Recent Comments

  Seeing as how most of the people that the sanctions would want to punish have either passed away, are in jail or aren't affliated with the program anymore, I'm not mad that O'Brien is doing (relatively) well down there 

Because it sounds like you are assuming that he was forced out, which none of us have a clue of.  No one on this board even %100 knows he's even transferring yet.  But IF he is, it could just as easily be;

1. He didn't think he would get playing time coming off an injury and being behind so many guys who played this year.

2. He wanted to be closer to/play with his brother

3. UM was not working out for him for some non-football reason.

Until Hoke shows some sign of being "That guy" that would usher a player out the door, I'm more inclined to believe everything's legit here.

  Love the video! Definitely the best one I've seen so far....

On a kind of related topic, am I the only one that doesn't really like calling the BBall team by the "Team 9X" monikers?

1. It seems to be more of a football thing

2. The numbers themselves, When you say "Team 96" I think of the Taylor/Traylor duo on the 1996 team before I figure out you're talking about the Burke/THJ/Big Puppy Final Four (!!!) squad of this year

let's not forget his spring game twin David Norfleet

 I saw the same thing, my guess is that it's his quarterback...i.e. he makes the basket catch on his body so often because the pass is short, and the ball is already so low.

  I know he has a role, but he cannot pass up open lay-ups, Spike, go ahead and get your 2 points!!

I think it's dangerous expecting a 6'0 Burke to make up 4 inches and get several blocks on a 6'4" Wolters...I think we win, with Wolters and Burke gunning it out, with the difference being the supporting cast of UM being a lot better than SDSt.  

I really want to see the pre-conference GR3 make an appearance here.

No expertise here at all, but I would guess they're more conservative with OL in general since any injury has to bear more weight and OL's legs get rolled up on more frequently

Yeah I think I just got lucky that 1. Wiscy fans may be the nicest fans I've seen

 2. Football crowds in general are just more douche-prone than other sports. (by the way, I LOVE football, just stating an observation)

  I actually sat in the Wisconsin student section this year wearing UM gear (went with a friend who is a Badger) and I didn't/wouldn't expect to have been kicked out.   I can tell you I definitely would not have put on Badger colors to watch the game, and if they kicked me out, I would be pissed.

  Anyone know what the attitude/policy is at other B1G schools regarding student sections??

Tough loss to take, but UM showed me 2 things today that I really like

1. They showed an aggressiveness (as a team, not just 1 or 2 players) that I hadn't seen since we were 20-1. There was more attacking and less standing around, waiting for someone else to do something.

2. A defensive intensity that I hadn't seen on a team-wide level at all this year.

Others may disagree, but this game actually gave me more confidence for our NCAA Tournament chances.

80 - 62 UM wins

 I get what you're saying, but as stated by others, it's been around a while and it's purpose is more to get you in the right defensive mindset, not to show up anyone, every now and then it becomes a "thing" that announcers/media/whoever like to focus on, but it's really nothing to get worked up about.

Our perimeter D was pretty good and a lot more active than usual.  Brandon Paul had like 10 pts in the 1st half and none (NONE?!?) in the 2nd.

The last 20 minutes, I was deciding whether our perimeter defense had stepped up that much or whether Brandon Pul had just lost interest in the game, good times...

69 - 62 UM wins, we still don't feel out of the woods yet

87 - 64 UM wins by playing with some aggression

The combo of Burke/Hardaway and Stauskas all being able to either shoot from deep or drive makes this whole system work...even when the play doesn't work, the step back jumper from any of the 3 is a thing of Beauty

I think we get bogged down when the off-the ball action (those GRIII cuts to the basket, etc) isn't working because that's when the entire defense can focus a lot more on the ball handler and flood the zone so to speak. 

 That was my point, as long as we keep winning, being ranked #1 doesn't mean much...not sure why people would downvote that. 

playing a  #8/9 and a #4 is a big advantage over playing a #7 and a #3 

Better to be a #1, not so much for the 1st round game, but more because of the 2nd and especially the 3rd round game,   especially because there always seems to be a big drop in quality from the average 3 seed to the average 4 seed.

This year teams like Syracuse/Louisville/MSU are 3 seeds, while Butler/Cincinnati/New Mexico are projected as 4s right now

Normally this could work, but 3 pt. shooting destroys most zones, and well...we're shooting 40% right now, the worst percentage form anyone who actually plays more than 8 min/game shoots 37% (Burke)

I really, really love this team

  I love Bacari..I have some tools here to de-claw a Cat!!!

Love this kid!! (a little biased since he went to my high school)

Morgan gets overlooked because a lot of stuff he does will never show up in the stat sheet.   In additional to the rebounding he gives us, his post defense is excellent (if The Illini had a good post on offense, that could have been trouble) and even on offense, I really think Hardaway/Burke/Stauskas, etc  come off Morgan's screens more open than when any other big sets that screen...So many contributors, I cannot wait for the Tourney this year!!!!

