Michigan Basketball Snowflakes Thread
January 13th, 2013 at 3:53 PM ^
Putting yourself in a 21 point hole is always a bad idea.
Hardaway played poorly all game.
Burke made poor choice in the last few possessions.
And Stauskas scoring 0 points is never going to help.
FUCK MOTHER FUCKING SHIT
January 13th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^
I don't think Stauskas even took many shots...if he moves around more he'll get more looks against a defense like that...
January 13th, 2013 at 4:29 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^
but i would like to see more motion period. we often looked like we were playing a zone offense a la tommy amaker, waiting for burke to do something.
i would like to see GRIII criss cross the baseline more with stauskus to help create more backdoor baskets, cut back 3s, or even alley oops.
but hey, it ain't easy working in 4 freshmen and i'm sure the main focus has been on the defensive side from beilein.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
I don't buy the experience factor. Look at Kentucky last year.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:00 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^
what is your point? we have more talent than OSU.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
not according to the recruiting sites.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:24 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:27 PM ^
Kind of like Morgan and THJ?
January 13th, 2013 at 4:28 PM ^
2011-2012 Kentucky Basketball Roster
# | Name | Pos | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (School) |
#1 | Darius Miller | F | Sr. | 6-7 | 235 | Maysville, KY (Mason County) |
#3 | Terrence Jones | F | So. | 6-9 | 252 | Portland, OR (Jefferson) |
#20 | Doron Lamb | G | So. | 6-4 | 210 | Queens, NY (Oak Hill Academy) |
#33 | Kyle Wiltjer | F | Fr. | 6-9 | 239 | Portland, OR (Jesuit) |
#23 | Anthony Davis | C | Fr. | 6-10 | 220 | Chicago, IL (Perspectives Charter |
#14 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | F | Fr. | 6-7 | 232 | Somerdale, NJ (St. Patrick) |
#25 | Marquis Teague | G | Fr. | 6-2 | 189 | Indianapolis, IN (Pike) |
#4 | Jon Hood | G | Jr. | 6-7 | 215 | Madisonville, KY (North Hopkins) |
#22 | Stacey Poole | G | So. | 6-4 | 200 | Jacksonville, FL (Providence) |
#5 | Jarrod Polson | G | So. | 6-2 | 185 | Nicholasville, KY (W. Jessamine) |
#30 | Eloy Vargas | F | Sr. | 6-11 | 244 | Plantation, FL (Miami-Dade CC) |
#10 | Twany Beckham | G | So. | 6-5 | 205 | Louisville, KY (Miss. State) |
#12 | Ryan Harrow | G | So. | 6-2 | 175 | Marietta, GA |
#13 | Sam Malone | G | Fr. | 5-11 | 190 | Scituate, Mass. |
#32 | Brian Long | G | Fr. | 5-9 | 150 | Dumont, NJ (River Dell) |
January 13th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^
What is your point? Kentucky didn't go undefeated last year either.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:57 PM ^
If you read the previous posts...my point is just because you are inexperienced (i.e. freshmen and sophmores) does not matter as much in college basketball. Road games are tough whether you are a freshman or senior. THJ played a horrible game and he is a junior. Inexperience is no excuse for lack of effort in the first half and poor shot selection. That is more on coaching and strategy than inexperience.
Kentucky was one of the youngest teams in the country and won it all. Our more talented team should have overcome the situation better than they did. I am not just brushing off this loss as "oh well we are young." Shouldn't matter. Play better.
January 13th, 2013 at 5:02 PM ^
Hold on. Did you just say that we're more talented than Kentucky last season? Are you crazy? UK had four first-round picks (including the #1 and #2 players overall) and two more second-round picks in the NBA draft last season. We have some talent, but we're not even close to that.
And again - even with that unbelievable amount of talent, UK lost twice last year. Even great teams have the occasional bad game. It's not worth going ballistic over.
January 13th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
more talent than OSU. Many people would agree with me on that statement. Clearly not as talented as Kentucky. Simply trying to say talent > experience.
Inexperience is a BS excuse if you are the more talented team.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
bad officiating at key points and us taking dumb 3's.
Glad to see THJ step up late, but Trey, GRII, Nik need to play way better.
Hopefully the young guys will learn from this and it will make them tougher and better going forward., I love this team and still believe in them big time, CBB is too hard to go undefeated.
Go Blue!!!
January 13th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
While we lost I actually feel even better about this team...fighting back from 21 point deficit to make it a game at the end is pretty impressive. as a few people have already said, I think smarter shot selection could be the key...some bad turnovers in the first half as well on off-balance passes. Mcgary had some nice buckets inside and spike albrecht held his own and might've been the key to the lead not going over 21.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:55 PM ^
yawn.. wake me up in 30 years when we can actually beat OSU in any sport on the road.. another pathetic game, and showed how bad all our young players still are
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^
Yep, because breaking a losing streak on the road to ohio definitely is more important than winning conference championships and NCAA Tournament games.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:55 PM ^
I have to agree with someone earlier.
For some reason it seems that osu takes this game way more seriously than us. Fucking sick of it.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^
On the contrary, I think a lot of our guys (particularly Burke) took this game WAY too seriously and tried too hard to force the issue today.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:31 PM ^
Such an odd comment in a 200 post "snowflake" thread, after a couple of 600 post game threads and numerous hype threads.
