Illinois 64, Michigan 52 (OT)
Those moving pictures are the thousands of words you very much don't want to read about Michigan giving up a 21-2 run to close out yet another overtime loss. Worst of all, perhaps, is I couldn't lead off this post with Aubrey Dawkins taking Nnanna Ewgu for a ride on the BOFA Express.
This is apparently what happens when your only trusted inbounder is 5'10". I don't much like it.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
that ending really fucking sucked...
can someone please step up and close a game?
i don't even care who it is. i miss hero ball.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
This shit is getting old. Beilein got completely outclassed this game.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
Do tell... how would you have played the ENTIRE game without your best players and kept the close? The team was a 7 point dog, had a lead most of the game, and could've (should've) won if the other didn't intentionally bend the rules (step OOB intentionally/illegaly on an in bound).
February 13th, 2015 at 12:47 AM ^
nonsense.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:48 AM ^
The man was praised consistently for the past three years. He's the same man, a great coach. We are lucky to have him. We've had a hard year, we'll be back. In John we Trust.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:05 AM ^
As far as I can see no one wants to replace him. It's ok to point out when coaches make mistakes, and Beilein made a lot of them to allow that game to get away.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:31 PM ^
No way around it, coaches and players absolutely shit the bed down the stretch. Very disappointing.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
So i flew in to Champaign tonight for the game - man did the last 6 minutes of that game suck! Totally ran out of gas to close the 2nd half.
I was also surprised how few Michigan fans there were - i only saw 15-20 people...
February 12th, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^
In that I was like "Is it basketball season yet?" during the fall. Now, all I can think is "Is it football season yet?" Another tough loss, but another learning experience. All will be well in good time. Go Blue.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
All will be better? We're replacing Levert with a D3 transfer who's a complete unknown. Even with improvement from the freshmen, I think we're looking at more of the same next year.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:30 PM ^
"All will be well in good time". It may not be next year, or even the year after that. Or it could be next year. Hell, something could happen this year. We as a fan base have to show patience and faith, even in the hard times.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:32 PM ^
Well the recruiting was awful last year and isn't looking to get much better. And Beilein isn't exactly young.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:38 PM ^
When exactly has the recruiting been great under Beilein? He is very well known for turning under-appreciated kids into good to great talents. He is pretty good at finding a diamond in the rough.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:43 PM ^
It's never been, which is why it took him 6 years to finally get a team that could contend for conference titles and final fours. And which of the freshmen do you see that you think he could turn into a Trey Burke or Nik Stauskas type?
February 12th, 2015 at 11:49 PM ^
So far it seems like MAAR or Dawkins are the most likely candidates, but even then that might be a stretch. Who knows, maybe even Wilson might come out of nowhere after redshirting.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^
It took him 5 years, not 6, and given where the program was at when he took over, I think the timeline was very justifiable.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
Would you be ok if it took Harbaugh 5 years before he won a Big Ten title? Amaker was very similar to Hoke in that he brought in some very good players but couldn't win. Beilein didn't walk into that bad of a situation.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:18 AM ^
Harbaugh is taking over a program in much better shape and with much worse competition than what Beilein inherited, so no, I would not be okay with that.
It's pretty hard to take you seriously when you claim Beilein didn't walk into that bad of a situation. Michigan basketball had been bad for over a decade, was just recovering from one of the worst scandals in the history of the sport, had absolutely no worthwhile returning players, and had to recruit with the worst facilities in the conference.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:18 AM ^
Lower competition I don't agree with. The Big Ten is clearly on the upswing in football, and it wasn't the great basketball conference of the past few years when Beilein first took over (in fact it was much closer to what it is this year). Yeah sure the football program is in better shape but, like I said, Beilein inherited some good players his first couple of years here.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:47 AM ^
Do you honestly believe that Beilein had the same inherent advantages in building a basketball program that Harbaugh will have in rebuilding the football program? It's not even close. Michigan football has always recruited itself and has historically been the conference's best program with the best facilities. Basketball was awful when Beilein got here, and it had been awful for a long time.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^
Football doesn't really recruit itself, not anymore. You think these high school kids remember the last time Michigan had a great football team? That was almost 10 years ago. Harbaugh is being tasked with resurrecting a once proud but now dead program, and I'm willing to bet he won't take nearly as long to do it as Beilein did.
What I see is a basketball program about to reenter the mediocrity of the Amaker and early Beilein years. The past couple of seasons should have served as a jumping off point for a long and prosperous run, instead we're fighting to make the NIT and our recruiting continues to suffer. I know we'd all like to think that Beilein can wave his magic wand and turn any 2 or 3 star prospect into an NBA lottery pick, but the fact is that he can't. Guys like Burke and Caris are the exception, not the rule, no matter who the coach is, and frankly this disastrous season could've been avoided if he had hit on even one of the top recruits he was pursuing, even with all the injuries.
February 13th, 2015 at 1:02 AM ^
Right. Football doesn't recruit itself, which is why after the RR debacle, an unknown coach from SDSU was hired and pulled in top-ten classes, and after his debacle, Harbaugh came in and grabbed four 4-stars in a month.
I can't believe I'm actually responding to this nonsense. Yes, Beilein's recruiting has been a little frustrating, but we are playing without our top 7 guys from last year and you're complaining about one NIT year after two consecutive elite eights and a trip to the National Title game. Wtf man.