Great move Horford!! he's getting more comfortable with that move to the basket off the pass

87 - 75 UM win,

   I'm a size XL by the way

  We know the real reason is that it's always bad luck to pick against KenPom (see OSU preview)

  Don't be surprised to see Smith force his way onto the field next year, even if Green comes here and Fitz is back. The kid is good, a lot of power to him, with some speed to go along with it.

Caris Levert is a year away from being a beast, he'll make (a lot) of mistakes this year, but watch out for the sophomore version 

McGary with the block!! A great D is all UM is missing right now

This game would scare me if it was @Iowa, but at an increasingly loud Crisler and with the killer attitude we showed against Northwestern...I don't think it's competitive after about 15 minutes in

MSU may get better but right now illinois and minn are better, and I bet illini finish 4th...UM/IU is a toss up at the top

Please tell me you now have a little daughter named Rumeal (actually the more I think about it, the name defintely works)

UM 85 - 62 EMU

It's very possible that if Morris stayed, he develops more, the UM team has even more success than they did, he gets drafted in a better situation and everyone is happy

Other possibilities if he comes back-

-  a very similar Morris comes back but then this Burke guy starts shining, and the question becomes "He might not be the best PG on his own team, why am I taking Morris in the 1st round?"

-A similar Morris does essentially the same and he gets drafted later/undrafted only because he's older (and therefore less of the potential that GMs love)

- He gets injured, everyone has a sad face

- Some of his weaknesses get more exposed and his stock falls

I'm not saying he made the perfect decision, I'm saying either decision (NBA draft or coming back) had advantages and risks, he took one.  He didn't make a bad decision, he made a very defensible one that gave him his dream.  So far, it hasn't worked out for him...but just because things MAY have been better otherwise, that doesn't make him wrong, evil, stupid or anything else (I know you aren't making all of those arguments, but they do get made)

To your main point, it's not looking very promising right now.  Morris was always the type that needs the ball in his hands to be effective, he either can't handle doing that at an NBA level or isn't given the chance on a  team with Kobe and other ball dominators 

  I don't think this is his last chance in the NBA though

No offense to the OP, but with so many threads discussing this already, shouldn't we just wait until he is officially (i.e. him/OSU/UM as sources) committed somewhere before starting another thread

  Whatever happened to Chris Rock?? Seems like he disappeared before he even had a chance to do anything.  Injury? Playing Time?

  Sorry, never been good with the whole brevity thing...didn't realize how long it was until I posted it

Random aside, Minnesota is really Good and they're destroying FSU right now.  I'll put them in the upper 2nd tier of the B1G right behind UM/IU/MSU/OSU but as good or better than anyone else in the conference and very dangerous

  The Mountie!!!  (maybe??)

  He wasn't redshirted, http://mgoblog.com/content/michigan-depth-chart-class-0

I don't remember him playing his freshman year, but our defense was horribe that year and I can't really be mad at coaches seeing if the athletic 6'5", 300 lb freshman can get in there and give you a spark.

  Every now and then, old One-Eyed Stu Scott writes a gem of a line.

They're giving Morgan a lot of room inside off of his cuts..hopefully we feed him a little bit down there in the 2nd half

No, until we actually start beating good teams, i don't mind not being ranked...1 win over MSU isn't really impressive at all

I think we're going to feel Blake's absence in this game.. I think Fitz gets back to form and we do enough damage on the ground that Neb cant keep up

King Kong has nothing on this Denzel...come on down Mr. Ward

Hoke has mastered coach speak, there wouldn't be any questions to ask if u only asked him questions you KNEW were going to get a good answer...i dont really see a problem with reporters asking, though its annoying when they continuously bait him on something he's not biting on

no not yet, he's always going to be more a blocking tight end, but he still has to practice those routes which will have him behind the fulltime Oline players

I really really hate that you're right though I would disagree on how one-sided the UM-ND balance of power is...UM gets enough national attention already, that while its a great bonus we definitely dont need to play ND at all

As hard as it is is to admit, they are...I mean they have their own seperate national TV contract and get special consideration from the BCS while being able to schedule more freely than any conference school, there's no reason for themto change that no matter how much I hate them for it

Will never understand this, in a game where there are big hits, collisions and injuries all the time, You choose a helmet that is obviously still has room for your head to rattle around in there 

Is it just me or does "Captain Kovacs" just sound like he should be part of the Justice League or The Avengers.  UM now has their super hero duo with...

        Captain Kovacs and the Dilithium Kid?? 