Stop acting like "we're too cool to care about sports". It's a sports blog fergodsakes.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:55 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:55 PM ^
On the bright side, I think it is a testament to this team that we could play that awfully yet still be in a position to win at the end. Everyone knew the B1G would be a gauntlet. Beilein will be able to use this game as a teaching point, and we will get better as the season marches on.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
Very true. I don't think we can rally play any worse. THJ and Stauskas were 1-9 from 3. That's not going to happen very often.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:09 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^
Serenity now, serenity now, serenity now....
January 13th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
But teaching moments and experience building don't quench our immediate rage!
January 13th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^
My typical post-loss rage is actually pretty quiet today. This was a great learning experience for the team. Against a decent squad in the big ten, you simply cannot come out that flat and expect to win.
I felt the difference was the shot selection in the last 5 minutes. I believe I counted 6 straight 3s, almost all of them early in the shot clock. If Michigan stays patient there, they probably win the game. I expect a 15-20 point win at Crisler.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^
I 100% agree with your post. I also think it will trim the cockiness that couldn't help but build up after feasting on all those cupcakes this season. B1G is all about toughness and smart basketball. Today will teach these kids this.
January 13th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^
Well said by the both of you. I don't find this notion as solace either, making ourselves feel better after that loss; I think it's the actual truth.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
That being said, we can go a LONG way in March if the team can learn from days like this.
Decision making, decision making, decision making.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:00 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 4:30 PM ^
I think our freshman are good, but have had very little experience on the road, against quality competition. They all looked awful today. That, obviously, can change which is why I said we can make a run in March.
Not too sold (and never have been) on Hardaway. I think he forces way too many shots and is far too concerned about pounding his chest and roaring into the crowd than he is leading and providing an example of toughness for our young guys. Had some nice plays down the stretch, but eventually forced of-balance threes when we needed good looks late. Those kind of all too common lapses in judgment under pressure, should be behind a player of his experience.
You may be right in one way, that there is no one dominant team, meaning we have as much of a chance as anyone. But unless we start to move within the offense in the face of long, athletic defenders, we may need to expect packing our bags early in March.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 5:29 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
It's a good lesson for the young guys on our team. You can't open flat like that against a good team on the road. On the other hand, working hard and getting back into the game despite a 20pt deficit is a positive lesson to never give up.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^
"This is a ticket to the Nutcracker."
The tone reminded me of David Boston's "we just need to take care of business" talk. (I think what you say to yourself in these types of statements is far more important than what the other team hears.)
Given that Beilein gave Bacari this duty, I wonder if Beilein had some psychology-fu in mind. Like, over the long run, this young team would benefit from an early game smack-in-the-mouth type experience and having to deal with it.
The Bad Boys Pistons had a motto "Never concede nothing" (double negatives are ok in sports-talk). I wonder if Beilein wanted to instill that through the school of hard knocks? (If so, I doubt he thought the lesson would turn into a 21 point deficit.)
I know this sounds crazy, but that pre-game speech, "Let's walk out there and cruise" doesn't seem like the message you'd want to send before a big game battle.
January 13th, 2013 at 5:58 PM ^
Dude, you saw 30 seconds of what was likely a 10-20 minute pre-game talk.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
Welp - that is over. It hurts a little bit and sucks that we didn't play our best game or even our "average" game.
To me what's most disappointing was the lack of poise. We didn't know time/possession or understand the "moment" well at ALL. It cost us.
This game came down to two things: Attacking the rim and turnovers.
In the first half Ohio was all over us, there is only one way to stop this....get to the free throw line. Instead, we were on our heels throwing the ball away.
Spike understood this and he got us going, we're not even in this game without his contributions in the first half.
With that, there were a number of just bonehead plays. LeVert's bad pass for a huge dunk, Hardaway's throwaway at the end of the first half. It was just stuff that you shouldn't see from ANY team - let alone the #2 team in the country.
In the 2nd half, I think the moment really got to Burke. He seemed to be trying to come home and put a dagger in the hearts of the Buckeyes.
I really liked having Spike run the point because it got us in an offense and allowed Burke to play off the ball and as a part of the offense.
In the 2nd half we had the game...we'd climbed back attacking the basket and it made OSU back off on the pressure. Then Hardaway gets HACKED and it was like "oh man, if they're not calling that...then shit, we better take 3's" then it was like "well if he can't hit 3's...maybe I can" then it was like "damn, we're down 4...let's get back in this game...with a 3!"
We missed all the 3's, they were all bad shots and it was curtains.
We have to learn from this game. You have to understand teams are going to pressure you, you can't curl up and turn your back on it...you have to attack it head on and create plays. You're going to get the other team in foul trouble and it does a few things.
1. Gets you to the line - so you're still getting points
2. Get's the best players and starters out of the game - and when they're out, you make your run
3. When the players come back in the game, they can't be aggressive.
It's very simple, but you have to be mentally tough and attack pressure. You can't shoot over it.
January 13th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
Word up. Good post.
January 13th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
I know we can beat Ohio, but the biggest pain I'm feeling is that we have to wait a while to get our revenge on them.