Recent Comments

Iggy will play some at the 3 this year out of necessity, but he was only included in the preview with the 2s because Brian forgot Adrien Nunez existed. Poole will be backed up by Nunez and extra PGs. Iggy won't be a 2 at all. He is the absolute ideal 4 for Beilein. He's already 6'8" 220, and, most importantly, is a lefty. The 4 in Beilein's offense spends most of his time on the right side of the floor on the wing or in the corner. This will allow Iggy to attack with his dominant hand within the structure of the offense. If you asked Beilein to build his ideal 4, it would be a 6'8 or 6'9 lefty who can shoot, is skilled enough to attack off the bounce, and strong enough to be a good rebounder/post defender.

He's due for that magical sophomore leap.

Nunez will be the designated bench gunner. Think Duncan Robinson, freshman Zak Irvin or, to a lesser extent, Jordan Poole this past season.

Might be the best shooter on the team the minute he shows up.

People seem to think that everyone needs to score 20+ ppg to be NBA ready. No NBA player is a finished product at 19, or 22, or 25 for that matter. "He needs to come back and work on X, Y, and Z parts of his game to have a shot at the next level" is absurd. Players improve by playing. It doesn't matter where they are playing. If the talent is apparent, and the player knows they will be drafted, then the only reason to stay is if the dude absolutely doesn't want to be done with college.

Matthews could absolutely leave right now. Yes, he needs to work on his handle and his jumper. He doesn't have to do that at Michigan. He can do it in the pros. As a fan, I would be disappointed in the same way I was with DJ or Mitch: We didn't get to see the best versions of those guys for a full season. We got one magical tournament run from Mitch and we saw DJ become the best player on the floor for about 2-5 minutes each game in his last year. Both of those guys left a lot of "what if?" at Michigan, but can you really blame them for going pro? Hell no. They got drafted. They got an opportunity. They got paid. Same goes for Charles Matthews if he enters this draft.

I'm just saying of all the things Castleton does that impress me, dunking on high schoolers is pretty far down the list.

My memory failed me there. Maybe I was thinking of early Bielfeldt or Smotrycz.

There was quite a parade of undersized below-the-rim (tough, gritty, etc. You know) 5s with just a touch of outside shooting.

I need more spring practice insider gossip.

But Matthews can't play all 40 minutes. I'm suggesting Livers at the 3 when Matthews needs to sit because I think Iggy and Johns are more natural at the 4 than the 3.

I could be way off. If it seems to be an insult to you, then perhaps you misunderstood my initial meaning. It's just my opinion, and "I think he's gay" is just a thing. "I think he would be way better off if he weren't in denial about it" is something else I can say about him, and that would be a criticism.

I stated I believe Tebow is gay. In my world, gay is not an insult. It is just a characteristic. It is as meaningful as height or hair color.

should all be given a 72 hour grace period to change the birth certificate.

This window is needed so someone can look them in the eye and say, "REALLY?"

I hope we have seen the last of the Livers at the 5 experiment. I think we are more likely to see Livers playing some minutes at the 3 to get Iggy on the floor at the 4. If Moe is gone and Castleton needs a redshirt, I think the emergency third center will be Johns.

DeJulius looks like a grown man playing with wispy boys. Best Michigan comp would be Walton for that reason. Also, after watching DiVincenzo in the title game, I miss having a guy who will just knock down threes off the dribble. Burke could do it. Stauskas could do it. Caris would have been that guy if he stayed healthy. Senior Walton could do it. Maybe that's Poole next year, but it will DEFINITELY be DeJulius in a couple years. The offense missed that this year.

A Golden Bear.

It isn't anything strategic that needs to happen against switch-everything defense. It's very simple: Wagner must punish the switch. Wagner vs a PG either needs to get position on the block and demand the ball, or shoot over the little guy. If Wagner is on, no defense works against Michigan.

OP, you have an awfully hawt take on a harmless article. It is remarkable that Loyola is in this position considering it doesn't have the $$$ behind hoops like every other school in the F4.

"the things that you think are going to help you beat Notre Dame and Western Michigan and Wisconsin and Penn State, Ohio State, et cetera"

I cannot stop laughing.

