Unverified Voracity Is Kind Of Good Still Comment Count

Brian

Send Joe Dumars to space, part XVII. Trey Burke's line from last night's Magic-Jazz game: 30 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds.

actual highlights start at about a minute in

Burke's shooting percentage is pretty low right now since he's taking a lot of those tough runners you remember from a variety of NO NO NO NO YES moments last year and getting fewer easy looks around the basket what with NBA players being very tall and athletic, but in his last ten games He's averaging 6.4 assists against 1.3 turnovers in that window. His TO rate of 6.8 is insanely low. It's looking like a three-way race for Rookie of the Year between Burke and old foes Victor Oladipo and Michael Carter-Williams.

Meanwhile, Detroit drafted a shooting guard currently hitting 37% from the floor and traded for Brandon Jennings, who is a fourth year player about as good as Burke is as a rookie. I shake my fist!

Is this getting old? Am I going to be describing various things that should be done to Joe Dumars for passing on Trey Burke when Burke is 55? Yes. I apologize for what will be history's longest conniption fit.

Prepare your butts. Devin Gardner's status for the bowl game is still up in the air but looking grimmer and grimmer as each day passes without his return to the practice field. We mentioned it on the front page a couple days ago after Hoke's presser, and everyone followed up with assessments about how grim it's sounding. And in retrospect… when has a sprain of a ligament in your big toe ever required crutches?

Meanwhile, Sam Webb was asking people if you play Gardner at 75% in this upcoming bowl game, and the answer to that seems to be a clear no since there's not much at stake. And was Gardner 75% by midseason? At best. Now that he's limping around on crutches, it's at least 50/50 Shane Morris fans will get to see him against K-State.

It is possible that Jason Whitlock doesn't know what he's talking about. Taylor Lewan took a lot of heat this year for Michigan's offensive line… for some reason. I watched him closely and he still looked like the incredibly good player that he was as a junior, but when things are bad they must be a Failure of Leadership if you are the kind of person who has no basis for saying anything but is paid to say things.

The NFL will weigh in in April; current returns are that Jason Whitlock is talking out of his butt. I know you are shocked. Todd McShay projects Taylor Lewan as the ninth pick of the NFL draft:

Lewan isn't an exceptional athlete but he has enough quickness to get by when coupled with his physicality and mean streak. I've written a few times this season that even though Lewan doesn't always look like a prototype left tackle, he is very effective in run blocking and pass protection. Safety might be seen as a bigger need for Buffalo, but typically if you have a chance to take an offensive tackle over a safety in the first round, you do it.

"Not a prototype left tackle" is a weird criticism to level at a prototype left tackle. Putting it in the pile with that guy who thought Mike Martin was supposed to be some journeyman plugger after he 'struggled' as a senior.

This man must be educated on his own dime. That one Cal assistant who got a ton of recruits to commit to Cal and then jumped to Washington, bringing those recruits with him, is under investigation. For terrible things.

Mike Davis, a throwing coach who helped Basham win a state shot put title in track and field, told the Times that [Tosh] Lupoi gave him $3,000 for private tutoring for Basham and $1,500 to reimburse Basham's father for online classes.

The kid ended up not qualifying anyway. I guess you can't be giving money to people no matter what it's for, but I bet the NCAA prefers it when they come down on people for hiring strippers instead of tutors. Lupoi should start making donations to charities in recruits' names, just to see what happens.

Steve Sarkisian could eat a suspension for this after the NCAA made head coaches responsible for their assistants' misdeeds, something that would undoubtedly increment Lane Kiffin's smug look the one tenth of one percent it can be upgraded from its resting state.

OH GOOD THANKS 2013. JT Compher won't play at the WJC because he broke his foot, which will probably put him out for a month. This is at least the right time to do it, as Michigan doesn't return to the ice in a game Compher was going to be available for until January 10th, and then Michigan has a bye week before a Joe-and-road series against MSU that he may be available for.

This does make an important series at Wisconsin tougher, but at least Michigan has a lot of center depth.

SERIOUSLY 2013, I MEAN, SERIOUSLY? Beilien on WTKA:

During a Thursday morning interview on “The Michigan Insider” show on WTKA-AM (1050), Michigan coach John Beilein said he sophomore forward is being held back by a "variety" of nagging injuries.

