Michigan Basketball Players' Legacies
The recent news of Poole and Iggy declaring (and probably leaving) for the NBA has got me thinking about past Michigan basketball players and what their legacies are. Here is some of what I could come up with. Obviously, there are several players I didn't mention so let me know of any you come up with.
Cazzie Russell: House that Cazzie Built, nothing else needs to be said
Glenn Rice: Best shooter/scorer we've ever had
Rumeal Robinson: Those clutch free throws
Chris Webber: Dominant, but the timeout and scandal are more of what he's known for
Jamal Crawford: Mostly forgotten due to suspension, when he was there, and being one-and-done
Novak & Douglass: Vital part to the renaissance of the program
Trey Burke: The shot/could take over a game at any moment
Tim Hardaway JR: Streaky
Stauskas: The pinnacle of Camp Sanderson
Levert: Injuries
McGary: Stay off the weeeeeeeed
Walton: Leader
Wagner: Emotional sparkplug
Simpson/Matthews: Key to the defensive renaissance under Beilein/Yaklich
Brazdeikis: Amaze you one minute, frustrate you the next
Poole: Buzzer Beater, also same as Brazdeikis
Spike Albrecht: Tweeting Kate Upton after best 1st half for a reserve in national championship history
April 12th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^
Spike was a fucking LEGEND for this. Shooters shoot, on the court and in life.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:05 AM ^
Jalen Rose: "Kept giving back to the community after he left the school."
"In 2007, The Jalen Rose Foundation passed the $1 million mark in charitable contributions, when it contributed $240,000 to help fund the Jalen Rose Endowed Scholarship at his alma mater, the University of Michigan. In addition to creating higher education opportunities for "inner city students, the foundation has help to support the development of a children’s hospital in Congo, Africa, and victims assistance programs for those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami disaster in Asia."
And as taken from Wikipedia:
Rose established the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (JRLA) in 2011, which serves over 400 ninth through twelfth grade students and graduated its inaugural class in June 2015: one hundred percent of the academy's graduates have gained college, trade/technical school or military acceptance.
The Detroit News has recognized Rose with the Michiganian of the Year Award in recognition of his excellence, courage and philanthropy to uplift the metropolitan area and Michigan. In 2016, he was awarded the 11th Annual National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award for his contributions to civil and human rights, and for laying the foundation for future leaders through his career in sports in the spirit of Dr. King. Rose won the award for establishing the Jalen Rose Foundation, which creates opportunities for underprivileged youth. In addition, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame awarded Rose the 2016 Mannie Jackson – Basketball's Human Spirit Award.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
Did you really make this list and skip Jalen and Juwan???
April 12th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
I watched the UM/Arkansas game from 1994. Juwan was the reason we stayed in striking distance in that game. Plus, dude has been all class his entire career.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
Glenn Rice is the best shooter. But my sentimental fav was Garde Thompson. That kid was an assassin.
April 13th, 2019 at 12:53 AM ^
I knew Garde Thompson growing up. It's amazing how little he is mentioned here.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:12 AM ^
Let's not forget Jordan Morgan. He helped Michigan grab two Big Ten titles, a trip to the final, and a trip to the Elite Eight.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
How in the holy hell is Juwan Howard left off of this list? He was instrumental in putting the Fab 5 together and he is a phenomenal representative of UM. His regional MVP his junior year is probably the best tourney performance by any player outside of Glen Rice. He averaged 29 PPG, 12.75 RPG, and 1.5 SPG. He was an All-American in the 93-94 season. Obviously went on to have a great NBA career as a champion and is now working his way up the coaching ladder in the league.
He does outstanding philanthropy work as well. Juwan Howard should be one of the most celebrated Wolverines in the history of our program.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
Like I said, I know I didn't put all players in my list. I purposely did that because I wanted to see what others came up with. It's not a slight at Juwan.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
My bad. It's my first day reading. Not going well.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Laval Lucas-Perry - Hmmm, you seem good. It would appear you have a lot of tools to be good. You have an A- name. Why aren't you good!?!?
