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Appreciate the content guys …

Appreciate the content guys - lots of good stuff here....and considering you guys aren't nearly the experts at basketball that you are at the other sports it was pretty well informed overall.  That being said, there are still a few gripes I have that I wanted to point out:

I think it is a good point that Juwan's big 6-person class was in many ways his undoing.  I also liked Brian's point about Juwan targeting guys on the NBA radar when Beilein had to develop them.  But I think you're missing some stuff there....

  • You guys were among the champions of Juwan chasing elite recruits. That was your big mantra when he was hired for how he could continue what JB built. He put 6.5 guys in the league so hard to argue with that.  The issue was keeping them long enough for them to make an impact.
  • My argument is that the sport change from the moment Juwan came in and he didn't adapt.  How many OAD factories are there anymore?  How good are they?  The on-set of having GLeague Ignite options, the NBA paying G-leaguers real money, and Juwan actively encouraging guys to pursue their dreams hurt.  
  • Let's also not revise the past and forget what pushed JB out - Iggy and Poole leaving school before they had reached their potential so they could go be fringe NBA players.  (Yes, Poole has had some success and got rich, but at two points in his career he's been known as the worst player in the NBA and currently has the worst contract in the entire league.)

Now, let me address a few other head scratching comments from you guys that perhaps show how little basketball you've watched this year:

  • Zeb Jackson is not a good player Seth.  He's a starter on VCU, sure, but he still can't shoot at all and has a terrible ORtg.  He's not helping this team other than the fact that we needed more than one player who can dribble.
  • Will Tschetter is not a B10 starter just because Brian saw his 3pt% in his stat line.  I like Will and I hope he sticks around, but at the B10 level he's your 8th guy (think Joey Baker).  He can't defend, he can't rebound, and he's a foul magnet.  He's not athletic enough to play the 4 or big enough to play the 5.  He can give you a few minutes and shoot...but look how badly his shooting fell off.  
  • You mentioned Sanderson and that fiasco, but you have never pointed out arguably the worst part.  Sanderson's son is a 5-star basketball recruit!!
  • I agree that you called Frankie as a reg-flag recruit....but you should have pointed out how many of those guys Juwan kept targeting.  Kante (academics), Eastern (really bad academics), Dug (suspension), Christopher (head case), Todd (no interest in school), Love (bad academics), Aiyla (timeline, NCAA).  Too many guys that had no shot....and no semblance of a plan.
  • Seth said he doesn't want to build via the portal...but.....look around.  No freshmen play anymore no matter how good they are because the sport got old.  You need to find guys willing to stick around, but that's hard.  The portal is hard, but wide open.  The only way to be successful is to blend elite HS recruits, developmental HS recruits who won't transfer, and portal guys you can get in.

Finally, I think Medved is fine....but that's it.  I wish he had more success consistently and more obvious recruiting ability for higher level guys.  I think some of the other guys on your list are equal to him as candidates.  There's no slam dunk guy - we're rolling the dice here.  

Also, Oats would never be a Michigan guy.  He was a little shady before NIL and the way he handled actual murder by one of his players is a giant red flag.  

Surprised you didn't mention the other wild ass guess candidate - John Calipari!  More internet chatter out there about him than you'd think....

The deal with GR3 is that he…

The deal with GR3 is that he quit or retired from basketball a couple years ago and then decided to come back.  Landed this gig as a path back into the sport hoping for one more shot at the NBA. Probably not happening, but going overseas makes you money but puts you farther from the league.  

 

X is going to keep killing it in this league for years to come.  

I would also like to defend…

I would also like to defend Quinn a little based on your "spartoon" comment.  While it is true that Brenden has been known to write a lot of pro-MSU pieces over the years, he's always been very pro-Michigan too.  He did a podcast on UMHoops with Dylan for almost a decade and wrote plenty of pro-Michigan stuff.  The reason he comes off as so Sparty favorable??  THEY GIVE HIM ACCESS!!  

Among Juwan's many failings is his complete ineptitude when it comes to PR.  While I totally understand that's a shitty part of being a head coach, it is a really critical one - and even more critical in this era of NIL and the portal.  Juwan never talks to the media, never says one interesting thing, never let's us inside his bubble to see what kind of person or coach he is, never shares his vision for the program, never sucks up to donors for support, etc.  As a result, when times get tough there isn't one person out here advocating for him to stay.  

