Holy Novak: What an Effort!
Wisconsin just got ambushed in Ann Arbor. It was like there were 5 Novaks on the court at all times today. These boys have a legit shot at winning the BIG. I was beyond impressed with the effort on the court.
Belien was beaming in his post game interview on CBS, he always accentuates the positive, but he was downright giddy today
Stu: 5 steals and was all over the court today
Trey: outplayed and outhustled an All American
Jordan Morgan: where did this whirling dirvish come from, since the 2nd half of the IU game he been Charley Hustle
THJ: Doesn't need to hit 3's to dominate. Relentless effort and outstanding athleticism are lethal
Novak: This guy is beyond description, I know I wouldn't want to play against his psychotic ass
Smot: Stuck his nose in the middle of everything today and battled like the rest.
Vogrich: I feel for the kid, he has elevated his overall game, but is a bit behind these other guys with their improvement. Minutes are going to be tough to come by with Novak and Stu on a mission to have a fantastic senior campaign.
January 8th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^
This was the most well-rounded game I've seen a long, long time. Shooting was on, rebounding was outstanding (especially on the offensive glass), defense was relentless, and the hustle was the best I've ever seen from this team. An absolute terrific game. This team can really do some damage this year in the B1G! GO BLUE!
January 8th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
The shooting was off. We shot 36.5% from the field, only 39 from 2 pt range. If the shooting was "on" we would have won by forty
January 8th, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^
I didn't like our rebounding for the first half of the game. Wisky got all sorts of offensive rebounds and got all the 50/50 balls. We need more efforts like our 2nd half. But you are right...we didn't shoot well either but that's usually the case against Wisconsin
January 8th, 2012 at 6:21 PM ^
For me it wasn't about who was getting the rebounds and lose balls, it was about the "want to", in which Michigan went after every opportunity. I was watching the game and thinking, "ain't no way Wiscy, gonna hang with us, if we keep up this effort", and the effort never relented
Gotta give a shout out to Brundidge. Your effort for that ball in the paint did not go unnoticed, your time is coming.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:10 PM ^
Bravo.
January 8th, 2012 at 9:29 PM ^
Reminds me of the old:
"Helping my friend Jack off a horse"
vs
"Helping my friend, Jack, off a horse"
January 9th, 2012 at 2:39 AM ^
I think the main difference today was getting to the line though. We didn't shoot great but 20 FTs is a lot for us. Burke was just fantastic all around and Jordan Taylor was getting really pissed because his team wasn't executing well enough for him to get open looks as Burke was all over him. Timmy just needs to learn not to force the ball and let the shots come naturally as he did for most of the second half.
January 8th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^
Would it be safe to assume that Trey will be coming back next year? I'm not the biggest NCAA bball fan but I'm working on it.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:02 PM ^
Yeah there is no way he should get drafted as a freshman.
January 8th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^
How are you so sure? You're not.
UMHoops has detailed how he's on the radar of NBA scouts.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
Usually smaller players don't leave as early as the bigger wing/center positons. Unless you are Allen Iverson quick. I would bet on Burke coming back
January 8th, 2012 at 6:10 PM ^
Thanks guys, good to hear
January 8th, 2012 at 6:13 PM ^
Where (or if) a guy might get drafted (at least at Michigan) seems to have no relationship to his decision to leave school early. From Orr, Warren and Shazor, to Manny and Morris, you can't seem to count on anybody sticking around.
January 9th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
is the next Ty Lawson. You heard it here first!
January 8th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^
<blockquote>Novak: This guy is beyond description, I know I wouldn't want to play against his psychotic ass</blockquote>
Can't believe how fired up he gets.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:50 PM ^
He's been doing it a while.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^
I was really impressed with THJ's rebounding today. Even though he was misfiring a bit on offense, he kept at it on the boards and got a double double. It's nice to have Novak playing the 2 instead of the 4 and having THJ's newfound height, too. We might be a good rebounding team this year, which would be nice.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:05 PM ^
We're definitely gonna miss Novak next year. Too bad the science students haven't perfected cloning yet
January 8th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
Leadership! Michigan basketball (and football) haz it.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
He's struggled with his shot this year, but I still think he's the best pure shooter on the team. We've seen with THJ how quickly someone can get into a funk (and how quickly they can get out of it), and Vogrich is in a position where he's getting one or two shots a game and can't really shoot his way out of it.
At some point this year he's going to come off the bench and hit a quick 6+ points (like he did against Penn State) and that is going to be the difference in the ball game.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:07 PM ^
Novak. She knows exactly who he is and where he is at when the game is on. She even tells my parents that Zack has tiger blood lmao... FYI my folks are die hard Ohio fans being that my dad was born in the same town as Urban liar. So it's even sweeter when she ends the victors song with Bucks Suck!
