Hello: Max Bielfeldt
Said he made his decision based upon athletics and academics and is fulfilling his dream of joining the Big Ten. Did a fake for the Illinois and totally Novak'd the Michigan hat.
Players, coaches during the visit solidifed it for him.
Coaches have said PT will not be a problem. Offense matches up with his style.
"This whole process has been so incredible."
MUPPETS
Good choice Max! GO BLUE!
he seems like a great kid and a great fit for this gritty team. Go Blue!
I know this kid isn't all-world, but Beilein just got a very good player that by all rights should have been an Illinois commit.
Are you sure he's very good? Seems like everywhere I've checked, some respected sources and some not, think he'll be lucky to be a role player on the court especially if Michigan continues to become a stronger program. Always happy to see another person choose Michigan but my expectations of his basketball contributions are certainly limited.
Here's hoping Max proves me wrong.
Beilein's record indicates he'll be pretty good. Dude has a very impressive track record, scouting wise.
When it comes to evaluating under-the-radar talent, I defer to Beilein's wisdom in all cases.
From what I've read, he isn't the greatest athlete but can do pretty much everything you ask, whether it be shoot (from anywhere), rebound on both ends and he can play both post positions.
To me he sounds like a bigger version of Novak which no one should have any problem with.
I was more thinking worst case = Graham Brown, which is a player that would help this team. If he has any scoring touch (especially if he can hit the three) that's a good pickup.
Agree...if Max's talent ceiling is "only" Graham Brown, I will gladly have him on my roster. I loved G. Brown...perfect role player who set nasty picks, guarded physical bigs, rebounded, and showed enough offensive skill to be useful and contribute. And if Max has a mid-range game, all the better.
i think it was vs wisco that he knocked a player out at half court? (yes this is as much a critique of the rest of wisco for not callin out the pick but still)
anyone have the video or link?
No video or link, but I totally remember that. If you can read minds I'm playing that clip right now.
sweet. Can you go back to 1:32 of that clip? ... yep, right there ... annnnnd "Boom," there it is again. Love that.
Novak, Douglass, Morris, Hardaway and Morgan have all exceeded expectations up to this point. I wouldn't doubt Beilein's ability to find and develop underrated players.
He was a four star recruit who was highly thought of. Just because he had a bad freshman year in which he probably didn't meet expectations doesn't mean he's exceeded them this year. Until he develops an outside shot he'll have a hard time exceeding expectations in my book.
I'm not sure how Stu has exceeded expectations either. He was a dead eye shooter coming out of HS and now he's streaky at best. Lights it up one game builds a house the next.
Morgan and Novak I would probably agree though both have games where they disappear. I expected great things out of THJ because I remember how good the original was.
As a team they definitely exceeded expectations this year. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen that happened two years ago when we were coming off a season of dancing and had almost everyone back.
You realize that only 4 players in the entire nation averaged more assists than Morris, right? And you also realize that he played much tougher competition than the 4 players in front of him, right? And you also realize that he averaged 15 ppg, right? And you also realize he is only a sophomore, right? And you realize that on Rivals there were about 30 guards ranked above him and on Scout Vogrich was ranked ahead of him, right? It is absolutely absurd to say that because he isn't a great outside shooter, him possibly discussing going pro and being one of the better PGs in the nation as a sophomore means he hasn't exceeded expectations.
Do you have links to this? He was a finalist for Mr. Illinois Basketball.
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x13281085/Bielfeldt-named-to-AP-Class-3A-all-state-team
"The 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior is the most imposing player in central Illinois, maybe the entire state.
He is averaging almost 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game. He has led the Irish to a 21-0 start, two tournament titles, the Mid-State 6 Conference championship, the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A and a No. 35 ranking nationwide."
is method. And won't break character. Kudos.
March 25th, 2011 at 11:22 PM ^
The return of the three star mafia.
welcome to the family Max Go Blue
Indeed.
Heck yes.
VICTORY!!!!
it's Max.....duh, WINNER....
Now Novak won't be totally relegated to covering our opponent's big guys.
Hopefully we won't need too much out of him early with all the bodies we have returning but it is nice to have another guy who can play in the post, even if it's just in spot duty.
The next question is: which lame nickname will Mr. Doyle give him?
