Latest Coaches Poll
link : http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/michigan/post/_/id/3275/where-hoops-coaches-voted-michigan
Obviously this doesn't mean a thing, it is just interesting to see where certain coaches ranked Michigan basketball. The most surprising one is Shaka Smart, from VCU, not ranking us at all. He also didn't feel Kansas was good enough to be ranked. I think he MUST be on something. I am curious to see his top 25
Michigan related votes:
Tommy Amaker, Harvard (former Michigan coach) -- 15th
Steve Fisher, San Diego State (former Michigan coach) -- 12th
Dave Paulsen, Bucknell (former Michigan assistant) -- 13th
Was just reading this a minute ago. Shocked by VCU's too. Maybe the guy is just not smart enough (no pun intended).
Good to see Fisher ranking us higher than the consensus, though.
Maybe he just has different opinions about who's good and who's not.
March 12th, 2012 at 11:07 AM ^
I could see Michigan being left out but not Kansas. There isn't a world where Kansas is left out of the top 25 this year.
March 12th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
Maybe he should have his vote taken away from him. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a graduate assistant messing up his ballot.
This is a little off topic, but I didn't think it need its own thread. In football when there is a coaching change, I feel like people want the new coach to get in right away because of recruiting. Often causing him to miss the bowl game with his former team. What is the timeline like in basketball? I'm curious if coaches ever miss the tourney b/c of taking a new job (obviously this happened in '89, but I think the circumstances were different).
Also, the possibility of Smart going to Illinois is what made me think of this.
March 12th, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^
I think Frieder's the only one I've ever heard of doing that, and he obviously didn't resign even after agreeing to the new job. I've always assumed he thought he'd be able to coach out the tournament before moving to ASU, thus Bo's "A Michigan Man will coach Michigan" press conference.
I have no idea what went on with that timing or why he took the job in the first place. Did he feel like Bo was going to fire him and decided to get a jump on it? In any case, why not tell ASU to wait until after the tournament to announce it? Did it just leak?
On moving on, I wonder how much he was he influenced by the example of Lute Olson, who'd moved on from Iowa to great success at Arizona? In any case, it certainly didn't work out.
March 12th, 2012 at 10:04 AM ^
I have to think that Smart just forgot about Kansas. He had them at #5 one week earlier. He had us at #21, so he really might not think we deserve a place in the top 25.
He also missed the memo that the Big East kind of sucks this year. He has four Big East teams in the top 10 - #2 Syracuse, #7 Marquette, #8 Louisville, #9 Georgetown.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/story/2012-03-11/…
March 12th, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^
have to think he just isn't paying much attention to it
March 12th, 2012 at 10:06 AM ^
maybe Smart just put no thought into his ranking because he was busy preparing for his first game in the tourny.
March 12th, 2012 at 10:16 AM ^
March 12th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^
March 12th, 2012 at 11:07 AM ^
Just another reason to hate on him when he becomes the new Illini coach,....other than the fact he'll be the Illini coach.
March 12th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
I haven't been following the Illini coaching situation too closely, but how likely is it that Shaka really ends up there? He signed an 8 year contract after last year's tourney. Will Illinois really be willing to buy that out?
Well there are a couple of things in Smart's favor;
1. He would address the affirmative-action concerns of some trustees and some alumni that Illinois has never had a minority coach in football or men’s basketball.
2. He's a native of WI, growing up outside Madison, so he has Midwestern roots. The AD, Mike Thomas is familiar with Smart, who was an assistant at Akron when Thomas was there.
3. He’s the “hot” coaching name out there right now.
Of course, there are a couple of thing lurking that are not in his favor;
1. The 8 year contract he signed, which you brought up. Since Thomas gave the Zooker $2.6 million to leave, $620,000 to dump the women's basketball coach, and bought out Bruce Weber's deal for $3.9 million last week, there are quite a few folks that aren't too happy with all that $$$ being spent on buying out coaching contracts when the state is broke.
2. There is a big push to hire someone with strong roots to the Chicago Public League, which used to provide a fairly good amount of talent to Champaign. However that has really dried up lately, with the elite kids in Chicago going to the elite programs, or to schools (Memphis) that don't really care if they take classes (or tests to even get in the school). A few of the coaches from high profile Chicago high school programs have thrown their hats into the ring and if shunned, will threaten to shut the Illini out of the talent pool again.
March 12th, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
Actually, I think that MIchigan has overachieved, and done very well, given their height, athleticism, and depth. Starting next year, with the return of Jon Horford, and the addition of Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson, and Nick Stauskas, expectations will be higher, and deservedly so. There also is the possibility that Bielfeldt and Brundidge progress significantly. It will be interesting to see what the loss of Douglass & Novak does to the team, and how long it takes the newcomers to have things down and be able to make significant contributions. Regardless, I think that Beilein's offensive schemes, with longer, more athletic, bigger, and deeper teams, will bring us regularly into the highest echelons of college basketball.
March 12th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
plus the fact that:
OSU loses Sullinger and Buford
MSU loses Thornton, Green, and Wood
PUR loses Hummel and Jackson
NW loses Shurna
WISC loses Taylor
ILL (most likely) loses Leonard
IND loses backup PG jones III ... they will be tough next year
IOWA loses Gatens
MINNE loses Sampson III
PSU and NEB are irrelevant
Is it a sure thing that Sullinger leaves? I'm not sure it is.
I'll probably say, 70-30. leaving-not leaving
"Dave Paulsen, Bucknell (former Michigan assistant) -- 13th"
Didn't know he had Michigan ties. We are regulars at Bucknell games. I'd love to see Bucknell play Michigan just like they play other big names for the paycheck.