Starting 5 Next Year? Bench?
Losing in the first round is brutal, sucks balls, etc. But so goes the tournament and a 1 loss elimination format. Same thing that makes it great, makes it suck when you are the higher seed that falls early. Expectations are the mother of disappointment.
Anyways, what do we look like next year. Starting 5?
PG Burke
SG Hardaway
C Horford / Morgan / McGary?
SF Robinson / Smot
PF Smot / McGary / Morgan?
Obviously this latest recruiting class gives Beilein a lot more depth and flexibility....We may actually be able to "go small" now as a strategy or change of pace instead of it being the defining characteristic or our team. What does our starting 5 look like though? Will Beilein stay small to start the year or will he throw out the big bodies. I know he loves bigs that can shoot the 3, so I see Smot getting a lot of minutes. The only positions that seem set in stone are Burke at the point and Hardaway at the shooting guard.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^
I think the gut reaction to last night is to insert two incoming 5-stars into the lineup, but I think by the time next season rolls around, cooler heads will prevail. I expect Smotrycz to take a significant leap forward over the offseason, and I think he will benefit greatly from gaining some strength and being allowed to play his more natural position (4 vs 5). He started the season really hot, and his performance really suffered when Horford went down for the year.
Next year we will be getting McGary, Robinson, and Stauskas coming in, and Horford (as a RS sophomore) back from injury. That should go a long ways toward giving us more fouls inside, and allowing us to play a little deeper than the 7 man rotation we had going this year.
Start of Season: Burke, Hardaway, Robinson, Smotryzc, Morgan
Big Ten Season: Burke, Hardaway, Robinson, Smotrycz, McGary
March 17th, 2012 at 11:51 PM ^
So you can all read this...
Mitch McGary is going to start, from day one, and if you disagree, seriously, I don't know what to really say. The guy is a rebounding machine, above all else. His scoring might take some time - sure, he's been tagged with that of late, though his defense and rebounding have remained with the label - OUTSTANDING! And what does this team need, possibly a close second to better shot selection, though a big guy that gets you 10/15+ rebounds a game, works around the rim, and when he has the ball close to the hole -- he knows what to do with it. Now, let it be said, I love this team, love what they did this year, but there was always one thing lacking, and Mitch McGary will give us that from day one. This is a kid with tremendous pro potential, lets not forget that ... more so than any player on the current roster, and to expect a kid like him to come off the bench... It's a crime. Reminds me of KEVIN LOVE!!
His offensive game might take time, but his post presence will be instant. And that's something we need.
so can McGary
March 17th, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
smotz and his weak defense shouldn't see the light of day...much less start.
evan doesn't score enough to make up for his lack of D and on top of that he is a walking foul...
March 17th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
Good coaches, and he sure is, change to their personnel. I don't buy the notion he's so married to the three pointer.
True, but when you have run a system for 30 years with success at every stop, I don't think your philosophy is going to change much. Hopefully Hardaway and Burke can shoot over 30% from outside. It is hard to win in nowadays if you can't knock down threes with some consistency.
He's adapted more than people realize. He used to only recruit posts who could shoot from the perimeter, but changed things for Morgan. He's also become much more PG-centric in his offense the past two years. Three 3-pointer, for that matter, wasn't even around when he started his coaching career.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
This is what the rotation SHOULD be, but we'll see how committed JB is to his offense. Normally he'd want a 4 that can shoot, but we would be a better team with Morgan and McGary on the floor together.
I think we need to let these guys actually get on campus before we flat-out assume they're good enough to start over returning guys (and even pre-emptively criticize the coaches for them!).
Smotrycz was playing really well in December, back when he was exclusively playing the 4. Horford's injury forced him to start backing up Morgan at the 5 and it took a lot out of him (and turned him into a foul magnet). I think he can be a double-digit scorer if he's back at the 4, his natural spot.
I agree
March 17th, 2012 at 11:53 AM ^
14-18th. About the same as this season. Pre-season rankings factor recruiting much less than performance in the previous season.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^
for this. Last night was really brutal. I can't start to think about next season right now. Not only did we lose to Ohio, tOSU's little bro, but the remainder of the tourney is now a "can't watch" for me. This has been a very good spring but that put a major damper on things. It is probably going to take me until Augusta to be able to consider next year for this team. I have too weeks of trying to act like I am not devastated ahead of me, and that takes its toll.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^
It is St Patties fergodsakes. Go outside, drink some brewskies and drown your sorrows away in a fun kind of way.
Now back to desperately trying to get my shift at work covered. Anyone wanna wait tables for me today?
March 17th, 2012 at 11:15 AM ^
Dude, seriously? It's a game. Honestly, I've been wanting to talk about this on the board for a while, but the general sentiment is to wait until this season is over before we talk about next season. It's an exciting topic. If it pains you too much to think about basketball, then stay the fuck out of basketball threads.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
Pull it together man. We drew a tough matchup against a really hot team, and deservedly lost. This kind of matchup happens all the time. We weren't gonna win it all this year anyways, we just exited a game or two early. On the same day, two larger fanbases expecting to make final 4 runs saw their 2 seeds drop to 15s. They should be feeling much worse than you.
March 17th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
March 17th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
Burke started because he was the only PG on the roster, freshman or not. He also came in with uncanny maturity and leadership ability for an 18 yr old. This is not the norm in college basketball.
McGary is actually older than Burke, but I wouldn't expect him to come in and have the same impact on the game as Trey. It may take a while for him to gel with the team and learn the offense, and he has a less clear cut path to seeing the floor, with Morgan and Horford a couple years ahead of him in the system.
If Mcgary cant start over Morgan from day one, it would be dissapointing. I dont want to be overly critical but Morgan is not very good at anything.