Izzo is a slimeball that I would never send my kids to play for because of how he treats his players on the court and the fact that he hasn't improved someone's pro potential in almost a decade.....but he works his PR muscles better than anyone.  Media, fans, donors, boosters, admin all defend his failings and pat him on the head like the troll he is because he works hard to keep them engaged.  

I will say prior to…

I will say prior to listening to this that Joel Klatt sold me more on the 14 team playoff than I thought was possible in his podcast.  

He argued that more autobids is better because the teams are earning it rather than letting a room full of stuffed shirts decide.  He argued that 14 preserves byes and home field....and if it were up to him he would tell the other conferences to demand second round byes.  

Since these games are never…

Since these games are never on TV (thanks B10) I rely entirely on this thread for my opinion of the officials.  This I think they should be shot in the sun.  

But what I would really like is for someone to put together a highlight reel of just how wildly inconsistent they are with these hits and calls.  Let's get it to go as viral as a B10 hockey video can.  Need to draw some attention to how bad it is.  

I don't need to dump on…

I don't need to dump on Milton anymore and I actually think his time at Tennessee has clarified for scouts what he is and what he isn't.  Could he figure it out?  Sure.  I was someone who never thought Josh Allen would turn his inaccurate cannon arm into a successful NFL career and here we are.  I wouldn't hate for a team I root for to gamble on him in the middle rounds.

I'm optimistic with JJ for all the reasons we all know.  With that being said, being a successful NFL QB might be the hardest job in all of sports.  There are probably only 20 of them in the world and just when you think you've figured out who they are, the list changes again.  Baker Mayfield was a laughing stock....then a guy who lead a team to the playoffs and threw for 350 yards in two playoff games.  Russel Wilson was a hero for years and now is unemployed.  I grew up in the Henson/Brady era at Michigan and no one would have ever predicted how their NFL careers would have played out. I still hope JJ gets picked in the middle of the round so he's on a better team that can help him succeed. 

  

In short....No.  

I love…

In short....No.  

I love Beilein and he's an amazing coach, but he isn't the answer.  His approach was starting to get challenging when he left and now the sport has shifted as far from "development" as possible with NIL, Portal, and Pro options being such a big part of the sport.  I think he got sick of all the effort to get guys and then see them leave before they hit their potential with Poole/Iggy and now imagine what that looks like when every season it is a new cast of guys.  

 

I mostly wanted to follow up…

I mostly wanted to follow up on the comments from the MGoPod.  I'm not sure whether Football has mellowed Brian into a new state of being, but for him to come out and downplay the frustrating nature of this team and just make the "goals are goals...don't over think when they occur" statement was shocking to me.  

I realize there aren't comprehensive advanced stats like XG for college hockey and I do agree that randomness, injuries, and penalties are a big part of our season .... but there is clearly something with this team's performance that I think it is fair to be frustrated and disappointed with.  

One suggestion I had, and I'm far from an expert, would be to look at goal differential by period this season.  I suspect that 3rd period numbers are vastly different than the others.  I was playing with some other ideas about sequence of goals allowed based on score - gets complicated and messy though.

Finally, I truly wish someone would put together a youtube video showing all of the major penalty calls and non-calls and see if it can go viral (as much as anything college hockey can) showing the erratic nature of the calls, how many were called on-ice versus review, and how many of them skew against us.  Hughes' was dumb on Saturday and I wasn't shocked that it was 5.  But he got 5 and a GM while MN checked one of us from behind into the bench and got just 2.  I just don't understand the difference.

Joe Milton's bazooka arm…

Joe Milton's bazooka arm threw 62mph.  

 

JJ threw 61mph.  I think he will be fine.  I think he's locked in as the #4 QB and that's actually good because he will go to a decent team, not a trash team..  

Trente higher than I…

Trente higher than I expected 

Unable to listen right now -…

Unable to listen right now - why on earth do we think Juwan is getting another year??  He's lost the team, the program is in disarray, he's done nothing to adapt or evolve, he hasn't shown he can build a complete roster, and we're going to ask him to bring in 5+ transfers to build the team next year when he continues to fall on his face when identifying those transfers and just watched the best one (Olli) ruin his potential playing for this dumpster fire of a team?

 

I love Juwan and really wanted it to work.  I just don't see how you can bring him back after the last two seasons.  Admittedly there isn't much out there that excites me as a replacement coach - but I don't think there's any coming back from this even if he actually wakes up and revamps his entire staff and approach.

