David Merritt's recap of the basketball season
A nice reflection on this season
http://www.imutheinsideout.com/story/michigan-basketball-making-us-proud
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:37 AM ^
Really well written and thoughtful summation of the Michigan basketball season. Great to see that former players are truly supporting the program.
GO BLUE!
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:48 AM ^
Glad he's still close to the program, he definitely comes off as a guy who "gets it", especially for how young he still is.
Meanwhile, I wonder what Daniel Horton thinks about this team now, after his little post-Kansas-game rant earlier this season.
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
I think you should type all of your sentences in CAPS, personally
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:46 PM ^
DONE AND DONE.
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
I don't know what Horton thinks, but there have been a lot of fans who've expressed the same sentiments at one time or another. I think he can be forgiven for venting his frustration back then.
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:26 PM ^
Found the Daniel Horton thread:
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
Is that markedly different from what many fans here were saying in January? There were many "Why does Beilein get more time than RR?" threads?
Many, many people were not on the bandwagon when this season started. Just look at that photo of Hardaway on Merritt's site. Crisler looks, at best, half-full in that shot - and that was a maize-jersey game.
Personally, I tried to keep the faith, and I went to several games this year. But I honestly was waivering myself after the home Minnesota game, when we were annihilated on the boards. Fortunately, the team turned it around after that.
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:46 PM ^
But saying stupid things about the program is another.
Stupid things like:
- "Beilein's 3-point offense won't work in the Big Ten"
- "Beilein deserves to be fired more than RichRod did" (Mike Stone said that on the radio)
- "Beilein can't recruit in Detroit and therefore can't coach here"
- "This team has no talent"
Horton wasn't merely expressing frustration. He crapped all over Beilein and suggested that the program was doomed. So did many on this board. I don't find it easy to forgive that kind of uninformed overeaction.
Daniel Horton gave a heck of a lot more to this program than probably anyone posting here. If anyone should have a right to bitch, it's an ex-player. Instead of engaging in recriminations, we should all just move forward.
But bitching publicly? How can that possibly be productive?
but truth be told things looked bleak to many of us the first third of the season. No one from last year appeared able to replace what we lost in Sims and Harris, and based on the 1-6 start to the Big Ten season, it did seem the team would underwhelm.
Then Coach Beilein sold his soul (juusst kidding!) or something because the next thing you know the team is making marked improvement by the game. Suddenly Novak manned up, Jordan caught his stride, and THJR rose above freshmanhood. Looking back, it does seem rather remarkable not only that the team became respectable, but good enough to take Duke to the wire in the NCAA tournament.
Definitely a nice read. Merritt did a nice job writing this recap.