Thoughts on Savannah State?
Anyone out there catch this game and have any thoughts? I saw a couple times the game was supposed to be on BTN, but it wasn’t in Chicago at least.
After killing over an hour on a rosy, boarding on gushing, diary entry regarding this year’s hoops squad and their chances at the tourney (wherein I boldly proclaimed M would win every game it ‘should’ win, save perhaps a single slip-up) I was not pleased to see M 66 Savannah St 64 (OT) in print.
After reading some of the game recaps, my first thought was “hey, maybe this is GOOD sign for the team.” My second thought was “holy shit, have I become that much of a homer? Dear God.”
Back to the first thought. M got down by 20 at the half, playing in the mortuary that is Chrysler whenever the students leave town. I liked JB’s halftime approach, lightening things up as opposed to fire and brimstone. They make an immediate second half run behind a barrage of Manny FTs then get some timely Novak triples. Sims goes 9-12 from the floor (with JB intimating in his post game comments that many came inside) and hits the game winner. Basically they got their shit together and showed some mettle in a game they almost certainly would have lost last year. And if it’s a game they would have lost last year but didn’t, by definition that is a positive, right?
Anyone who saw the game disagree with that? M had a typical ‘07 dusty dry spell in the first, going 8 minutes without a basket, while reverting to the ‘07 TO fest with 12 and allowing the SS to shoot 15 of 21.
Was M taking bad shots or where they just not falling? At what point did Sims get involved in the game or was he fairly consistent throughout?
Improved ball handling was one of my favorite aspects of ‘08 so far, not just cutting down on TO’s, but confidence in handling the ball. What happened with the first half? Careless? Pressing? Succumbing to the opponent’s pressure?
How did Savannah St shoot the ball so well? Was it a matter of failing to close out on shooters out of the 1-3-1? Offensive glass? Points off TOs? Bad luck?
Was Manny forcing a lot of fouls or was he getting the benefit of the doubt on close calls (14-14 on the night, gotta love that no matter what)?
Finally, please, someone, describe Novak’s blown dunk.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:34 AM ^
Dude made a great steal, tried to go up with 2 hands for the stuff and flat out blew it. Didn't get enough elevation and the ball popped out halfway down. Probably should have gone for the layup, but hey, like Johnny B said, who's to say he wouldn't have missed the bunny layup? I know I get overanxious with a clear path to the hoop sometimes and blow the simple glasser.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 AM ^
but you don't play D1 basketball, he shouldn't get over anxious
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 AM ^
I'm just a scrub who plays rec league ball (and not well). But hey, the kid made a great play to steal the ball, and possibly just got overexcited about ending the game with authority (as Bill Raftery would say).
BTW, Jimmy King (who apparently is Matt Shepard's broadcast partner?!) thought it was a good play to go for the dunk. *facepalm*
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:12 AM ^
The game was on BTN.com through a live feed (not bad, but the video would freeze sometimes, and the audio was never quite synced). I turned it on at halftime to a 20 point deficit in disbelief, but in all honesty, whatever M did the first half, they DOMINATED at the beginning of the second half. The half started with a Michigan 15-0 run and even though it took them the rest of the half and overtime to come out on top, it really was impressive that they were able to overcome the deficit in such a convincing manner. The second part of the second half wasn't quite as pretty while the teams went back and forth with the lead and there were some young mistakes on Michigan's part.
What everyone got out of the game is that Sims NEEDS to start. He serves as a spark for the team and it was especially obvious in this game as they looked like a different team (granted I didn't see the first half, but from what I heard, it was a completely different team).
The Daily had an article yesterday that Beilein is going to keep the current starting line-up until Arizona transfer Lucas-Perry is eligible at the end of the semester (not sure if that means the last day of classes, which would be a week from today, or if it's when all exams are done. Either way he won't be available for MD or Duke). But yeah, the writer severely criticized Beilein for this.
For the team as a whole, I think it could be a learning experience about not giving up when down. But players and coaches know that first half won't fly against some of their tougher opponents or almost any Big Ten team.
