Unverified Voracity Plans A Boring Signing Day Comment Count

Brian

Well, we're going to do stuff anyway. The number of Michigan prospects who will commit on signing day: zero. This makes our annual signing day chat spectacular kind of pointless, but we'll do it anyway. It'll boot up an hour or two before Brady Hoke's 1 PM press conference and wind down after that. Also scheduled: a podcast, a 2013 reset, and a look at what other teams in the conference did (spoiler: not much). I look forward to answering the same question about whether there will be any surprise recruits two dozen times.

Ace has an ill-timed but unavoidable absence the next couple days and will by around as much as possible but not constantly.

4ebafdc97e461.image[1]robinson3[1]142_Nick_Stauskas[1]

McGary, Robinson, Stauskas

I'm not even mad. Scout updates its 2012 basketball rankings in much the same way Rivals did, dropping McGary to #20, raising GRIII to #27, and inserting Stauskas at #83. I don't mind McGary falling like that since it seemed like he was not quite on the same level as various other centers this fall.

Even better from the "keep McGary around some" POV: there are a whopping eight centers in front of him in the Scout rankings. He might want to cool his heels a little to clear out that logjam. Meanwhile, Robinson is two spots off a fifth star and Stauskas has converted just about everyone into a believer at this point.

The numbers are pretty good. Via UMHoops, Michigan's tourney profile:

  • Record: 15-6 (6-3 Big Ten) [Div. 1 Only]
  • RPI: 16
  • SOS: 14
  • Home Record: 11-0
  • Away Record: 2-5
  • Neutral Record: 2-1
  • vs. RPI Top 50: 6-4
  • vs. RPI Top 100: 7-5

That Wisconsin win is rounding into form, giving Michigan two victories over elite-ish competition. I'm pleasantly surprised the RPI is that high; I would have guessed they were ten or so spots lower. Michigan's lack of blowouts does not hurt them here, though. Thus that.

Also thus: Michigan is homing in on a 5 seed according to bracketology folks. Lunardi has us a 4, Crashing the Dance a 6, and three other sources say 5. Michigan is tracking slightly better than my expectation at the beginning of the season, which was a 6.

All the outdoor games. The outside GLI thing is steadily moving from rumor to reality. A Windsor Star columnist is now saying that it will be officially official "next week." By the time that tourney's done Michigan will have played 5 outdoor games in four years. The novelty is officially worn off.

Loons. The SEC version of Thought Equity Motion is blowing out the youtube accounts of anyone with the temerity to post clips of decade-old games. Keep your old projects handy, WH.

The correct solution here is the same one that some music companies have started executing when they find their audio on youtube: leave it and take the ad revenue. No one who's putting these games up is doing so for the money. They just want to share the history of their programs with the world at large. And no one's going to pay to see the 1999 Wisconsin game, no matter how much you want to try:

I can no longer share my clips with the Bulldog Nation, but am forced to watch them by my lonesome (and I mean all alone -- strangely, my wife doesn't enjoy reliving the 1976 Florida game with me).  However, if the Bulldogs were a member of the Big Ten, for example, the videos would remain on my blog and up at YouTube for the few viewers that actually wanted to watch them. …

One quick look at the SEC's site and I notice it has one of my favorite old Bulldog classics "on demand" -- the 1980 Georgia-South Carolina game.  Before you could go to YouTube, or my blog, and view clips from this game.  Now, you still can view the clips from the very same game via the SEC Digital Network, but it's gonna cost you: $3.99 to rent, $6.99 to own.

I bet the 1980 UGA-South Carolina game has brought in far less revenue than XOS has spent DMCAing clips of it. Work out a deal where you get the ad revenue and leave the old games alone.

These people are actually doing free work for you. They are not your enemies.

SEC rule update. Via Blutarsky, the new SEC rule on oversigning clarified:

“If a player signs, he counts without regard to whether or not he actually enrolls,” SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said in an e-mail Monday. “ ‘Back counting’ is only permitted for mid-year enrollees who are able to be included as an initial counter for the academic year in which they enroll. ‘Back counting’ is an artificial term for this discussion and not accurate as the question is about the signing limit.”

So a team that signed 22 last year could still sign 28 this year as long as three were in early. A team that signed 25 (or 28) last year is limited to 25. Signees that don't make it in still count.

