Drunk Uncle

January 30th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^

Folks laughed at Tim Miles approach to handling Michigan, but I think he's done the best job so far given the talent he has. Essentially it was "shooters gonna shoot", "take away the inside game", "keep them in front of us". 

davking1980

January 30th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^

"He does it the right way -- clean -- and he adjust to his personnel. Before he had Burke, they didn't ball-screen a ton. They also used to play a ton of 1-3-1 defense and now he just sprinkles it in. He's a really good coach."

Just reeks of being from Izzo.

BlueMars24

January 30th, 2013 at 1:26 PM ^

I'm always surprised how many commentators (or coaches in the article) say we lack depth. I think our team is pretty deep. 4 guys off the bench play quite a bit. I think a 9 man rotation is plenty deep and we know Bielfeldt can play too.

EQ RC Blue

January 30th, 2013 at 2:06 PM ^

...Vogrich doesn't get many minutes, but how many teams have a senior on the bench with a career 40% 3pt fg pct?  He hasn't played a ton, but that's partly because of JB's preference of playing his best 7 as much as he can.  He was certainly a part of our top 7 or 8 his sophmore and junior years.  I'm not saying he's a great player, but I bet he stacks up pretty well compares to most team's 4th wing option.

We'd obviously be in a heap of trouble of Trey went down.  GRIII seems like the next most indispensible because we don't really have anyone else like him.   But what team wouldn't suffer if one of it's top 2 or 3 players went down?    

 

BraveWolverine730

January 30th, 2013 at 1:48 PM ^

Honestly we don't play very many guys very often. We routinely have multiple guys playing 35+ min, especially in the "big" games. I don't think it's a knock on our talent level and honestly I don't think it's a big deal. OSU has probably been the most successful B1G basketball team of the last 3-4 years total and they've done mostly playing 6-7 guys.

maizenblue92

January 30th, 2013 at 1:48 PM ^

The MGoblog should make t-shirts that have Stauskas hanging on the rim that say "Not Just a Shooter". Also I don't think this team lacks toughness. The last few games, starting with the OSU game prove that. The way they have been battling on the boards, diving for loose balls, and playing better overall defense. 

BraveWolverine730

January 30th, 2013 at 1:55 PM ^

Seems bizarre to say that our defense was better last year when all the stats say otherwise. The fact is that most of these types of scouting reports tend to be of the nitpicking variety, but it's always interesting to see.

Lucky Socks

January 30th, 2013 at 2:10 PM ^

I just don't understand why people think we're not that deep.  Sure, we play a 7 man rotation (Morgan, GRIII, Hardaway, Stauskas, Burke, McGary, Levert).  But Horford is working his way back into minutes, Spike plays as much as any backup to an All-American should, Max can give us minutes, and Vogrich and McLimans have each played decent sized roles on Tournament Caliber teams.  Eso is pretty good as a contingency plan as well.  Do these dummies expect us to play all 12 guys every game?  I just don't understand where the "not deep" complaint is coming from.

Also, using Smotrcyz as an example of experience and toughness last year is hilarious.  He had potential and I wish the best for him at Maryland...but does anyone actually miss him at this point?  He would have given us a different look off of the bench, but I can't see him accepting a 10-15 minute role while maintaining this chemistry (hence the transfer).  A LeVert for Evan trade seems like a win to me because I think we need that extra handle more than a stretch four this season.  

Lucky Socks

January 31st, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^

Though I agree, I'm not using them as examples of great 6th men.  Vogrich and McLimans are literally the 11th and 12th men on our roster.  I feel pretty good knowing that our 11th and 12th men have each played important minutes at one time or another, are seniors who know our system inside and out, and have experience that they can share with the younger guys in the rotation.  They each bring a tool or two that could be useful in the case of foul trouble, injury, or special need.  Vogrich as a 3-pt specialist and gritty "throw his body into rebounds" guy, and McLimans as a tall foul machine who can hit a three or two. 

Find me a team who can boast 11th and 12th men like Vogrich and McLimans, and I'll show you a team that has 10 guys ahead of them that can really play basketball.  Since we have 10 guys ahead of them that can, yeah, I'd say they help support the depth argument.  

Dubs

January 30th, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^

“You know you're gonna be able to score, but they need that mentality on both ends of the floor. If they give it up defensively like they do offensively, they're gonna be a bitch.”



I have seen spurts of a swarming defense thus far, but seldom. The athleticism is there. If they can force the issue and create turnovers, it plays right into our offensive strength: transition. Hopefully it's a matter of gelling, but if they can develop the swagger on the defensive end as well...may god have mercy upon those that stand in their way.

Drunk Uncle

January 30th, 2013 at 2:29 PM ^

Doing a player by player analysis, how do you match up against GRIII? If Burke's gonna' Burke, and you focus on perimiter defense to stop Hardaway/Stauskas, you still need a top end defender for GRIII, who is a stat filler and can do everything. What team can do all that when Michigan's 'WE ON' (as opposed to WE NOT ON vs. OSU)?

After tonight it get real, gonna' learn a lot about the salt of this team - @Indiana, OSU, @Wisc, @MSU. 

ChiBlueBoy

January 30th, 2013 at 3:03 PM ^

“They have a base system to their offense, but it's a free-flowing system because they have talented players. There's a pattern and continuity to it so guys have freedom.”

I think Coach B is some sort of Zen master. He's created a strict system, and everyone has to know their part, but because the system is so regimented, once the players understand it they are actually much more free to do what needs to be done to score.

My question going into this year was whether Coach B was just a guy who could take medium-level talent and make it play over its head, or whether he was a coach who could take any talent (including high-end talent) and bring out their best. Often, the hard part is dealing with egos. Obviously, he's amazing at it. Right now, I think we have one of the best, if not the best, coaches in college basketball and football. The only difference is that Hoke hasn't yet had the opportunity to coach the type of players he ideally would like (MANBAWL!). If he can do what Beilein has done, I will be a happy alum.

LSAClassOf2000

January 30th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^

"“I wonder if for long stretches, they can blue collar it up defensively. I don't know if toughness is the right word. You know you're gonna be able to score, but they need that mentality on both ends of the floor. If they give it up defensively like they do offensively, they're gonna be a bitch.” - some coach regarding Michigan

I have to wonder, as others do, what some of these guys are looking at as well, althugh regarding defense, I did find this quote amusing. It has been pointed out, but statistically, we are better than last year on defense. We're keeping opponents to 41.9% effective FG% as opposed to 46.8% last year, and we've gone from 176th to 51st in overall defensive efficiency. We've also cut about three points off the average opponent points per game too when compared to last year, which I would think is evidence of improvement in several areas.

74polSKA

January 30th, 2013 at 3:29 PM ^

I noticed the use of "Ohio" by one coach towards the bottom under the Leftovers heading.  I'd also like to know which coach doesn't think this team has depth?  That whole quote seems to go against all the others in the article.  Interesting read though.

IPFW_Wolverines

January 30th, 2013 at 6:09 PM ^

I found it odd that one of the ways listed to beat Michigan was in the post. Minnesota tried that and lost at home. They are a heavy inside team. The last few years I would certainly have agreed with the beat them in the post sentiment but not this year.