February 13th, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^
^ *drops mic*
February 13th, 2015 at 1:05 AM ^
What's wrong with an NIT year? I understand it's a little disappointing, given the recent success, but even UK has recently went to the NIT, and look at where they are now. And I realize we don't have the recruiting pipeline that they do, but it's not like we're ofer. There are still some bright spots even though they're being overshadowed by some pretty bad losses and untimely injuries.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^
VERY different situations. Amaker's teams were absolutely awful. Stu Douglas and Novak were not only viable, but preferable to Amaker options. Tommy was horrible at UM.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:19 AM ^
And Hoke wasn't horrible? Amaker's teams underperformed significantly, as did Hoke's.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:27 AM ^
85 vs 13... That's a big difference. The amount of turnover makes it moreso. BBall and FBall are inherently different. BBall has a lot more ups and downs due to turnover. There are very rare dynasties vs still rare FB where we've seen USC and Alabama recently. Amaker didn't develop anyone. In football at least you mature physically. Hoke had some decent position coaches. This is tl;dr so Amaker was a really sh*tty coach and FB is different.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^
There's also a difference in patience amongst the fan bases for each sport as well. CFB has more of a demand to win early on, which can be attributed to less games played and an instant gratification society. CBB is a more patient sport because of a multitude of reasons (shot clock, longer schedule, roster turnover, etc.)
February 13th, 2015 at 12:39 AM ^
Well in that case I'd argue Hoke didn't develop anyone either. Amaker left Beilein with a core of Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims, who essentially carried us to the tournament in 08-09. So again, Beilein didn't walk into the worst situation. Amaker dealt with the aftermath of the Ed Martin scandal and still was able to bring in some good players that made up the core of Beilein's first few teams.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:49 AM ^
Amaker never made the tourney.... UM hadn't been there since 1998. He absolutely walked into a worse situation and this is laughable. Beilein made the best of it, but did you watch those teams? This is so stupid and youd don't even know it. Here's the wiki.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^
Better check your facts.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:53 AM ^
Wait Beilein inherited a core of Harris and Sims? Harris hadn't played a minute of college basketball when Beilein was hired, and Sims averaged 3.4 ppg during the 2006-2007 season. Yeah, that's a hell of a core.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^
He's dug his hole. Who the hell is still waving the Amaker banner?
February 13th, 2015 at 1:00 AM ^
Sorry that I don't always speak praise of the all great Beilein who can't possibly do any wrong.
February 13th, 2015 at 1:04 AM ^
The problem is that you're complaining about something that might be a problem in the future. If you're correct, then come back in two years and I'll agree with you. Until then, this just sounds whiny and ill-informed.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:58 AM ^
Harris and Sims were top 30 recruits. One was a freshman, one was a sophomore. Yeah, you could walk into worse situations than that.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:32 AM ^
Only posting to make thread narrower.
February 13th, 2015 at 7:52 AM ^
This has been done before...but it's still fun.
Oh yeah Novak and Douglass gave us a B1G title.
February 13th, 2015 at 8:23 AM ^
Yes, narrow'd
February 17th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
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February 13th, 2015 at 1:37 AM ^
I know you two are discussing it but the team Beilein first inherited from Amaker was NOT good. At all. I don't think he was gifted anything from Tommy.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:27 AM ^
You're a fucking idiot if you think beilein walked into anything but an awful situation. He took us to our first tournament in 12 years. He didn't just get us to compete, he fucking win the B10. He promptly won a B10 championship by 3 games and took us to a championship game. Harbaugh and beilein have no basis for comparison because they aren't walking into anywhere near the same situation.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:43 PM ^
Well, in one year we got Mitch, GRIII, Stauskas, LeVert and Albrecht. Mitch and GRIII were 5 stars and Stauskas was a solid 4 star. LeVert was MAC level (late growth spurt so unknown potential) but he was still a solid 3 star. The only "unknown" was Albrecht.
I think this year, our wings have not been as good as they were for the past few years. We really need to get some stud recruits like Langford, Towns, etc.
February 12th, 2015 at 11:52 PM ^
Outside of the Fresh Five, Beilein and his staff haven't pulled big names. Granted, Chatman was a big name, but obviously hasn't lived up to the hype.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ^
big get.
February 13th, 2015 at 12:59 AM ^
He was. And he's gone from being a freshman gunner into a sophomore slump with occasional bright spots. He, along with the rest of the roster, will need the offseason to relax, regroup, and come back with a vengeance. All of these disappointments can act as a fuel for a comeback fire.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:38 AM ^
Yeah, I can't believe beilein can't get more than one five star guy per class who is an all big ten guy by his sophomore year. What an awful recruiter. Chatman can't play because he isn't good his freshman year and the 3 true freshmen starters we have don't live up to my standards, so I irrationally think we won't compete in the years to come. Good argument sir. If someone doesn't compeye by their sophomore year, they are a disappointment!
February 13th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
I'm not saying we won't compete in the years to come. I actually think the opposite. It's just right now we have a big name recruit who hasn't done anything with his increased playing time (KC) and another who is going through a sophomore slump (ZI). There are a lot of other bright spots on this team given the situation, Zak being one of them. He's had some great moments, and he's also learning along with the freshman. Zak is really reminding me of THJ right now, and we all know what he did his Junior year. Given time to take a step back and see what they've done, these guys will realize that they can be a whole lot more competitive with a full roster. It's just not plausible right now with the age and fatigue factors. They will come out of this year with a lot of experience and be able to apply it once everyone has had time to grasp the aspects of a Beilein offense. This team will have a big chip on their shoulders next year, with or without Caris. They'll come back with the knowledge of how to fight it out in games.
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