Well, let's not get too carried away. MSU's senior class has been to two Final Fours. Ours hasn't yet gotten past the round of 32. But we are gaining ground on them. Three years ago we were in this situation with Draymond Green and Izzo swooped in at the last minute and got him. That's not happening anymore.
Matt Costello out of Bay City Western. Nice to see times a changin'.
but we have a long way to go before our basketball program is at that level. No doubt we will have sustained success but let's wait until we make a final four or two before we start thumping our chest about bball towards sparty.
No one said they haven't had a great (probably historic) run or that we haven't been down in the dumps for a long time. The fact remains that right now, at this moment, the stronger program is in Ann Arbor and the current talent on the respective rosters and this recent recruiting haul makes it all the more likely that that will continue.
Right now, UM has a better basketball team than MSU. Its funny how many want to refer to previous seasons as if thats relevent to this seasons results. No one is saying UM has been in MSU class for the last decade or more, but last season and right now UM is better. Thats not pumping chests thats facts based off on court results.
You sound like a typical MSU fan comparing the 2 football teams.
Catch up implies long term not just the current state of things. You would throw up in your mouth if a state fan used your exact words to describe the state of our respective football teams. That is all.
So I haven't spoken or listened to a State fan/grad say anything in years (they don't exist anywhere else). If they had said they had the better football team in the spring of 2008 they would have been right (and no one who remembers the spring game on the high school field could honestly argue with them). If they said it now they would be wrong (in both cases well before results confirm/confirmed the respective state of the two programs). Either way, nothing any juggalo has to say could ever alter my digestion or my opinion of my alma mater.
Dammit, we're going to be reasonable about this? But MSU football fan logic would be so convenient for us right now...
Suppose to have turned into a classic instate battle for his services...not even close. The situation with the bball program is quite promising.
Izz has to be wonderring ...is this the shape of things to come after being swept last season...
My God, the news just keeps getting better every day. Welcome aboar Derrick and Go Blue!
D. Morris getting drafted will most defintely affect this season's team, but man the recruiting benefits that we have gotten because of it makes it more than ok.
August 2nd, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
word
Now its time for a blue chip big man to join in on the fun this team is going to have in the coming years. I'm looking at you Mcgary.
I am not familiar with Chandler Park Academy, will this recruit keep the PSL snobs happy?
I would be willing to bet at least 50 of us on this blog have played golf at Chandler Park
...are falling are simply falling into our laps...welcome to the Michigan Family DWalton...GO BLUE!
Now call Mcgary up and tell him to pull the trigger...
Holy shit. Our recruiting is turning out to be pretty amazing, if we could somehow sway mcgary we really would have a dominant team for the next few years....
I thought that he was MSU's to lose. I'll gladly eat my crow on this. Wow. Great get!!!
U go to the msu scout board and they say izzo told Walton that he wasn't offering him. Man I love state fans!
"Hey kid, drive over to East Lansing this week so I can tell you we don't want you."
Yep, I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.
john beilein rules. his recruiting is nuts. he doesn't even really have to out-recruit people because he already wins the guys over before anyone else figures out what they've been missing out on
great addition
Just gotta keep chipping away at izzo and we'll be back to national prominence again.
I think we should let Beilein worry about the numbers. I was skeptical of him at first, but he's he's proven he knows what he's doing. It's an exciting time to be a Michigan fan for all our sports.
to myself for a while now that ever since Hoke got hired, alot of UofM sports have had some good fortune. I know this is all Belein and im excited about the talent he has been getting. But i cant get out of my head how the MBB team was struggling badly early..then Hoke gets hired(I bitch and moan while watching that we are ND video over and over) then the bball team sweeps state..hockey team almost wins a NC..recruiting is going better then I would ever have beleived in both sports. Hoke really does poop gold..
