NCBlue22

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Recent Comments

Date	Title	Body
5 weeks 15 hours ago	How about 6 fouls?	One suggestion I would add is to make the foul limit 6 instead of 5 (like the NBA).  Too often the best players are on the bench because they pick up 2 fouls in the first half.  Best players on the court = better basketball.
17 weeks 1 day ago	Rebounding is a skill	In my experience playing ball, rebounding is a skill.  A rough analogy to football is a receiver being able to locate and catch a deep ball.  It is a skill that transcends size/speed that relies on hand-eye-body coordination.  Like rebounding, size/speed/jumping helps all things being equal, but there is an innate difference between the Manningham's and Hemingway's (great deep ball catchers) and the Breaston's (not as good deep ball catcher). My keys to rebounding (in rough order) 1. Desire 2. Positioning (2 feet from the hoop or 4, which side of the rim, boxing out, etc...) 3. Hands (hand-eye coordination, securing the ball) 4. Judging the ball off the rim/timing the jump- (Dennis Rodman was the best at this) 5. Size/leaping ability (unless a clear mismatch...i.e. 6'10" vs. 6'4".  In general, 6'7" versus 6'9" does not matter.)
22 weeks 5 days ago	Beauty of it	The Beauty of this type of offensive set is that it has so many options and keeps the floor spread.  If the offense attacks correctly, one mistake by the defense gets an open look.  As stated, if Morgan wasn't open, Hardaway was being set up.  Stauskas can blow by his man if he chooses (though not the top option).  If Morgan does not get the ball, he likely goes to the corner and allows McGary to roll into the post.  If neither of the above work, the ball goes back to Burke and probably a high pick and roll.  Also, on the first pass, if the wing defender is overplaying, Morgan (switch him with Robinson in your head) would backdoor cut and the whole lane is open. I played in a similar offense in high school, except the two posts played a little closer in (one on block area and one on elbow/free throw line area).  There are a lot of variations that can be run with different player movements to avoid the defense knowing what is going on. This type of offense is about reading and reacting to the defense.  That is why it is a little surprising that the freshmen are playing so well...i.e. sometimes it just takes reps to feel comfortable with the floor spacing, movement, etc... Overall, good analysis.  Hope to see more.
23 weeks 5 days ago	Awesome	Instant classic...very nice work!  Honestly, all seem to be spot on except for Burke.  Have you tried to switch Burke and Eso (I believe that's Eso...#41)?  One of my favorites is Bacari...just fits perfectly.
24 weeks 4 days ago	Shouldn't Matter	This is basketball we are talking about.  If the guy is good enough to lament a wasted redshirt year, he would already be in the NBA.  Name me 1 redshirt senior that has every been an above average player at UM?
26 weeks 1 day ago	QB recruits in Division 4 MHSAA game	One interesting MHSAA championship game, at least from a QB perspective, is the division 4 game- Detroit Country Day against South Christian (Friday at 7:30). Detroit Country Day is the home of 2014 QB prospect Tyler Wiegers, who has visited UM and is on the radar.  South Christian has a 2015 QB prospect by the name of Jon Wassink who has put up very good numbers recently.  He's a young kid (obviously), but he has good size, athleticism, and throws a nice ball.  Not sure Wassink is a high major prospect yet, but certainly MAC-level one at this point.
26 weeks 5 days ago	Agreed...post should be taken down	This is probably from a personal phone call that Balas did not want to spread free on the internet.  Still good news...
28 weeks 1 day ago	Wife days	I think you mean 2 wife days...and yes, there will be 2 in '13 and '14 but only 1 in '15 and '16.  I think that can be seen as a positive...for a number of reasons!
28 weeks 2 days ago	Gallon	Just a hunch, but my guess is Gallon.  Would be a nice number for a receiver/returner/jetsweeper.  Plus, Gallon has one more year and is well-respected it seems by the coaches (albeit so is QWash).  I just don't see #11 going to a D-tackle but I could be wrong.    Also, it's not like they are really matching positions for these honors...Gerald Ford to Desmond Morgan and Oosterbaan to Ryan (yes Oosterbaan played some D but primarily known as an end) ends that argument.
32 weeks 2 days ago	Gibbons	I didn't see this mentioned but I think it's time to give props to Gibbons (and Hoke for the psychological turnaround) again.  He was dead-center on every kick...the one he missed was 44 into the wind...which clearly his range his mid-upper 40's with no wind, so can't really ding him there.  I still can't believe this is the same guy that shanked about every kick his Freshman year.
