MBB (1990-Present): Recruits that left you wanting more
Seth's front pager (Link, here: http://mgoblog.com/content/hokepoints-beilein-vs-all-time-recent-guys ) where he opined on recent Michigan basketball coaches included a component highlighting the future NBA players each coach recruited.
That piece led me to thinking - there were a ton of great recruits that came in with hype and expectations that didn't end up having the impact many expected. Some are more obvious than others - Jerod Ward being the #1 national recruit in 1994 for example. But who are the guys you really thought would have brought about the current Basketball Rennaisance on an expedited time table?
Talking strictly about recruits that were thought to have NBA potential - this is not your time to throw out Avery Queen/Dommanic Ingerson references.
My choice: Albert White. I saw this guy in High School while he was playing for Inkster and he was an unstopable scoring machine. His senior season at Inkster High, White averaged 31 points, 15.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.7 steals and 3.0 blocks. He was a McDonald's All-American when that used to mean "virtual lock for NBA stardom". While he was "ok" as a freshman at UM (9.0 ppg/4.7 rpg), he wound up being jettisoned by Fisher and transferring to Missouri for a variety of reasons (relationship with Fisher, ties to Martin, etc). At Missouri his stats were very good, but mostly empty - and he never even got a sniff in the NBA.
Who you got?
Sure, the Judge wasn't exactly known for his hustle and defense. But, man, he looked good doing so. Oh that hair.
Joubert. So much hype, so little effort. Had a friend who screamed "canned heat" every time he shot the ball (= every time he touched the ball).
Skiles just torched him.
Harris had so much potential, and just never developed because he was forced to go one-on-one in the last 8 seconds of the shot clock for most of his career.
Also, Courtney Sims. Big dude, pretty skilled, but soft.
sims played more scared than any other player i've seen.
Lots of people talk about players or teams in general being soft. Sims, however, was legitimately soft. Too many times I watched him get the ball under the basket with not a soul in sight to challenge him, and he would sit there and pump fake 2-3 times just out of pure fear that it would be contested. This of course would give the defense plenty of time to get over there and actually defend the shot, and well, it hardly ever ended well.
Courtney was not just soft and scared of contact, he played like was absolutely petrified by just the mere thought of contact. I always hoped someday he would realize he was bigger and stronger than anyone around him, but he never did.
Maybe it came from someone here, but my wife used to refer to the Courtney's TUD (totally useless dribble) when he'd get the ball in post, and put on the floor rather than going up aggressively.
Lester Abram immediately came to my mind
He was good at times but I always felt he could dominate if he played with a little effort.
I remember watching Mo Taylor early in his freshman year in a Hawaii tourney (Maui?). Anyway, I was convinced he was going to be an All American after only a few minutes on the court. Size, skill, rebounding, a decent mid-range shot. What happened, Mo?!
February 22nd, 2017 at 12:53 AM ^
Rockets and Clips. He was a serviceable NBA starter. Dude's game definitely was better as a pro than he was as a college guy, for the most part.
No chance at the undefeated season, even with those guys back. Just too little in the middle with McGary injured - Burke/THJ wouldn't have been able to slow the Kentucky follow-up dunkfest from their guard spots.
But now I'm just nitpicking. Duke, Wisconsin, and Staee losses felt like blowouts at times. Your main thesis still holds, though. We didn't get blown out of the water in most losses.
You're down 10 points before you even tip off, due to the atmosphere and the obvious "Duke getting Duke calls."
I don't really know if he's doing anything now but I remember everyone saying 'what if' early on in the Beilein years as I think he was one of those ideal 'stretch 4' guys. Might've gotten everything to where we are now much sooner if we didn't have to do a ton of four guard line-ups the first few years
Gavin Groninger. Seriously, he was supposed to be a great shooter. Put him in this system (and have him practice with the Beilein Ball) and maybe he pans out.
looking to see if anyone mentioned Motor City Willie because he and Ward were the first names that popped into my head. Everyone remembers Ward, but let's not forget that Mitchell was a very heavily hyped member of the "New 5" - Conlan, Taylor, Mitchell, Baston and Ward.
