Michigan Basketball- Keep the buzz, the future needs it
Over last 2 games I have realized this season probably isn’t going anywhere great. Just lack of talent. I won’t bash Teske and Z, they have done great things at Michigan and are so much better than I ever expected. They have flaws though, getting exposed with Livers out. We have nobody who can score in the half court regularly. Teske down low is like it. Awful shooting team. I hate saying it, but just not very good. Especially when Brooks comes back down to earth from early season and now Livers out. We all hoped Wagner would be better out of gate, he will take some time. Just not our year after several very exciting.
However still a TON to play for in the next couple of months and really the direction of this program in the near future. We need to keep the buzz and excitement for these in coming freshman to actually sign/come. Right now only Jackson is signed? Dickinson and Williams locked in? Todd as well but could go overseas? What is story on Brown, visiting when again? Heard all the buzz on Christopher and UM last week. He have a date he plans on announcing? April 15th is a huge day for this program. Next year could be special if Todd and Christopher become official. Livers, DDJ, Wagner, and Johns can be complimentary pieces instead of expecting them to be the “go-to”. Plus hopefully they improve in year 2 after getting big minutes.
I posted this after seeing twitter video of Todd and Christopher tweeting about windmill dunks. I think someone around here said today in the game thread, we didn’t even get a dunk today! These guys are talking windmills lol.
January 12th, 2020 at 11:27 PM ^
The future is bright !
January 12th, 2020 at 11:48 PM ^
it's bright right now, and let's keep it that way...... the OP is saying that young recruits could lose interest of we go in the tank, so lets maintain a positive buzz around the program.
January 13th, 2020 at 8:23 AM ^
The OP may say it but that does not mean it is true. Elite recruits clearly view this world from a different perspective than we fans sitting on our couches. In Juwan, Michigan has an advantage it has never before had. Juwan is the "buzz"...and he remains where he is.
Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas are pretty much full up for 2020. In an objective world, tell me what "buzz" UCLA has over Michigan for Christopher...and the same for Brown picking Texas over Michigan??? If Michigan loses the rest of its games it may affect how these kids view Juwan but even then...Michigan still has Juwan at the helm.
January 13th, 2020 at 8:33 AM ^
Michigan is not going to lose the rest of its games.
I thought the OP's first paragraph was a pretty reasonable characterization of what has happened. Z and Teske have given Michigan 4 good years to the limits of their abilities. But when this team has to go to them as offensive options 1 and 2, then, well, it could be a tough Big 10 season. Michigan badly needs Livers back healthy.
January 13th, 2020 at 12:26 AM ^
Livers and Wagner only complimentary pieces? Not so sure about that. Even on a team with freshman Todd and Christopher they could easily still be the leaders. Not all 5 stars come in and immediately average 15ppg+. In fact if we want next years squad to be real contenders then we will NEED Livers and Wagner to be leaders because its unlikely Todd and Christopher as freshman could carry a team to a championship
Here are numbers for similarly ranked recruits from the 2019 class
6. Vernon Carey 17ppg 8rebs
7. Scottie Lewis 9ppg 5rebs
8. Jaden McDaniels 13ppg 6rebs
9. Nico Mannion 14ppg 6ast
10. Tyrese Maxey 13ppg
11. Kahlil Whitney 3.8ppg 2rebs
12. Matthew Hurt 11ppg
13. Josh Green 13ppg 5rebs
14. Nfaly Dante 7ppg
15. Precious Achiwa 15ppg 10rebs
Livers could average 15ppg this season and even more next. He could leave after this season considering he is the type of player the NBA wants. Franz is going to be ridiculously good once he adjusts to the pace of play and shoots the 3 bit better which he will. Sure itd be great if Todd and Christopher come in and drop Vernon Carey and Precious Achiuwa numbers but I wouldn't assume its going to happen
January 13th, 2020 at 8:15 AM ^
Exactly. Not everyone is Zion Williamson. Many claimed Wagner would have been a near 5-star if he had been ranked by the services. Still hoping he'll improve considerably this year, but I bet he'll be a lot better next year than he is now.
Sounds like half this board now just wants to bitch about the team because they likely won't win a conference title or make a final 4. Just fucking enjoy some basketball. You wouldn't know Michigan has one of the best basketball programs in the country from this board.
January 13th, 2020 at 12:47 AM ^
A lot of criticism of the coaches lately, but I think things looks good from a coaching perspective. The talent is the issue I'm seeing. They're consistently getting open shots for guys who can't hit them, and they're getting decent production of out a group that has no one driving to the rim and/or getting to the line. Defensively, you've only got one real option in the post. If he's getting cooked, that's a player issue. A 7'1" NBA hopeful shouldn't be a turnstyle on a nightly basis. I think the coaches put a winning system in place, as we saw in the Bahamas. They can't do much if players stop hitting open shots and can't hold a big man to less than 30 points any given night.
January 13th, 2020 at 8:26 AM ^
Agreed. Especially with Livers out. Losing Iggy, Poole, and Matthews was already a massive percentage of the scoring from last year. Michigan essentially replaced that only with freshman Wagner and another year for the other guys. This season is shaping up to be what any reasonable person thought it was going to be, so I can't say it's a disappointment. Should they start doubling on some big men? Yes, probably, but people are making a mountain out of a molehill talking about Garza and Trevion Williams considering Michigan won those 2 games and lost against a tough team on the road.