Honestly, I think NIL plays…

Honestly, I think NIL plays a role in Sabb's departure but I think it is incorrect to point to that as the main problem.  I think the problem is that he was expecting to enter his junior year as a starter looking toward the NFL after a solid finish to his season and instead the two guys who started ahead of him both decided (in a surprise) to come back.  Money alone isn't going to keep some of these kids.  I think you have to really over-pay a kid to take a bench role over getting to start.

Love it Seth.  I do need to…

Love it Seth.  I do need to share a few META thoughts though:

  • First off, I much prefer that your links open the video clips in a new window that I can keep open or close when I want.  Brian's change the window I'm on and I need to "back" my way out of it to return to the UFR.  Share your approach with him please!
  • Secondly, as a fellow ref hater and someone who just craves consistency with their job, I do appreciate when you call them out.  I actually wish you guys would just put a couple sentences in these recaps to capture your ref score - even if it isn't meant to be an excuse or focus.  Data is data.  That being said, even I thought some of your ref complaining was a stretch.  Some of that stuff is never going to get called.  
  • Finally, I appreciate how much time and effort goes into naming formations, coming up with notations for alignment/players, describing the names of the plays, etc.  Hat+2 to you....but I suspect many of the lovers of UFR are like me and just read the paragraph for each play, check the yardage, and click on the link.  I can't say I've ever really paid attention to all of your notations...hopefully someone out there appreciates it more than me.  

I did want to end with a question.  You've spent countless words describing the elegant sophistication of Minter's defensive approach and through it all this season just about everyone from Cam Goode to Josh Wallace has been complimented for their role.  Then there's Colson.  I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on the ROLE he played in this defense versus some of the other players.  Hausman clearly struggled in this game without a mention and more often Colson is asked to drop rather than attack like some of the other back-7 guys.  Is there any potential redemption for him based on the role he was asked to do versus other LB?  For all the love of Devin Bush, I really don't think he was ever asked to do the same things Colson was in this defense, was he?

Player Development - success…

Player Development - success stories:

  • Eli Brooks (non factor for Beilein, solid player for Juwan)
  • Austin Davis (functional earth-based big)
  • Kobe Bufkin (the most "Beilein-like" development story....only for him to leave)
  • Franz? (probably going to happen anyway, but a success story)
  • Will Tschetter?  (functional, if limited, rotation piece despite low ranking)

Player Development - misses?

  • TWill is a useful player, but not much different than he ever was
  • Barnes an Khayat are unplayable wings 
  • Johns got worse every year
  • Reed is still young, but LONG way to go

How much is it on Juwan (if at all) that he couldn't convince anyone to stay one extra year except Eli?  Everyone left ASAP - which I think Juwan encouraged for the NBA guys, but Frankie, Hunter, etc.?  

I haven't gotten through all…

I haven't gotten through all 150 comments yet, so I apologize if this has been said...but a few follow up thoughts to a great summary:

  • I'm not sure I would argue Howard hasn't identified talent as much as I would argue he hasn't retained it, developed lower-level talent, or gotten it on campus.  While the NBA departures haven't panned out in the pros yet, they are all drafted pros.  Love and Shannon are elite too.  As are many other transfers, Hunter, etc.  
  • But the bigger issue is the lack of a plan for how to identify and retain that talent.  I empathize with his annual turnover because that's impossible to deal with - but so much of it is because he's recruited 1-year players from either HS or the portal!  
  • Meanwhile, you mentioned all of the academic/admissions issues under his watch except another weird one - Nojel Eastern!  Who committed and couldn't get into school...which was probably good since he was a terrible offensive player at a position we didn't need and would have prevented us from getting Chaundee!  
  • The one area that hurt Juwan which I give him some slack for is that the sport has totally changed since the day he was hired.  Now the elite players can go to a couple different semi-pro teams, the portal is wide open, the sport got older with covid eligibility, NIL has taken off, and high school recruits essentially don't even play as freshmen.  (NOTE - I vividly remember this site talking about how Howard can keep up with Beilein's standard and it was mentioned his ability to recruit better players.  I would argue he did accomplish that....but just in time for those players to be the least valuable asset in the sport.)
  • I think Juwan's loyalty has hurt him in a sport that rewards ruthlessness.  He gave Jace a scholarship when he shouldn't have.  He gave family friend Gregg Glenn one too - and he's not a B10 player either.  He played all the OAD kids 30mpg even when they weren't ready.  And he has yet to change a single coach or staff member even when all signs suggested a shakeup was needed.  

In the end, roster management is what has been the downfall.  Talented players but rarely a comprehensive roster that fit together right and too many scholarships wasted on empty chairs, non-qualifiers, non-contributors, or one year rentals.  Pains me to say, but Juwan is bad at all of the non-coaching stuff and hasn't surrounded himself with people to fix that for him.