The chatter about playing him inside doesn't portend anything ominous to me about interior depth. I think its just a case of "Kemp needs to be on the field, and Rashan Gary aint coming off the field." I also think Kemp can provide more pass rush from 3T than from Anchor.

Who the hell says "Great Eight?"

FSU has beaten 8, 1, and 4.
That is literally the toughest possible route from where they were seeded. Yes, they have been a little lucky matchup-wise, but how lucky has Michigan been?

M Has beaten 14, 6, and 7 seeds. A lucky buzzer beater was required to beat that 6 seed.

There are a lot of criticisms you can find for FSU. The way they got here is not one.

When Wagner hit an early three. Its game over if his first triple goes down.

McKeon was the only guy who could make tough, contested catches in traffic.

Also the only TE who showed the ability to grab a low pass without it hitting the turf

I agree he'll win McCray's spot, but it won't be easy. Devin Gil played well early last season in that spot, and Ross' classmates (Anthony and Singleton) will have something to say about that. Noah Furbush will get a look there, as well.

I like the Dwumfour pick a lot. That first step is lethal.

I know Gentry has the measurables, but I think McKeon is the best of the bunch at TE. Both should improve a lot this year. Looking forward to it.

Says "hi"

Thinly veiled racism. Now I know everything I need to know about you and your worldview. Kindly stop posting. Your message has been recieved by those who care to hear it.

The kid is 19 years old. He'll get stronger. Skills can be taught. You can't teach that length and athletecism. Bamba will be a top 5 shot blocker in the NBA from day 1.

I still have to pretend to work.

I hope we find a way to keep him around, too.

Dude can absolutely jump out of the gym. He's our best hope for highlight dunks in the near future. Also, his effort is real. When he's on the floor, you know he's out there because he's deflecting a pass or diving on the court or flying in for an offensive rebound. I hope he finds his shooting stroke because he has all the makings of an excellent player.

However, he got passed by Poole almost immediately this year. With Simpson and Matthews entrenched in the starting lineup, the path to playing time on the wing is shooting, shooting, shooting. Nunez can shoot it, and that might be more important next year than all the other things Watson brings to the table.

The only Mo I care about is Wagner!!!

Seriously though, Its been fun cheering for a dominant big guy named Mo every game day since September. I look forward to Hurst burying quarterbacks on Sundays.

Needs to be on the front page at all times

Young and inexperienced, sure. But very talented.
JBB, Ulizio, and Runyan are known quantities with another summer to improve.
Filiaga, Hudson, Honigford, and Steuber are coming off redshirts. I don't think its likely that zero of those guys are ready to contribute.
Add in a coaching staff shakeup, and the proverbial light bulb is going to switch on for a couple of these guys. They'll be alright.

I do my best to listen without pants.

Is an MGoBlogger really an MGoBlogger if he does not listen to the MGoPodcast?

There are only a handful of teams out there even capable of beating Michigan right now. The defense is legit and Michigan has beaten quality teams without scorching the nets this year.

Considering the fact that Michigan will play quality defense against anyone, won't turn the ball over against anyone, and will be able to find quality looks offensively no matter who they play, the only way to beat Michigan is to be physically and athletically overwhelming. There are only a handful of teams with rosters capable of doing that, and one of them is MSU. We saw how that turned out.

Any team going against Michigan without an obvious edge in NBA talent and athletecism is going to lose. This team gives no margin for error to opponents with comparable or lesser talent.

Is basketball Don Brown.
Unfortunately for us, I think he'll be a head coach somewhere else next year.

I don't think this was ever on the board. I think it was linked in Brian's last UV, though.

Michigan's record against the top 3 teams in the B1G.
2-0 vs MSU
1-1 vs OSU
1-2 vs PU

On Thursday and Saturday, Michigan beat teams seeking revenge. On Friday and Sunday, Michigan got their revenge against teams they failed to beat during the regular season. This team can handle any situation and I cant wait to see them play again!

Jaaron Simmons is coming on strong. At some point, Z is gonna have a poor start or foul trouble and Simmons will go off for 20 pts and 9 ast in 25 minutes. He's primed and just waiting for an opportunity.

Don't they already have an inherent advantage in recruiting with facilities and national brand and bag men? You're right, but it doesn't mean what you think it means.

