Unverified Voracity Loves One-And-One
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The right way. I mean yeah I think good coaching involves not doing things wrong.
There is a right way of doing things in college basketball... pic.twitter.com/4H2Csts22X
— Jordan Sperber (@hoopvision68) April 19, 2021
Will Wade might disagree.
I mean he does look like Michael Rapaport. A viral video of Brian Scalabrine housing some teenager who challenged him spurred this entertaining NYT article on the phenomenon of Gym Dudes stepping to professional athletes. WNBA player Cheyenne Parker:
When asked why amateurs were so willing to challenge journeymen basketball players, Parker said: “The same reason why a guy that I would never, ever give a chance to, still has that confidence to come and approach me and ask for my number. You know? It’s the same type of confidence that these people have to even think that they can beat a professional.”
Also, Brian Scalabrine has issues!
He said professional athletes, even retired ones, have an extra gear that an average person cannot tap into. He referred to it as the “dark place.”
“I would always say things, like in a game, ‘If I miss this next shot, my kids are going to die,’” Scalabrine said. “I would say that to myself, just to get through, just to put the pressure so I can lock in and make the shot.”
Scalabrine gets it more than most because he looks more like Seth Rogen than a person who does basketball good.
[After THE JUMP: you should have to cut off a finger to call timeout]
Mostly bad basketball rules proposals. Proposed—as in "brainstormed," not "imminent"—rule changes from the NCAA rules survey for basketball include:
- Widening the lane to 16 feet. I have no idea why this would be meaningful. Three second calls barely exist now and they should just get rid of that rule. It's barely enforced.
- Adopt NBA/WBB style team fouls (ie: two shots after 5 fouls in a ten minute section of the game) without actually going to quarters. This would eliminate the one-and-one, which is an extremely bad idea. The one-and-one is amazing. QED.
- Have some weird six-foul rule that's not really a six-foul rule. Extensive discussion of it on twitter if you're interested. I'm generally skeptical of relaxing foul disqualifications because I root for one of the teams that never fouls and don't want to see games devolve into MSU footbrawls more often than they already do.
- Limit late game timeouts. It is proposed that you couldn't take more than two timeouts in the last three minutes of the game. IE, if you have all three timeouts when you get to the two-minute mark one disappears. I am in favor of all mechanisms to reduce timeouts.
- Eliminate the five-second closely-guarded rule? Uh they already did this
- Adjust the travelling rule to allow for two steps after lifting a pivot foot. Apparently this would make "the spin move, eurosteps, and step-back shots" legal. Kind of seems like they're already legal unless you're Hunter Dickinson.
The Cheese Man returns. Camaron Cheeseman didn't actually play for Michigan last year because Michigan didn't have a scholarship slot for him, but those long levers have him on NFL draft radars. He got an ESPN profile? Okay.
For a moment, those watching the game were consumed by the name of the long-snapper on the receiving end of the penalty: Camaron Cheeseman.
"All the Wisconsin fans are like, 'Why didn't he come to Wisconsin?'" Cheeseman said.
The eternal question.
Football roster geography over time. Michigan's is extremely consistent: mostly Midwest with a relatively high number of out-of-region outliers:
Interesting to see how much and how little rosters change over the years. Here's an animation of Michigan's roster from 2010 to 2020. pic.twitter.com/VvlFgaKvDl
— CollegeFootballData.com (@CFB_Data) April 8, 2021
Franz vs FSU. NBA draft oriented clip reel:
Number one. Bob McKenzie has the most plugged-in NHL draft rankings out there and it looks like there's a consensus #1 overall pick:
It’s unanimous - 10 out of 10 NHL scouts surveyed by TSN have the 6-foot-5 1/2 University of Michigan freshman defenceman at No. 1. The Mississauga, Ont., native has solidified and enhanced his No. 1 standing from last fall’s preseason rankings, when only four of those same 10 scouts had him ranked first overall.
There's still some chance that Power doesn't go first since he's not a level beyond the other guys at the top of the draft, like is often the case. Also the pandemic has thrown evaluations into chaos, so there's likely to be more departure from pre-draft consensus than usual.
Three other Michigan players or commits figure into McKenzie's top eight. On Luke Hughes, the #5 overall prospect:
TSN’s top five is rounded out by another American, USA U-18 program defenceman Luke Hughes, who is the younger but bigger brother to New Jersey centre Jack and Vancouver defenceman Quinn.