I absolutely do not…

I absolutely do not understand the optimism around Alex Orji as a starting QB next year.  His entire 2-year career he has 21 rushes for 5.9ypc.  He's dropped back to pass TWICE, one of which he failed to throw away and took a sack and the other was for 5 yards.  While I do think his old-school Tebow running style is an effective changeup, I just can't see how we're going to hand the keys to him in 2024.  I'm shocked that Brian is so in love with this idea. 

  • Can he even throw? 
  • Can he read a defense? 
  • Is his running really that dynamic that we want to do it as the base offense?  This isn't Denard being the fastest QB ever, this is a few glimpses of Orji being "pretty good" at grinding out a handful of yards.
  • What happens if he gets dinged up and we've built the offense around a mooseback QB? 
  • Do we really trust an offensive staff that couldn't activate reads and RPOs to train Orji? 
  • Do we really want the offensive staff that outcoached Saban changing to an old RichRod/Urban playbook?  
  • Do we really think that an old-school RichRod/Urban offense even works as well in 2024 as it did in 2004?  

 

Now granted....I'm not sure what other good options are out there.  Davis Warren and Jaden Denegal are not inspiring and I'm not interested in handing the keys to an undersized true freshman.  So I think portal after the spring is the only option I'd advocate for and then use Orji as the change of pace.  I'm SHOCKED that this is an idea.

While I will also pile on…

While I will also pile on the NCAA for the handling of foreign recruits, I am not ready to absolve Juwan of this debacle.  Much like you can't just blame admissions for Caleb Love or NIL for Hunter Dickinson.  Those are all too narrow minded.

In this case, Juwan once again found an interesting recruit that fit a need....who couldn't get eligible.  Are these reasons insane?  Yes.  But also...

  • Juwan only targeted this guy at the last minute because our previous back-up big (Papa Kante) was deemed ineligible.
  • Even ignoring these insane NCAA behaviors, it is well known that international students and players face a number of hurdles to get eligible both academically and athletically.  Visas, transcripts, Toefel, testing, finances, etc.  Expecting that (or anything) to happen quickly with the NCAA is foolish.
  • What, if anything, did Michigan do to support this process?  UK has had similar challenges but is highly active trying to get through the NCAA BS.
  • Why was our only other backup big a guy no one had heard of until a few weeks before the season?  No other portal or HS recruits were identified and Kante didn't wash out until the last minute.

While the NCAA should be set on fire for stupid hypocrisy like this, hard to ignore the constant parade of guys Juwan chases that have no chance of getting in.  Fool me once....

Nojel Eastern

Terrence Shannon

Caleb Love

Papa Kante

Antonio Reeves

Lee Aaliya

 

Wallace is the big wild card…

Wallace is the big wild card there.  Will come down to the very last round I bet.  Going to be interesting to see that many picks without even being sure of a first rounder.

Knowing we might get over 15…

Knowing we might get over 15 guys drafted I guess I never stopped to think about who might go in the first round.  Blake is a RB so unlikely to go that early unless he goes nuts in the combine and sneaks into the first round.  JJ is a QB so he might.  Jenkins maybe - remember how early Mazi went despite a less productive career.  Zinter is a guard and coming off a major injury.

Everyone else is mid/late round:

  • Colson
  • Barner
  • Keegan
  • Harrell
  • Wallace
  • Sainristil
  • Barrett
  • Nugent
  • Jones
  • Henderson
  • CJ
  • Wilson
  • McGregor

That's 17 guys that have a shot at being drafted....but not many in the top 2 rounds.  I think we're going to see a bunch in the 3-4 range.

Ace,

I am so happy you…

Ace,

I am so happy you posted this.  But not as happy as hearing you have reconnected with your Dad and can rekindle those memories.  I am not close to my Dad anymore but shared a Go Blue text more than once in the last month.  I sincerely hope your health allows you to follow your passions in whatever way you choose.  

Now, while I didn't always agree with your takes, let's get down to business.  This site desperately needs your basketball insight.  What do you do with Juwan after the season?  What needs to happen to rebuild this mess??  Inquiring minds need to hear from you!  

How about we revisit Seth's…

How about we revisit Seth's idea to do a showcase on the championship weekend and give Fox two more games to broadcast.  Pick the three "best" games that will help you sort out the champion, preferably from teams who haven't played each other.  If after that there is still a tie - so be it.  

