January 29th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
Flip Robinson and Hardway, Probably Morgan and Smots start with McGary the primary back up.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^
there is no way McGary is coming off the bench
January 29th, 2012 at 6:26 PM ^
I wouldn't be surprised at all if he comes off the bench for a while.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^
Regardless of talent you still need to know the playbook and earn your starting spot! He may start eventually but unlikely given Smotrycz will have significant playing time under his belt.
January 29th, 2012 at 10:37 PM ^
the instant he sets foot in Ann Arbor. You honestly believe Smot is going to start over him? Have you even been watching the b-ball games over the past few weeks? He was 1-6 with 1 rebound today...
How quickly we forget just how scary good McGary was on the AAU circuit last summer. The guy is for real.
Lineup is clearly going to be Burke, Hardaway, McGary, GRIII, and then Morgan, Smot, and Stauskus will fight for the last spot depending on the day/matchups etc.
January 29th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^
But in all of JB's years here he has very rarely played 2 bigs at once. It has almost always hapened for short stretches in the first half or in the case of bad foul trouble. I really wouldn't be surprised to see MM and Jo Mo battle out for the 5 spot. JB's offense has traditionally been built around spacing the floor, and a 3 out 2 in with Jo Mo and MM would significantly reduce that spacing.
January 29th, 2012 at 11:41 PM ^
if McGary will be the best player in his recruiting class. IMHO GRIII will be the best player in that class when all is said and done. Don't get me wrong McGary is a stud but I'm not sure about his ceiling, what you do in high school doesn't always transition to the College level. He may need some time to adjust and find his role on the team. It's a really good problem to have and I've very excited to see the team play next year.
No question Smotrycz has been struggling lately but I do remember him lighting the nets on fire early in the season and I still think he as a lot of potential be a very good 4 in Beilein’s offense. He obviously still needs a lot of work but I can see him being very good the next two years if he continues to improve his game. We will see...
January 29th, 2012 at 11:51 PM ^
If you mean more than a week...how much?
January 29th, 2012 at 7:08 PM ^
While I'm sure that Beilein will make McGary earn his playing time, I just don't see McGary sitting on the bench for very long, if at all. Granted, he will have to learn the playbook before he even thinks about stepping onto the court, but he's too talented to be a benchwarmer.
I could very easily see McGary starting from Day 1. Besides, we need another big body on the court.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
I'd say Morgan at Center and McGary at PF. Robinson and Hardaway at SG/SF could go either way
January 29th, 2012 at 5:49 PM ^
Probably this. I have a feeling that Morgan/McGary and Robinson/Hardaway will be pretty much interchangeable. We're going to have a pretty good rotation of players, so the lineup should be pretty dynamic.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
is definitely a 3.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:56 PM ^
It's obvious from their names. THII and GRIII.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:50 PM ^
1-Burke
2-Hardaway
3-Smots/Robinson
4-Mitch McGary
5-J Morgan
January 29th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
My guess as well
January 29th, 2012 at 6:00 PM ^
There is no way that Smotz ever plays the 3. He's way too slow to play out there. He will start at the 4 and McGary will rotate with him at 4, Horford will rotate with Morgan at the 5.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:19 PM ^
Will not be on the bench. In any collegiant sport basketball is the only one where freshman tend to be the best players in the country. McGary Is a 5 star kid that could go pro at the end of next season; he will start and very well could be our best big.
January 29th, 2012 at 8:54 PM ^
and will play here at least 2 years and probably 3.
January 30th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
but if he has a monster season next year he could easily be one and done. I think its going to be a 50/50 chance he stays for an extra year. It also depends on how strong the draft is next year.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:51 PM ^
He has to become more aggressive. He could be a 3 in the lineup. PG Burke, SG THJ, SF Smotz, PF McGary, C Morgan.... McGary has more face up game at this point then Morgan. Morgan just needs to get a couple moves on the block
January 29th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^
smotz is to slow to play sf
January 29th, 2012 at 6:01 PM ^
to play PF. Smotz could be like Robbie Hummel pre injury..basically he is a 3/4, just depends on the matchup. In no way would I have him defend a wing like Buford, but he should be able to handle someone like Deshaun Thomas on the block and perimeter
January 29th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^
He can play 4, he's been decent at it all year...BUT he's too slow to play 3, and it hinders his skill set.