I'm really happy for Belein though, he took over a program that was pretty much the dumpster of the B1G. It was a rough few years but his hard work is starting to pay off.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
Tom Izzo had it too easy for ten years, and it is biting him in the ass now. The bottom line: John Beilein is outworking Tom Izzo.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
and I'll say it again: John Beilein has the best eye for under the radar talent in the country
August 1st, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
GRIII, Stauskas, Irvin, Walton, Donnal - all have or are set to make big jumps in the recruiting rankings. And Beilein was in on them well before they blew up.
August 1st, 2011 at 11:29 PM ^
Not to mention Morgan, Hardaway Jr., Novak, & even Darius Morris to some extent. All have been or were better than their recruiting rankings indicated they would be
Smotrycz, too. He was completely off the radar when JB found him and then blew up the next summer.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
I don't really follow basketball too closely, so this is a legitimate question and not meant to be "flamebait": Why don't we recruit big people? We had 6'4" guys playing down low last season, so I figured that was just a freak thing that occurred and we would be loading up with 6'10" monster beasts.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^
You can look at our roster as a reason why: Morgan, McClimans, Horford, Smotrycz, Christian- all will be sophomores. Bielfeldt is an incoming freshman. We've got Donnal in 2013. And we're recruiting McGary for 2012.
And I imagine we're going to add two bigs in the 2014 class. Just speculation on my part though.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:33 PM ^
You may not familar with him, but thats why everybody wants Mitch McGary (6-10 255, top 5 player nationally). We have a commit from Mark Donnal in the 2013 class. He's 6-9
First and foremost, let me say I'm really happy with the Walton pickup and the strides Coach B is making towards getting the program back to Big Ten and National prominence.
At the same time, let's be realistic. We are bashing Izzo for his recruiting shortcomings? Walton was never a Plan A recruit for Izzo. He has been focused on the likes of Gary Harris, Jabari Parker, James Young, Tyus Jones, and Drake Harris- elite level talent that is top-25 in the nation. So it's not like we stole this guy from MSU.
I think, to establish superiority in the state of Michigan, the next step is to win a heads-up recruiting battle for an elite national talent with Izzo and MSU (and of course continue the on-court success). I don't want guys like Gary Harris dismissing UM for MSU just because its Sparty, you know?
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
Walton might not have been a "Plan A" recruit for Izzo, but he already took one visit to MSU, was getting pressed hard to take another one (where he more than likely would've received a scholarship offer), & was considered an MSU lock by most recruiting sites. & while he may not be a top 25 guy like those other players you mentioned, he is in the top 100 for Rivals, Scout, & ESPN. So let's not pretend this is someone Izzo wasn't pursuing or didn't care about landing. It's a significant pickup for UM.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:34 PM ^
I beg to differ. While they are going for those guys they also were recruiting Walton. Drake Harris, Tyus jones are for '14. Not to mention none of gary harris, jabari parker, james young, and drake harris play the point. The only pg that you listed is Tyus Jones and he's not even in the class of 2013. This is most certainly a heads up win. He's a top 100 talent that could end up higher than he already is. According to most sparty's and analysts Walton was spartans #1 pg option this year.
Hey if Walton wasn't Izzo plan A or whateva u r talking about then why did he spend almost the whole entire season coming to Walton high school games. Ok lets be real here like you said, All MSU fans are mad write now because the top elite PG out of MI chose to GO BLUE!!!!!. I really want to know if your kids is are elite players while you downing other people kids because you mad. HAHAHAHa.
Very good get by the UM Coaching staff. Izzo may be kicking himself for not offering early on in the process.
We still have time to land a PG in this class. These kids just completed their sophmore year and probably don't even have their driver's license yet.
To a certain extent, they may be right. Right now in the PG pipe, MSU has Wood (Senior), Appling (Soph), Trice (Frosh) and Valentine ('12). I know that Izzo has offered Tyus Jones of 2014, who is an allegedly a long-time state fan. I would be nervous to put all of my eggs in the Tyus Jones basket, so a solid 2013 pickup at PG, such as Walton, could've been great. The staff may ultimately not end up going after any 2013 guards.