The reason I fear Bama is…

The reason I fear Bama is because you know they have the raw talent and I think for as much as I hate Saban, he's the best there is and when you give him a month to prepare he's really hard to beat.  Meanwhile, Michigan under Harbaugh is a little like under Bo where everything revolved around OSU and they aren't great adapting for a bowl game.  

 

For whatever reasons our running game has been pretty mediocre this year and I think that limits our explosiveness and overall complexity.  Hopefully the coaches can go back in the lab and come up with some things to improve because Alabamas defense is going to be tough.  

For all the hand wringing…

For all the hand wringing over sign stealing, if anyone cares about the integrity of NCAA football they need to figure out how to make this NIL/Portal era actually work for players, coaches, finances, and the development of all parties.  

First off, I think about 6 different recognizeable QB names have already announced they're in the portal.....before championship weekend - let alone the bowl season or official end of the semester!  If you're Michigan, you know JJ may leave and you might need to shop for a portal QB, but you shouldn't be spending any time on that this week.  I think they need to establish a window for portal contact (and enforce it) that starts after next week and for a fixed amount of time until after bowl season.  

Secondly, let's look at all the problems with Dante Moore's situation:

  • Kid decides to chase the promises of NIL pay-for-play as a recruit
  • School feels pressure to throw him on the field right away since they had to entice him to come there and paid him a bunch of money
  • Kid isn't ready and hurts his own development/brand by struggling
  • Kid leaves to find a better situation - which hopefully truly is for development and not just chasing the next NIL deal
  • Original school just wasted all the time/effort to recruit, bribe, and develop him with a negative ROI for his time there.  Same for whatever boosters signed him up for NIL and now have to break those contracts.
  • Kid has to be very careful what sort of NIL deals he signed to make sure he's not breaking contracts that would require him to pay back money or still shill for a car dealer in LA.  
  • New school has to do this all over again and start up the process one more time.  

Even if everything is wholesome and honest throughout this process - that is still a broken process for all parties.  The sport is in desperate need of more structure instead of the chaos of the wild west.  

Oh, and if you are clutching pearls about sign stealing - no worry, the portal will ensure that every team has players on it from all of their future opponents.  lol

Speaking of Illinois from…

Speaking of Illinois from someone sending a child there and having some vested interest in their football team since my son is in their marching band.....

 

Bert had a terrible year.  They blew a ton of close games and he spent more time bitching to the refs before, during, and after the games then he did installing discipline in his players.  They didn't have any depth but there was some decent talent on this team and he blew it.

 

That being said, the refs did blow the call big time on the potential tying 2pt conversion.  

Forgive me since I haven't…

Forgive me since I haven't been keeping up with hockey as closely lately....what the heck happened to him?!?

Have you seen the rest of…

Have you seen the rest of the big 10? Why would we need their signs in the first place!

Then maybe put the offensive ranks of all the Big ten teams.

John Cooper took his losses…

John Cooper took his losses like a man.

Or

John Cooper didn't call PI and PR firms when he lost to Michigan.

I love this! Especially if…

I love this! Especially if you have the graphic skills to make it look like one of those cheesy billboards for an ambulance chaser you see on the highway.

Glad to see some interesting…

Glad to see some interesting basketball content Matt!  Keep it comin!  

I'd love to get your take on Nkamhoua on both ends of the court because he seems like such a pro with all of the things he does - ranging from obvious scoring/defense but even to the subtle things like court awareness, communication, rebounding, positioning, etc.  

Personally, the one thing I'll be watching as the season progresses and competition ramps up is how sustainable our shooting is.  I think most of us assumed we would be a bad outside shooting team and that we'd struggle in rock-fights most of the year without a pure shooter on the roster (depending on your opinion of Tray Jackson or GW3).  Instead, we've seen great shooting thus far from Dug, WillT, TWill, ON, and Nimari.  How much of that is sustainable?  Hard to say.....but I'll enjoy it as long as it lasts and certainly helps to build confidence with a hot start.

I have finally resigned…

I have finally resigned myself to trust Seth when he says "covering grass" even though I still slowed down the video of the TD to see how many frames before Colson starts to move and it is close.  I get it - he should anticipate the WR coming his way and shade there immediately.  The thing is....I think I need to see examples of a LB actually doing this consistently to believe that Colson is just broken with his instincts.  We talk about Devin Bush, but I'm not sure even he did this smoothly in coverage.