(I know there has got to be a million other superhero nicknames for Denard, but Dilithium Kid is what popped into my head)

 Good work here, but I do have 2 suggestions

1. Put heights in 6'1" form and not 73 in...for me, its just more easily readable and more natural

2. Add a table/column where the average of all Big Ten teams is right next to the Mich numbers (and yes I could do the math in my head, but again, it's a lot more easily understandable and accessible if you just add the extra info in the post)

Good job and great idea! 

I think you're right on, there's no point in giving out scholarships at FB and recruiting people like Houma UNLESS you're gong to give them the ball a couple of times...o/w it seems you could just grab the running back who put on too much weight or a linebacker type who's not working out on D

  For the most part it's just practice for recent draft picks and young players (like Darius) to get some practice and extra games in

  But in general, there's probably about 3-4 players per team (mostly undrafted players or D League/International players trying to break through)  where this is their shot to impress whoever may be watching and get a contract.

  Not the Momma, Not the Momma, Not The MOMMA!!!,  a truly underrated and (I thought) forgotten show

Looks like I got MGOscooped on the Nash news, Mods feel free to Delete

What is the SEC version of PAAAOWL?  What is PAAAOWL at all??

Sorry if I'm just missing siomething, but a google search did nothing at all to explain it?

 I was sure Northwestern was going to be Brian... they were right on with the Peter/Lois, OSU/UM comparison though

  I had'nt heard of any real possibility of Lewis playing offense at the college level;

1. This makes me even more excited for him as a cornerback, knowing that he has at least comparable speed, ball awareness and jump ability to compete with the receivers he's up against 

2. Even if he primarily plays defense, it seems that Lewis could find playing time for a few snaps at WR and stretch the defense with his speed....especially if we find ourselves thin at WR and we stay as strong at corner as it seems we will be  

Thanks for the info Ace!!

 I could be wrong, but prety sure there is no such thing as a 2-tech, so it's either;

1.  Just a typo as above poster said

OR

2. Referring to the fact that he may end up at either NT (1-tech, where Will Campbell/Pipkens will play) or DT (3-Tech, where Jibreel Black currently is)

    I will never question the riduculousness of soccer celebrations again,  they were taking out the Agent Smith's, the T-Rex's, the baby seals(??) of this world... It all makes so much sense now, they were all fighting the forces of evil, making the world a safer place for me, no verily, I say For us All

  I love watching Hubie Brown do any game, he points out the simple intricacies of the game with style, and at least 1 or 2 times a game will drop some knowledge that will have you re-evaluate the whole Game (in a good way)

     You learn something new everyday

Congratulations Young Sir, you're already starting down the right path.....

  Also, random aside;   I'm starting to think that coaches could stay up with current music only through recruiting videos, I want to head to a club after watching each one of these!

Not the Corner I was hoping for, but guess I'll trust the people who actually evaluated the players

Dennard might actually make it t the Lions!!

 CB from Vandy or C from Wiscy, both needs, and I'm not mad either way

    Link??? (on the Minn/Cleve trade).... doesnt really make sense from Cleveland's side, anone they wanted at 4 is gonna bethere at 3 (can they really want USC's OT that bad when they have Joe Thomas)

could have been a factor, but a couple of the other schools recently took other recruits (Arizona and ??) and Ohio has been in on him for awhile...as far as i can tell, he really wanted to come here, and once we stopped recruiting him, he didn't really have that many options

  Just curious, since you raised so much more than the Goal, Does this mean;

1. You're funded for the next 2-2 1/2 years

2. This year's edition will be even nicer/bigger

3. Improvements for MGOBlog

OR

4.  This goes into Brian's account to one day catch one of those $20 million flights to space

Regardless, well deserved, Cant wait for the magazine!!!!

Very true, only said Davis cause he seems to be the only can't miss pick this year, I wouldn't mind maybe if we pick up a Kidd-Gilchrist/Barnes type player on the wing to go with the Knight/Stuckey/Monroe core, Thomas Robinson is another player on my Dream-It-But-It's-Never-Gonna-Happen-List

You realize the offense actually scrored more pts per game (33.3 vs. 32.8) last year than they did the year before.  You know, points, those things really do come in handy if you want to do things like win games and such

/really hoping there was some sarcasm in there that i'm missing

Barnum can't be expected to be as good as Molk, but I think we can rest assured he will be consistently good and at times excellent, this OLine is going to be a STRENGTH of this team (just not very deep)

 This news = That gif = Tremendous!!!

  The Force is strong, learned well,  they have...I swear Hoke has put out a Darth Vader like shield and coached every player how to answer questions without revealing too much actual info/insight

For good and for bad I guess, a lot more repetitive, but you can bet there won't be too much bulletin board material for other teams

Trey Burke we need You!!

