Spike Albrecht visiting Thursday

Michigan has had to rely on the PG spot for a lot of points in recent years, but might not have to now.  If they get a guy who is a decent distributor of the ball who won't turn it over a lot, that could be enough.  With the talent that returns and the talent coming in at other positions, there will be plenty of hungry "mouths" to feed, and only one ball.  

Whoever plays the point next year, if he can handle the ball, get it to the right people. and play even average defense, it should be enough for an entertaining and fruitful season.

With all the concerns about his athleticism being the only real concern I'd like to briefly dwell on the Beilein system and focus on the other talent on the team.  

-Ball movement & Motion: This is what the Beilein offense is all about, this wasn't always the way that Burke and Morris handled it, but the offense really is about moving off the ball and passing the ball around a lot (similar to a Princeton offense).  This doesn't mean that we need another guy that will dribble the air out of the ball the last couple years like Morris and Burke did.  yes it worked having them run the point, but Beilein's preferred system doesn't really need that type of player.

-Other talent: With the wealth of talent at the 2/3/4/5 next year, it will be okay to have a 1 that will focus on running the offense, distributing to his teammates, and making great decisions.  The primary concern comes when other teams press a PG with limited athleticism, this can be overcome by having a lot of height at the other positions that can pass out of the press (Stauskas, Hardaway, GR-III, and McGary should help here).  We don't need Albrecht to be the kind of penetrator and scorer that Burke and Morris have been the last couple years when we have a guy like GR-III coming in and replacing Novak, he should be able to pick up a lot of the penetrating opportunities (and I'd expect Hardaway to penetrate a lot more next year).  If Albrecht can come in, learn the offense, take care of the ball, and knock down the occasional open 3, he should do a decent job considering the type of talent that he has around him (same goes for Della Valle if he comes in and runs the point).

Already.  I'll preface with this: Let's face it, Burke is gone.  Peace out.  Enjoy the D-league and jumping to your dream job with your best friend.  Beilein saw the light, it looks like, months ago.  People bringing up Beilein's player relationship may not be as "conspiracy theory" as some of the others suggest; this is not an all bad thing, by the way.  Who's to say, maybe Trey loved it in Ann Arbor.  I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that it's doubtful he was in heaven by being up in AA.  If he was in love with the team -and more importantly, the guy who could get him to the NBA to succeed, ahem, Coach John Beilein- the situation would be different right now.  Burke was ready to bolt and there's not much that was going to change that. 

Getting back to Beilein being a player's coach.  It's fine that he's not.  He seems to be the Father-like coach rather than the Brother-like coach.  He has a personality that has let him succeed with many teams before.  It's proven to work.  Maybe the players that have left Michigan/about to leave Michigan just don't vibe as well with him; so be it.  Bring on the players that do gel with him best, and the success will come.

But here we are, 9 months out from the season, and the team has no sufficient PG.  Fans/bloggers are in a frenzy and one of the options, and to me thus far the best option, is an unrecruited kid from Massachusets.  The pressure on this kid from the get-go will be immense.  "Filling the shoes" of Trey and garnering the talent being brought in around him will be hard to match the expectations for.  The comments being made already about the kid, are foolish and more often than not from people not known for their knowledge of the game.  So relax all.  Things will be alright come Winter 2012 for Coach Beilein and the Michigan B-Ball squad.

Is our best option assuming Burke leaves. Even if Burke stays, this kid would be a good get, every team needs at least 2-3 PG's. He can definitely shoot it, and pass it. We have enough scorers next season, he doesn't need to score to be a solid option at PG.

This according to Scout.  Expect a Hello: Spike post sometime on Thursday.  I assume this means they will still be recruiting Amadeo Della Valle as there are still a number of scholarships opened.

I wouldn't be surprised (although I also don't expect this to happen) if Albrecht got an offer similar to the one that Amaker gave Reed Baker.  Come in for a year and if we like you we'll extend the scholarship, if not, you got a chance to show what you can do and get attention from other schools.  Win-win for both parties due to the fact he has no other D-I offers.  I'd like to see this happen.

Here's your choice: 4* Carlton Brundidge or 2* Stu Douglass.  Everyone whines that we're not going to get a highly touted kid here, but until they show up on campus those *s mean nothing.  If Beilein thinks this 2* kid from Indiana that has played on a team with McGary and GR-III and against Stauskas has what it takes to get an offer, then who are we to question that.

His pre-existing relationship with the other 3 incoming freshman really makes this a much smarter decision in my book.

I wasn't too impressed with the highlights. (Didn't look bad, but just not great) So I went back and watched a game of his (at least when he was playing) of when he was playing some good competition. I have to say that I'm more impressed after I watched that. He reminds me more of a steve nash type than a trey burke type. He has some very good handles and can get the ball just about anywhere on the court. He's a great distributor. If trey burkes leaves then we need to bring in another PG and this late in the year there aren't too many options. I would be glad if he joined our team (once again, assuming burke leaves)

Well, if he does commit he'll fill the grit void left by the departures of Novak and Douglass nicely.

The kid looks like he has good open court vision a smooth stroke and he showed the ability to stop and pop.  He will adjust to the size of the big ten by doing more stop and pop rather than taking it all the way.  He does have a smooth quick take to the hole though so I think he will still be able to convert as long as he doesnt force it.  Considering his familiarity with McGary and GRIII he might be the perfect stop gap PG until the next big name arrives.