"Michigan was a school I loved in like 7th and 8th grade." - Mo Bamba

Submitted by Maizen on

Mo Bamba said today that biggest factor in his decision will be relationship with the coach. "Me and the head coach have to be very tight."

— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 28, 2017

Bamba said he was at U-M vs VCU in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. It stuck with him. "Michigan was a school I loved in like 7th and 8th grade."

— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 28, 2017

Big part of Beilein's pitch to Bamba is putting him in ball screens & pick-and-pop spots. "They have versatile bigs, which appeals to me."

— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 28, 2017

Sam Webb has said he has advocates in his circle pushing for Michigan (Wes at Nike). Frustrating this kid had to ask to be recruited. He might be committed by now if Michigan began recruiting him a few years ago like the other schools on his list. Based on his comments I would think Shaka Smart and Texas have the edge given he coached Bamba on the USA U18 team.

Gucci Mane

March 28th, 2017 at 6:43 PM ^

Maybe beilein feels he is not capable of getting elite recruits without getting dirty so he doesn't even waste time on them when he could go after the guys lower rates he identified as hidden gems. I hope it's not just that he is a great teacher but awful recruiter.

charblue.

March 28th, 2017 at 7:16 PM ^

Duke and Kentucky are in a situation where they don't even have to place calls to recruits. They just wait and then close. And it's ballgame. Beilein recruits as if he's still at LeMoyne. And it's understandable until it's not. OK, go for the under-the-radar-guys. Get all the great shooters that others passed by. But when a stud big guy says he likes your school and the way you run your program,you better pounce because ther other big programs don't even blink about a guy like this. They just move to the next one.

Robbie Moore

March 29th, 2017 at 6:47 AM ^

...what Beilein is. We know how he recruits and why he recruits that way. News flash...Beilein isn't the perfect college coach. Neither is Harbaugh. Neither is Hutchins. Neither is Urban Meyer or Coach K. But he is damn good. Can't we just enjoy watching a really well coached team play a fun brand of basketball successfully?

anywaytodelete…

March 29th, 2017 at 11:56 AM ^

an expectation.  It won't happen every year.  Duke doesn't get there every year.  Yes, Michigan has gotten there more often than not the past 5 years, but I don't think we are at the point where 1) we expect it to happen, and 2) we expect the team to be a real threat once they get there.

Even with the amazing job Beilein has done with player development, the team has been really thin.  There's a huge dropoff when a key starter goes down.  Better programs have managed to stay competitive with a much deeper bench and a much higher level of overall talent.

Ahriman

March 28th, 2017 at 7:16 PM ^

and I think the real problem is that he recruits with one hand tied behind his back. When you look at Coach Harbaugh, he's always thinking, always pushing the envelope (like with the satelitte camps and overseas trips). He does things legally, but is always looking for loopholes to exploit.

Whereas with Coach Beilein, he doesn't offer until the end of a player's sophomore season (which puts him behind other schools), plus, he won't offer until they have visited campus (further delaying an offer). Most Michigan fans will say he is a great person, a great coach, and a great developer of talent. But by running a clean program, and by not trying to make up for that disadvantage with innovative ideas in recruiting, he loses out on a lot of good players.

Having said that, look at his recruiting of 4 & 5 stars (via 247), not all of them lived up to expectations, but they're not exactly chopped liver.

2017: Livers & Poole (4 stars)

2016: Simpson (4 star)

2015: Wagner (4 star)

2014: Chatman & Wilson (4 star)

2013: Irvin, Walton & Donnal (4 star)

2012: GRIII (5 star), McGary & Stauskus (4 stars)

2011: Brundidge & Burke (4 stars)

plaidflannel

March 28th, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^

You hide your biases so well, Maizen.

Bamba is a top 5 recruit, has Duke and Kentucky as his top schools, and does not have any former AAU teammates on the current Michigan team.  Beilein was smart to stay away until Bamba came calling.

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 8:20 PM ^

I'm under the impression that the head basketball coach at Michigan should be recruiting the best players in the country and contrary to popular belief on this blog not all of them are on the take.

cbs650

March 28th, 2017 at 7:01 PM ^

Are you stupid? That's not his how this works. Coaches/schools recruit players not the other way around. This is not the first player that had to let Beilien know they were interested in Michigan. If Beilien has a recruiting strategy and it doesn't include one and done types then cool but hurt yourself and look bad that they had to initiate contact and let you they they were interested.

Streetchemist

March 28th, 2017 at 6:51 PM ^

This post is missing the most notable tweet from Quinn IMO. It's a quote from Bamba about reaching out to Michigan to let them know he was interested.

