What will you be happy with at the Dance?
So now that we're here at the Dance, are you happy just to be here since this was supposed to be an NIT season at best? Or would you be disappointed if M didn't do at least a little damage and win one game? Or maybe you're in it to win it, and nothing less than a championship is your thing? (You may end up disappointed.) How much tournament success do you want to see to make this season a success?
March 16th, 2009 at 12:28 PM ^
I'd be pretty happy if we made the Final Four.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:44 PM ^
UNACCEPTABLE
March 16th, 2009 at 12:31 PM ^
I'd be pretty happy if the team doesn't get lost on its way to the stadium.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:32 PM ^
Anything from here on out is gravy.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:33 PM ^
Anything less than a championship is UNACCEPTABLE!
March 16th, 2009 at 12:35 PM ^
I will be smiling the entire game. This is awesome.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:37 PM ^
is it kosher to cut down the nets in the 1st round?
March 16th, 2009 at 12:41 PM ^
we've been through...I don't think anyone would care.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^
...it's probably appropriate to do it before the game actually starts.
I'm down for cutting them at half-time if we're up
of schedule beating Clem,would be my main priority,I want to see that happen. However,making the sweet sixteen would send a strong message to recruits and other programs...MICHIGAN BASKETBALL is BACK!
March 16th, 2009 at 12:51 PM ^
I am happy the team just qaulified.
It was not easy and they needed so many big wins down the stretch.....it was gratifying wathing a UM hoops team just come through in all those big situations and make the Tourney.
But, advancing a round, beating an ACC team and squaring off against one of the 'teams of the year' in the second round would be ideal and all i can reasonably hope for.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
I have to say that (though we are indeed a 10 seed) we are sitting prettily (Can that be an adverb? I think it can) by virtue of playing a weak 7 seed--and putatively a weak 2 seed, too. After all, both Clemson and Oklahoma finished their seasons unspectacularly relative to their 7- and 2-seeded brethren.
Anyway, as to the question at hand: I'll be happy with anything. However, one or two wins aren't out of the question.
Just happy to see our team back in the tourney. A win would be awesome, especially since I don't particularly like our matchups, but it's all bonus to me from here on in this year.
This is almost word for word what I was going to post.
Yinka, let's be friends.
Are our expectations for next year being WAY too high. M really out-performed this year. This could be a sign that we are sick-nasty next year, or it could mean that we got to our peak a year earlier than we thought. The reason I'm saying this is because now I expect us to be a top 25 team next year. Not being a hater, just thinking this could happen.
It's up in the air how good we'll be next year, but with two All-Big Ten players, it's hard to imagine that a 20-13 record and 9-9 in conference represents a peak performance. I'll be surprised if we aren't at least a little better next season, assuming no major injuries/departures.
It's going to be hard to maintain our level of success next year. Most of the best players in the Big Ten are underclassmen, and assuming minimal losses to the draft, the Big Ten should be even more difficult next year.
Michigan State will reload, and BTPOY Kalin Lucas is only a soph. Raymar Morgan is a junior, and stud sophomore Durell Summers will be back. The only players they lose are Chris Allen and Goran Suton.
Illinois losses Chester Frazier but returns virtually their whole team and assuming Alex Legion develops, he is a lock for much more playing time and could be their best layer.
OSU returns their entire team.
Purdue returns all of their best players.
Minnesota returns all of their key players.
Northwestern returns Koble and Thompson, but they lose Craig Moore.
Indiana will be a force to reckon with next year due to their monster recruiting class, and could very well start five freshman.
Iowa should be better.
Wisconsin losses Krabbenhoft and Landry, but they always seem to reload.
Penn State will take the biggest hit losing Pringle and Cornley but Taylor Battle will return.
We have minimal losses with CJ Lee, David Merritt, and Jevohn Shepherd graduating, but bring in a solid point guard in Darius Morris and another scrappy white kid (of the higherish rated variety) in Matt Vogrich, and low post project Jordan Morgan. So we should improve or maintain.
The Big Ten is going to be beastly next year.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:16 PM ^
...none of them have Beilein.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:29 PM ^
The Big Ten is going to be tough next year. I don't dispute that. But I don't think any other team will shore up its weaknesses the way we will. This year we had two scholarship players over 6'5"; next year we'll have five. This year we played two walk-ons most of the minutes at PG; next year we'll have a 4-star recruit available there. And it's natural to expect continued improvement from the returning players. It may be a foreign concept to us after the Ellerbe/Amaker years, but Beilein's players tend to show yearly improvement. I'm not predicting a Big Ten title by any means, but I think we can finish a few places higher in the standings.
