Mich Bball suggestion
Is it just me, or does anyone else wanna see Horford and Morgan together out there sometimes. I know it's not Beileins offense style, but come on. Against some bigger teams I feel like it would help to put them both in for defense and offense. They both have post skills and would open things up for are three point shooters. I know he tried it last year with Gibson and Sims, but I wanna see it this year with the different style big men we have. Just a suggestion I wanted to put out there. GO BLUE Run Over Penn State!
February 4th, 2011 at 10:31 PM ^
be better on defense, but I think there is a bigger loss in terms of offense. Horford may develop ball handling and shooting, but right now the advantage gained from his defense doesn't make up for the loss of offense.
February 4th, 2011 at 10:34 PM ^
...you posted this here since all such coaching suggestion posts are passed along via the MGoBoard-to-Michigan HC hotline.
Keep a sharp lookout for a JB response. It will probably manifest itself when your recommendation is not followed during the game on Sunday.
February 4th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
Yeah...how STUPID of the OP to speculate on the board about what he thinks the BB team should do to get better. Everyone knows that a Michigan sports blog site is no place for such tomfoolery and useless conjecture. Opinions and ideas only matter if directed at the HC and should be kept to one's self if they are not available for discussion.
This site is reserved for bitching about football coaches, athletic directors and recruiting only.
February 4th, 2011 at 11:26 PM ^
Thanks for this - I'm with you.
Where we're at is only those with 35K+ points have opinions worth expressing.
That's what this board now is and I fear it is only going to get worse
February 4th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^
I guess all of us little guys will have to keep posting our independently formulated opinions and counter-balancing the big kahunas. That is the way democracy works, no?
February 5th, 2011 at 7:57 AM ^
All of us small-timers should get together and try to buy out the people with 15K points or more, sort of like what would happen if Heritage Newspapers madea bid for Gannett.
Actually, I think the board is pretty democratic - you can come here, speak your mind, and if necessary, you can hear about it from every direction and corner.
Speaking to the original post, I think that would improve defense perhaps, but I shudder somehow at taking hits on an offense that already goes stone cold far too often. There are talent deficits all over the roster, and this is something that I would think you fix with more pinpoint recruiting or changing your game philosophy and playing to what strengths you do have, or a combination of those.
February 5th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^
Done deal. You can have my points for the low low price of $100. Where do I sign?
February 5th, 2011 at 2:13 PM ^
an apple, a snorkel, and a corkscrew.
February 5th, 2011 at 8:22 PM ^
I can give you an orange and a shoe I found in the street while walking in today's snow storm
February 5th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
...on the MGoBoard? What value have my MGoPoints relative to the value of your MGoPoints? Does being #68 of 8389 MGoUsers on the All MGoPoints page (top .01%) qualify you as a member of your supposed MGoPlutocracy?
February 5th, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^
I generally consider members of the 10,000 point club to be the heavyweights on the board. >20,000 is getting into big kahuna range. The key to me is how said posters react to n00bs, people who don't post things exactly the way we like to see them on the boards, people who break niche news (paintball, wrestling, women's basketball, and yes, ice hockey), and the like. Good-natured ribbing is part of the nature of being on the internet and it's good for the boards. Viciously mocking people who fail to conform to proper protocol (non-trolls) silences new ideas and turns off new voices who might have something to contribute later on.
As for the value of my points vs. your points, 36735 / 7688 = 4.778 times the number of points for you vs. the number of points for me. To call me a big kahuna with such a large gap between the truly elite posters and people like me is absurd.
February 5th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^
...that I "viciously mocked" the OP? Talk about absurd.
The points things is so tiresome, which is my essential point. But since you keep bringing it up, your monthly point accumulation rate is currently at 2565. Mine is at 1670.
Keep it up and you'll be a big kahuna (in your own mind) in no time at all.
February 5th, 2011 at 6:21 PM ^
...exactly.
February 5th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^
...point total that caused me to dismiss his post. My comment doesn't point out his point total nor does my behavior on the board square with your suggestion that I believe that the only opinions woth expressing are those that emanate from folks with high point totals.
February 5th, 2011 at 1:07 AM ^
It's not like this suggestion hasn't been made numerous times before.
February 4th, 2011 at 11:12 PM ^
I've never known you to be rude, Shoe. Especially in unwarranted situations.
February 5th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
February 4th, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^
No.
There aren't any plays for that. Horford would do what, exactly, on offense?
February 4th, 2011 at 11:07 PM ^
The reason this doesn't happen isn't because of JB's "style," it's because Horford isn't ready to play Big Ten basketball. Morgan barely is. I think both will be great someday.
Also, we lost to OSU because of our inability to play small ball for once (though the refs had a ton to do with it too - I don't get how Matta is allowed to bully them and those pussies just capitulate). Horford came in 3 times for less than a total minute, and managed to REALLY struggle in that minute. We just need our big men to mature.
February 4th, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^
I think our best line up is still Morris Stu Hardaway Novak Morgan. When Smotrycz is feeling it on offense I think he is worth having in there at 4, but he cannot guard a talented 4 man. One particular drive comes into mind when I think we acually picked up a charge on Lighty, but he burned Smotrycz so bad it was like he was wearing cement boots.
