John Supersoaker Beilein Pitching 5-Star Mohamed Bamba on "Player Development" Track Record
New rivals article up on the quiet recruitment of 5-Star Mohamed Bamba. When asked about Michigan... "I've had a conversation with coach (John) Beilein on where I would fit. He's told me, 'We've had guys outside the top 100 and not ranked and two-stars, and have turned them into pros.' He was saying that he can't even imagine what they could do with someone like me."
I think we can all agree that the sky is the limit if John Supersoaker Beilein has the opportunity to develop a kid with Bamba's potential.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
let's get him
Scout's Evan Daniels weighs in with an update from Bamba as well. Lots of words, doesn't really say a thing... not really worth it's own thread IMHO especially with this one right near the top of the board.
Only real takeaways I get are Bamba seems like a smart kid, and the fact that he mentions a couple times wondering which collegians are going pro, and which ones are staying back, has me thinking UK or Duke are his primary targets (which I think the safe money lies there as well.
Highlights:
Michigan…they kind of look liked a team of destiny late in the season…
I’m glad people saw that like later on in the season because people always asked, “Why is Michigan on your list?” but Michigan is on my list because of it’s excellence behind the university and behind it’s athletics like they have state of the art, like every one of these places is going to have state of the art places, but their strength and conditioning program is so ideal because they really work for like your biomechanics and make sure how your loading and landing is just on point. But they’re like excellent all the way through as far as like coaching and playing style, I think I can fit into their playing style pretty well. I mean I’ve been watching D.J. and Moe Wagner play a lot and they’re shooting it, they’re driving it, they’re dribbling it, they’re doing all of that and they’re impacting the game and that’s something I want to do.
When do you think you may make a decision?
I don’t want to like drag out the decision but if that’s something that I feel as if I’m going to need to do then I am absolutely going to do it. Guys are like slowly declaring for the Draft and like I kind of want to see like what their Draft grades are going to be like and what their coaches think.
It seems like to me who goes and stays factors into your deal…How much of a factor is that?
Absolutely. It’s a pretty big factor. I mean I kind of categories things like “big rocks”, “stones”, “pebbles” and “sand or water”. As far as the “big rocks” definitely would want to be like a head coach. Like the head coach I play for is one of the biggest rocks. Alumni and making sure I’m making the most of my education as 1 of 4 years is another “big rock”. But some of the smaller rocks are like honestly it may seem a little silly, but how I feel about the school. Obviously when you get there it’s going to feel a certain way but honestly that might change so much so I’m not really worried about me loving the college town and all four of these are great college towns. There’s a lot of things that are “big rocks” and a lot of things that are like “sand”.
That is like a cool use of like the rocks and stones and like sand analogy. I like it.
I’m not really worried about me loving the college town
Crap, he's going to Duke. Durham is a pathetic college town. Duke students have to go to Chapel Hill to have fun in a college town.
Could you imagine having to go to East Lansing to have fun in a college town?
other than to score meth
March 28th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
Sounds like someone who isn't planning on staying in college very long.
And Chapel Hill isn't a great college town either. There's not much to do there.
Yeah, I've been there a number of times. Versus Durham it's better because it at least looks like a little college town.
But versus Ann Arbor, it's definitely lacking. It's basically the South University area of Ann Arbor and that's about it.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:36 PM ^
Can't wait to come in 2nd place!
March 27th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
Silver medals are soooooo boring
and 3 nobody remembers!
sweet baby jesus........
Man I despise gomers who believe that using reverse psychology on themselves and others will bring about their desired result. You want him to come but by whining about him not coming, you deep down believe this is what will sway him towards Michigan because the world revolves around you. Do I have it right? You are a MORON!!
March 27th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
for this. I am still holding out hope. This is why I love sports. You can believe the unbelieveable is possible until proven otherwise.
Only reason Rutgers even has an athletic department....
I thought it was for laundering Sopranos money.
Never heard of them.
Of course not. It's not like they are in the Big Ten or anything.
Wait . . . what?
March 27th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
Cant miss monster and maybe.. just maybe... recruiting can take off. We were on par with Kansas and Arizona before we hurled our own program into an asteroid. We can get back to that level.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
We were NEVER on par with Kansas in recruiting. And likely never will be.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
The late 80s and early 90s would like a word with you
That word is probably "rad"...
NOT!
March 27th, 2017 at 12:53 PM ^
when Steve Fisher was running the shop.
There was a heavy assist from a certain Ford electrician/bookmaker..... i didnt care for th e results.... Freider was a great recruiter.... also may hav e been a little sketchy. The Henderson, Wade, Tarpley, Relford class was awesome.