"Right now, Mitch cannot go 100 percent," Beilein said. "He can't do what he can do."

You go straight to hell, 2013.

I SAID STRAIGHT TO HELL. PA DB Monate Nicholson, who was going to commit to M before the coaching staff basically told him not to visit, is now an MSU commit.

Still looking. Michigan signed their four hockey recruits for the upcoming year, though there are a couple of things yet to be determined.

One is the status of Hayden Lavigne, who's had a rough start in the USHL (.887 in five games) and is still a really young guy, especially for a goalie. It seems to make more sense for everyone to delay his entry until 2015, and even then he'll have to compete with a senior Racine and junior Nagelvoort. As we've seen in the recent past, goalies staring down a tough road to playing time are often defection candidates. Lavigne will be of interest. We'll see how committed he is to the college route; he was at least committed enough to sign his LOI.

The other thing is who replaces Jared Walsh, who committed and then defected to the OHL. Michigan graduates two defensemen (Bennett and Clare) and brings back something between six and eight depending on your opinion of the viability of the guys on the back end. (They are Serville, Lohan, Downing, De Jong, Chiasson, Sinelli, Szuma, and Hyman.) They've got a guy named Cutler Martin who is the hard nosed stay at home type his name foretold from birth, and they'd probably like to add another in that mold with Serville, Downing, and De Jong all puck moving types. May their search here be as successful as their search for a goalie last year was.

Okay.gif. Borges on Michigan's success against Ohio State:

"We executed," Borges said firmly. "It's that simple. We executed.

"Simple."

I really hope that's just balderdash for the reporters. The BTN commercials don't say FOOTBALL IS SIMPLE, man.

Etc.: McKeen's ranks incoming hockey center Dylan Larkin 20th in their latest NHL draft projection. That means he'll probably end up in the second round, like fringe first rounders before him JT Compher and Jon Merrill. Ricky Doyle highlights. He's killing it to the tune of 30 a game. UNC basketballer John Henson's shirt has an opinion. Hyping up the redshirting DTs.

Comments

uncleFred

December 19th, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^

Borges had a great deal more to say, most of which did not make the Mlive article. I'm also curious why no transcripts of the coach's pressers have appeared here, with Heiko gone is there noone to cover them anymore? That would be a shame because those transcripts were a great value for the readers of this blog. 

Before all the Borges haters load up, you'd be well advised to go listen to the entire presser (and Mattison's as well). I think that you'll find that Borges discusses in some detail how the improved execution allowed him much greater discretion in his play calling. 

 

Michigan4Life

December 19th, 2013 at 3:29 PM ^

over time, he'll show that he'll be a great 3 pt shooter and defender. That's his role as of now and will only grow with experience. He has shown that he can be an elite defensive player which won't ever be Burke's game.

Brandon Jennings has done a real good job running the team IMO. He is very adept in pick and roll with Monroe/Drummond.  Look at his assists numbers. It's over 8 apg which is a great number for a PG.  Is he frustrating? Yes because he takes unnecessary shots, but isn't a terrible shooter either.

UMaD

December 19th, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^

I think some to many people prefer to ignore defense entirely.  When Steve Nash can be an MVP...

I think a big difference between football and basketball analysis is that you can pretty much wave your hand at football defenses and still evaluate offensive players fairly. The 2-way thing makes it much harder in basketball.  (see: the Spike needs to play more arguments).

I would have preferred Burke, but I agree that KCP's defense is important.  Jennings D is pretty awful though - he's a big reason the Pistons are sub 500.

Burke's success in the NBA is dependant on him functioning as a game-manager.  His low TO rate is a great sign that he can do it.  Defense and shot selection are the two big things he needs to improve and both are manageable.  I think he's exceeded expectations so far and is on the path to being a solid NBA starter.

 

Michigan4Life

December 19th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^

I think Joe D believe that either Knight (at the time) or thought there's a legit shot of landing Jennings would be a better option over taking a rookie PG who has a lot to prove whereas KCP would serve as a role player early on before expanding his role down the road.  KCP already has natural athleticism and can shoot the ball. There's real value of getting a player who can shoot 3 and play defense.  Most team would take that player any day.

