:
For the rest of the world?
October 10th, 2012 at 7:08 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 7:29 PM ^
But you would eat highlighter colored corn? Sure, there are lots of shades of corn, but maize as a color is commonly known as being an oranger shade of yellow. The color of indigenous and dried corn.
maize (mz)
(american heritage dictionary)
October 11th, 2012 at 11:32 AM ^
October 11th, 2012 at 8:48 AM ^
That's feed corn. You ever get the "bright idea" to grab some corn from the side of the road from a field? Who would ever know right? You were probably disappointed. That's feed corn.
October 10th, 2012 at 8:35 PM ^
That picture of corn comes from the first page of a google image search for "maize." There are lots of pictures of corn the same color. Nothing close to the highlighter color on the front page of that search. When people think of maize, they think of this kind of corn, not corn that you buy in the store (which is brighter but still not close to the highlighter color above).
October 10th, 2012 at 10:34 PM ^
I miss the use of Maize as much as the next Michigan fan, but is there any truth to nike owning the rights to the good maize color that we used back when a Nike school... (More fact that corporate douchebaggery is taking over... Drop the Mark of the Beast!)
I do like the shoes, and I am kinda excited to see how the uniforms look in a game.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^
That corn is too old, we're not the 3 year old dry maize and blue. Here's what fresh maize looks like, btw.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:07 PM ^
I was going to comment about the socks and shoes, but I see I am far past fashionably late to that party...
October 10th, 2012 at 7:15 PM ^
Sounds as though Spike Albrecht is the odds on favorite to be the back up PG. Good to hear Coach B express confidence in Albrecht being capable of spelling Trey Burke at the point.
It's nice to have two PG's. Eso is a great teammate but he ain't a BIG caliber PG and neither is anybody else on the team other than Trey and Spike
I kinda feel bad for Blake McLimans if he is trying but failing to keep Mitch McGary off the offensive boards. 6'9''/250 athletic and relentless is a bitch to deal with.
I see McGary getting in foul trouble early on as he learns the college game, but he is also going to get opposing big men in foul trouble as well. I am thinking of Derrick Nix of MSU and his unathletic ass trying to contend with McGary.
Don't think Nix will be happy and smiley after a night of dealing with little nephew Mitch McGary
Nix and Izzo might be a little sad again after a trip to Crisler
October 10th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^
+1 for actually commenting on the press conference, rather than being yet another fashion critic.
October 10th, 2012 at 8:13 PM ^
I totally agree.
But by the same token, those shoes and socks are seriously hideous and should be hidden in a deep, dark closet somewhere. DO NOT WANT.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:17 PM ^
they're just advance versions for practice, right? just for getting the fit and feel; and the 'official' Michigan (maize/blue) ones will come before the season starts. please?
if this is what we're stuck with, it's going to be hard to watch. it was difficult to read the text on the page. and, yes, styles can change (the black shoes and baggy shorts in '91 were fun and trendsetting) but the school's colors do not change.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:18 PM ^
I hate to say it, but I don't think they'd break those out on media day—where they know they're going to be photographed and discussed—with every player wearing them unless they planned on using them during the season.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^
The actual shoes are sweet...
The color is whatever... if the players like it, then I will too...
October 10th, 2012 at 7:22 PM ^
I would be okay with them wearing these shoes and socks for a start of the season tournament maybe, but I really hope these aren't a season long thing.
October 10th, 2012 at 7:40 PM ^
Comments