chitownblue2

June 29th, 2009 at 1:10 PM ^

also, is anyone else at least a little bothered by the fact that a rich kid gets a scholarship that could help a poor one? Are you familiar with college athletics? Where was your outrage with Tate Forcier? Hundreds of thousands of college students are on merit-based scholarships that don't consider their financial background.

chris16w

June 30th, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^

If we didn't give it someone else certainly would have. That's what Jim Calhoun should have said as well, fwiw. While we're on the subject, are the Forcier's loaded? Anyone know what the family does? Please don't do any Facebook stalking to find out - I was just curious. I do seem to remember Tate paying to take lots of unoffical visits. Plus his teeth are so shiny.

Sandler For 3

June 29th, 2009 at 1:09 PM ^

I agree with your sentiment Terminate Carr, however that mighta been a little over the top. Either way, a person's financial standing is irrelevant. Would you have said the same thing if Jordan's son had worked his way up from a walk on to a scholarship player, citing that it could be used for a person from lesser financial freedom? (Ironically enough he quit basketball to pursue his academics)

Lance

June 29th, 2009 at 12:30 PM ^

Scouts Inc. currently rate Tim Hardaway Jr. as a 93, meaning that they view him as a immediate impact prospect that rare ability to start as a freshman for a national, top-25 team.

biakabutuka ex…

June 29th, 2009 at 1:15 PM ^

But it's not really true. Do you realize how ecstatic the college republicans would be to pick up a minority member? There are also some strong religious groups on campus and while they're not vocal I'm sure they hate gays with the best of them. Speaking of that matter, doesn't anyone find it odd that Michigan has a good poli sci program and is liberal, but the most successful politicians it's produced are all conservative?

Brick

June 29th, 2009 at 12:41 PM ^

I love how he worked hard to earn an offer and committed right after he got it. It's nice to be a kid's first choice and know that he really wants to be part of the program.

Ziff72

June 29th, 2009 at 12:47 PM ^

Beilien can't recruit top talent this must be an error. 2 guys in the ESPN Top 100 is bad news. I thought we wanted to be Butler not North Carolina????

sammylittle

June 29th, 2009 at 1:06 PM ^

If Hardaway is a top 100 talent who helps legitimize Beilien as a closer with top talent, why did he have to work so hard to receive a scholarship offer from UoM?

chitownblue2

June 29th, 2009 at 1:12 PM ^

ESPN was the only service that sees him as a top-100 talent. Scout and Rivals aren't as enthusiastic. We were, essentially competing for his services with Kansas St. and Minnesota. Which is much better than where we were 2 years ago - stealing kids from Valpo.

Kilgore Trout

June 29th, 2009 at 1:16 PM ^

UM is in a bit of a scholarship pinch the next few years and are still in on three guys rated even higher than Hardaway (Ziegler, Prather, and (maybe) McCallum) so Beilein had to be really sure he liked Hardaway because it meant limiting space for the other guys.

chitownblue2

June 29th, 2009 at 3:39 PM ^

McCallum is a pipe-dream and Prather/Ziegler are mutually exclusive (they play the same position, we wouldn't take both). So this is, first, insurance in the case we whiff on Ziegler and Prather, and still a solid player with good skills that Beilein covets (namely - shooting ability, he's supposed to be a better shooter than either Zeigler or Prather).

Sandler For 3

June 29th, 2009 at 1:16 PM ^

I don't think he will end up being ranked as a top-100 talent by the final rankings. The reviews from the Michigan camp explained that he was a good shooter with GREAT form, but he still has a lot of work to do on getting to the rim. Another problem, which was reported at the camp and shown by his early difficulties, is that he is an inconsistent shooter. He has the potential to hit 5 in a row but also to miss 5 in a row. Hopefully with hard work and a little more coaching he can blossom into the player Beilien obviously believes that he can become, however, for him to be ranked so highly I would expect him to almost be a "can't miss" type player, and sadly I personally do not see him as that, at least not yet anyway.

Maize and Blue…

June 29th, 2009 at 1:30 PM ^

consistent....NO. I would have to say the last one was Glen Rice. What makes you expect him to be a "can't miss" type player? His dad being a former NBAer. How did that work out for MJ? The bottom line is that in camp when a teammate, Darius Morris, went down he stepped up his game big time. Michigan had one outside player last year that could get to the rim....Manny. Morris will be an upgrade at the point and can get the rim. If they land either Z or Prather they have another guy that can take it to the rack.

Sandler For 3

June 29th, 2009 at 3:35 PM ^

The rankings that are being thrown around. The players that we had ranked in the top 100's IIRC were Manny and Deshawn currently and I know Deshawn started a little slow but he has developed into a very good player which is what Manny was from day one. I simply do not think Hardaway will be an elite player or even a solid contributor from day one like the 2 current stars. What I was trying to say is that I think he is overrated by the recruiting sites partially because of who his father is and flashes of potential. I do not think he is at the level that his rankings suggest he is.

Artie

June 29th, 2009 at 3:43 PM ^

that Beilein deems offerable (which has obviously been pretty slim pickings so far). That's good enough for me. He may not (and probably won't) be an impact player from day 1, but I'm excited to see what Beilein can do w/ him. He should be a pretty solid player in two or three years.

Sandler For 3

June 29th, 2009 at 3:46 PM ^

Also: I don't think that Beilien wants a system where its one slasher and 4 shooters. It's what we had last year, and he made it work, but I think he wants multi-faceted players who can shoot VERY well (Duh) and can also create something by going to the basket and finishing or dishing out. I don't know if you remember watching some of our games, but when Manny got shut down driving our offense stalled, not simply because he wasn't getting layups, but because that prevented the shooters from getting wide open (ie. the Orlando Magic effect). I don't think Darius Morris being able to go to the rim eliminates the need for others to be able to. While I see your point that we can land Zeigler or Prather, we have not yet. And given our limited number of scholarships, I was very surprised they offered Hardaway, unless of course within the coaching staff they are confident they can land one of the 2 aforementioned guys, in which case ignore everything I just said.