April 12th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
I think it was Laval, not Lavell....but anyway, Michigan wasn't even his first stop, as I recall. I think he transferred from Arizona, played two seasons here then due to repeated violations of team rules, he was dismissed and then finally landed up the road at Oakland in his final year of eligibility.
Possibly one of the weirdest, most interrupted careers in recent memory, to say the least.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Fixed. Thx
April 12th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
Sean Higgins: Left too soon.
Ray Jackson: Had the most underrated season in school his senior year (16ppg, 5rpg, 3apg).
April 12th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Sean Higgins: Winning shot against Illinois in the Final Four.
I don't care if he left too soon. He was instrumental in winning us a title.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
Names to add: Roy Tarpley, Gary Grant, Mike McGee, Louis Bullock, Rudy Tomjanovich, and Phil Hubbard. Maybe Antoine Joubert
Rickey Green
April 13th, 2019 at 12:54 AM ^
Loy Vaught. Terry Mills. Nobody has come with Jimmy King.
April 12th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Fred Hunter: my hero
April 12th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
Darius "Butterfly" Morris
That's all.
April 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims deserve just as much of a nod as Novak and Douglass in my eyes. They were the drivers of the '09 team and decided to stay through the Amaker-Beilein transition. Got M in the top 25 for the first time in seemingly forever and got the iconic upset wins over Duke and UCLA
April 12th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
You're forgetting Darius "Get The Fuck Off My Court" Morris.
April 12th, 2019 at 12:14 PM ^
Put some respect on big Josh Moore’s name, the human turnover.
April 12th, 2019 at 12:35 PM ^
I feel like McGary's legacy you've given him is not very fair. I'll always remember him for his 2013 NCAA tournament performances first.
April 12th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
The way JB used McGary to attack Syracuse's zone D was legendary. McGary had 6 assists that game.
And don't forget the monster game he had against Kansas (25 and 14). He kept us alive in that game before Trey took over.
That'll be what I remember him for first as well. His 2013 tournament performance was legendary. But its hard not to imagine what could've been with his career here.
Not his fault he had that back injury, but if he just hadn't been smoking weed right before the tournament, I think the chatter was that he would've come back for his junior year. All the props in the world to Jordan Morgan, but if McGary was healthy for his sophomore year, no doubt in my mind that Michigan beats Kentucky and makes consecutive Final Fours. They would've been good enough to win it all that year, too.
Wagner: if he drills his first 3 of the game, guaranteed W
Graham Brown: ......
Rickey Green If you weren't old enough to have witnessed the 1975-76 Michigan team that went to the NCAA championship game and the 1976-77 team that won a Big Ten championship and featured a player who was a consensus first team All-American and runner-up for the nation's Collegiate Player of the Year award in 1977, then you missed Rickey Green. He played at Michigan for only two seasons, but he more than made his mark on the program.
Gary Grant is a major omission. He'd be on my all-time starting 5:
- Grant
- Burke
- Rice
- Russell
- Webber
Brazdeikis never frustrated me. He had the 1 bad intentional foul vs Wisconsin but that was really his only bad freshman mistake
Cant get too frustrated at a freshman who came in and scored 15ppg. This team would've struggled to be Top 25 without Iggy. Those scoring slumps the team suffered typically happened when Iggy was on the bench and could've lasted forever if not for him
Iggy was the main reason this team started 17-0. He had like 5 20pt games during those first 17 games one of them being 24pts vs UNC
I agree that Iggy was very frustrating to watch. He can score but his careless ball handling and poor passing along with suspect decision making were painful to watch at times.
I may be in the minority but I feel he could benefit big time by coming back and refining his skills.
DJ Wilson might have gained the most from Camp Sanderson. I'm pretty sure he added something crazy like 6-7 inches on his vertical in one offseason
Poole will always have Buzzer Beater as his legacy, and it will be replayed innumerable times over the next decade.
By comparison, Iggy will be little more than a footnote. He's a talented player who helped us get to the Sweet 16, but that's it. Ten years from now, it'll be "Iggy who?"
April 13th, 2019 at 12:56 AM ^
NIK FUCKING STAUSKAS
I see the younger generation clearly has no appreciation for Makhtar N'Diaye