That is all, Next year's team will not regress, but we can take a Huge step forward if he comes back

So you realize that this is a bad title meant to enrage, so create a post on a site filled with hardcore Mich fans, and post that SAME title....if I was an english major I might call that ironic

Happy Friday Everyone, as LMFAO would say, Everybody!!!, Shots! Shots! Shots 

  Good to hear the growth in both of them (literally and figuratively).  I'm not as down/worried about the Dline mostly because, the talent is there, along with the coaching and the willigness to work...

As Will sort of touched on, it'll be a different DLine, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot more stunts and blitzes and use the confusion combined with the speed of Jibreel/Roh/Beyer/Clark to get into the backfield 

I really think Roy is going to have a big year  and be one of the top B1G receivers, He just has the skills to be a good go-to option, even if Devin may get more targets in the red zone, Roundtree will probably lead the team in catches and receiving yards

Also, like the Kovacs mention of Big Will leading the Dline meetings and looking good, I'm confident that whatever problems we may have post-RVB/Martin/Heininger, it won't be for lack of effort by anyone

I love Gardner at Receiver right now, but he will be the best non-Denard option at QB during this time, and I think that's the coach's plan too.

Shane will be a Great QB, but expecting him to come in and perform better than an experienced Gardner, who was just as highly rated at QB, is not realistic. Not to mention that at that time, we'll have Jehu and Amara, Senior Gallon, Jerald Robinson and the elite receiver recruits we seem on track to get this year, so we won't need Devin at WR  as much

  Just want to point out Borges answered the Devin Gardner debate from a previous thread, not an exact quote, but states point blank that Devin Gardner is still the back up QB.

From his best 11 on the field comments, until and unless the freshman WRs come out blazing, I'm guessing we see Devin Gardner on the field a lot as a WR, but if Denard gets dinged up, it's Devin Gardner then Bellomy

There we go THJ!!  Attack the basket

  This game truly scaes me.  I know we're better than Ohio, but if we don't come out with energy (i.e. Iowa and Minnesota games) or Morgan goes all "Bad Jordan Morgan, Bad" on us and can't stay on the floor, it could be a long day 

Favorite thing about this class is that it's revealing A LOT about Hoke/Borges/Mattison want to do long term (big lineman, tight end heavy, taller receivers, hard hitting quick LBs, etc) 

For D-Mo, having an NBA contract, it doesn't impact his pay at all, he's payed whatever his contract says...for players signed directly by a D-League team, then their pay is probably horrible (something similar to what MLB Minor League players make)

Looking at the 1-5 record, Is this what was kind of expected from the 1st Year Varsity squad??  I know we kind of dominated the club level, so was a more .500 type season expected? 

Congratulations Titans!! Hope I do not see you on our side of the bracket

Did we ever have a chance/attempt to get Ray Jr. to go Blue, just curious...That family connection wold have been about impossible to break though

I wouldn't expect either to be the defender Stu is immediately...but 6'6" and 6'7" along with the long arms and athleticism (GRIII) and strength (Stauskas) has me thinking they can be at least adequate defenders immediately 

Yes Chatsports sucks, but that doesn't change the NCAA bylaw, I would doubt that the NCAA allows it (no knowledge, just guessing), o/w schools would probably have players doing a lot more of these type of social media/PR/Recruiting type stuff...

   That said, IF it is at all, it's probably a very minor violation, the players will probably all have to take a class about the rules in this situation and we should move on

and just for completeness, Northwestern (and Nebraska of course) are the other schools yet to make the B1G Tourney final

There we go, calm everything down, 58-50 UM

   I'm actually surprised we're not giving Morgan the ball more off of the Pick and roll...They're not really denying the pass to him and this would be an excellent confidence game for him

 He has speed, but players don't usually end up moving back in the defense (college weight programs)....he does play running back for his HS though, also doubtful, but you never know

 Gotta go up strong Stu  

By the way, Gus Johnson (???) just had the line of the night..

  "He's not taking names and leaving lingerie on the deck like his daddy used to do"

Hahaha,

Announcer: "And let's take another peak at that backdoor"

(I'm sorry, I'm immature and we're up by 10)

   Jalen Rose is a little over-excitable...still better than a lot of other commentators, but needs a little less Gus Johnson and a little more Ernie Johnson

   Not trying to criticize Bellomy at all...but I do disagree about 3rd string QBs...

From both a general competing for your spot in practice makes everyone better standpoint AND an Oh Sh!t, 3rd stringer has to play out this game, I think the 3/4 star scholly player has a better chance of handling that than someone noone knows outside the QB coach  

 Or at least have the freedom to do that, we are getting to an era where freshman won't be forced to play, it'll purely be a question of out-playing established people in front of them

In 2012, I see Kalis, Magnussen and Braden (has the size/strength to contribute early) getting on the field as true freshman

In 2013, Bosch plays a s a freshman, and Kugler definitely sees snaps at Center as a freshman,

I also wouldn't be surprised if they try Dawson at Center at some point in time, just for depth purposes