TheLastHarbaugh

December 19th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

I think that they can simultaneously be good picks. 

Like Ive said before, so many people ignore the whole Brandon Knight aspect of the decision. Drafting Burke would have submarined his value. They also would have formed what probably would have ended up being the worst defensive backcourt in the entire league.

Also, Joe Dumars is fightinng for his job. If the Pistons don't make the playoffs this year he is going to get fired. The playoff race in the east is going to be extremely close. Hindsight is 20-20 but had they drafted Burke they would have been in huge trouble right out of the gate. Billups, Bynum, and Burke were all injured early in the year. Maybe all of those games without having a point guard ends up being the difference between not making the playoffs and making it.

And if you're going to knock Dumars for not selecting Burke (even though to be frank it's too early to tell either way), you have to give him all of the credit in the world for selecting Andre Drummond, who has been one of the 12-15 best players in the NBA this year at just 20 years old. Dude is going to be a superstar in a year or two. He's going to make the all star team this year and he will be one of the 4 or 5 youngest all stars ever.

You've also got to give him props for drafting Greg Monroe, who is one of the best players under 25 years old and is constantly improving defensively. He's already got a fairly polished offensive low post game, and is an excellent passing big. 

The eastern conference is terrible, but the Pistons just might be the 3rd best team in it. They're coming off an OT loss to the team with the best record in the west (Portland) in a game they gave away, and they were the first team all year to beat Indiana at home. So he has constructed a roster that can compete with the best teams in the league, even if it is wonky as hell.

I was unhappy that they didn't draft Burke as well, but a lot of the arguments being provided are extremely one sided and fairly disingenuous.

They can both be good picks, and you never know what the future holds. What if Dumars leverages the Jennings trade to make a deal with Boston, sending BJ and Monroe to the Celtics for Rondo (something that has been rumored since the start of the year)?

There is still a lot that can happen.

Michigan4Life

December 19th, 2013 at 10:58 PM ^

People who are hating on Joe D for passing on Burke should just chill.  Can we just say that both KCP and Burke ended up in a better situation for their career?

The biggest sticking point is Greg Monroe. I don't think he's worth the max contract and he is a very useable tradeable asset along with expiring contracts like Stuckey, Charlie V.  I expect Joe D to make moves to ensure that Josh Smith will play at the PF position where it'll decrease the chance of him jacking up long 2 pt jumpers.  They need to find a SF who can shoot to make the team cohesive offensively and defensively.  Smith-Monroe-Drummond combo makes for one of the worse defensive combo in the league.

You have to be encouraged with the Pistons play as of late with the last few games. If Jennings and Smith are shooting at least 40% or better, the Pistons are a hard team to handle because of their ability to make tough shots that can be well defended. To me, they have started to figure it out on how to play together.  Joe D may not end up trading away if they continue to knock out top teams like Heat and Pacers.

UMaD

December 20th, 2013 at 12:23 PM ^

Regarding Knight - I don't think Burke would have submarined his value, since his best fit is as a combo guard anyway.  He's a solid spot-up shooter and defender (at least compared to Jennings).  The bigger problem was Stuckey who pretty much plays the same role despite a very different skillset and, to a lesser extent, Bynum.  The whole backcourt situation was and is incoherent, and Burke wasn't going to fix that.

KCP seems like the best defender of the group.  Shooting and defense is what the Pistons need.

Regarding Drummond - I don't give Dumars too much credit for making the obvious pick. Yes, other GMs messed this up ahead of him, but in general Knight, Monroe, Drummond where no-brainers where they were taken.  He was lucky to have them fall.  Along the same lines:  OKC's GM doesn't deserve credit for taking Durant when the Blazers took that tall bum from Ohio.

I would have viewed Burke the same way, but Dumars took KCP instead.  That's the sort of decision that you really deserve credit/blame for.  Agree it's too early to judge KCP/Burke decision.