Anyway....the refs.  WOOF.  I loathe this shit and letting a team blatantly get away with it to the point where they make it worse and worse without repercussions.  I agree with Seth that the B10 has instructed their refs long ago to go easy on holding because otherwise games would get out of control with calls.  Fine - I'd rather not have a bunch of nit picky holds called either.  I also don't believe truly in conspiracies because there are too many people who would know and that is impossible to keep secret.  HOWEVER, where there is a potential for putting a finger on a scale without full out conspiracy is selecting an officiating crew known for being particularly generous on holding when you know PSU is going to be guilty of it.  I think this happens in basketball sometimes where they put a ref known to be influenced by home crowds on a big game to just give that extra edge to the home team even if they aren't willingly biased - they just are a bad ref who makes more calls in favor of the screaming fans.

I was unable to watch the…

I was unable to watch the game live and have only relied on highlight packages since then.  Seeing the PI call on Will Johnson I can confidently say that the call had nothing to do with his hand on the hip, turning him, or the embellishment.  Will's feet got tangled up with him and the WR then tripped.  You could debate whether that's a call or incidental, but in real time with the ball there and his hand even close it is going to get called 100% of the time.  If he doesn't trip him up, there's some chance that it doesn't get called because his hand barely touched him.

Lots of good info about this…

Lots of good info about this over on UMHoops.com.  

- Former DMV guy so continues pipeline of HD, TWill, Dug.

- Currently at IMG, continuing the pipeline of Diabate and Jett

- Third highest recruit of Juwan era

- Athletic SF who is a composite five star with a lot of length.  Promising shooter.  

He probably completes the recruiting class with Anderson (undersizing scoring guard who is shooting over 60% from three in HS so far) and Brooks (low rated PG).  They will be looking for a Nkamhoua replacement in the portal next year and then we will see what other attrition opens up spots.  

We are pretty good at this sports stuff even when our coaches can't actively participate.

Drop the hammer Michigan…

Drop the hammer Michigan......

 

(Though I wish I didn't find typos in this document.....)

I didn't know this story…

I didn't know this story....wow.  And THAT is the difference.  Sure, Wake is a small program that sucks most of the time, but I think this goes back to the PR smear campaign.  Whoever started this immediately fired up the media circus and Michigan was already guilty in the eyes of the public and media before the investigation even started.  No one knew about Wake.  It is doubtful enough people would have cared to make it a top headline, but even still - the initial PR in our situation made sure the B10 and NCAA had to do something.  

Sucks for Wake that the NCAA and ACC did nothing for them.  I'm still not proud of what Stallions did or why the hell Michigan hired him in the first place.  That still bugs me a lot.  If Stallions was just some crazy fan firing off emails to Michigan with his signs - this is a different story.  Once we put him on the payroll, we have some culpability.  Dumb.

It is starting to feel like…

It is starting to feel like the offensive line and running backs in their current form are just guys. They're still pretty good, but they don't feel anywhere near last year. I can't remember the last time I saw a running back. Make a play or get a run longer than 15 yd. And I'm not sure where to look it up, but it does feel like our yards before contact or line yards have to be significantly lower than last year. With how JJ is performing, that still may be good enough, but it is a bit of a letdown. They clearly miss olu and Hayes.

Front court comments....

Front court comments....

  • Reed is better defensively than the stats show.  Agree with Brian on 60% FT.  For whatever reason the scrimmage upset win over top 10 Marquette wasn't mentioned at all and Reed had 17 points and good FT shooting.  
  • Don't sleep on Nkamhoua threes.  Brian mentioned his mid range game and modest outside shot at UT....but at both the GLeague camp and FIBA championship he took a lot of threes and shot really well.  
  • Tschetter is going to be the third center.....and that's it.  Hopefully he remembers how to hit threes.
  • Jackson might be the wildcard for this team.  If he's a plus shooter at the 3/4 spots....team does well.  If he scuffles, yikes.
Comments on the basketball…

Comments on the basketball part....

  • Llewellyn is still not cleared for full contact.  He will likely not be ready by the first game and missed the Marquette scrimmage.  His surgery was about 9 months ago, which is typical for ACL.  (Disagree with Brian calling it a 6mon injury... especially basketball.)
  • I think Burnett was always going to start even if the Caleb Love fiasco doesn't happen....but I say that because I think ideally he's a 3, not a 2.  He will have to play the 2 now and should defend well with his crazy long arms, but dribbling and creation are a total unknown.  
  • Seth.....come on.....Jace isn't better than anyone on this roster.  He isn't a good defender and he's a horrible offensive player.  His best defensive moments are defending bigs, not guards.  He's the spiritual leader as a senior....he should only play in an emergency.  Please don't defend his shooting on a sample size of 17 shots either.  Love Jace as a bench leader....not as an on court player.  
Yeah.....how about Advanced…

Yeah.....how about Advanced Scouting.  Better depiction of what we were doing and more accepted in all sports while only being banned in the NCAA for budgetary reasons.  