I do not think playing Horford would help this situation and the offense would not work with both of them playing at the same time. Smot almost seems to do better on D as center, which is a problem. Our best hope for the future is Smot significantly improving his footwork on D and having Horford and Morgan develop into very solid centers. They both have shown promise as centers and I really think this is a top 4 B10 team next year, especially considering the drop in overalll talent/experience we can expect around the league next year. If we don't compete at this level next year I think Beilein's future at Mich starts becoming less of a certainty.
February 5th, 2011 at 8:30 AM ^
I agree with you. Evan's defense is terrible so unless he is on fire he can hurt us sometimes. Although Stu had a really bad game against OSU so that probably wasn't our best lineup then.
February 5th, 2011 at 12:10 AM ^
All your big men our ares!!!
February 5th, 2011 at 12:26 AM ^
Horford wouldn't help that much. He is helpful to bring in though for foul trouble and rest though.
February 5th, 2011 at 1:26 AM ^
The issue is that the offense practices it's particular suite of plays - and those involve a 4 who can spread the floor. Neither Morgan nor Horford can. Maybe next year Beilein will add such a package.
February 5th, 2011 at 2:40 AM ^
I actually think the defense has been alright so far this season, and I don't like it when Horford's on the court. I see what you're saying, but he seems like more of a liability than an asset. Maybe next year he'll have some more confidence and a better ability to make plays, then we would be able to consider this more seriously.
I guess I still have a lot of confidence in John Beilein, and I'm still in the "give it one more year" boat. It didn't work out for RR, but the basketball team is closer than the football team was. The difference is in football we were beating who we should beat and getting killed by the better competition. In basketball, we're beating who we should and losing by small margins by highly ranked teams. Also, I'd like to believe that the coach knows what needs to be done more than we do. Let him do his job, we'll be alright.
February 5th, 2011 at 3:11 AM ^
I like the idea. But even moreso than horford and morgan, I think we need to see more morgan and smotrycz. We see it every now and again, but I think our best lineup is morris,hardaway, novak, smot, and morgan.(douglas as the 6th man) But like you said, I would like to at least seee a horford/morgan combo every once in a while, even if its for a short time.
Unfortunately it will only be able to be for short stints, because without mclimans really being playable we aren't deep at the big position, We need horford there to come in and give morgan breathers, and to come in when he's in foul trouble (which is pretty often)
February 5th, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^
Officiating was awful; no consistency at all. And it would help if we could make a f%ing layup.
February 5th, 2011 at 8:15 AM ^
February 5th, 2011 at 9:39 AM ^
There is no post game in our offense. Morgan is a very talented player with good hands, great feet and a nice touch. But, he NEVER posts up. I don't know if it just isn't part of the offense to look down low to him (except for pick-and-rolls) of if he just isn't a good post player. But, I feel like our offense could be infinitely more effective if we could develop some sort of an inside-out game rather than the pass-around-the-perimeter-until-someone-gets-open (PAT PUS GO--copyright bluebrains98) offense we tend to employ.
February 5th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
What is the % that Morgan is successful on a post up? On an isolation, my guess is he's ~55%. He has a 20% TOV rate. So say per 100 possessions, he turns it over 20 times, he makes 45 shots, and misses 35. 0.9 pts/poss. I think the expected value of a 3 would be better. Once Morgan becomes more explosive and less turnover prone, he may deserve more post ups.
February 5th, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
THE CORCHES KNOW WHATZ BEST!!!
/Demens
February 5th, 2011 at 10:29 AM ^
You're deploying the GERG comparison?
That's like saying, "don't ever buy a car, because the Yugo was a piece of shit."
February 5th, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^
I don't. Morgan and Horford both have displayed a propensity to pick up fouls at a sometimes alarming rate (this trend will hopefully change with experience, and in Horford's case, added strength). If you want to see a lot more of McLimans, then feel free to play Morgan and Horford at the same time. And when McLimans picks up his third foul in 5 minutes of play while guarding the Leuers, Sullingers, and J. Johnsons of the Big 10, then plead helplessly to the basketball gods to restore eligilbility to the likes of Amadou Ba for further depth
I also don't think our bigs currently possess Big 10 caliber post skills. Morgan has displayed some potential, but I wouldn't call him a refined post player by any means. While Morgan has a knack for being in the right place when Morris drives and dishes for an easy dunk, I don't think this constitutes a reliable post game. And when have you seriously seen Horford wow you with a textbook post move for a score? Not many times. I just don't think having both of them on the floor at the same time would increase our offensive output - with the possible exception of a few more offensive rebounds per game.
I like Morgan and Horford a lot. They play with intensity and high energy. But both need to spend a lot of time refining their offensive skills (left hand anyone?!) and defensive skills (mostly avoiding fouls) . I like their potential with another year of experience and practice. If they can consistently hit a 15-footer and create a little offense with legit post moves by their junior years, I will be very happy with our big man arsenal.
February 5th, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^
Where is Ryan DeKuiper and Mahktar Ndiaye when you need them most??