The quadruple Tech was bad, but it looked like HD was kicking/poking the NC player on the floor, and his actions started the whole mess.  Bufkin got wrecked on that play, but is looking like a stud in ways Caleb Houstan never did.

1. I'd expect Courm to go pro, though would love to have him back. He should recover well enough from this injury, but not in time for the combines. He may drop a round or two just because people can't real check out the tires in person. Have to wonder if this scare from the torn meniscus makes him wary of returning next year and having a more serious injury.  Would love to see the Lions take a late 2nd day pick on him and start him out as a 3rd down back.

2. Losing our DC probably didn't hurt as much as having three DCs in three years. Losing Gattis probably hurt us more than we'd like to admit. He would have probably locked down a good QB and maybe some RB/WR talent. I love what Moore and Weiss have done but our O looked similar to what Josh had created, except now we have a running QB with a cannon. Josh burnt his bridge on the way out, but think we'd still be 13-0 with him. Funny thing for Josh is he'd have likely been a strong candidate for the Purdue job had he stayed and we had as season like this. Now he's one more bad season from being thrown under the bus.

3. Given what's happened to Ohio (losing 4 and 5 star guys to SEC because of NIL), I expect Santa to hear from rich alums about the need to make UM a much easier place to do business - even if I don't care for some of this (if it looks like bribery....). However, the NIL is really the fault of an egotistical NCAA that for decades was draconian and vindictive. Still remember the days when bagels could be given but no cream cheese (this has changed, but was so silly). Or when Steve Alford posed for a charity calendar while at IU for a sorority and NCAA made him sit out the Kentucky game, even though he got no money and no money was made to profit anyone beyond a sorority fundraiser. 

4. HD made the right choice to stay - he's Luka Garza but not as great. I hope he stays a full 4 years just to set a few records and leave his make with another Sweet 16 or two. 

Certainly hope Mr. Ross is wrong with the notion that this is how recruiting classes are going to look moving forward. 

It's interesting to hear them talking about how they are struggling with a clogged paint, but you aren't using Joey Baker all that much. He spaces the floor. He needs to play more because Michigan depends so much on tossing it into HD. 

I mean, I like them using Jet more on pin downs and letting Kobe work as well. Ie, I think they can continue to find spots outside of HD. However, that is your bread and butter, so you need to work  a roster around it like Purdue did with their bigs.

I am a bit mystified by the rotations. It's not that i think Baker is a perfect player. He's not quick on D, and he struggles to rebound at times, but it's not like he's playing behind Moussa or something. He should be a sixth man for Michigan who spends way more time on the court than off.

With Dug, you just have to role with it because of the injury and transfer. But when HD is out, I like seeing a more aggressive Kobe and making sure Jet is out there. I think Michigan will keep getting better and have some wins. 

If they wanted to be really good, they'd have to commit to defending and rebounding, which have a lot to do with effort, and I don't know if they will get there. 

I think it’s time to stop saying that we are “behind in NIL”.  That implies that we don’t know what we are doing, and are trying to catch up but can’t.  
 

This is definitely not the case.  M is well aware of how NIL is being run at other places.  They have decided they are going to do it differently and live with the consequences.  This is a conscious decision.

A running back’s value is greater in college than the NFL. Just sayin. 

Craig I can appreciate you trying to give TWill some praise, but he in no way shape or form “stuffed Nance in a trash can”. Nance just wasn’t a focus of the UNC offense last night. They were playing through Bacot first and then getting their guards Davis and Love in ball screen actions against our guards and putting Dickinson in the torture rack. Sure Williams gobbled up lots of loose boards, but he also gave up two pretty crucial Orebs down the stretch one of which was literally in his hands. He also committed two of the worst and-one fouls I’ve seen down the stretch of the game. Although I think I agree with the larger point you were making; Twill is going to get this much criticism because he’s been put in the unfortunate position of being a starter when he really shouldn’t be. Juwan and co. Have fumbled the roster construction so badly that it forced Williams, a good rotation bench forward, into a role that he’s really not quite cut out for. 

Give Corrum a huge bag to stay if that is a possibility. My questions is at what point does it make sense for him to stay? I am saying around 3 million plus insurance for his rookie deal if get injured. He will likely be a third or fourth round pick. 

That Arizona St beat down looks great now that they got slaughtered by mighty San Francisco last night. 

It is a bit of whiplash hearing this site (and the larger UM community) talk about how far behind UM is at NIL, then say that maybe other schools aren't that much better but just different in their approach, and back to the sky is falling.

UM is very good at making money and I don't think they're going to be dinosaurs here.  But they aren't going to do an A&M/Miami approach and while that may cost them in a cycle long term it certainly feels like they have a plan.

The headline point during the NIL discussion in the roundtable was that 'nobody knows.' Nobody knows how to do this, nobody really knows what others are doing, and they said that most of the straight up pay-for-play deals are happening at southern schools. Texas A&M is the #1 example but many of those schools in the SEC have been paying players under the table for years. Now it's 'legal' so they're doing it more openly but the details are sketchy.

As Seth said, it's a brand new job market and the going rates haven't been set yet, let alone the best practices. Is it better to pay guys big $$$ to enroll in the first place or give them a modest 'salary' and perhaps incentives for performance on top of that? Or will it turn out that paying guys to enroll from the portal is a better idea b/c they have established track records as college athletes vs. the high school kids?

Nobody knows and we fans have no clue either. My opinion: to the extent that Michigan is offering modest deals instead of larger and more immediate payouts to high school kids, I support it. There are probably exceptions to that where they want to offer some supposedly can't miss kids more but in general it's better to proceed cautiously with eyes wide open while figuring out what works.

If players like Corum and McCarthy are giving so much NIL money to charity, why can't the public donate to an NIL fund they direct for charity purposes and get a tax deduction?  Otherwise, trying to get a deduction for NIL contributions is questionable and controversial.

I'm not sure that Gattis was such a big loss.  I find myself supporting the Ravens as my second favorite team so John Harbaugh keeps his job and Michigan can continue to find good assistant coaches.