The
Actual
Fuck

I simultaneously loved and loathed every bit of commetary from him, which is how I knew for certain it was him.

Chris Farley: "He passed away right? He was funny? Really?"

Its been a very difficult season for Tom. Lots of distractions, you know. If he wasn't so concerned with the University getting their ducks in a row to get the right child molester, he might have been able to effectively game plan to beat Michigan at home. Or take care of Rutgers more easily. There's just a lot on Tom's mind right now. Give the guy a break.

Hardaway has one of the purest shooting strokes in the NBA and can jump out of the gym. MAAR has neither of those traits. Hardaway is also 2 inches taller than MAAR. They played the same position at Michigan, but the comparison really stops there.

Can you milk me?

Still, I can hope. I feel like with one more chance, Moe would absolutely go off on Haas. Also, no way Purdue can shoot >50% from behind the arc for a third time in one season.

I have felt like that first triple each game from Wagner is worth 10 points for most of the season. If he hits it, its gonna be a fun game. If he misses it, there tends to be a lid on the rim for long stretches.

The only way to shake off a miss is if Wagner gets a dunk early on. I have no evidence for any of this, but it has seemed to be a perfect feelingsball indicator all year.

Didn't think I needed the "/s"

That dude has been doing it for 4 years. I'm so glad thats the last time I have to watch him play.

Is only 6'4"

Thats what makes him such an infuriating player. He shouldn't be so dominant at the rim and on the glass. He's like packing Jordan Murphy into Zack Novack's body. It makes me so angry watching him play.

If you don't think there would be national outrage over the hypothetical severe punishment of JOHN FREAKING BEILEIN over a nothing violation to give a kid a well-deserved storybook ending, I don't share your skepticism. And I do consider myself a skeptic.

John Beilein becomes a martyr.

Member institutions hold a vote of no confidence in the NCAA.

The NCAA goes away for good.

And Michigan Basketball returns to competition once there is no more NCAA.

RedTube means you're in

He didn't "hit him in stride."

DPJ had his man beat by several yards. That man recovered to tackle immediately after the catch. It was great to see a completed deep ball since we hadn't seen one in a couple months at that point, but yeah. That kind of summed up Peters for me this season. He was capable of hitting wide open dudes, but he was either unwilling or unable to try to make a great throw against tough coverage. He was better than JOK, sure.

Usually, if a young guy is going to have a bright future, he shows a couple flashes of brilliance mixed in with the frustrating youth things. Peters kept the frustrating youth things to an acceptable level, but did not make a single play that made me think, "wow, this kid is gonna be good when he figures it out." That's why there is so much hope for McCaffrey right now. Peters' ceiling is much lower than we thought.

You didn't get banned for sharing an opinion.

Edit:I don't know who you are. If its a collective apology from the board you seek, you wont find it here. What I do have, is a very particularly fine tuned asshole radar. It allows me to know when not to pay attention to people like you, because you will inevitably say some stupid shit again. Just know this: the mods will once again find you. And they will once again ban you.

Isn't that just a clip of a slow linebacker scoring on a pick 6 against Wisconsin?

When you consider the top 3 are service academies.

Is all the folks who fully support grabbing them by the pussy.

He becomes the best value in the 1st round. He's a future all pro. Who wouldn't want a DT with the ability to teleport into the backfield before the OG can get out of his stance?

But I'll be there. I'd love to see this effectively turn into a home game for UM. Northwestern is having a rough year, and Rosemont is far enough from Evanston that there wont be many casual NU fans interested in making the drive from campus.

Lets keep him around, too

"I never said I hated Beilein. I criticize when it is warrented, which is always. Livers only scored 6 in his first start. He could have played better. Even though the team hit their first 20 free throws, they still tried to throw it away in the last 2 minutes. I expect this team to fall apart down the stretch because they are playing beyond expectations now."

-Maizen

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Crean on the mic, but his take on Duncan as a defensive stalwart was all kinds of wrong.

I also don't really get why Duncan is so bad on defense. I know he doesn't have the athletic potential to stay in front of quick guards or to play above the rim, but the guy is 6'8" with good length. His length should be enough to bother most perimiter players. After 3 years of D1 strength coaching, he should at least have enough lower body strength to be an average post defender. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Shooters gotta shoot, and I know he has to break out of his slump sooner or later, but if he doesn't break out soon, it won't be possible to justify double digit minutes.