My big problem with Dumars is giving up a '14 pick to pay Smith instead of Gordon for one year.  This team isn't a title contender, but next years team, with a pick from the loaded '14 draft helping out might be.

schreibee

December 20th, 2013 at 3:30 PM ^

Even if, for some reason, you are a bigger fan of the Pistons than Michigan; and if, for some reason, you actually believe that "KCP" is a better draft pick for the Pistons than Trey would have been; even granting those two wildly bizarre beliefs, I would suggest that where you chose to voice those opinions makes you a troll- given you just posted them here on Mgoblog!

Michigan4Life

December 20th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^

There is a reason why Joe D chose KCP over Burke. KCP is a better athlete, shooter and defender than Trey.  KCP fits the overall piece of the team over Trey. Trey is a solid but not great athlete, will never be an elite defensive player, decent but not great shooter and is kind of small for a PG.

How is this trolling when other people are saying the same thing once the intital shock that Joe D passed on Trey in the draft?

Gulogulo37

December 20th, 2013 at 12:19 AM ^

Yeah and then all he did was put together a perfect mix of eclectic players and got the right coach for them and went on a really good run and won an NBA title! Screw Dumars!

Certainly he deserves criticism, and I'm not saying he shouldn't go (I really don't follow the NBA enough to know that), but come on. Don't act like he's just been running the franchise into the ground since he's been GM.

Michigan4Life

December 20th, 2013 at 7:13 PM ^

that would put people's butt on the seat.  That's a short-sighted thinking.  The better plan is to take the best possbile player for the team and with winning, it would put people's butt on the seat moreso than just taking a "local" player.  People come when they win, period.

Michigan4Life

December 20th, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^

Trey have the stats but is inefficient while KCP doesn't get asked to score a ton.  KCP is a superior defender.  It's a wash, bascially. KCP can shoot and is a better athlete.

KCP was the SEC POY which is amazing considering he was on a bad team.  Yes, Trey was the National POY but had much better teammates around him.

93Grad

December 19th, 2013 at 3:35 PM ^

and I hate it even more now.  How in the world could Montae not be good enough for our coaches, but is good enough for a Spartan staff that has owned us for the last 6 years or so?

TheNema

December 19th, 2013 at 3:36 PM ^

I don't understand Brian blowing up at the McGary comment. It seemed to be a statement from Beilein on Mitch facing obstacles when he is playing right now. I don't think he was delivering news.

And you might want to qualify Fall 2013 as the thing that sucks. The year 2013 had an NCAA championship game run.

aiglick

December 19th, 2013 at 3:38 PM ^

All right Borges let's just execute in the bowl game eh. There are of course multiple things wrong with the strong possibility Gardner can't go in just over a week but one of them is that Borges now has an excuse if the offense does poorly. Of course if that somehow does not happen with a true freshman at the helm I will be flabbergasted. I think Morris can be good but he hasn't had extended playing time yet and I've had my fill of true freshman Michigan quarterbacks.

jmblue

December 19th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^

PA DB Monate Nicholson, who was going to commit to M before the coaching staff basically told him not to visit, is now an MSU commit.

Why is this bad news? It sounds like they're getting a guy we don't want.

Blue in Yarmouth

December 20th, 2013 at 7:52 AM ^

so I'm not entirely certain, but what I thought he was getting at he was mostly just upset that MSu landed a guy most people thought was pretty good when we could have had him if we wanted. He did seem like a good prospect that I would have loved to have, but with what SC says below, if he is playing WR that makes this somewhat less of a loss IMHE. 

AlaskanYeti

December 19th, 2013 at 3:47 PM ^

Not taking anything away from Trey because he's proving himself, but I think his numbers are a bit inflated because he's playing on a bad team. He wouldn't be putting up those numbers for the Piston's, which are a decent team this year. He would be a role player, just like KCP is currently.

AlaskanYeti

December 19th, 2013 at 4:07 PM ^

I think the Pistons have a talented roster right now. Good mix of vets and young talent. Especially the big men (Monroe & Drummond). That came to mind first but looking at records versus the Eastern Conference the Jazz are 2-7, whereas the Pistons are 12-1. They play each other on Jan. 17th so we'll see what happens.

TheLastHarbaugh

December 19th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^

The Jazz are terrible. They play in the west but that doesn't change the fact that they've probably been one of the worst teams in the league.