Outside of the Detroit kids, Ed Martin was an unknown until they stepped on campus. This was not a situation of a kid from Chicago getting a house and job for his mom just to gain a commitment.
If people really wanted to trace Ed Martin's money, they would see it made it's way to a lot of kids who played all over the country.
Ed Martin was not a Michigan booster. Ed Martin was an Ed Martin booster.
He befriended kids early and gave them money and benefits in hopes of a big payday for himself later when they went pro. He was not worried about where they went to college.
Unfortunately we let him get too close to the program and did not do a good enough job of keeping an arms length from his little operation.
Yeah, but the Detroit kids are two out of the Fab Five (Jalen Rose and Chris Webber), plus at least Robert Traylor, Willie Mitchell, Albert White, and Maurice Taylor. Those are/were some big names. Also, Juwan Howard's recruitment went through Donnie Kirksey, a Chicago-area coach who was "mentoring" Howard at the time. It would be naive to think the Fab Five came together without any shadiness on Fisher's part.
Do you think Kansas isn't getting an "assist" right now?
and entirely without a moral compass, it would seem. Again, I don't have all the facts, but I've read through pretty much everything available and the way they handled the Jackson/Vick situation isn't just questionable - it's appalling.
I seem to remember a group of five highly-touted freshmen...
Yeah but if it comes down to Michigan and Kansas, I’m sure Beilein can tell Mohamed Bamba about that time in January 1985 when Kansas visited Michigan and got blown away 96-77. In fact, he can tell him that Kansas has never beat Michigan in basketball.
I was a basketball recruting junkie. From Glen Rice to Luis Bullock the talent we brought in was top notch. Now Kansas was pretty amazing under Roy Wiliams but we werent far off.
As far as tournament succes UM matched or maybe even surpassed Roy Williams success from 89-93 with 3 championship games (if we allow fab 5) and a championship.
Under Williams From 1988–2003 The Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four in 2002 & 2003. With a loss in the championship game in 2003
Beating up on the big 12 and being decent to good in the NCAAs has been Kansas' MO for years.
Specifically the stretch from:
Rumeal Robinson
Terry Mills
Loy Vaught
to
The Fab 5
We won and recruted at an elite level.
March 28th, 2017 at 12:27 AM ^
Also took KU to the final four in 91 and 93. They lost to Duke in the title game in 91.
We were NEVER on par with Kansas in recruiting
Really?
Oh really?
Back-to-back national recruiting titles won't automatically put any banners in your rafters. But Michigan has laid the foundation for a return to the Final Four by becoming the first school to finish No. 1 in basketball recruiting in consecutive years.
"I've been doing this since 1978, and no school has ever accomplished this," said recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, editor of "All Star Sports Report" in Lenoir, N.C. "North Carolina was No. 2 in 1980 with Sam Perkins and No. 1 in 1981 with Michael Jordan and won the NCAA title in 1982."
The Wolverines edged Arkansas this season by getting three of the top 15 players in Gibbons's ratings. Detroit Murray-Wright center Robert Traylor (No. 3) will sign today, the first day of the spring signing period. Inkster (Mich.) forward Albert White (No. 7) and Laurel (Md.) Baptist guard Louis Bullock (No. 15) signed in November.
"They are the only school with three McDonald's All-Americas," Gibbons said of the Wolverines. "It's not a Fab Five, but certainly a terrific trio."
Excellent post! Put that together with the other examples listed and how can you not say we werent recruting at an elite level. Put us in the Big 12 and rack up the 1 seeds.
i'm not one of the 'beilein can't recruit' guys, but come on. we absolutely recruited head to head with kansas once, and it wasn't all that long ago.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
Unfortunately I don't think that pitch really resonates with the one and done, NBA ready out of high school types. Hopefully Bamba's different, but I'll believe it when I see it.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
He might think he is, but he needs a good deal of Camp Sanderson to get there, not to mention working on skills. He's 7 feet tall, but not even 210 pounds. He'd be practically unplayable in the NBA at that weight.
Not sure that disproves his point. Thon Maker isn't exactly producing in the NBA.
He is making 2.5 million dollars a year though and has no "school" distractions, practice limitations, etc. to stop him from working on improving his plau.
That's a very fair point, and I'm never one to say a kid shouldn't take the money and go to the NBA if a guaranteed high first round draft pick. Just doesn't mean he's actually ready.
Well that depends on your definition of NBA ready. While fans would say he is not NBA ready, the NBA was ready for him.
if he was drafted and given a contract, he was by definition, ready. He'll get far more resources put into his player development while on a three year contract than he would have had in college - a contract paying $2.5 million a year! If he still doesn't make it after that, he wasn't going to make it in college. If you can be a lottery pick, you're ready. You'd be wasting time and money if you pass that up to stay in college.