"Yeah it was like, 'Cool. We're not offering you until you step foot on campus.' Which was very humbling. It was different from a lot of places. I liked it."

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 7:18 PM ^

Mo Bamba is a smart and polite young man by all accounts, and I wouldn't expect him to say anything differently. But no one can sit here with a straight face and reconcile the fact that Bamba said the relationship with the head coach is the most important factor in his decision all while defending the decision not to recruit him until his senior year. Rashan Gary was getting recruited by Greg Mattison when he was a freshman in high school. Steve Fisher started recruiting Chris Webber in 8th grade! That's how recruiting works with big time players, it starts early and it's all about relationships. This is the second time a big time player has had to ask to be recruited by Michigan(Jaylen Brown). Beilein is a great coach at a great school, so it's frustrating not to see him go after these type of guys with more vigor. 

Go.Blue.Hail

March 28th, 2017 at 7:22 PM ^

I totally understand where you're coming from, but that's not Beilein's style. He gets the type of players that he can develop and grow and he does it well. Maybe in the coaching staff's opinion it isn't worth the effort to recruit some of these highly ranked players and compete with the blue blood dirty recruiters for every commitment. They sure as hell know a lot more about basketball recruiting than we do, so I am going to trust them to do the best they can.

chomz14

March 28th, 2017 at 7:35 PM ^

Because a month ago you were on here daily leading the fire Beilein cult. You're so worried about getting the next 5 star. Did you even enjoy the last few weeks? Or we're you pulling your hair out over Crystal balls?

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 7:43 PM ^

A month ago this team was dead in the water and I was hardly alone in that opinion. Then Beilein surprised everyone and went on a hell of a run. I said as much multiple times on this blog. Do I need to preface every Beilein post with that from now on to appease people's sensibilities because they can't get over the fact I said some negative things about the basketball coach? The grudges some people hold here are ridiculous. Life is too short.

snarling wolverine

March 28th, 2017 at 8:06 PM ^

Your problem isn't that you wanted a coaching change midseason.  There were others who had that view. 

Your problem is that you were a complete asshole about it.  You were so desperate to win your dumb internet argument that you took it out on everyone who disagreed.  And I don't recall you apologizing to anyone.  You just disappeared from the board while the team was on its run, and then returned after the Oregon game to resume your bitchfest, only now about recruiting.

Read the tagline under this site's banner.

 

 

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 8:18 PM ^

Your problem is that you were a complete asshole about it. 

No, people like you just take things way to personal.

You were so desperate to win your dumb internet argument that you took it out on everyone who disagreed. 

Speaking of being an asshole.

And I don't recall you apologizing to anyone.  You just disappeared from the board while the team was on its run, and then returned after the Oregon game to resume your bitchfest, only now about recruiting.

Maybe you should monitor my posting more closely than you clearly already do. I made several posts congratulating Beilein and the hoops teams and also explained my abscence over the weekend of the B1G tournament was because I was at a funeral and lost a loved one. 

Read the tagline under this site's banner.

You should take this advice and stop holding internet grudges. It's kind of pathetic.

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 8:46 PM ^

The two go hand in hand. He says it's not because I was critical of JB but that's precisely the reason people got upset. Anyone who couldn't seperate that from their personal feelings responded the way the did. Whatever it's fine, I have a Michigan diploma on my wall and no one can take that away from me.

stephenrjking

March 28th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^

I find many of your arguments disagreeable, but you make it so hard to agree for three reasons:

1. You frame your opinions in a way to suggest that nobody could rationally disagree with you in any way.

2. You flame virtually any person who disagrees with you.

3. You melt down when you get called on it.

Look, I'm sympathetic to the argument that Beilein should recruit better. He has clearly proven an ability to develop under-the-radar talent, but it is also true that his most successful seasons (13, 14, this year) have been built on really good recruiting classes, with Irvin and Walton both being solid recruits from a not-embarrassingly-ranked class that formed the bedrock of the B1G tournament and NCAA run.

But you don't suggest and you don't discuss and you don't attempt to persuade; you throw flaming knives in all directions. And you take disagreement very, very personally, and then you blame other people when they say so, and then, like the trend in Washington politics these days, you deny that you have ever done such a thing.

C'mon, man. You could be classy and you decline. You could persuade people and you rip them instead. You look for reasons to bash Beilein instead of evaluating him fairly, and because of that people are less inclined to listen to reasonable arguments because you ignore his strengths so completely in favor of his weaknesses.