A couple of other things:
-Crisler actually looked like it had a good crowd, especially for a shitty team, and a holiday weekend where most students are home
-From what I read, it doesn't sound like Sims played at all in the first half, or if he did not much at all. He played 23 minutes of 2nd half and OT
-The players are quoted as saying that they were getting every lucky break on shots in the first half, and that M had trouble establishing a rhythm because of that. Take that however you want to
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:08 AM ^
Appreciate it. It goes without saying that fans who frequent Mgoblog are interested in taking a critical view of the teams we follow that is near impossible without seeing the actual game, or getting a solid report from other like-minded fans.
Regardless of the eventual outcome of the season, watching year 2 of the JB experience unfold is going to be fascinating, and worth keeping close tabs.
Plus I am really pulling for this team to solidly exceed expectations (top 3 Big 10 finish, one tourney W) to get some positive vibes flowing back into M, and to draw attention away from RR so he can work in relative peace until fall camp.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 AM ^
With the time being so short, the dunk is probably the better move. Attempting a layup requires you to slow down - at least a little - to lay the ball off the backboard without it rocketing off the backboard. IIRC, the buzzer essentially went off a split second after Novak tried to throw it down. If he had slowed up (he was going full speed), tried to gain body control, and lay it off the glass, he could have been too late.
As for him being a DI player - very true, but DI players miss layups (and dunks) more than we realize. Particularly true frosh, in their 6th game in DI, with split seconds left on the clock and rushing themselves.
Re: the team. My expectations are still not TOO high, but I really do enjoy watching them. Love seeing them play with purpose, and really hope they can split with MD/Duke, win the rest of the OOC, and be above .500 in Big Ten play.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 AM ^
In the first half pretty much everything went wrong. For one thing the Savannah State press really bothered Michigan. They weren't bringing enough guys back to handle the ball and just getting to half-court was a struggle. Savannah State was also making a point to cut off the backdoor play and make Michigan work for everything they got in the half-court. Manny was trying to do too much and dribbling into trouble, leading to turnovers. On offense Savannah State absolutely shot the lights out, and a lot of the shots weren't that easy. They had some really athletic guys that were getting into the lane and then kicking it out to their point guard, who was draining everything even with hands in his face. Michigan was switching between the zone and man-to-man but nothing was really working.
In the second half Michigan started off with a really lucky banked-in 3-pointer by Sims which really helped mentally I think, because every break went against them in the first half. Savannah State finally started missing some shots and making poor decisions against the zone, two things they did not do at all in the first half. Michigan got a few easy baskets on the fast break and Novak came off the bench and gave them a spark as well. Manny did get a few questionable calls I guess, but some really bad ones went against Michigan as well so I think it was just bad officiating all-around. Sims was just dominant inside, he was grabbing every rebound (it helped that there were finally rebounds to grab!)
Ultimately I think it was a bit of a fluky game, Michigan did not come out ready to play and Savannah State just got on a once-in-a-season hot streak shooting. It showed good toughness to come back, last year's team probably would've quit at halftime as several players mentioned. The things that did worry me about this game were trouble breaking the press and Manny trying to do too much when things went bad. Those two trends could get us in a lot of trouble this week. Still, a fun day at Crisler...the crowd was small but we got the place pretty loud during the second half comeback and OT. Also kudos to the fans for not getting on Novak after the missed dunk, I was worried he would lose it mentally in overtime but the crowd went crazy every time he touched the ball in OT and he made some big plays to help the Wolverines pull it out.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:55 AM ^
Great observations, that's what I was hoping to hear. As we know, not even Sparty is immune to a preseason clunker or two against a team it should whalop, I'm glad it was more or less a convergence of bad circumstances in the first half, then a charge in the second.
Also good to hear about the crowd. M needs something to cheer about, If the hoops team can pick up at least a win out of their next two, I think it'll go a long way towards filling Chrisler for the big 10 season.