32 weeks 5 days ago	Good points	That's a really good breakdown.  I don't have data to back this up, but it seems like he has a propensity to give up multiple hits in succession and have the big inning (3+ runs).   I think Porcello would be an above-average pitcher in the NL with a great defense behind him.
32 weeks 5 days ago	Thoughts	Game times are 12:07 PM Sunday (MLB network only) and 9:07 PM Tuesday.  Sort of interesting that Sanchez is going before Scherzer.  Maybe Leyland wanted to give Scherzer an extra days rest (Wednesday will be 6 days rest). I give the advantage to the Tigers because the A's in general do not hit well for average, strike-out more frequently, and rely on big extra base hits (mostly HR's).  Feeds into the Tiger's starters hands, who are all (somewhat) strike-out pitchers.
36 weeks 5 days ago	She posted last week	Mgoweather is alive and well, see this post from last week, http://mgoblog.com/diaries/game-day-weather-10 Posted in diaries FYI.
4 years 19 weeks ago	Still Fun	This team is still fun to watch in my opinion, and that is really all I ask for at this point. I honestly didn't think we took too many bad three's. We are going to live and die by the outside shot, clearly, and while this may lead to a few disappointing losses, it could also lead to a few upsets on hot nights. This team is clearly limited and I would be happy with any tourney seed and a 1st round loss. I love following a real basketball team however.
4 years 20 weeks ago	Merritt	Merritt seems to be a calming influence on the floor. That is something that cannot be measured by the stats. Grady is much, much improved, but he still is a little bit "wild". Grady is a more dangerous player, but I think Merritt sets up the offense better and makes quite a few little plays that are hidden from the stat sheet. BTW, remember that Grady probably could have played FB in college. Probably would be a good slot receiver or kick/punt returner. Granted I've only seen mainly West Michigan kids play high school football, but Grady was one of the most explosive running backs I've ever watched.
4 years 27 weeks ago	my richrobots story	I ordered a shirt back in July (the Grand Rapids shirt, not Mgostore, but...). Initially they said it was out of stock and that I'd receive it in a few weeks. I said ok. My credit card was charged at this point. So a month later, I emailed them because I had not received my shirt...no answer. Continued to email them...no answer. Finally, in early October, I wrote a more nasty email, and this time it went through. They said my previous emails went as spam, I say yeah right. So anyways, after a few pleasant reminders, they finally refunded me in late October and also said that they'd send me my shirt complementary. Still haven't received a shirt of course, although I do have a usps tracking number...which says that it hasn't been sent. I don't think they actually make shirts. They just scam people. Bottom line, never ever deal with richrobots, but if you did order a shirt, you should be able to get your money back in time.
4 years 35 weeks ago	richrobots are terrible	Brian, you need a new shirt provider, ASAP. I ordered a shirt from richrobots in mid-July (not from mgostore, sorry), paid for it, and still have not received it. I've emailed them numerous times asking for an explanation, but I get no response. Bottom line, they run a pretty shady business if you ask me.
4 years 39 weeks ago	Re: ACC	I really think Wake deserves a spot in the top 25.  They are returning one of the top defenses in the nation and are pretty solid all around.  The ACC is tough to figure right now, but Wake will be able to shut people down all year long with that defense.
4 years 39 weeks ago	well	I doubt Rodriguez would be gushing over the team no matter what they do in practice.  Balas posted a RR press conference quote from a year ago and it was the same type of coachspeak.  Personally, I think he is sandbagging a little bit.  Feint praise is about all a coach will give this time of year.  Excited about Shaw, McGuffie, and Odoms.  Sure, they will be green, but they are fast, fast, fast.
4 years 43 weeks ago	thanks	Thanks for your perspective and even though I am no expert in yesterday's or today's recruiting, what you said about actors on the red carpet rings true in my head.  My problem is that some of these kids think they are stars before they ever step foot on campus.  They are sort of mini celebraties.  Maybe that's how I just perceive it, but I think times have changed a bit in that respect.  BTW, I just recently moved to north carolina, in winston-salem, and love it.
4 years 43 weeks ago	honestly	Honestly, I sort of wish that we could go back to the days where we didn't know anything about incoming freshmen until they were on campus for fall practice. Even 10 years ago, all I knew about incoming freshmen were local kids or conversations like "hey, I heard we got a good running back", etc... All this hype and speculation and message board rumors just is not good at any level, for the kid or the university. However, this is probably an impossibility at this stage and I understand how curious recruiting can be for fans/vital for the program. Just my thought for the day I guess.
4 years 44 weeks ago	Calvin Bell	Ahh the forgotten 2001 season. I also enjoyed the "calvin bell reverse". We need a new designated reverse guy, I nominate any of the small, electron guys like odoms, trob, or shaw.