I wonder if we'll see certain SEC schools hold off on signing prospects until it is clear they're in. Despite all the hoopla a LOI is totally unnecessary. If a school wanted they could just enroll a kid and give him a scholarship. The current SEC rule will go national next year, affecting Big Ten schools not one whit.

BONUS: Here's an unintended side effect: these make JUCOs more expensive since you have a limited number of LOIs and they usually have just half the available eligibility. Taking those guys reduces your margin of error with high school kids. Since that margin is still roomy I don't think it'll have a major impact.

Etc.: ESPN's NHL insider projects($) Trouba #21, Di Giuseppe #30, and Boo Nieves #41 in his draft rankings. That is significantly lower on Trouba than most. UMHoops looks at Michigan halfway through the conference. Tight ends are becoming more important everywhere. Beilein hops on the "Ohio" train, further infuriating OSU fans who use "TSUN" reflexively.

Comments

Newk

January 31st, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^

Has anyone pointed out to OSU fans that they call themselves "Ohio" pretty often? They play in Ohio Stadium, they do the "script Ohio" and that goddamn "O-H-I-O" thing ... if anything, they should welcome it.

MI Expat NY

January 31st, 2012 at 4:06 PM ^

I believe they also fought the actual Ohio in a trademark lawsuit conerning the term "OHIO", where Ohio State sought to prevent Ohio University from using the name "Ohio" on sweatshirts and the like.

That being said, I still find referring to OSU as Ohio to be sort of silly.

French West Indian

January 31st, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^

Eat. A. Lemon!

Eat. A. Lemon!

Eat. A. Lemon!

There's is one sure way to make signing day less boring...everybody wants to see Mgoblog devour a lemon.

Eat. A. Lemon!

Eat. A. Lemon!

Eat. A. Lemon!

Nickel

January 31st, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^

It'll take a few years to work through the system (so unfortunately we'll have to put up with more of it in the short term), but the new rules should put an end to the SEC >>> All Other Conferences debate now that everyone is on an even playing field.

clarklakeblue

January 31st, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^

I dont think there is anything boring about signing day. The class Michigan has coming in has me fired up about the future.Hell i may even make it to the Pizza house.Go Blue!

mgowill

January 31st, 2012 at 8:07 PM ^

I agree with you here.  We filled up pretty fast and had a couple teasers, but none that were make or break for this class.  We really have some great talent coming in and I am very excited about our recruiting effort.  Let's face it, we were smoking hot up till August, snagging 20 recruits in 6 months. We have since grabbed four quality players that will be great additions to our team.

March - Ben Braden

April - Kaleb Ringer, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Devin Funchess, A.J. Williams, Joe Bolden

May - James Ross, Mario Ojemudia, Matthew Godin, Terry Richardson, Allen Gant

June - Tom Stroebel, Eric Magnuson, Jeremy Clark, Blake Bars

July - Jarrod Wilson, Kyle Kalis, Sione Houma, Christopher Wormley

August - Ondre Pipkins

September - ...

October - ...

November - Drake Johnson

December - Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson

January - Willie Henry

 

When I was a kid, my neighbor used to get presents all year long.  I got all mine on Christmas and my birthday.  Since I'm a December baby, I usually got the short end of the birthday stick.  I would have loved to get gifts all year long instead of just getting them once a year.  I look at this class the same way.  People were just dying to commit to us (20 before the season even started!) and it showed.  Yeah we lost some along the way, but most of this class really, really, really wanted to be Blue.  

While we probably won't be getting a big gift tomorrow, we already got most of them before the 2011 season even started.  I can say this, I'm happy with our recruiting success this year.

kehnonymous

January 31st, 2012 at 5:11 PM ^

While I admit to sometimes peevishly referring to Ohio State as "AN Ohio State University", I'm not sure I'm on board with this thing about calling them "Ohio", as it's quite frankly demeaning to a perfectly good college in Athens, Ohio.

cajunhawk

January 31st, 2012 at 10:26 PM ^

LSU is already doing this...2 of there recruits might not make it in.  One for sure will not sign tomorrow, the other will follow suit.  So now in reality...they will push 27 actual signees, while still hitting the 25 limit.