When Morgan was subbed for late...

Submitted by bokee88 on
He went to the bench and was being congratulated by them. He seemed to hit a player manager. It appeared like he was pissed. We rewound it multiple times and there was a debate about whether he was pissed or pumped.

- Did anyone else notice this?

- Do you think he was pissed or pumped.?

- If pissed, was anyone at the game able to make out what caused this?

The Harbaughnger

March 23rd, 2014 at 8:07 PM ^

Putting this at the top so people know what's being discussed. Don't know how to embed from a phone:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLxKTQ4LHNM

I don't think it really matters even if he was pissed at him. Beilein is totally in control and I think Morgan knows where the too-far line is. Even if he's actually upset with the guy, things happen in sports and it's not always a civil situation even between great friends. I've been ready to knock friends heads off before, only to realize I was out of line when the game was over. And I don't think he has to be friends with the guy and come to that conclusion for this to be ok either- put a bunch of competitive dogs together and there's going to be a pecking order even if it only comes up once every 5 years. I think he was pumped AND pissed- the guy probably stepped over the line and Morgan could have quoted Churchill to him...instead he decided to say the same thing by shoving him in a highly emotionally charged moment. Guy probably got the point faster too. So Morgan is really just demonstrating another efficient facet of his game...

MaximusBlue

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:05 AM ^

I only seen it one time but the reaction of the manager made it seem strange. It's probably nothing though. He just had a monster double-double game against this big bad dominant frontcourt that he'd been hearing about ad nauseam. I think he was just jacked.

KevGoBlue

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:09 AM ^

He was fired up. I agree that it looked strange, but whoever he pushed probably isnt the one making the decision to "bench" him. That was an awesome game for Morgan. If he continues to play like that, we will be in for another nice, deep run.

Ghost of BCook…

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:10 AM ^

I'm thinking pumped. The match up with Texas and all of the pre-game hype about the advantage down low for the Longhorns made Mr Morgan unhappy. I wish I could remember where I read it but Bacari said it was very personal with Jordan. My guess is that when he checked out with 15/10 and Michigan in control he let out his emotion.

mGrowOld

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:15 AM ^

I mustve missed that sequence in my drunken euphoria.  Can somebody explain it to me what happend in terms I would understand after watching basketball non-stop for the past 72 hours?  

Did he punch him like the Allstate Mayhem guy punched the mascot or did he push him like the dinosaurs do in the Buick ad?  

I'm confused and what to understand like the people in the ATT do when the Manager chick explains the rate plans to them.

gwkrlghl

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^

He gave a respectable two-hand push into the managers chest. DIdn't move him much so he obviously wasn't trying to hit him hard but the manager did look pretty surprised by it, esp since it was amongst a line of pretty calm high fives and fist pumps

My wild guess is that maybe the student manager tried to make a joke about the missed free throw. To that point I think Jordan had gone 4/4 and just came out after going 1/2. Maybe tried to make a wise crack and JMo wasn't in the mood? Wild speculation obviously

Mgodiscgolfer

March 23rd, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^

you remember the 456 commercials you seen in a span of 72 hours of NCAA BB. then you missed this Jordan Morgan celebration. I say, I didn't see it, I was stuck in my car and had to listen on the radio. FWIW Matt Shepard said when he (JMo) came over to the bench late at the end of the game he was jacked (paraphrasing here) he was pumping his fist from what I heard.

Zoltanrules

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:16 AM ^

Very emotional game for Morgan who gets the finality of the tourney and was challenged to outplay Ridley (which he did). I LOVE to see this side of Morgan who can be too nice. As far as the assistant coaches and managers go, they deserve big props - UM is as well prepared and coached as any team PERIOD. I have to remember this when I am screaming at the TV to help us win with gems like " get GR3 out of the game",lol.