Smotz is a good player because he can pick and pop. You put him at 3 and you have guys that can stay out an guard him. Leave him at 4 and you have guys hesitant to leave the paint.
Smotz will come off the bench, it's quite clear. He's a very one-deminsional player. He's too soft to play center (note how much time McLimas and Christian got today with Morgan in foul trouble)...he's too slow to play small forward. Could you imagine Smotz trying to guard GRII or THJ in practice? Haha!
His role will be to provide quality minutes off the bench as a big that can stretch the floor.
What McGary and a healthy Horford do is allow him to play PF and not Center.
The REAL question this board should be asking is...who plays backup PG? We again will have no one to take the pressure off of Burke or give him a blow.
Starters:
PG: Burke
Wing: Hardaway Jr.
Wing: Robinson III
PF: McGary
C: Morgan
2nd Unit:
PG: ?????????
SG: Vogrich
SF: Stauskas
PF: Smotrycz
C: Horford
Key Reserves:
Brundidge
McLimas
Christian
January 29th, 2012 at 7:24 PM ^
The hope is that by next season, Carlton is ready to give the team some quality minutes while Trey gets a breather & Eso can slide back into that "key reserves" category.
Without looking too far ahead, if Trey is ready to leave after his Soph. yr (strong IF), Carlton will be the junior PG battling a freshman Derrick Walton for the starting spot.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:53 PM ^
Burke, Hardaway JR, McGary, Morgan, Robinson III are your starting 5
McGary won't backup anyone next year.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^
Tim and Carlton are going to have to work on their ballhandling. Good thing they've got a hell of a teaching staff.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
Stauskus also has an excellent handle, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him bringing the ball up the floor some next year when Burke rests. He's going to have a hard time checking point guards one-on-one, but we could go zone if he were to handle the point, or we could pair him with a smaller off-guard like Brundidge.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:57 PM ^
is such an underrated asset of this team. If Burke can start finding him like Morris did last year, we will see some pretty ball and some openings outside as a result.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:59 PM ^
You don't bring in a 5 star kid and put him on the bench. What does that tell a 5 star looking at Michigan for the next season and for years after that? You have a 5 star kid, you start that 5 star kid
January 29th, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^
I'm sorry, but that is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. It tells 5 stars that we are going to put the best players on the floor to win. The number of stars a recruit receives while in HS does not automatically guarantee them a starting spot.
BUT, I do believe McGary will start next year.
January 29th, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^
PG: Burke, Brundidge
SG: THJr, Stauskas
SF: RGIII, Vogrich
PF: McGary, Smot
C: Morgan, Horford/McLimans
I really hope Brundidge can step up next year; we really need more ball handlers/shot creators than just Burke. I think McGary will start at the 4, and likely play some 5 when Morgan is on the bench. Not sure about RGIII starting at the 3, but I think either he or Stauskas will need to get some considerable time because we lose Douglas and Novak. Could be a dangerous team by tournament time.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:00 PM ^
I think u mean GRIII not RGIII
January 29th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^
We'll have a great rotation of 7 guys. The only player that will play 30+minutes a game is Burke - most people are forgetting about Biefeldt, who will play a good amount as well.
When you REALLY think about our team and the future roster, if recruiting in-state picks up because of our success these could really be the years where we go from a good team to an elite one.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:30 PM ^
PG: Burke, Brundidge
SG: THJr, Stauskas, Vogrich
SF: GRIII, Stauskas, Vogrich
PF: Smotrycz, McGary, Bielfeldt
C: Morgan, Horford, McGary
We'll be significantly deeper next year across the board...I think GRIII and Stauskas will both get significant minutes. Vogrich is a hard one to peg, I really like the kid but if he can't regain his shooting touch then he'll lose his minutes to the freshmen. If Smotrycz doesn't improve he could lose his starting spot to McGary. Should be fun to watch these guys play; Michigan has an exciting future in basketball and football!