I am still skeptical that stealing signs is all that helpful unless teams really are dumb enough not to rotate them. 

I'm going to use this thread…

I'm going to use this thread to throw out my proposed rule change to make kickoffs interesting again.  Right now in both college and the NFL they might as well just put the ball on the 25 and avoid the process completely.  So let's try to fix that.....

1.  If you call a fair catch and actually catch it - then still the 25

2.  If you let the ball land in the endzone without attempting to catch it - then the kicker is rewarded by putting you at the 20.  I hate when the kick returner just stands there and watches it land a couple yards away.  If you don't actually catch it, no bonus 5 yards.  

3.  If the ball lands beyond the endzone on the fly, meaning that the receiving team couldn't catch it in the field of play, then they get it at the 15.  Again - reward the kicking team and make it interesting!

4.  if the kicker splits the uprights on the kick, ball is placed at the 10.  

You can always choose to return it from anywhere, but this way instead of just watching another kickoff land harmlessly in the endzone while everyone stands around watching you are actually creating some strategy for the kicking team, challenging the return team to earn their 25-yard placement, and rewarding good kickers.....without actually subjecting players to harm.  

(I do like awarding 1 point for splitting the upright, but I think that's too 'weird' compared to historical scoring rules and instead prefer earning your starting field position.)

I think I'd go the other way…

I think I'd go the other way. First OT is further away and thus more difficult.  The more OTs you go to the more you want someone just to end the game.

There's a lot of negativity…

There's a lot of negativity to go around here and I think everyone involved comes out looking bad.  

  • NCAA looks bad for their initial ruling, changing the ruling, and then blaming UNC for it.....and they're just a bad organization in general.
     
  • UNC's President came out and said they uncovered additional evidence and submitted it to the NCAA to help get the ruling reversed...aligning with what the NCAA trashed them for.
     
  • UNC's AD said they didn't submit new information and the original information was all there and should have been used to make the correct decision all along.  
     

So someone's lying and most of these aren't trustworthy organizations to begin with.  

The other thing I do feel compelled to point out is that while I hate the NCAA with a passion and think it is a sham of an organization that adds little value at this point.....its creation, organization, and rules are dictated by the universities themselves.  Therefore it is always funny when a school or conference lobbies for new rules, gets them adopted, and then bitches about them when those rules are used against them.  

Honestly I don't know how to stop the chaos in college sports (expansion, portal, NIL, corruption, etc.).  I think the only way might be for the players to unionize and then convert football and basketball to the professional leagues they already seem to be.

FAAAAAARRRRR too early to…

FAAAAAARRRRR too early to even think about next year....but.....to say it will be a challenging rebuilding year is vastly understating it.  That OL looks decent, but a massive turnover from the past few years with so many new guys moving into the lineup.  Combine that with Corum & Johnson leaving and the likely departure of JJ, Edwards, and Wilson?  Oh...and how about a schedule that is significantly more challenging than the past two years?  

That being said....here's one wild hot take that is highly improbable - it isn't a sure thing JJ leaves for the NFL next year.  I listen to a few national CFB/NFL shows and whenever they rattle off the top draft QB prospects they don't even mention him among the first 5-6 guys (Williams, Maye, Ewers, Sanders, Travis, Penix, Nix, Leary, etc.).  If JJ is sitting outside the top group of QBs while raking in the NIL and having a shot at a Heisman invite as a senior....might he stay?!?  (Okay....almost certainly not....but one can dream!)

Look....there's a lot of BS…

Look....there's a lot of BS that is happening with NIL and as the wild west of just paying players gets out of control it does suck that foreign players are excluded.  But it is far more complex than you're implying.  

For now at least, NCAA athletes are still STUDENTS and not EMPLOYEES.  As such, you have to look at the immigration/visa rules for those two.  For students, the US is allowing you to enter the country, study at our schools, and earn your degree - but not "take jobs" away from US citizens.  On a work Visa you're getting approved to work here in the country.  I have several employees who require visa sponsorship in order to maintain their ability to work here in the US (and thus get paid).  