Luke isn’t viewed as offensively dynamic and creative a blueliner as Quinn — not many are, mind you — but he’s still an outstanding skater with great puck-moving ability. And while Luke’s defensive game is raw, he has a much bigger frame to work with than his brother(s). His season, however, is over after undergoing foot surgery to repair damaged tendons because of a skate cut.
Matt Beniers is fourth and Kent Johnson eighth. Mackie Samoskevich (#31) and Dylan Duke (#61) also make the list.
Exit. Freshman forward Josh Groll hit the transfer portal after only playing in two games last year. I'm slightly bummed because I thought his underlying numbers suggested that he could be a quality second- or third-line player.
Etc.: The Chet dream is dead as Holmgren goes to Gonzaga, which is officially Annoying IMO. Hockey's top ten NHL scorers. Hockey will play in the Icebreaker tournament next year along with Minnesota State, Providence, and UMD. Deep thoughts about Heathcliff. Baseball's looking for quality at-bats.
“I would always say things, like in a game, ‘If I miss this next shot, my kids are going to die,’” Scalabrine said.
This is interesting to me because I do something similar and I have read that it is technically a form of OCD. I make these little "bets" with myself on useless things, like "if I reach the top of the stairs before my wife says her next word, I'll make an extra $10,000 this year." It's all inconsequential in reality but the brain can stack these arbitrary stakes on top of it.
Is it inconsequential because it's an arbitrary game you are playing inside your head or because you've never made it to the top of the stairs before your wife says her next word?
I can't imagine how few steps that staircase would have to have for me to climb them before my wife's next word!
Ba-dum-bum
Your “top of the stairs” reminded me that I did this as a child. Had to get up the basement stairs in less than X seconds or else the monsters would get me. Had never heard the OCD theory before. Interesting.
April 19th, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
You must have really believed the "step on a crack break your mother's back" thing as a kid. I know I did. It was about 0.5 mile walk from my junior high school to home. When I was full OCD mode I wouldn't touch a single crack in the sidewalk or street, to or fro. People must have thought I was practicing dance moves because cracks in concrete in Michigan are fairly plentiful.
April 19th, 2021 at 10:41 PM ^
This is how Chris Speilman approached every game. He was going to hit the ball carrier like they were going to murder a family member.
Seems to me that most of those schools in the montage don't have the resources to do things "the wrong way" even if they tried.
Probably has a lot to do with them hiring new coaches this year as well
April 20th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Cheating is FAR more widespread than people think. There are athletes at D-II schools getting freebies, seriously.
3 seconds is almost never called, but the lane is narrow enough that teams like Michigan State, Arkansas, Houston, and Baylor can put a rebounder or two down by the basket and let them just hang out until a shot goes up. Then they crash the glass. I watched them carefully in the tourney and they do the hokey-pokey while waiting for the shot to go up. They're actually pretty adept at staying out of the lane.
For fans of team basketball, widening the lane is a good thing. Fans of MSU-style footbrawl prefer to keep the lane as is.
"...put a rebounder or two down by the basket and let them just hang out until a shot goes up. Then they crash the glass. I watched them carefully in the tourney and they do the hokey-pokey while waiting for the shot to go up."
This reminds me of the Edmonton version of Wayne Gretzky - he would hang out close to the blue line waiting for the puck. His flavor of 'defense' was circling through the defensive zone on occasion, if his mates couldn't get the puck out. His cherry picking instituted several changes in hockey, which, in turn, opened up the league to New Jersey's implementation of the center zone trap.
Ergo, Wayne Gretzky is alternately responsible for some of the most exciting offensive hockey we've ever seen, and the most boring, defensive zone bullshit ever facilitated on ice.
Thanks, Wayne...
IMO, a wider lane means a bit easier double on a post player as they can close out on a 3 point attempt a bit quicker with less distance to go. Maybe a net Negative for Michigan with Hunter (and Juwan as coach).
If given the opportunity I would absolutely challenge Cheyenne Parker. Not because I’d have the faintest hope of winning, but because I’m curious to know just how badly I’d get beat.
There’s something to be said for experiencing a matchup up close and personal that you don’t get from the dry knowledge that you don’t stand a chance. It’s to be avoided in something like boxing, but basketball? Hells yeah I wanna feel getting roasted crispy.