January 13th, 2020 at 1:32 AM ^
Howard's coaching lately has been awful..Wagner is a disappointnent..Brooks and Castleton and Davis add nothing..I miss JB
January 13th, 2020 at 1:49 AM ^
If Howard can finish this recruiting class off by retaining everyone currently committed and adding Christopher....I will prefer him over Beilein. That’s a top 3 class. #1 of Brown is added as well.
January 13th, 2020 at 9:30 AM ^
Searching for the /s tag but finding nothing.
Great take, BTW.
January 13th, 2020 at 1:53 AM ^
Never wanted to come here and be the negative Nancy, but I'm glad it's not just me that see how many crucial plays Wagner falls short on. He should get better as time goes on, but man he kills us alot right now. And not just him, we lack scorers.
January 13th, 2020 at 2:13 AM ^
And yet he, nearly, singlehandedly kept us in the game today (17pts, missed some 3s yet made some as well, add to that his size mismatch we went to in the post for a few plays in the 2nd half).
January 13th, 2020 at 3:21 AM ^
What are you watching? Wagner was our best player today.
January 13th, 2020 at 6:41 AM ^
Franz is a freshman. He will get better.
January 13th, 2020 at 7:47 AM ^
Franz's struggles come when he tries to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He isn't a 3 at all.
January 13th, 2020 at 8:25 AM ^
The only one not keeping the buzz is you OP.
As Brian pointed out, there are approximately 1 scheduled win, and 2 scheduled losses on the schedule. Every other game is a toss-up or obtainable. The Big Ten is great, and we have a lot of good basketball to play and watch.
And remember, when we get outside the conference, our team, Ohio States team, etc. looked amazing. We'll come through this battle tested and ready to fight. A Big Ten title is probably out of the question, but you never know with the Big Ten Tournament. We could get hot for a weekend and roll.
Also, how many John Beilein teams went on a run AFTER January? Plenty! There is still time to grow our game. And our top scorer is out with an injury...
January 13th, 2020 at 8:44 AM ^
Important fans continue to come to Crisler to support the team. Nobody wants to come play for a half empty arena. I was just implying this is a “different year” than normal, this one has bigger impact on next year.
January 13th, 2020 at 8:56 AM ^
Also, keep in mind Howard isn't a moron. He isn't telling these high profile recruits "oh boy you watch us this year we are going to the Natty, going to crush the BIG and that is why you should come to UM". From all reports, JH is about as real as it gets and I'd bet my ass he is being positive with these recruits but he is also telling them this is a building year and those pieces are needed (meaning the young men he is recruiting) to take this thing to the next level and that is why UM needs them.
These kids aren't sold on UM because UM is a perennial Duke/UK etc. I agree we should all stay excited but, again, Howard sounds like he is pretty real with these kids and they aren't recruiting well because Howard expects this team to win 30 games this year.
From the reports, I have a feeling he has these young kids watching UM in a way that has them thinking "oh yeah...they are right there...I'm going to go there, start, kick ass, and JH will set me up great to to get to the league...oh yeah plus a great alumni base I'll have forever even without a degree".
January 13th, 2020 at 10:59 AM ^
The ability to predetermine the outcome of teams mid-season despite the overwhelming evidence over the last few years from our own team is amazing.
Teams evolve over the course of a season. This team has injuries, a new coach and a lot of moving pieces.
Do not write off this team.
I'm sure your wrote off several of our "exciting" teams the last few years after a few losses.
January 13th, 2020 at 1:03 PM ^
Part of the reason I've switched from being primarily a fan of our football team to a fan of our basketball team (other than the recent run of success) is that early and mid-season road bumps don't necessarily preclude you from making a run at the end of the year.
In the context of the blog, whenever football loses a game, even against a good team, half the posters on here act as if the sky is falling. Hell, it even happens after most narrow wins! As if the loss of our chance to get into the college football playoff, which probably wasn't going to happen anyway for myriad reasons, somehow instantly dooms the entire season to pointlessness. I gotta say I fucking hate that attitude and it has definitely gotten in the way of my enjoyment of watching and reading about our football team.
The current iteration of our basketball team, like most teams in most years in the middle of the season, obviously has some issues to work on. But even with a new coach and a new system they are ranked, they've pulled out some great wins already, they've got veteran leadership, and they're actually pretty fun to watch. So I'm not sure why we should be limiting ourselves to optimism about the future - we have a great team right now and I don't see any reason why between now and the end of the year they can't improve enough to compete for a spot in the final four. Is it likely? Are we the favorites to get that far? No. But rarely has that been the case, and a few frustrating losses in the middle of the season don't change the fact that it's where you are at the end that matters.
We are in a fantastic conference top to (almost) bottom in which a good team might go .500 in conference play and still have a decent shot to win the the conference tournament. I believe we will be that team. Look at this last week - the (debatably) top team in the conference just lost by 29 to a team we managed to beat without one of our key players. Six or seven different teams have been AP number one already. We gave the current one its only loss! Everything is up for grabs this year. I'm excited about the future but I'm also pretty hyped for the now. Go Z, go Big Sleep, go Maize Rage, go Coach Howard, Go Blue! I'm all in on this team until they say we don't get to play anymore.