And with that, the Fresh Five era has officially ended at Michigan
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You made MICH hoops fun again.
A special thank you to Spike and Caris. You guys stayed all 4 years. Spike we'll always have the 'Ship game. Caris I thought you would be a star, hopefully you get to continue down that path in the NBA.
" 'ship game "
hmmmmm, ok.
I wish they'd ban you again.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:10 AM ^
I'd wish they would have had a good coach, so they could have actually improved and won something.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^
idiotic. There are pro-Beilein people, there are anti-Beilein people, and then there are people like you who both groups believe to be foolish.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:27 AM ^
Did they actually really improve more than they would have vs any average coach? While you can't measure that I'd say no. Did they win a National Title ? No. That one is clear. Close doesn't count unless you're playing horse shoes or hand gernades. I don't care about Big Ten titles. No player under him has made huge improvements in their game. I wish that class was coached by a higher caliber of coach.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
and nor do the majority of college basketball fans. They're warm and fuzzy but unless you win it all what the hell is the point? I hate losing more than anything. Draymond got better and did improve but he didn't win anything. Winning doesn't make you improve but generally improving does help you win. The fab five tech doesn't even exist.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
I loved that team. That team got me excited to watch Michigan basketball. They were fun and played as a team. They looked like they were a family on and off the court. My expectations were that Michigan would use that momentum and get better as a program. They in fact have regressed to the same quality of team as when coach B took over.
I play to win. That's it I don't go through motions for a participation trophies.
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March 29th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
The "Majority" of fans DO care about beating rivals & winning conference titles... so you're adding just plain wrong to just plain stupid!
What goals do you have left?
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March 29th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
yeah, Trey Burke was horrible...
You know which program really sucks. Kentucky. Only one national championship since 1998. Horrid program. Then there's Kansas. Only one year of glory since 1988. Brutal. How do fans put up with losers in Lawrence. And I really feel sorry for Michigan State backers. That program has been in a black hole since 2000. What does it take for a coach to lose his job in East Lansing?
March 29th, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:55 AM ^
They all did once together even and finished 1st loser. Caris and Spike did before last year. Mitch had the back problem but, still played his entire freshmen season.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 12:51 PM ^
Thank you for everything Spike. May all your dreams come true.
Most enjoyable basketball I've ever seen as an adult and I have a sneaking suspicion I'll never see anything better. The way that team played on offense was a beauty to behold.
Love your positive attitude.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
When we lost to Kentucky I wasn't so sad we lost - that was a loaded Kentucky team and we went punch for punch. I remember just thinking "Man, I just want to see this team keep playing". Like give me a consolation game or something, they were just enjoyable to watch!
March 29th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
that season. I just didn't want to see the season end. I'm not sure it will ever get better than that, even the player's families were great interviews.
Glenn: started from the get go, and his out of this world athleticism shined right away. I know I'm not alone in wishing he was more aggressive, but he played a major role in '13 & '14. In his final game he came up in the clutch nailing 2 monster 3's vs UK
Mitch: that amazing tournament run where he was the best big in the nation. What could have been in '14 if he was healthy, or '15 if the ncaa weren't jackasses.
Nik: one of my favorite players of the past two decades. From going from 'not just a shooter' to B1G POY in one year. His swag, his shot, and his leadership were all a thing of beauty. Won't forget his Elite 8 performance vs the Gators.
Caris: from a thin-as-a-rail freshman to a lottery pick before injury. The jump Caris made from freshman to sophomore year was incredible. Injury gods were not kind these last two years. Let's not forget his soaring through air the offensive rebound vs UK. When Caris was on, there was not a player in the country that could guard him.
Spike: from an emergency recruit incase Burke left, to a championship game superstar. Fan favorite, great leader, and a damn good basketball player. It's going to be hard to watch him play in another uniform next year for sure.
A lot of "what could have been" with this class, but what they did accomplish was being the best class since the Fab Five. Let's just hope it's not another 20 years until we see another class like it.
It only happened a couple times, but it was awesome to see all 5 on the floor at once.
I have to agree, this class had such amazing players that created some of the best basketball to watch.
