MBB - What's the deal?

Submitted by ijohnb on

I have not seen either game, just watched the scores on the bottom line in horror as Wayne St. and Ferris have pushed M through halftime.  For those that have either gone to the games or found some obscure electronic streaming device to watch the games, what is the deal?  Our we getting any production inside, at all?  What is the shape of the offense, is it running "through" THJ with isos from the wing?  Is there any inside-outside look with Morgan.  Typically, these kind of teams are layup lines, from ranked and unranked teams alike.  I know it is early, and typically I don't really pay any attention to BB until around Thanksgiving.  But are there alarm bells going off right now, and if so, how loud are they?

spacemanspiff231

November 12th, 2011 at 1:10 PM ^

Michigan still doesn't have a lot of talent.  99% of our success last year came from Morris' ability to create scoring opportunities.  Losing your star "QB" and replacing him with a freshman is going to be detrimental to any team.  Anyone expecting Michigan to be anything better than "meh"/average this year is going to be sorely disappointed.  We'll get there, though.  I don't think I need to say that with the class we have coming in next year we're getting back to Michigan basketball of old.

BigBlue02

November 12th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

First off, yes, we do have quite a bit of talent. Second, you realize we brought back everyone on the team other than Morris and our starting lineup consists of a senior, 3 sophomores and a freshman, right?

BlueUPer

November 12th, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^

It's early.  In football, when you lose your QB there is a transition period.  Same as in basketball, when you lose your PG. 

Most Beilein teams play their best ball at the end of the season!

turbo cool

November 12th, 2011 at 10:10 AM ^

They won by 26 yesterday and held Ferris St to only 33 points. I wouldn't worry too much. It's early in the season and it's still a pretty young squad overall. I'd expect this team to get better as the season progresses.

MGoLifer

November 12th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^

I don't think Burke and Morgan played much in the first half. I know for sure Burke didn't start because he was late for team walk through. Beilein said it was "more than a 1-minute type of thing." I only saw the second half and Michigan absolutely went off, going from a 5-point lead to almost 30 in just a few minutes.

dinsdale613

November 12th, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^

Is a lot different from football.   There is much more parity and competitive balance (generally speaking).  Also, this is the first official game of the season.  Duke won by won by only one yesterday to a team they are much better then.  Now, that doesnt mean that Duke is a bad team.  One of the greatest things about college basketball is the honest fact that any team can beat any other on a given day.  Michigan won by almost thirty and played great defense.  They will win some games they shouldn't this year and also lose some they should win.  They will be fine this year.  Enjoy the ride

TheTruth41

November 12th, 2011 at 10:35 AM ^

they're probably working on quite a bit right now. blowing a team out isn't their top priority right now as it is finding chemistry so in doing so some tests for chemistry might not have worked out as well as others.

same deal a few years ago when was is GVSU took Sparty to the wire? MSU turned out fine that year but was more concerned about playing lots of players to gain experience than blowing a team out with their starters all game and learning nothing about your whole team in a real game scenario.

jml969

November 12th, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^

I watched UCLA ( I believe ranked # 20) lose to Loyola Maramount for the first time since 1940 on their home court. The crowd looked shocked. In the post game show the host's first comment was, " Bruin fans, don't panic it's the first game of a very long season. We'll be okay".
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93Grad

November 12th, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^

that they are going to miss D-Mo a lot and that it will take time for Burke to adjust to the College game.  I think people are way underestimating the impact of losing Morris.  So much of our offense depended upon his steady leadership and direction  I also think we are overrated at 18th in the country.  We may finish the year that way, but no way we start off that well.

Sckon

November 12th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^

I think is going to be one of those transition years where they hang with teams they shouldnt beat but constantly get surprised (in terms of competitiveness) by teams they should blast.

Blue boy johnson

November 12th, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^

It's all over. The team is doomed.

Belien has instructed the team to drop kick 3 pointers. it ain't working

On pick and rolls the bigs are literally rolling on the ground. it ain't working

On defense the team is guarding people with their ass. The theory is; when a shot goes up they won't have to waste time pivoting to block out. It ain't working

Bacari Alexander has instructed the team to never grab a rebound, instead the team has been told to move the ball down the court volley ball style with sets, bumps and spikes. It ain't working.

Don't believe me? Watch the replay Monday 4:30pm on BTN

aiglick

November 12th, 2011 at 10:49 AM ^

I'd rather have the team work on these issues now before heading off to Maui. Even then that's only two games away although technically the next two are part of the tournament. It will be interesting to see how the team does in Maui and how the team responds to the result. The Old Spice Classic in hindsight was a foreshadowing of how the team would do for the entire season: 1-2 and 15-17. That won't necessarily happen if the team learns some lessons from the tournament and work to get a little bit better each day as Beilein always likes to say. Should be a great year of basketball and a good finish to football.

JBE

November 12th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

It's still early, and the defense did look solid last night, but it seems to me Michigan may have some trouble on the offensive side early in the year or perhaps all year because they don't have that penetrate and dish type player that Morris was last year. Darius made a lot of stuff happen with his ability to get in the lane and with his vision and that element seemed missing last night - not to say that as the season moves along Trey won't improve in this category. It's early, but for me some signs are already there.

BPocern

November 12th, 2011 at 10:58 AM ^

Isn't going to doom our season, I think Memphis is going to be a very tough game, with that being said a win against Memphis could go along way to a great season!

State Street

November 12th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^

This team relies on cohesiveness and shooting touch on the offensive side of the ball.  Our defense has been pretty solid but the offense will roll around in due time.

Let's hope that time is at/before Maui. 

Mr. Robot

November 12th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^

We definitely didn't look great last night, but we didn't exactly go peddle to the metal, either. There was plenty of time for pretty much everyone on the bench, and in the end we pulled away like we should.

I'm not worried, but I do have to admit I was not impressed with our defense. Ferris only scored 33, but that's because they are really bad. They had a ton of open looks they couldn't get to go down. We'll know where that we're at after Maui, I think, and don't forget either that basketball is a lot different from football when it comes to David and Goliath. Duke almost lost last night if you want any recent proof.

tbeindit

November 12th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^

I was at the games and I can tell you almost all the problems are offensive.  I think the team is struggling to find that starting lineup that will work well.  They've been alternating players a lot and at times they looked fantastic (especially at the end of yesterday's game).

I think they are going to struggle for the first part of the season, but will gradually gain steam once they settle on a solid starting lineup.  Horford to me was never the answer and I think Morgan fits this team MUCH better.  

Along with that, Burke has played VERY well when he's been in, but when he and stu are on the floor it looks like they're both trying to manage the game, which doesn't work well for scoring.  Plus, if you watched the games you would see that Michigan had not been getting a ton of breaks with their shots.  I can't tell you how many times it would spin around the rim and just fall out

Naked Bootlegger

November 12th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^

Who remembers last year's pre-BIG season tourney in Atlantic City?   Our team played horribly on offense.   Granted, the competition was Syracuse and UTEP, but we looked atrocious on offense....and we had Morris running the point!    

It took Hardaway's unconscious 2nd half performance last year to rescue us from a 6-game losing skid and propel us to the tourney.   I'm going to assume Hardaway will find his groove again, Smot/Novak/Stu/Burke/Vogrich will soften opposing "D" with decent 3 point shooting, and we'll find a rhythm by mid-December.