Raoul

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^

MLive article—After feeling slighted, again, Michigan's Jordan Morgan stays on the warpath in win over Texas—describes this a bit differently than a "hit":

Morgan was as emotional as he's been at any point all season, including the team's senior day at the Crisler Center earlier this month. And when it was all over, and Michigan subbed him out for the final time, he was still letting everyone know about it.

He pumped his fists to the Michigan crowd behind the team bench. Got in assistant coach LaVall Jordan's face and let him know he meant what he said when he told his team he would be just fine vs. Texas on Saturday, and then finished up by head-butting sophomore Mitch McGary right in the chest.

"I'll take him down a dark alley with me any day," Alexander said afterward.

Read the whole article for the full context.

One other thing: Morgan did not at that point have a double-double. He got his 10th rebound after he went back into the game in the final minute and grabbed the ball while lying on the ground.

tee wrecks

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^

It was definitely an interaction with a manager - not a coach or McGary - that was picked up on TV. I rewound several times to try to figure it out, but it was too brief of a shot to get the context. The manager's expression instantly went from a celebratory "you da man" to an anxious "please don't hurt me, Mr. Morgan."

Also, I tried to figure out what Morgan was shouting at the crowd after the flagrant foul committed against him near the end. The best my lip reading skills could come up with was "This is our city," which may have been directed toward the Wisconsin crowd. My brother-in-law (a Texas grad) was at the Thursday game and commented on how the Wisconsin contingent seemed to be actively rooting against Michigan. He was surprised as the Big XII way is apparently to always root for the conference brethren.

willow

March 23rd, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^

I've posted this before, but I lived in MKE for 10 years.  Any time Michigan played in the Bradley Center (especially when Wisconsin didn't have any team there), the Wisconsin people would boo nonstop.  A friend claimed that they hate us because we ran the score up during the years their football team was beyond terrible.  I was at many of those games and we had everyone but the water boy in by the second half!   They really don't seem to remember that tOSU ran it up deliberately and much higher than our scores. Regardless, it supports the theory that many of the Big 10 teams consider us a hated rival and we rarely have their names in the conversation.

Muttley

March 23rd, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^

in the DC area.

A couple of guys sit down behind me, and I hear one of them say "I hope Michigan loses."

The other guy asks him why, and the first guy responds "Because they seem to be America's Team."

I just laughed and murmured "Good luck with that, Not-Michigan is down by 15."

 

jballen4eva

March 23rd, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^

+1 that sentiment.  In the past it seemed to me like he would let his doubts get to him.  it was frustrating, but I totally understood it.  So Morgan overcoming his doubts and turning them into challenges isn't only fun to watch, it's inspiring.

So this weak, I'm going to negotiate the best fucking office lease the world has ever seen.  And then I'm going to ask for a raise.  

goblue16

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^

My dad noticed it while watching the game we rewinded and it looked like he was pissed after one of the managers said something to him. But after he pushed him the other managers seemed to laugh it off so im not sure if it was just a friendly shove but Morgan definitley looked pissed

Tkriz

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:54 AM ^

Looked liked he was pissed. Maybe the dude gave him shit for missing one of two free throws and he snapped. Reminded me of jcc hoops last week when kellen didn't pass to cooper and cooper went off.

LKLIII

March 23rd, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^

FWIW, my wife and I were at the game and most of the Wisconsin crowd around us were kind of ambivalent as to the game. Maybe 1 of 4 were actively pulling for Texas, but the others seemed to be content to keep quiet or half heartedly pull for Big Ten brethren. A lot of "good luck you guys, see you in the a Final Four" talk was had by Michigan & Wisconsin fans in our section.

Towards the end of the game the Wisconsin fans --practically the entire arena at that point-- were actively booing Texas when it was obvious the game was over yet they still continued to foul and slow down the inevitable. They just wanted to get on with their own tipoff with Oregon.

I'd be shocked if Morgan was actively goading or mocking the Wisconsin fans. They just didn't seem that hard core anti-Michigan to the point where it should get under anybody's skin. Morgan has been in far more hostile arenas before.