muhammad-ali abdur-rahkman is cooler than miles davis on an ice floe
The Sponsors
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1. Now What?
starts at 1:00
We review the candidates who've come and gone. Ace warms to Yaklich after hearing the names after Juwan Howard. Speaking of Juwan Howard: about the best resume for an assistant you can possibly have. Porter Moser is not on this list.
2. Best of Beilein: Honorable Mentions
starts at 29:31
We all made lists of our top Beilein-era moments, and those lists did not fit into a Top 10, nor a Top 15, nor a Top 20, so here's all of the things that didn't make the list—it's a long non-list.
3. Best of Beilein: 11th-20th
starts at 1:07:07
Now we give our lists. Except we need to talk about our top moments for so long that we're going to need another segment before we even get to the top ten. Sorry not sorry.
4. Best of Beilein: 1st-10th
Starts at 1:39:30
Some you know. Some you're just going to get mad about. A few are obvious, but not in the obvious spot. This is really hard. There's probably a Smiths song in the Music.
MUSIC
- "Cemetery Gates"—Leah Blevins
- "Holding On"—The War on Drugs
- "End of the Road"—Boyz II Men
- “Across 110th Street”
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link (right click/save as)
- What's with the theme music?
It's very on brand that we fit Denard onto this list
Accessorized logo pose. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
In the bridge of the ubiquitous hit Hey Ya!, Andre 3000 asks the audience a question: What's cooler than being cool?
The answer, evidently, is "ice cold." That's presumably because Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was just nine years old when The Love Below came out.
mandatory soundtrack
I've spent two weeks trying to come up with a better, deeper premise than "cool guy is cool" but sometimes a thing is so obvious it must be acknowledged. Before he ever stepped on the court at Michigan, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was cool. He was a local high school basketball legend with no high-major offers until John Beilein came along at the eleventh hour. Being the overlooked two-star suited him well. Oh, you haven't heard of MAAR? Caught 'm at Allentown. Remember the name. You'll hear it again.
There's the name itself. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, aka Rahk, aka Ham (pronounced haam), the man containing four names, two hyphens, and the GOAT. In retrospect, our site's decision to mostly go with the MAAR acronym is unsatisfying. Rahk deserved better than Mawr.
Then there's the intro. When his name came over the speakers, Abdur-Rahkman would dap up his teammates, reach the designated leader of the bench mob, and bow. Understated? Sure. Undeniably cool? Indeed.
Young Rahk with Dak. [Paul Sherman]
There are the accessories. Oh, the accessories. While we didn't really notice until the pink shoes, Abdur-Rahkman has always accessorized. From the beginning, he wore leggings that came down well past his shorts, usually with just enough space above the sock to flash a little calf, like Philly legend Kobe Bryant. He layered a matching T-shirt under his jersey. Later, he'd add an elbow sleeve, but just the one, like Philly legend Allen Iverson. For a brief, glorious couple games, he also rocked rec specs, like Cupertino legend Kurt Rambis.
[Hit THE JUMP.]
Ed-Ace: Our primary basketball photographer and #1 MGoFrenchman Marc-Gregor Campredon put together this look back at the season in photos. I've made some minor edits but left it in MG's voice—he has a way with words that I don't want to disrupt. Without further ado...
Part 1
Et voila: The first month of 2018 seasons in photos with some dull opponent (I did not say boring) and some very good ones!
Oh, I took the liberty to illustrate the away game with others games images because I will never pass on the op’ to showcase our work.
If not precise with another’s name photographs are by Marc-Gregor Campredon! Quotes are from the game recap mostly by Ace but also by many other talented guys.
Exhibition vs Grand Valley State victory 82-50
Teske’d !
vs North Florida victory 86-66
Robinson is elated while dunking.
vs Central Michigan victory 72-65
“It's me again, the guy who tells you not to pay too close attention to the final score”.
Charles Matthews is already a solid starter for Michigan.
vs Southern Mississippi victory 61-47
“Michigan's coaches and players started calling sophomore Jon Teske "Big Nasty." They hoped that would replace "Big Sleep".”
Teske’d again – It will never gets old.
The tourney in Hawaii
“It took the team most of the first half to find this offense, however, and they strayed from it at times in the second; I'm excited about the future of a team that makes this their identity.”
Already, a lot’s of John Beilein is emerging in Yaklich.
“Poole looked good in his first extended action, doing what he's supposed to do: get buckets (…) He should cut into Ibi Watson's minutes if he keeps hitting jumpers.”
Toat's m'goats
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the season in photos.]
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