Beilein on Ben Cronin
For any of you who are interested in UM basketball, Beilein mentioned that Ben is still going through rehab. In fact, he is starting a new rehab regiment as he still isn't "right."
No time line has been set for Ben to play. It was originally thought he might be ready for Big 10 play but it appears it might be longer before Ben is 100% ready to go. I hope his body responds and he gets back to 100%.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:14 PM ^
It would be nice to have a 7 footer in the paint.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:17 PM ^
i wish ben the best and hope he gets back to 100%. with that said, i sure hope beilein has a contingency plan that consists of us scooping a big man for this recruiting class if we don't get zeigler. our depth in the front court will be scary entering next season if cronin still isn't able to play. i started a topic on this before and didn't get a concrete answer. have we for sure offered and/or are we interested in jon horford?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 PM ^
Doesn't he sorta fill that void? Yeah, he's lanky but tall. He can shoot from the outside but also take it to the hoop. The only question is if he'll be ready to play as a Freshman.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 PM ^
but him and horford are different players. although horford is skinny he's more of a down low player than perimeter oriented. i'm just very concerned about heading in to next year with none of our big men having seen any significant playing time at the college level.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 PM ^
according to Scout, which also states that Horford has "high" interest in M as well, but apparently Horford has no interest/offer in Florida, which I find strange since his brother was a Gator.
http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=8&c=1&nid=3247145
However, according to Rivals Horford has both interest/offer in Florida, and doesn't even have M listed as one of his potential suitors. Again, I find this very strange since he's an in state kid and we're razor thin on the front line.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/basketball/recruiting/player-Jon-Horfo…
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 PM ^
i'm leaning towards going by scout bc it has the most recent update on him. hopefully it doesn't matter and we get zeigler to fill our final spot.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:45 PM ^
Damn that's a tough name to type. How about S'mo?
S'mo is 6'8" and I get the impression, from what I've read, that he plays smaller.
6'10" McLimans is more of the classic big guy, with a Beilein twist, that will have to fill some big shoes (no pun intended) next year.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:53 PM ^
I think both guys have grown another inch but they are also both better suited for the 4 spot in our offense. We can use another 5 and need one pretty bad if Cronin can't get healthy. I think he needs some PT this year to get ready for some decent minutes next year when Sims and Gibson are gone.
Smotrycz's nickname is Metrics thanks to the Freep. It's easier to type.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:53 PM ^
I think McLimans is more of a classic European big man. A lanky chucker who has to grow into Big Ten shape. I'd say Morgan qualifies more as your classic "banger" big man.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^
...and hope that he is fully recovered by next season. Getting a more traditonal, banging-down-low big man is going to be pretty important. Traditionally, though, Michigan hasn't had much luck in landing dominant players for the 5. It seems like the elite, legit 7-foot centers always sign with someone else.
So, apparently, UM will have to continue its tradition of undersized 5's and oversized 2's and 3's. Or, as in the case of Jalen Rose, an occasional oversized 1.
Luckily, you can win championships without the center being the most important player on the team.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 PM ^
I don't think Cronin will ever be healthy. This sucks to hear, but I just have this feeling that the kid will never play any meaningful minutes in his basketball career.
Sitting behind the bench down in Orlando this past week, just watching him walk around was quite painful. He has a noticeable hitch in his step and it looks as though one hip is out of place compared to the other.
I hope I'm wrong, but he may never play. Only time will tell I guess.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:30 PM ^
Oh, I'll probably get negged for this for being so nitpicky. I wouldn't have even mentioned it, except that this is the second time today I've seen the word "regiment" used when the correct word for this case is "regimen."
On topic, though... yeah we need Ben! Hope he gets better soon!