 

Maizen

March 28th, 2017 at 11:09 PM ^

Oh please, so many untruths in this post I don't even know where to begin. Nothing I have said in this thread is irrational or over the top. In fact nothing I've said is even factually wrong. I haven't "ripped" anyone, I haven't "flamed" anyone, and certainly haven't had a "meltdown" like you claim. The fact that I have to sit here and explain this all to you when every post in this thread demonstrates how wrong you are is patently ridiculous but then again I'm in the commenting section of a blog what can I really expect besides the 1% of the fanabse that is batshit crazy.

I'm done defending myself over this stuff because it's exhausting. My opinions are what they are. For the most part I present them in a respectful and intelligent manner. If you don't like them then I really don't care anymore. I have never been so happy to be so wrong about this years basketball team, but that doesn't make me an asshole like I've been called in this thread. And I shouldn't have to preface every Beilein post I make that can be construed as critical by praising everything the guy has ever done right.

How many times do I have to say I think he's a good coach. How many times do I have to say I support him 100%. But that's not mutually exclusive from me also thinking that he's a flawed recruiter and that there are inherent flaws in the way he runs his program that will prevent him from ever winning a national championship. That's the real issue here, because I've been posting on this blog for awhile and no one ever had a problem with anything I've posted until I started voicing my concenrs with the basketball coach. 

 

03 Blue 07

March 29th, 2017 at 1:17 AM ^

Impartial observer here...what they're trying to articulate is that it's not necessarily the content of what you say, but the way you convey it, that rubs. And you did make their point for them in the post above regarding how you say it vs. what you say. Just sayin'. 

tasnyder01

March 29th, 2017 at 3:08 PM ^

He will die on this hill.

But seriously, its hilarious/sad that you can't find ANY fault of your own. Or maybe you're just that confident. Whatever, props to you for never having self doubt. I wish I could say the same thing about myself.

Maizen

March 29th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^

I said I'm not perfect, but at this point I'm just finding it funny that I've manged to rustle a certain subset of posters so badly that they are now downvoting any and every post I make on this blog all because they hold an internet grudge. Now THAT is hilarious/sad.

stephenrjking

March 29th, 2017 at 1:46 AM ^

Oh please, so many untruths in this post paragraph

FTFY

I don't even know where to begin. Nothing I have said in this thread is irrational or over the top. In fact nothing I've said is even factually wrong. I haven't "ripped" anyone, I haven't "flamed" anyone, and certainly haven't had a "meltdown" like you claim. The fact that I have to sit here and explain this all to you when every post in this thread demonstrates how wrong you are is patently ridiculous but then again I'm in the commenting section of a blog what can I really expect besides the 1% of the fanabse that is batshit crazy.

C'mon, man, you say you haven't "ripped" anyone and you rip everyone at the end of that very paragraph. You flame people all the time. Your threads not infrequently turn into nuclear disasters.

For the most part I present them in a respectful and intelligent manner.

No you don't. You call people names. You call them insane. You suggest that they continue to take their medication. You are openly contemptuous of people who disagree with you and you express it in the most caustic ways available to you.

How many times do I have to say I support him 100%.

To my knowledge (and certainly within the available posting history, which currently extends back to before the B1G tourney run) you have never said this.

And, frankly, I wouldn't expect you to and I don't think you should. You clearly do not support him 100% and if you are a man of consistency and integrity you shouldn't. And you don't need to offer such support to be credible or to grant that this year's postseason run was impressive. It's possible to root for a team and not be totally sold on the coach. To suggest that you support him 100% now is simply dishonest, and this thread is a better example of your true feelings. 

because I've been posting on this blog for awhile and no one ever had a problem with anything I've posted until I started voicing my concenrs with the basketball coach.

C'mon, man. You've turned reasonable threads (often started with original thoughts that, whether I agree or not, are legitimate topics to talk about) into circuses with the way you respond for almost two years here. What's unfortunate is the denial that you ever overreact or exacerbate the situation with your distinctly harsh verbage. If I didn't know better, I would think that you were accessing mgoblog from the White House. 

You claim to be a Michigan alum with experience in hockey, knowledge of football, and (demonstrably extensive) knowledge in basketball. You have a point of view that isn't widely shared, but that you have information available to support. I've seen you produce posts loaded with solid insight and well-developed opinion. Why take things so personally so often? You alienate the vast majority of the board with your tone, even when they are inclined to agree with your positions (I mean, c'mon, nobody dislikes WD more than you and TIMMMAAY, and yet you even annoy him). You're 110% throttle enraged about everything. 

You can do better. You could be one of the sharpest posters here. But 50% of your content is verbal anthrax. Drop the hate and dial down the heat.