There are a couple of pro tennis players I'd enjoy getting a chance to play against. Not because I think I can win a game, but just to see the difference in pace, depth and control.
And one of them I want to play again, because it would be cool to see how much better he is now than when we were teens and he kicked my ass.
I'm in the same boat. I'd love to see just how much better they are. I wonder if I could even get a racquet on some if their serves. (Not even thinking about a decent return, just make contact)
I was in China in 1992 teaching English on a campus next to an athletic training facility in Shanghai. A group of us guys (athletic college kids) scrimmaged the Chinese women’s Olympic “B” team. We got beat 113-29.
I want to return an Isner second serve. Just to see how high the ball jumps off the court in person.
But yeah, playing someone who can routinely hit 125+mph would be interesting. I've hit with enough college guys and 5.0 players who could occasionally hit it, but it they're a lot more erratic than someone who can just groove that pace over and over and hit the lines while doing it.
My former neighbor was a well-known Big 10 and NBA player. I invited him to play pick up ball with some buddies. Nicest guy in the world but once we started he was a different person and his intensity was an 11/10. Told him I hadn't played in a few months beforehand so he told his teammates to not even guard me. I had to hit 3 three-pointers before they gave any thought to defense. I have zero doubt I would lose whatever we played to to 0 if we played 1-on-1.
If given the opportunity, I'd ask Cheyenne Parker for her number.
Agree. I was at UM for wrestling camp like summer before junior year and Brandon Harrison was working out in the field house with one of the receivers, doing hands drills and stuff. We went on break from session and some of us walked over to chat. I asked Brandon how fast his 40 is then challenged him to a race. We ran west to east sideline to sideline and then did it once more back. He jogged until about 35% of the way back to the group when I told him he wasn’t even trying. He turned on the jets and I met him back by the group about 10 seconds later. Not even remotely close, not that I assumed it would be.
Cool story bro time... back in my Michigan days, had the chance to play some pickup soccer with a couple of players on the Women’s national team (and not bench players, like, starting in the World Cup finals have Mia Hamm on speed dial type players). That was a fun experience as I always wondered what that would be like.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
I was once involved in a game of 21 with a group of guys who loved basketball and the local university's star PG on the women's team. She was wearing sandals and was several inches shorter than all of us. She stood around until a rebound happened to bounce her way, took a jump shot, and then she shot her way to 21 without ever losing possession of the ball.
The first game was cool. It was fun to watch her smoke everyone without even trying. The second game was boring.
If you are worried about basketball turning into a 3-point contest, isn't the solution to go back to the old narrow key? That way good post players' EV on shots might go up and even out the game.
“When asked why amateurs were so willing to challenge journeymen basketball players, Parker said: “The same reason why a guy that I would never, ever give a chance to, still has that confidence to come and approach me and ask for my number. You know? It’s the same type of confidence that these people have to even think that they can beat a professional”
Kinda harsh. Never thought there was anything wrong with asking someone out as long as you take no for an answer
A lot of people consider it an offense for unattractive people to even exist, let alone address them. Nothing new and won’t ever change.
You just don't know what we go through.
Username?
I'd ask her out. I'm too old for her and my wife would beat my ass for doing, but I'd do it.
I love the quality at bat metric. It’s not scientific but it is useful. Can’t tell you how many times someone hits one on the screws and a third baseman just makes a crazy catch and then, later, a guy just throws his bat at something and it rolls just a little too far from the pitcher
I got the sense that it wasn't considered scientific, but I thought it *was*?
QAB = any of the following:
- reached base NOT due to an error or FC
- 6-7+ pitches seen
- Hard hit contact
- Advanced a runner NOT due to an error
- gets to a full count
People can pick nits over # of pitches or full count I guess but I thought is was a thing and I've used it to measure QABs for my kids travel softball team.
- Limit late game timeouts. It is proposed that you couldn't take more than two timeouts in the last three minutes of the game. IE, if you have all three timeouts when you get to the two-minute mark one disappears. I am in favor of all mechanisms to reduce timeouts.
In which case coaches would just take a timeout at 3:10. That's what they do with the disappearing timeout at halftime. Coaches do love their timeouts.
I’d give coaches unlimited timeouts, on the condition the opponent gets to shoot a one-and-one.
I think there are fewer coaches who feel the need to burn a use-or-lose timeout with a few minutes left than who feel the need to use every timeout right before halftime.