Does anyone else besides me think that losing Horford was a huge loss this year? He looked really good early in the year. I haven't heard much about his recovery up to this point, but if healthy, he gives us a fourth legitimate big man. I am so glad I won't have to suffer through Smot getting dominated in the paint anymore. Don't get me wrong, I think he is a good player, but he cannot defend the post or rebound with 5s in the B1G.
I think you're just about right.
No way we see much of Morgan/McGary on the court together. I think their minutes wil be mostly split (with Horford as well)
I think Stauskas gets a ton of minutes, especially if he can defend well. I do think we'll see a little bit of Hardaway at the 2 as well.
At the 4, I think the rotation will be Smot, Robinson, and Beifeldt, with Robinson also getting some minutes at the 3.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
Stauskas, as some others have said, might be the one I'm excited about most for next year. This is him playing against an actual college team:
I'm confused, why was he playing Baylor? Noticed that Heslip was playing for Baylor in that video as well (starter for Baylor).
(probably posted by Nik's dad):
"Baylor University is on their foreign trip and has stopped in Toronto for a few games. Canada Basketball put together a team consisting of Canadian highschool players to give them a taste of college basketball. Although Baylor handled the Canadian team easily, the Canadians performed very well against one of the most respected NCAA D1 teams."
he'll be the best athlete on the team as soon as he steps on campus. His dad was an amazing player at Purdue, but his son has a potential to be better. I love his athleticism, length and ability to shoot the ball well.
March 17th, 2012 at 10:01 AM ^
except I think we'll see McGary some at the 4, not Morgan.
I agree, Coach wants a 4 that can spread the floor with his shot. This will keep Smot in the rotation. If McGary can shoot the 18ft he will get some PT at the 4 too.
I also think Coach wants two people who can handle the ball and Stauskas is that second man. He can immediately step in as a bigger more talent Stu from Day 1...and he will. I just hope the he and Burke can figure out how to defend opposing guards especially the quick ones that gave us trouble all year. I'm thinking we will go a lot more zone next year with our new size.
I liked your lineup but made one change. Moran starts (he has really improved his game and know Belien's system). I think McGary backs up Morgan and Smot and still gets his minutes. McGary and Morgan won't play together much. Just like Robinson and THjr won't play together much..the latter probably will a little more because Coach will probably try and go small with Robinson at the four and playing zone on D.
main lineup to start the year
Burke/Brundidge
Stauskas/some Hardaway/Brundidge
Hardaway/Robinson/Vogrich
Smotrycz/McGary/Beifeldt
Morgan/McGary/Horford
Pretty much agree. One huge advantage vs. this year will be the ability to absorb fouls with the bigs.
March 17th, 2012 at 10:38 PM ^
Bielien adapts to his personnel. He's a good coach who will find a way to put his best 5 players on the court.
While, yes, he clearly prefers to have floor-spacing players in the front-court, it doesn't necessarily mean that, for example, Horford, is going to be relegated to 4th-big minutes. Both Horford and McGary have the potential to be quality jump shooters, even if they aren't taking a lot of 3s, they can keep defenses honest (potentially).
Moreover, Bielien's could be willing to sacrifice offense for defense, especially with Burke and Hardaway's scoring talent.
Given the depth at forward and the lack of it at guard, there's a good chance that Hardaway slides to the 2 spot. It's hard for me to imagine Brundidge and Stauskas getting 40 or so minutes between them, even though I do think Stauskas will be a very good player.
I do agree that Smotrycz will play primarily the 4, but not because he's a 3-shooter, but because he's way to slow to defend most 3s. Unless Michigan plays more zone (tougher with a lot of young players) Smotrycz is a defensive liability against most teams, especially when he's shifted to the 3 spot - where you don't even get the benefit of creating an offensive mis-match like when he's at the 5.
Regardless, it's going to be very interesting to see how Bielien handles this roster given how different it is from any of his past teams (AFAIK). It wouldn't surprise me to see signifiant changes to what defines a 'Bielien team'.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^
There is no way that anyone on our team is getting drafted. THJ had a pretty bad season and Burke is too short. He would have to put up monster numbers for 1-2 more seasons before any teams would consider taking him.
Thanks for bringing him up---I've been eager to see how his talents might be put to use, too. I didn't know if there was a specific reason, other than lack of experience, for his lack of playing time (thinking Beilein was wanting to instead maximize the minutes of Stu and Zack, needing their experience while still in the race for the B1G crown), and that therefore Brundidge just didn't fit into the rotation.
Maybe now that next year's roster/rotation has incoming size and muscle (recruits plus the return of Horford), Brundidge will finally get a chance to get a lot more PT.
I would confidently bet $$$ that THJ improves his dribble-drive ability this offseason. I don't know as much about the game of GRIII, but he (and Stauskus) seems to have a work ethic similar to Trey Burke. This bodes well for 2012-2013 and beyond.
Hopefully his dad keeps telling him to get to the basket because that's where he can be really dangerous. If he improves his driving skills, he'll become a perfect slasher and a real mismatch for opposing teams that can stop his height and speed.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^
Agree completely with this assessment. I haven't seen much of GRIII's handle on his highlight films, but I just can't see Burke w/ THJ & GRIII for long stretches. I honestly didn't see a lot improvement in THJ's handle between his frosh and sophomore years, but I'm hoping it's a huge point of emphasis for him in the offseason. Stauskas looks impressive and versatile, so I think we'll lean on him and Brundidge to assume Stu's 2-guard role.
The other potential issue going big with Burke, THJ,and GRIII is on the defensive side. Who will be the defensive stopper? THJ will really have to elevate his defensive skills to guard smaller, mobile types. I guess this question is also relevant with a smaller lineup, too. We'll miss Stu's defensive acumen. Or maybe a longer team will make the 1-3-1 a more viable option?