January 8th, 2012 at 7:34 PM ^
January 8th, 2012 at 6:26 PM ^
Novak's the kind of guy that teams like Purdue always seemed to have - that scrappy guy with crazy energy who gave the whole arena a lift - and they always gave us fits. I love to have one of our own.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:26 PM ^
I'm waiting for the MSU and OSU games before I start thinking B1G champs. But I am VERY optimistic for our Tourny hopes. better then last year so far and last years team was an incredible group
January 8th, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^
We are most definitely a tourny team. We'll be jockeying for seeding come February and March.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
In terms of their departures next season. We're adding a ridiculous class next year talent-wise, but i hope we dont' take a step back because of leadership void as we did in 09-10. Hopefully vogrich and burke will step into that emotional leadership role. Maybe morgan or hardaway as well.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^
Morgan, Burke, Hardaway, Smotrycz, Vogrich. I'm sure 2 of those 5 will step up as leaders of the team next year. My money's on Hardaway and Burke.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:31 PM ^
I enjoyed watching Burke's Dad play the cool card with the phone and texting, but his legs pumping 100 mph's in his seat belied his inner energy and enthusiasm
January 8th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^
It was impressive. For me it was the best game I have seen them play this year, and maybe last year, if only because they out-toughed and blew out a team that has been pushing them around for years.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^
This team is certainly not backing down from the lofty expectations, keep it up boys Go Blue!
January 8th, 2012 at 6:51 PM ^
Burke has exceeded every expectation I had for his freshman season. This team is so much more dynamic with his ability to push the ball and slash to the basket. Just wait, and every indication is that it will happen through the course of the season, he gets a fuller command of JB's offense.
January 8th, 2012 at 6:54 PM ^
I worry that, although next year's team will have more talent, it will suffer from a leadership void due to the departure of Novak and Stu. Remember two seasons ago, after the team's two unheralded senior guards left.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:14 PM ^
The team two years ago had chemistry issues, but I think it also just wasn't very good. In almost every area - size, shooting, ballhandling - it was mediocre (or worse). Next year's roster will be far more talented.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^
That team will be badass
January 8th, 2012 at 8:38 PM ^
That team had just as much talent, with the exception of a couple of unheralded senior PGs, as the previous season when they got to the tourney. So yeah, chemistry was probably the issue, something both Stu and Zach's leadership have helped develop since. I don't know where that's coming from next season. . .although I have high hopes for Burke.
January 8th, 2012 at 10:23 PM ^
We massively overachieved in 2009 to make the tourney. The 2010 team played more the way you'd expect from a team with no starters taller than 6'6" , no real point guard, and a terrible 3-point shooting percentage.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:32 PM ^
the team two years ago relied on two players to carry the load. As much as it is going to suck not having Novak next year, we will have a verrrrrry talented team from top to bottom.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:30 PM ^
Here is a link to umhoops with Belien's post game comments. Belien said it might be best defensive effort since he's been here.http://www.umhoops.com/2012/01/08/notes-quotes-video-john-beilein-after-michigans-59-41-win-over-wisconsin/#more-23830
January 8th, 2012 at 7:39 PM ^
For those that are interested:
January 8th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^
Man I love Cazzie!
January 9th, 2012 at 8:41 AM ^
That was Rudy T next to him. I wonder if he spoke as well. He's got 2 NBA rings from coaching the Rockets right?
January 8th, 2012 at 7:44 PM ^
Novak and Douglass are Indiana kids ... it sounds corny but that's how Bball is played in the majority of IN; scrappy kids playing half court basketball that value every possession. Boxing out, diving for loose balls ... that's why IU, Purdue, & Butler are usually full of them.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^
In beer pong. I bet they never lose. Especially if you play loose ball rules.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:56 PM ^
Today's game was a good game for Tuley-Tillman to see.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:06 PM ^
January 8th, 2012 at 8:15 PM ^
Wish I had the same look aid you guys are drinking. Look, in the game thread I was positive at half time when everyone else was being negative, but I don't this this win was phenomenal.
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<br>It was a solid win, but it was a home win and this is a relatively weak Wisconsin team. If we had beat IU I'd say we have a shot at the BIg title, but as it stands I think we are firmly the #3 team in the conference
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<br>We're good, I just think some need to temper their expectations. This wasn't like a 18 point win over the Badgers of a few years ago.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:22 PM ^
on the road. That's a pretty thin line you've drawn, if that loss took them from contender to not. Also, even if we are the #3 team, the #3 team in any basketball conference usually is a contender to win it.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:21 PM ^
I thought Hardaway played good at Indiana. Burke struggled though.
January 8th, 2012 at 9:09 PM ^
Um... what Indiana game were you watching? Timmy was very un-Timmy like at IU. See: 0-7 from the behind the arc.