January 29th, 2012 at 6:40 PM ^
Smotrycz is horrible
January 29th, 2012 at 7:05 PM ^
Smotrycz is shooting 44% from three right now even with this current shooting slump and he's gotten better with his ball handling. He still commits too many silly fouls, definitely needs to take better shots and improve his defensive footwork but he is certainly a GOOD player with a bright future! He will only get better with more experience. Your comment was horrible!
January 29th, 2012 at 6:56 PM ^
I hate when people speak as if they've got firsthand knowledge. Like they've actually spoken to a coach or a player. "Beilein will want to start experience" Oh really?!! So you've spoken to Coach Beilein directly?
So I guess Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway missed that memo. What about Darius Morris, Douglass and Novak? Experience didn't apply with them, huh?
STOP IT. Experience is overrated when it comes to a starting lineup anyway. Being the best player between those being decided on will surely be a bigger factor. If it isn't, we all reserve the right to question the coach.
"Beilein will want to start experience." Ha. Unless you're related to Coach B or on his staff, I call bullshit.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
Where did I say I spoke to Beilein or had inside information? If you actually listen to Coach B talk you can clearly see that he values experience and senior leadership. See CJ Lee and David Merritt for example. All the players you mentioned that started or played a lot as freshman didn't have significant depth or talent behind them at their perspective positions. I would agree you play the most talented players UNLESS they don't know the playbook well enough! That's where experience comes into play! Oh and nice use of CAPITALS and bold letters. Your attitude is bullshit.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:45 PM ^
I'll defend myself against inappropriate replies to my comments...Mr. Yost attacked my comment and I should have the right to defend / clarify my statement! We all know who the real Troll is...
January 29th, 2012 at 8:07 PM ^
It's pretty funny how quickly you run scared and start minimizing my comments.
January 29th, 2012 at 8:16 PM ^
Believe me, he's not alone.
January 29th, 2012 at 8:17 PM ^
Do yourself a favor and stop talking.
January 29th, 2012 at 8:18 PM ^
I'm one of several posters minimizing your comments you nitwit.
January 29th, 2012 at 8:38 PM ^
Just because you have amassed hundreds or thousands of points on here doesn't make you right! Minimize away.
January 29th, 2012 at 11:56 PM ^
Makes everyone right.
January 30th, 2012 at 9:25 AM ^
#epicRANT
Funny thing is, I hadn't even logged on to MGoBlog except to check if we'd got any of the football recruits.
I'm over yesterday's basketball game, in my mind, it never happened.
January 30th, 2012 at 9:22 AM ^
There is a freshman than he's started.
And I wasn't saying that McGary wouldn't start...that's not the argument. What I was saying is don't speak like you know firsthand what is going to happen.
You have an opinion, share it, I can respect your OPINION. But the moment you go acting like it's fact, is...well, bullshit. Saying Beilein WILL do something is ridiculous because you have NO clue what he WILL do.
January 29th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
Hardaway is not going to play the 2. It is not interchangeable with the 3 in Beilein's offense. The 3 man sets up on the left side of the court and works a lot off of screens. The 2 sets up on the right side of the court, and is required to be a much better ball handler.
Think of how many times you have seen THJ do anything from the right side of the court in his career? You can probably count them on one hand. Unless he drastically improves his handle, especially his left hand, he is not going to be playing the 2.
It will be some combination of Stauskas, Brundidge and possibly Vogrich getting minutes at the 2.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:00 PM ^
Robinson, I think you're forgetting Robinson.
And I haven't seen Stauskas play, but you think he has a better handle that Hardaway? I HAVE seen Vogrich play and he doesn't have a better handle than Hardaway.
I'm not saying Hardaway doesn't play the 3 like you say...but I don't think he's terrible if he's playing on the other half of the court either.
January 29th, 2012 at 7:13 PM ^
Robinson III is a 3/4. He won't be playing the 2, so I wasn't really referring to him in my post.
Stauskas has a better handle than THJ, yes. I have seen Stauskas play multiple full games and he can do more with the ball in his hands. He can also use both hands almost equally well.
Now THJ may improve, or Beilein may shift the offense to suit the talent more, but as things stand right now I just can't see him getting significant time at the 2.