I never cared about basketball, even when I was at UM in the early 2000s. But these guys turned me into a basketball fan.
The beauty of that team was really in the team itself. Honestly, they had no business being as good as they were from an individual talent standpoint. Sure, they had plenty of NBA talent, but no future NBA stars. There are plenty of teams every year with more individual talent than they had. Yet even as freshman they were incredibly unselfish. The way they played, it was like a bunch of old guys at the Y who've been balling with each together for decades. They knew when to cut, knew when to pass, put alley-oops on point, and were cold blooded from downtown.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^
They were all ( minus spike ) 4 star players and at one point McGary was as high as #2 overall.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
but Gorgui Dieng has carved out a pretty solid role for the T-Wolves
March 29th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
Refs were paid off with escorts in that game - common knowledge (right?!)... Absolutely some of the worst officiating we're ever likely to see.
They committed the Cardinal sin for ref/umps: THEY defined the game with bad calls.
As soon as CBS began the telecast with the Louisville kid's leg break & innumerable shots of him towel waving in his cast I knew they'd Fuck us... No Way was that not going to be the "One Shining Moment"
Still, we'll always have Kansas...and Florida... and Syracuse...and a truly great performance in the title game with our POY being sidelined for lengthy stretches by bad calls - A Great group of guys to watch play.
THAT'S what you're missing Dirt - THAT'S what you're missing here!
March 29th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
There was another class in those intervening 20 years, that had much less success than the Fresh Five: https://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1343962 Yet another reason, regardless of what you think of recruiting since then, to count the blessings of the last few years.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
The craziest thing is all the lost years.
McGary basically 3 years
Stauskas 2 years
GR 3 2 years
Levert. Basically two years
Spike. 1 year
Incredibly the kid who was told by almost everyone besides Beilein that he wasn't good enough ends up playing the most college basketball of them all.
Caris is a great example of why you leave when you can.
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to agree with this. Unfortunately, Caris Levert is the best example I have ever seen of the "get in while the getting is good" philosophy of college underclassman. I don't really know how strongly I can advocate for players to come back for another year after watching the last two years with him. Grated, he would not have been a lottery pick but you could make a strong argument he would have gone toward the bottom of the first round round after his second year. Pretty tragic actually.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:44 AM ^
Caris would have greatly improved his stock with a big year. He made the right decision to come back.
I would say that unless your a guaranteed top ten pick you should come back assuming you are willing to put in the work to improve there draft posiiton.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
The 26th pick this year will sign for roughly $2 million over two years guaranteed. How long is it going to take a regular college grad to make that much money? When Caris was a mid first-rounder, his contact would have been worth around $3 million guaranteed over two years.
When the NCAA robs players of their opportunity to cash in on their likenesses so they can pretend the drivers of a multi-billion dollar industry are "amateurs," it really forces them to leave early if they are going to be guaranteed positions in the first round.
The only way this will change is if players are allowed to take endorsement money. That way, some players will be more valuable in college as stars than in the NBA as a rookies. They will have the money they deserve and will be able to stay longer without sacrificing life-changing money.
These guys were awesome and don't forget the conference championship they won as well.
What always strikes me about their success was just how much more it could have been. I'm not going to pretend that Stauskas and GR3 would have stayed longer. But I do sometimes curse a few dieties when I think about this:
- McGary struggled with injuries during his two years on campus.
- McGary probably (in my opinion) was going to come back for his junior year if not for the stupid NCAA suspension looming.
- Spike played hurt as a junior and missed his senior season.
- Caris missed large parts of his junior and senior years.
Injuries and dumb luck happen.....but that's a lot piled on those guys in just a short period of time. Sigh.....best to enjoy the past than think about hypotheticals.
(Though I will say that it is better than when I used to think of hypotheticals with the Fisher/Ellerbe classes that could never make it 4 years either......for a variety of other reasons.)
A 100% Mitch in '14 and I truly believe we win the championship. Him and J-Mo with GR III playing his natural position of 3, man it would have been great to see.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:14 AM ^
1. Why was he expecting to pass a drug test that he had to know would or could take place?
2. If he says something to the staff, he fails a team administered test and sits out 3 games against no name teams the next year conserving eligibility.