At this point Burke has been a bit of a king looter during a riot type of player. He's put up some numbers but he has been extremely inefficient. He needs to improve on his offensive efficiency, because if he's going to continue to play this poorly on defense, his offense necessarily has to be good just to break even.

umumum

December 19th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^

the Pistons are only 13-14 in the Eastern Conference, where there are only 3 teams with positive records?  I certainly agree that the Pistons are better and have more potential than the past few years---Jennings is better than Knight and (even out of position) Smith is better than the embarrassment of small forwards the Pistons have thrown out there.  But the optimism seems a little overstated.  Last night's big 2 point win was over a journey-man filled Celtic team that is in the midst of a rebuilding season.  Speaking of which, Brad Stevens has done a masterful job juggling that collection of players--he's coaching like a younger Gregg Popovich.

AriGold

December 19th, 2013 at 3:48 PM ^

this is the exact shit i cannot stand: a coach who takes ZERO responsibility or accountability for his bad play calls...its execution, no matter how stupid/predictable my playcalls are, its on the kids...man, no wonder the 5 star offensive recruits are looking elsewhere

TheNema

December 19th, 2013 at 4:02 PM ^

Yup. Borges is not a cool guy. I still have not given up hope that he is gone after the bowl game. Hoke's "I anticipate the same staff being together" did not read to me like the 100% definitive statement others took it as.

 

 

Erik_in_Dayton

December 19th, 2013 at 4:02 PM ^

Coaches say stuff like that.  Much of their job is getting better performances out of their players.  If I were a coach, my players would be more-or-less the only audience I cared about when I talked to the media.  You can interpret Borges's pressers as saying to his team "You have it in you to do great things, but you have to be on point all the time."  I don't see anything wrong with that.

Blue in Yarmouth

December 20th, 2013 at 8:08 AM ^

but I disagree with you on this. Being a guy who played sports at a pretty high level for a long time (and in a sport where coaches regularly call players out in public) I'm pretty used to reading coaches pressers and understanding what they mean. I also had the benefit of being around other players so I know my interpretation of things wasn't any different than anyone else's.

When a coach says things the way Al says them it points directly at you as a player. Let's be honest, he never sugar coated things in the press conferences, it was almost exactly "the players didn't execute" "you can't win if you don't execute".

That sentiment was echoed by the head coach when he would make comments like "I thought he called a great game" or "we had a great game plan". Phrases like those move the target off the coaches and put them squarely on the players.

Now if Al wanted his point to be what you say in your post "You have it in you to do great things, but you have to be on point all the time" he could have said something more inline with that. To be honoest, I don't doubt he says things like that behind closed doors and at practice. The problem is when he says the things he does at the pressers it is considered by most (and by that I mean people here as well as most players I have been around over the years) to be a coach throwing his players under the bus while taking no responsibility for what has transpired.

Now sometimes that may be appropriate, but when the same coach never says anything like "You know, I think we could have planned better" or "we thought we had a good gameplan going in but their defense really changed things up and caught us off guard a bit". Had he ever said anything like that to go along with the execution qoutes I wouldn't have a such a problem with him. But the fact that he hasn't, while working under a coach who stresses accountability above almost all else...I have issue with it.

Sac Fly

December 19th, 2013 at 3:49 PM ^

Jack Dougherty was our chance to land a high profile blueliner late in the recruiting process and we didn't get him. The best that we can hope for is a serviceable third pair guy who can develop down the line.

Unless Lohan takes a huge step forward, Brennen Serville is our right defensmen on the top pair next year.

Erik_in_Dayton

December 19th, 2013 at 3:59 PM ^

McGary: He's never looked 100%, and I'm glad to have that confirmed.  It's better than the alternative that he somehow regressed as a basketball player for non-injury reasons.

As for Burke, his success has to help with recruiting at some point, right?  I mean, someone is going to love us, aren't they?

DingoBlue

December 19th, 2013 at 4:01 PM ^

I think the largest benefit will continue to be able to recruit PGs with the line "We see you as the next Trey Burke".  Whether or not that translates to other positions I'm not so sure about.  But at least for PG recruiting, it should be a big draw the better Trey does in the NBA.