Mark Donnal Appreciation Posbang

That stat line belongs behind glass in Schembechler Hall or somethin'.

is giving him a run.  Max's stat line from today:

18 pts (8-14 from the field, 1-3 on FT's)

14 boards (6 offensive)

2 assists

2 steals

in 26 minutes.

Maryland's Diamond Stone (all-name team) with 39 points today.  10-15 FG and 19-25 FT.  That guy will be a nightmare inside when U-M plays them.

Come on, man.  There's little I hate more than someone judging a player's effort level from the comfort of their couch.  Just because a player doesn't yell and scream or has a general reserved disposition doesn't mean he's not putting forth effort.

I get it, I coach and the one thing any player can control is effort.  You can't control height, athleticism, natural talent, but you acn control effort.  Therefore, it's something you demand 100% of the time.  However, one thing I never do is bitch about someone's effort from my couch because I don't really know Donnal.  I know when my players aren't playing to their best because I know my players.  None of us watch Donnal every day in practice and none of us should say this is the first time he hustled or played with effort.

That's not the posbang attitude I came here for!

and encouragement reminded him he really could be what he thought he was.

but once he hit a couple, he definitely seemed like a different player. Translated to more focused and aggressive defense. Great to see him play with confidence. Pick and roll was dominant today and he was rolling like vintage Jmo.

We've frequently wondered what he saw in guys when making offers (Stu, Novak, Spike, etc), but those guys all proved immediately in their freshman years that they had something.  I'm actually curious if it's happened that a guy has "flipped a switch" later in his career here.  I can't think of any.