For years LSU has had an effective running game, NFL receivers, and piss poor QB play. He'll know exactly how to run a Michigan offense.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't put too much stock in what it meant to run LSU's offense this season. Remember their starting QB (Etling) lost his job at Purdue to the freshman version of David Blough.

I thought the scholarship limit was 12. Turns out its 13 for basketball.

With the 5 man recruiting class coming in next season and only 3 graduating seniors, Beilein is kind of banking on one of those guys going pro, plus a depth chart/playing time type transfer. Maybe a guy like Ibi Watson or Austin Davis seeks a situation where he can find a few more minutes. I really don't want to see this program forced to pull a scholarship from a committed player.

Of course, if this team blows up, makes another deep tourney run, and Matthers/Wagner both declare, there is no concern with numbers anymore. But there has to be two guys leaving with remaining eligibility to get all the freshmen in.

Hoke would come back to take Mattison's spot. Hoke has made his money and doesn't seem to be the type of egomaniac who will keep trying and failing at coordinator positions. He has proven to be an elite identifier and developer of DL talent, and despite his many failings as Michigan's HC, getting the guys he wanted to sign was never one of them. Dude is an ace recruiter somehow.

This post started in my head as a joke, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

All that said, this guy seems like an excellent heir apparent to Mattison. Just need to find a spot to put him for the next year or two.

D. Proved he can flat out coach by building a powerhouse Florida HS program from nothing.

(Probably)

"7" is two syllables

I mean there are negative nancies in the fan base for sure, but this fanbase is no where near as divided now as it was then.

Screaming UNACCEPTABLE during 8/9/10 win seasons is kind of our equilibrium.

Is that my grandfather never taught me to shoot. Learned as a teen from my uncle, and I'm pretty terrible.

No charts or graphs. Feels like a board post...

/s

Appreciate all you do, LSA!

Happy Holidays, MGoBlog!

Could cut diamonds

Didn't that bubble just burst?

28, almost at the halfway mark for a BS (still don't know what I wanna be when I grow up), about to change jobs again.

I've scraped together a living as a service worker, but its getting tiresome.

In conclusion:
5* learner.
2* scholar.

Matthews hit 5/7 free throws.

Tell me why.

Just show me some non cherry picked results. Lets test your predictive model.

Lets stick with 2013 quarterbacks, since that class has basically completed college and is still fresh in our memories as fans. 247 composite lists them like so:
1) Max Browne
2) Hackenburg
3) Shane Morris
4) Cooper Bateman
5) Kevin Olsen
6) Troy Williams
7) Brice Ramsey
8) Cody Thomas
9) Asiantii Woulard
10) JT Barrett

Other notables:
12) Josh Dobbs
13) Malik Zaire
18) Damien Terry
19) Mitch Trubisky
21) Jared Goff
36) Anu Solomon
52) John OKorn
66) Richard Lagow
71) Baker Mayfield
121) Tanner Lee (lol nebraska)

No need to reveal any methods. Just tell us how some of these guys would have been ranked out of high school according to your model. Maybe you're onto something, but its stupid to bring this up without being willing to discuss the model that you're telling us to pay attention to.

The most off putting part of your post (and there are many) is your complete lack of self awareness with a twist of narcissism. The insinuation that you know something that the professionals don't is silly. Starting a thread about a nondescript recruit with no apparent connection to Michigan is poor form. If you want to bring this kid up in a recruiting thread in a "hey, I like this guy, any idea why Michigan isn't recruiting him?" way, that would be fine.

This site loves analytics. We are a bunch of football nerds here. You can't cherry pick your data points, though. You cant say "recruiting sites suck because Shane Morris was ranked higher than Baker Mayfield." That is what is known as an anomaly. Now, if your database includes every QB from the last 5 years who enrolled in a D1 school and it has a history of solid predictions, we're listening. Hell, we'd love to hear more.

Your first sin was a stupid post. You can come back from that. I have on a couple of occasions. Your second sin was not being able to understand why your post is so stupid. That's why you've been negged damn near back to zero. Reflect, take your lumps, and be humble.

