Various Things On Basketball

Several of your comments made me laugh out loud.  Thank you.  I love seeing a team win games they shouldn't win and exceed expectations.  I have a feeling we will see quite a bit of it with this team.

I am with you Brian, so far this is the first game I have been able to watch also. I was pretty impressed with them last night, especially in the first half. They came out on fire and was able to get a rhythm going. Even during the second half when it seemed that Clemson was going to come back, Novak hit some nice threes in the corner to keep them at bay. I think this team will be pretty decent this year, as long as they play like that all season. They have a bright future, IMO.

I didn't see the UTEP game, but I did catch the Syracuse game. I am not sure if they really are a top ten team, but we outplayed them for major portions of that game and could have pulled the upset if a few things went our way. I am shocked but I think this team, as Deshawn Sims suggested, might be better than the team was last year because of chemistry.

I have upgraded my early expectations from 9 wins to the mid teens. I think this will be a team you can really enjoy rooting for.

Due to hockey and my mom's lack of HD Net I've only been able to catch a couple of the basketball team's blowouts

I knew it.

He has been trying all this time to convince readers that he has a "fiancee" and "lives a normal life", but he's really just some guy living in his mom's basement.

And you know what? I think that's cool.

I am sure there will be plenty of painful losses this season. But its nice to see an actual "team," they seem to know how to work with eachother so far.

Last night was an extremely encouraging sign for the future of this program.  We had three freshmen (Hardaway, Morgan, Smotrycz) produce 41 points and 16 boards, while turning the ball over a total of 4 times on the road against a pretty good ACC school.  Also, Morris' offensive game is completely night and day from last year.  He has a much improved mid-range game, and while he doesn't shoot many threes and probably never will, we need him to continue to distribute the ball to guys who can shoot the three.  I'm going to temper my hopes for this team, but last night was a lot of fun to watch

Torrent is live at BigTenTracker.com:

http://bigtentracker.com/torrents.php?id=224

Also, the Syracuse game from the Legends Classic is there, if you want to see them against someone else with a pulse:

http://bigtentracker.com/torrents.php?id=216

were to two teams who is likely to play in the NCAA tournament this season.  It's not bad plus the fact that they beat Clemson on the road in which they werent' supposed to win.  This is a rebuilding year but it's encouraging to see young players stepping up.  Michigan is the 3rd youngest team in the country and there will be inconsistencies plus some blowout losses against MSU, Purdue, OSU, Kansas.  They may spring an upset against a solid team.  Regardless, this isn't a year where the expectation for Michigan to go to NIT or NCAA this year. Next year, NIT should be the expectation with the chance to make it to the NCAA.

I am very optimistic about our young team.  One of the things that scare me is when Vogrich and McLimans are on the floor.  They seem to lack the necessary amount of grit to keep up with high level play.  Hopefully they can learn from Novak and turn into guys that will provide good support off the bench.

Sorry double post.

Team looked good last night and really would have won by more if Clemson didn't get some garbage points toward the end.  I was most impressed by the defense, since it held Clemson to about 40 points with a 6-7 minutes left in the game, and weathered a couple of small rallies by the Tigers.  This team might sniff an NIT bid if they keep this up, especially if they can spring the random upset against a team like PU or MSU.

Maybe this isn't how you meant it, but McLimans plays the 5, not the 4.  Colton Christian and Novak are the other guys that get time at the forward spot. 

McLimans is also killing the 3pt shooting percentage at an 0-10 clip.  If you take his attempts out (like the team should moving forward), then you get a more respectable 31.8% with both Hardaway and Novak's arrows pointing up and Vogrich either getting it together or getting the red light soon.  Novak will be better than the current 28% as he adjusts to his role, and Smots hitting 42.9% on 21 attempts through 6 games, which is very encouraging.  

I think the size of the team is really helping defend the 3 ball as well, as we're only giving up 24.4% three-point shooting percentage defense, which is a huge improvement over past Beilein teams at Michigan.

Hardaway has had some very efficient scoring games so far, and if "Not yet" is 15 points and 2 turnovers including some ice-cold assassin blood free throws his sixth game into his career, well, your expectations are too high my friend.   Yes, he's still figuring out his role, but I think the light will go on soon, much like Novak took a few games his freshman year to figure it out.

but don't hang it on a Clemson win.  Clemson will struggle mightily this year, as what a year ago was an athletic "40 minutes of hell" type pressure team tries to convert to a coach who likes "to teach", to call timeouts and discuss, to sit players to calm them down, etc...   They will not be back to last year's level for some time.

That said, it was great to see the improvement in Michigan.  I too think we will raise more than an eyebrow or two this year. 

I thought Morris showed flashes of greatness being around the corner.  He's not there yet with consistency - still has lazy plays occasionally, still pushes too much on his own at times, still gets shook by refs not giving him the benefit of every doubt.  When he can stay mentally sharp, he will be special.  He has the height to dominate almost any guard he will have trying to guard him.

I'm REALLY impressed by Morgan.  He is just always around the ball/rim, one of those "in the right spot all the time" guys.   Good call on his ability to "body up" defenders before they can get into shooting motions.  For 6'9" he will affect a lot bigger guys than he could trying to block everything up top.