I don't really think we should change the US immigration laws just for basketball NIL.  Perhaps the more logical future is that athletes become employees of the university, get benefits, pay, structured NIL, a voice, etc.  In that scenario, you could pay people from outside the US.

One of my favorite reads all…

One of my favorite reads all week - always funny and always makes me wonder how you come up with all of the analogies.  I'm picturing you carrying around a small notebook and randomly writing down ideas during your normal daily life.  (Hits a speed bump - put it on the list!)

 

I watched Illinois/PSU last week first hand as my son attends UofI.  I came away more impressed with PSU on defense an less impressed with them on offense.  While Illinois has problems on offense with their OL, lack of talent at RB, and new QB....they're not terrible.  PSU ate them for lunch for most of the game and the interceptions were often thrown into really tight coverage.  I don't know why Illinois insists on throwing so many quick slants since those are hard, but the PSU defense was tough.  

 

But their offense?  A week after getting pants by Kansas the Illinois D played their asses off.  PSU couldn't do much of anything until late in the second half when the defense finally gave up due to exhaustion.  I wasn't impressed with their running game and their WR seemed like just guys.  Get a little pressure, keep the run in check, they will stall out.  I think PSU needs big plays to score and Illinois wasn't going to allow that.

I have never understood why…

I have never understood why an offense would intentionally line up WR/TE as ineligible.  Makes zero sense to me.  I think the theory is that by being on the LOS they are in a better position to block but the reality is that most refs will allow you to be "off" the line by about a third of a yard so it almost certainly doesn't matter to blocking.  Maybe if you're a triple option team or something it matters....but I just don't get it.

On the academic stuff.....

On the academic stuff.....

There is a huge debate over at UMHoops on this Hinton stuff because....well, duh!  (Love, Shannon, Kante, Eastern, etc.)  While it is frustrating and clearly an issue, let me add some context to Brian's venting.

For starters....HINTON MADE IT THROUGH THE PROCESS!  We want it to work for guys like Hinton and it did work.  He's upset he has to take some basic classes, but it worked!  He has had a similar experience to Chaundee Brown, who made it past the transfer police as an upper classman.  Unfortunately, when you transfer almost anywhere, you're going to lose credits and classes.  Even Shannon, who found a way to get into Illinois, had to change majors and still hasn't graduated - likely meaning that he too had to retake classes.  

The problem really comes down to individual majors/departments having to individually match classes to their program, then having to decide how many credits you're required to take AT MICHIGAN in order to get a degree from that university, and then whether or not there are special favors given to unique circumstances.  

Michigan is harder than most, but not unique.  I think there are really three things we're concerned about:

1.  How do we speed up the process so the coaches know their options/pathways early enough to make the right decision?  (The Caleb Love situation)

2.  Are we willing to create a special "catch-all" degree for transfers that is less tied to a specific major, thus allowing more credits to transfer but your degree is in "gen ed" or something?  

3.  Are we willing to make transfer exceptions and bend rules for unique talents that aren't really coming to Michigan to "play skool?  

Right now Michigan seems slow (#1), has to match degree programs to the previous school (#2), and doesn't really make exceptions for transfers - only HS and Grads (#3).  Hinton's program at Stanford didn't have a direct match at Michigan, hence why he lost credits.

Alan Bowman is also playing…

Alan Bowman is also playing for OSU.

Dan Vilarri is a TE for Syracuse as a former UM QB.

And there's a former walk-on from Michigans roster who is now on the roster of MTSU named Red Hefley.  

I had no issues.  Watched…

I had no issues.  Watched first half on my TV and second half on my phone.  Minor audio issue only.  Would have liked more out of town scores maybe?

Actually, Mullings was on…

Actually, Mullings was on kick returns but never got a chance.

I have the hardest time…

I have the hardest time sorting through LB play, ratings, and UFR comments.  As Seth says multiple times, LB is hard.  I do feel sometimes that it is a self fulfilling bias though.  In a zone defense you are actually covering grass - and while you should react to what's around you, there are usually things happening on all sides of you.  Drop too deep and they hit you underneath.  Stay shallow and they hit you over the top.  I see the issues with Colson...I also think sometimes they were magnified in hindsight.  Hopefully it clicks this year.

The other side effect of having to play Colson as a true freshman and having to ask Colson/Barrett to play nearly every snap last year because of depth issues is that it was almost impossible to pull them off the field, explain their mistakes, give them some coaching, and send them back out there.  THey never left the field!  And couldn't!  Now with depth I hope they can actually fix issues or scouting quicker by subbing once in a while.