He said professional athletes, even retired ones, have an extra gear that an average person cannot tap into. He referred to it as the “dark place.”
I can vouch for this. I was at Detroit Tiger Fantasy Camp once, and our ex-Tiger coach was Jack Billingham. Jack was a nice guy, a heavyset 60-year-old with a southern accent as thick as Waffle House syrup. One day it was too rainy to play, so we went over to the batting cages and Jack threw us BP. We all took our turns and were having a good time. One of the younger campers, however, started talking a little trash after drilling a couple of Jack's down-the-middle tosses. Without saying a word, the next pitch came in a different gear, and high enough inside to move Tommy Trashtalk back. The next few pitches were same speed, outside corner, boom-boom-boom. Tommy never touched another pitch before his turn was over.
It was impressive, and an effective lesson. These ex-pros were having fun, and wanted you to have fun, too. But if you wanted to be a dick and push them, they were perfectly capable of pushing back - maybe harder than you expected.
“Old Man” or “Dad” fury should never be tempted.
Feel like I will share my story. I was playing golf with a former Det. Piston. We were both mid handicappers, nothing special. Playing an easy match. Lots of bogeys. 13th hole, we are both in a fairway bunker. I hit the green! All of sudden, the guy locks in, hits a mid iron from 15 to 3 feet. Nothing over the prior 3 hours hinted he could hit anything like that. 18th hole, he drains a snake to win the match by 1. Pretty funny.
Feel like I will share my story. I was playing golf with a former Det. Piston. We were both mid handicappers, nothing special. Playing an easy match. Lots of bogeys. 13th hole, we are both in a fairway bunker. I hit the green! All of sudden, the guy locks in, hits a mid iron from 15 to 3 feet. Nothing over the prior 3 hours hinted he could hit anything like that. 18th hole, he drains a snake to win the match by 1. Pretty funny.
"Camaron Cheeseman didn't actually play for Michigan last year because Michigan didn't have a scholarship slot for him,"
What the hell? I knew the roster management was bad, but that seems like a pretty big screw-up. Also, was that ever reported last fall, because I don't recall reading about it.
Thought the same thing. First time I’m hearing about it and I thought it was actually even reported that HE decided to move on?
Here is my proposal on fouls.
Eliminate fouling out altogether.
Any foul starting from the 5th one on results in the other team getting two shots plus the ball.
Let the coach figure out if it's worth having his guy on the floor with that hanging over their heads.
Bonus: this would eliminate first half auto benching as coaches wouldn't worry about adjusting minutes until at least the 3rd foul was in the books.
I think that personal fouls should be gone. As shitty as the refs are and as game changing as foul trouble is it should just go away. Just switch to 3 free throws once team fouls hit 12 or something.
I've thought that teams should have the option of declining the foul, just like a football team can decline a penalty if it's not in their best interest. The foul wouldn't count against a player or a team's total. Just inbound the ball and play the game.
Of course, I've had this thought at the end of a six-pack, so it's probably not the most well-thought-out proposal that college basketball has ever seen. But it certainly would move the last minute of the game along.
Oddly I know a guy who invented a spoon knife fork combo (and subsequently had the design stolen by his overseas manufacturer)
So which football player did we take from Fargo?
I know this will be negged and I'll get a lecture about how college hockey works ( go ahead waste your time, I've been watching Michigan hockey since 1973) but, all that talent on the hockey team and yet such a middling year.
In fairness, we didn't get to see the end result.
Wow, you’ve been watching Michigan hockey for almost 50 years and you still don’t know how college hockey works? Impressive
April 20th, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
Our most talented players were also our youngest, so inconsistency was not a surprise to me. And we made the tournament, and could have made some noise there, but covid had other ideas. We had to forfeit before we even got to the games that mattered, so the grade is really just an incomplete in my mind.
April 20th, 2021 at 11:12 AM ^
On top of being our youngest players, they were also young for being freshman as well. Owen Power played the first few games of the season as a 17 year old. Beniers turned 18 in November also. Johnson had just turned 18 in October.
Without much in terms of a supporting veteran cast, we managed a top 10 ranking, a 2 seed, and didn’t get a chance to see how the season ultimately would have ended.
A rule I believe should be made regards establishing a maximum distance for awarding three points-I would make it 35 feet. Desperation heaves from outside of 35 feet should only count 2 points.
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