Anyway, I'm not sure why you assume zero early departures to the NBA. OSU is certain to lose Mullens, and may also lose Turner and Buford. MSU may lose Lucas. PSU might lose Battle. Purdue might possibly lose Johnson (athletic big men are always sought-after). The picture might look considerably different after the early departures shake out.
For now, I just assume no departures because its just the most logical thing to do.
As for who might go pro...
I've heard Mullens will not go pro. If he does its a huge mistake. He started out the season as a top 3 pick, and has since fallen well out of the lottery. No part of his game is even close to being ready. He is one of those players who will benefit from being forced to go to school for a few years. Just watch him play, he would get eaten alive in the NBA. He can either go to the D-League/be the 10th man on an NBA bench for a few years, or stay in school and play with people who are closer to his skill level. His game needs serious development.
Izzo generally does a good job of getting kids to stay and I really believe that Kalin Lucas stays. He's really not on anybody's radar, and there are at least 5 point guards much better than he is who will enter the draft (Ricky Rubio, Jeff Teague, Brandon Jennings, Willie Warren, and Ty Lawson). He will stay.
Talor Battle is not an NBA player.
Buford will more than likely stay. I have heard no draft buzz surrounding him, and he is another player who could benefit from another year in school, and even then, not too sure about him. He's just not that explosive for a two guard.
JaJuan Johnson could go, but he's not a lottery pick, and like Kalin Lucas, there are at least 5/6 other forwards that are easily better than him (Blake Griffin, Jordan Hill, Greg Monroe, Earl Clark, James Johnson, and DeJuan Blair) All of those players are arguably more athletic than Johnson and all of them outweigh him, quite a few by 40+ pounds.
Turner IMO is the most likely of all the players you've mentioned to make the leap, but even he is at best a late first round pick.
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We will definitely be much improved, but at the same time so will everyone else in the conference.
Also, we are no longer an under-the-radar sort of team, sans expectations. We will now have a target on our back and be expected to make the tournament and finish near the top of the Big Ten standings, and that mindset is definitely different than "OMG we are just so happy to be here".
Also also, we're pinning some of our hopes on a combo guard in Darius Morris to run point, and although I think he can be solid, he would still be a freshman point guard.
March 17th, 2009 at 11:44 AM ^
Mullens is gone; it's an open secret in Columbus. I agree that Turner is the most likely of the rest to leave as well. (There have been rumors about Buford, but I personally doubt them.) As for MSU/Izzo keeping guys around, that hasn't necessarily been the case over the past decade. Jason Richardson, Zach Randolph, Shannon Brown, Marcus Taylor and Lorbek all bolted after no more than two years of school.
Yes, we've exceeded expectations this year, and I'm obviously happy with the season, even if we get shut out by Clemson. This has been one of the most fun Michigan seasons to watch in recent memory because we knew we were dangerous enough to beat anyone, but inconsistent enough to lose to anyone, so each game was an adventure. Usually a Michigan season involves not living up to expectations (not the case with '03 and '06 football: other very fun seasons) or just being really bad. It is also just a breath of fresh air to be able to follow college basketball without the shame of knowing that my team sucks.
That being said, I can't say I won't be disappointed if we have a first-round exit. Let's at least be a little greedy here, people, I think a sweet-sixteen appearance would feel like a championship, and I'll be rooting for our team as if it will be.
If no one suffers a career ending injury I will be happy.
Our journey back into the tourney was not an easy one nor do I expect our first trip through the tourney in 11 years to be easy either. Ill lost to Clemson at Clemson by 3 points. That game could have gone either way and Ill just recently proved they were better than us. If we are able to beat them there will be an even better team in OU to beat. Hypothetically speaking we get past them and get to the elite 8 we will be met by NC who pasted MSU by 30 points. I would love nothing more than to see us get to that point but I just really don't see it. I have already set my DVR for the game as I have to work late that night but I am expecting to not care who wins anything after that as long as MSU and tO$U lose.
Actually, Illinois lost at home to Clemson.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:46 PM ^
I just want to say that yes, if you would have asked me at the beginning of the year if I would take beating Duke and UCLA and contend for a at-large bid until finally bowing out into the NIT, I would have taken that in a heartbeat.
But if they would have lost to Iowa or Minny at the end of the year, I would have been crushed, just like I think I will be when they lose in the tourney. But a few days after that, I will be smiling because I definitely enjoyed the ride this year.
I'm just happy to be in the dance, and if we lose, we lose. I'm not expecting anything more from this team, as they've given me everything I could have hoped for and more.