One thing I think we need to improve is going to the rack harder.  Several guys seem to go to the rim a foot short, and prefer the "scoop" or " floater".  Saw several get rejected to start breaks the other way.  With the size our G's and perimeter F's have, we need to go hard and draw fouls - bonus if we get other bigs in trouble.  With all of the back-door cuts, and curls to the basket off screens up top, we must improve on this facet.  It forces the D perimeter to collapse in help, and opens the kick out lanes for 3s.

Good game overall, though I was more impressed with their composure during the run to start the second half, and down the stretch, than the W over this particular opponent.

The passing.  Oh sweet mother of God in heaven the passing.  It's way too early to go overboard on this stuff but I'm going to anyway.  This is a team that can pass the ball and make it be a thing of absolute beauty.  There were sequences in the first half that had me giggling like a kid with a bicycle-shaped piece of wrapping paper under the Christmas tree because my favorite thing ever in basketball is a series of sweet sweet passes that lead to a wide-open three.  I love watching this team pass the rock, they do it amazingly.  I love it.  When they get on that kind of a roll they're awfully hard to beat, I hope the consistency improves as they get older.

he picks his spots and plays under control for the most part, and that will get even better as he gets older.  i think an NIT bid is in the cards and that it would be a great accomplishment for this team. 

one other note - this team doesn't seem to have the factionalism that plagued last year's team a bit.

[edit] other additional note - it looks so far like the baccari alexander hire is working very well.  particularly with morgan.

part is how well the freshmen are playing.  Morris has a great feel for this offense so far this season and he is showing it early on.  Smotrycz has been great in the games I have seen (Clemson and BGSU)  They  got out early and dominated the first half.  The second half I kept waiting for Clemson to make it closer, but when they needed a basket they were able to get it.  If nothing else they are fun to watch and give us a lot of hope for the future. 

So let me see if I have this right: we have an experienced and successful coach from West Virginia who brought with him a style quite different from the previous Michigan coach. He now is facing the task of molding a group of young players who will give 100% every night but sometimes make mistakes that make you wish it were one or two years from now. That team is headlined by an athletic player who made a big leap from freshman to sophomore year, is immensely likable and will become if is not already a great leader. It will also likely take care of the snacky cakes portion of the schedule, struggle against the elite teams, and maybe pick off a win or two here and there against the middle of the schedule.

Conclusion? FIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE HIM RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE MICHIGAN MAN RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE UNACCEPTABLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE LEADERS AND BEST RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!11!!11one!!!111!!

I read somewhere (which, of course, I now cannot find) that Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City has one of the worst shooting backgrounds* of any of the Holiday Tournament locals (that weird hotel thing in Cancun was #1) and I think Michigan had trouble adapting to it from long-range.

*-Basketball is my least favorite of the four major sports, but I find the concept of "shooting background" asbolutely fascinating and I await the day when one of the obsessive study people can start quantifying how much shooting background can screw up a long range shooting team.

It's unfortunate that Brian missed the Legends Classic games, because it tempers my Morris = Denard enthusiasm just a bit. 

In those games he was, in fact, launching threes and other long jumpers, which we should all be able to agree is not his strength.  I presume Beilein talked to him about this because he was much more selective last night, but I'm a little concerned that the whole team has the green light from 3, given that McLimans and Horford continue to shoot 3s, and Hardaway forces his 3-pt attempts up even when he's not quite squared up and has a guy in his face.  Cut those shots out and we'd be a pretty decent 3-point shooting team.

In spite of some of his shots, Morris has undoubtedly improved greatly and I would agree is our best player (watch the pushing off bringing the ball up the court though, it's a nasty habit).  Hardaway and Smotrycz are great because if one is having an off night, the other tends to be there to pick up the slack.  And Morgan has immediately become my favorite player due to his basketball IQ*

*copyright: some guy at EPSN from the late 90s, but now property of Bilas

Improvement, Progression, Increased Basketball IQ - all non-existent under previous Michigan coaches. I honestly believe Coach B is one of the best teachers in the game today. What they have done with Morgan in such a short time would have worked wonders with a player like Courtney Sims. There will be some rough nights, but it will be a lot of fun watching this team get better. With the addition of the practice facility and upgrades to Crisler, things are looking bright for hoops in Ann Arbor.

I love this quality.  He is doing his part and trusting his teammates to do theirs.  Many players get into trouble when they try to take on too much or try to do everyone else's job.  On a team full of quality shooters, he doesn't need to be one. 

What's with all the ham references?

I am so excited for this team and Beilen is a great guy. If we could've signed Pointer then we would have 3!!! top 100 recruits per ESPN.

But, I'm still really excited about this team.  They're a young team that's going to be up-and-down all year, but I think NIT is a very real probability.  Would take some magic for an NCAA berth, but we're do for some breaks going our way.

This team has, so far, been a pleasant surprise (even given the low expectations).  The most pleasant of surprises has been the play of Jordan Morgan.  This is a guy that the coaching staff had relegated to the pile of "never going to make it".  Then, he fought back through a couple of nagging injuries and underwhelming practice to become a (somewhat) key part of the squad.  He might not want to shoot the rock, but his playing so far beyond expectations is excellent.  Very happy for him.