My money's on "Mad Max"
AND BOOM, MAX YOU'RE BOLD.com!
The live stream (via his coach) gave us "The Big Puppy," which sounds almost as bad as "The Butterfly."
Glen Robinson III already has dibs on "The Big Puppy"
Should be a solid option to take some fouls away from Morgan and provide us with a bit more 4/5 flexibility.
I'm hoping Bielfeldt ends up being the next Graham Brown, but better offensively.
MOOSE!
unfortunately the video of THAT screen he set against wisconsin isn't hosted any longer.
Fred Jackson
are belong to us.
Him and Morgan are going to be like the Bruise Brothers, Jeff Ruland and RIck Mahorn.
Mcfilthy and Mcnasty as the vile Celtic announcer used to call them.
Johnny Most. I can still hear that shrieking smokers throat call of Bird's steal in Game 5 against the Pistons in the 87 playoffs. It didn't get any more evil than the Celtics of the 80s. Man I miss them.
...everyone knows u gotta roll with peyton and kemp on the old supersonics
Anyone but Laettner, I heard he's a bitch...
but seriously, in Tournament Edition, it was all about BJ Armstrong in the corner.
Throw in Detlef Shrempf in Tournament Edition and it's game motherfucking over
Michigan basketball's BFFeldt.
Aw crap, I'm going to remember that for the next 4 years...
This is a great get imho. The kid may be under the radar but he's been described as a banger and a bruiser with a high motor and basketball IQ. The player that comes to mind is brian Cardinal. This is exactly what the doctor ordered....
A multi-purpose retort to the negative comments:
He is, admittedly lightly regarded.
For one, Beilein clearly values production over scouting reports - Novak, Douglass, Hardaway, and Smotrycz were all somewhat lightly-regarded guys (to varying degrees) that had huge high school numbers.
Second, I think it's clear that he keeps his own council in regards to scouting. He doesn't offer anyone until he's watched them in person, and they've come on an official visit - he's extremely thorough.
Third, roster depth didn't really force our hand here. We have the same team coming back, with Horford, McLimans, and Christian - all little used post-players in their first year of action - theoretically more ready to take some minutes. We didn't NEED a post guy here, so if Beilein took him, he clearly sees some value.
Fourth, while I doubt his HS production completely translates to college ball, look at what people say his strengths are - most people feel like, with his size, motor, and effort-level, he's ready to bang in the Big 10 now. Can't we use a 6'8" kid who can mix it up under the pain tomorrow? Maybe he becomes nothing more than a 2 ppg/4 rpg guy off the bench, but that's still something this team lacks.
Fifth, it's extremely possible we are trying to fill as many as four scholarships next year - Douglass', Novak's, Morris', and Hardaway's. That's a ton of kids to bring into a single class. getting a kid here, to avoid a five man class, seems like a decent idea.
I think Douglass' HS numbers were modest IIRC. Mclimans, Morgan and Christian did not have outstanding HS numbers either
I think we need another big body down low, more necessity than luxury. Belien has already said Christian needs to learn to play on the perimeter. Mcliamans? I have doubts he will ever earn more than spot duty. Horford has a ways to go but is very intriguing.
Bielfeldt is a classic space eater and we need this. The way Belien likes to have his bigs box out and his guards crash in for defensive rebounds is tailored to a guy like Bielfeldt.
Lastly, while Bielfeldt does not appear explosive, he does appear pretty damn fluid for a 6'7'' 240 pound 18 year old. I think he contributes early.
especially. I look forward to defenders coming away missing parts of their bodywork after his hard picks, and to seeing him play some nasty D. If he can move outside, drop three, and completely demoralize teams that are already suffering a Michigan blitzkrieg from outside, all the better.
Beilein and Novak have proved you don't need to be bigger than the guy you're guarding, just take great angles and fight on every play. Beilfeldt's said to have a sure grasp already on D and to never take a play off. . .
Graham Brown with outside shooting any day.
But as for recruiting...in Beilein we trust. He has a knack for finding players that will fit his system. We needed more inside presence, and we got it.
umhoops.com has full overview on Bielfeldt.
Guy blew up his senior year and played extremely well against other D-1 talent.
Sounds like the perfect amount of grit we need.
WELCOME TO AA MAX!!!