I would more generally make the argument that this class as a whole represented the very essence of wanting more. Their time in Ann Arbor exactly coincided with mine - 1994-1998. And in their four seasons paired with various big names such as Ray Jackson and Jimmy King (1994-95) and Traylor and Bullock (1995-98), here were their collective team stats:
- Zero regular season conference titles
- 1 Big 10 Tournament title (inaugural tournament in 98)
- 3 NCAA tournament appearances
- 2 first round exits
- 1 2nd round exit
- 1 NIT championship
- 1 Timeout Redux (Maceo Baston vs. Texas late in Round 1 in '96)
This class completely turned me off to Michigan basketball after awhile because year after year they simply underachieved. And when they finally looked like they had put it all together in 1998, they promptly went out and laid an egg against 6 seeded UCLA in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
There was no way of knowing it at the time, but that would turn out to be Michigan's last tournament appearance for 10 years.
If MGoBlog had existed during the age of the New 5, the threads would have been epic. Between the emotional highs that came with landing these guys and some of the early season starts (especially in 96-97), coupled with the embarassing lows that transpired (missing the tournament in '97 after being ranked in the Top 5 and beating Arizona, blowing a double digit lead in the 2nd half to Western Kentucky in the 95 tournament, Maurice Taylor's role in the Mateen Cleaves recruiting trip that helped unravel the entire program, Motor City Willie eating his way out of Ann Arbor and the inability to do anything of note in conference play), this site would have exploded several times over.
Everyone who went to Michigan in my time always thinks fondly of the 97 NC football team and the 96 and 98 NC hockey teams, but talk to any of us for a few minutes and it won't take long to recall what a frustrating group of underachievers the basketball team was during that period, led by the New 5.
Travis did some great things at PG, Ward had fleeting moments, Baston was a great complementary player and solid B1G performer. But, man. That class should've had some monster seasons bookended by the Fab 5 and Traylor/Bullock years.
I was a freshman in 97/98 and that was the only year I had basketball season tickets because no one else would go to games with me. The only thing I remember about basketball in my four years was us beating Duke at home and rushing the court on the same day (+/- a couple) that Woodson won the Heisman. So, good memory at least!
Mitchell was a very heavily hyped member of the "New 5" - Conlan, Taylor, Mitchell, Baston and Ward.I think they were called the "Fresh Five."
Seriously? He averaged 8.1 points per game in his only season. Lavell Blanchard, Bernard Robinson, and Chris Young all averaged between 11 and 14 points per game that year. Fourth options typically aren't "all we had at the time scoring."
Crawford, Bernard Robinson, and Petway
The guy was the #1 rated player in the country and became a nondescript college player.
Injuries hampered Tim McCormick who was a McDonald's All American center and had a steady but not spectacular college career. Along with World B Pelekoudas they won the NIT and began the climb to the 89 NC.
Very much agree on Albert White... I loved his potential as a freshman and thought his combination of size, strength, and explosiveness would translate well to the NBA. Still one of my favorite recruiting classes ever with Bullock and Traylor, a shame they never fully realized their potential.
Not that I'm displeased with where our program is at, but imagine if Beilein had a 7 footer who could shoot for all those years we had to play small. Its a shame his career was cut short. Also, Trey Burke always leaves me wanting more....that man was the greatest thing I've ever seen in a UofM Bball jersey.
I've hated watching Wisconsin's tournament games this year for precisely that reason. Imagine Frank Kaminsky in a maize and blue jersey. The mind reels at the possibilities. A 7-foot PF who can bounce outside and hit precision threes? Yes please.
two more years
Albert White flew into my head.
Albert White (great choice) and Daniel Horton are the two guys I just don't understand why they weren't better. Obviously, Horton had a better career here than White, but the inconsistency was maddening. DH had the ability to take over games and sometimes just didn't look interested.
Jerod Ward is too obvious a choice and would only be based on his curious high school ranking. Why he was #1, I have no idea. He didn't seem to have any explosiveness and certainly didn't have a special basketball IQ. He seemed to achieve a career that wasn't bad based on his talent level.
of Ward's knees fall off? My memories of him are that he was always hurt.
Albert White was only here one year before getting kicked off the team (IIRC). He went on to have a good career at Missouri.
Why? Did you notice that none of the kids mentioned in this thread who didn't pan out were from the Beilein era?
There was a time when we recruited kids who fell short of expectations. Now, we recruit kids who exceed expectations.
Too easy.....Webber absolutely left me wanting more......one more year...one more shot.
I remember back when Fisher signed the class that included Jerod Ward, Maceo Baston, Maurice Taylor, Willie Mitchell, and Travis Conlan, the Ann Arbor News ran the headline "Fab Five II". Needless to say, that class never lived up to its lofty moniker. I think Taylor is the only member of that class who actually had a significant NBA career.
In fairness to Jerod Ward, he had some horrible luck with injuries. He had major knee surgery twice while he was at Michigan, IIRC.