But instead of there being a central fob, somehow engineer that into a thread that is woven into the seams of the football. That solves the issue of the position and dimensions of the football. I have no idea how to solve the timing of positioning the football at the exact moment that the runner is down.

To be a mod.

Bring back sexybits!

He was our best tackle. Michigan's only viable body at the position. There were 6 or 7 viable players to fill the 3 interior spots. He played where he was needed.

What will I listen to during my Friday morning commute?

MGoBlog is upsetting my routine, and I don't like it!

It came out of nowhere.

I called out a tone deaf poster for being whiney and tone deaf. But since you brought it up, it makes me laugh that the only people who are upset about Hollywood's more frequent portrayal of strong leading women are the same crusty old tone deaf MFers who whine about "liberal snowflakes" or "social justice warriors."

Every time a man references the cultural war on men, my reaction is twofold:
1) um, no. You're just super insecure.
2) I'm sorry your dick is so small.

The next film will help you feel more secure in your (clearly fragile) masculinity.

It will feature the ghost of Mace Windu training young jedi Dwayne Johnson to defeat the first female Sith Lord (played by Tilda Swinton), Darth Menstrual Rage.

I misunderstood your post.

No need to keep fighting a fight that you've already won.

So I immediately opened the app to see what was said.

Holy shit.

Good riddance.

Tate was crazy talented on the field. Many didn't quite believe their eyes because he filled out his uniform as well as the average 14 year old. He didn't look the part, but he produced. He ran away with the September Heisman in '09.

I assure you, Comrade, I only meant "commie" in the most ignorant and derogatory manner possible.

Next you'll be defending "colour" and "centre" you damn commie.

Lol

But that trio of burly interior dudes will be a test for Michigan's new found ability to clean the glass. If Michigan can find a solid interior defensive presence between Teske and Livers (Who have much more rebounding upside than Wagner and Robinson, respectively) I think Michigan wins fairly easily.

If Michigan gets bullied on the glass, it will be a dogfight contingent on Michigan hitting ~40% of their 3s.

On a different note, I love this freshman class. Brooks and Poole already look the part of solid B1G players. Poole might be on the fast track to stardom, and Brooks made a couple of plays against Indiana that belied his age. The one that stuck out most to me was in an attempt to push the tempo because Michigan had numbers, he blindly felt a trailing IU defender try to pick his pocket at the top of the key, slowed up, protected the ball, and got Michigan set up in the half court. It was a small thing that was extremely impressive to me after watching him dribble into trouble several times in previous games.

If Livers is improving at a similar rate, he is due for a breakout performance. He has the ability to be one of those invaluable dirty work glue guys who opponents hate going against because he is just all over the place. He is already a playmaker; he just needs to make more plays for Michigan and fewer for opponents. I'm really excited to see how this team comes together.

We can finally play Ambry Thomas on offense!

Only have to sit a year if they (1) are transferring from one D1 school to another and (2) have not yet graduated from the institution they are leaving.

Everyone else is eligible to play right away.

I hope he loves Ann Arbor enough to be our Bud Foster.

Kirk Ferentz's agent.

Iowa's AD might have to declare bankruptcy if they ever decide to fire Ferentz. Also, he just got a multi million dollar raise for winning his 7th game.

Malzone and Grant Perry were high school teammates. Perry set a bunch of records and was labeled a generic 3* recruit because he was small and not overly athletic. Malzone was credited with much of Perry's success in the eyes of recruitniks.

The 3 star mafia of the Michigan fanbase grumbled about offering Perry and thought it was a consolation to secure Malzone's commitment. Everyone was wrong. Perry turned out to be pretty good. Malzone's skills that set him apart in high school (accuracy, avoiding mistakes) were not enough to overcome his lack of size and, frankly, lack of D1 arm strength at this level.

Malzone is a less physically gifted version of Tate Forcier (with presumably a better head on his shoulders since he hasnt been in trouble and will graduate early)

I dunno. Even as a TE, it seems Gentry is better at having the ball leave his hands than catching it.

Seriously though, I would not be surprised if at some point in his career he ends up taking some emergency QB snaps.