Burke: Michigan Lacked Heart
"We just have, I don't know, man," a despondent Burke said. "Learn from it, I guess.
"They just played with much more intensity, much more heart. They beat us. Simple as that."
"It came down to heart, really," Burke said. "It came down to toughness, and we didn't play with that the last four or five minutes.
"There were a couple times they got to the rim, we could have taken a charge, but we didn't. They got to the rim, they hit 3's and we didn't respond."
February 28th, 2013 at 6:55 AM ^
I was going to say no shit, but duh works as well
February 28th, 2013 at 9:23 AM ^
teach heart.
February 28th, 2013 at 5:37 AM ^
I feel as if the frosh aren't mentally able to uphold the intensity and an overall competitive attitude throughout a whole game; especially on the road. They didn't play a schedule like this last year, and the effects (wear and tear) are extremely stark now.
Additionally, I'd rather see more rotation with our bigs to, at the very least, rest the shooters. They may provide the "barracks" so to speak for our offensive weapons, producing more runs leading to a controllable tempo leading to more sustainable leads.
February 28th, 2013 at 5:56 AM ^
The frosh talk is crap. Two are strictly role players and another our third option. We're no more dependent on our freshmen than other B1G teams.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:53 AM ^
You've counted three of five freshmen in our rotation. Please name who, in your opinion, fills the roles you described.
What you're saying is crap. There is nobody in the top half of the B1G who is more dependent on freshmen than Michigan.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
It's less the freshmens' fault than ours. They are freshmen fighting through the Big Ten on the road. If we are honest with ourselves, they are tracking pretty much as you would expect. The Fab Five and last year's Kentucky team are not the norm.
We set our sights on nothing less than a Big Ten Championship, the BTT Championship, a 1-seed, and the Final Four at minimum. By that standard, yes they are underachieveng. By normal realistic standards, they are about on course. We need to deal with it.
February 28th, 2013 at 9:03 AM ^
I agree with this. There is so much talent and the ability to run away with the game if two or three guys heat up. But these contributors are freshman, and while I'm not blaming them for underachieving, I have to say they are pretty inconsistent. I just can't decide if the lack of effort is more on JB or the players. For me, it's safe to assume the latter and go with "freshman nerves", to summarize.
February 28th, 2013 at 9:48 AM ^
Yes. It's all about expectations with fans. The majority of us enjoy basketball but haven't had any expectations for years, really. This is the first year I've felt it and its crushing when they are not met. Time to adjust the expectations quickly!
February 28th, 2013 at 10:37 AM ^
Yes, but what were your expectations heading into the season, and were they realistic? That loss last night was very disappointing, but the team is still 23-5, which is nothing to sneeze at, and it's about where I expected them to be given how difficult it is to win on the road in the Big Ten.
I think the team will finish strong in conference play, and you never know what might happen in the NCAA tourney.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:00 PM ^
You're definitely right. But it was too hard to not think of them as a #1 seed and a Final Four favorite. Its almost impossible to get caught up in the chatter. I think that's the definition of fanaticism. Or something.
February 28th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^
And lost 8 regular season games as freshmen.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
This is great perspective, for sure. However, we were pretty positive that none of them were leaving for the NBA. This year, I think a lot of us believe that both Burke and Hardaway will be gone next year (or at least Burke). That's like taking Webber and Jalen away, maybe moreso. But what you said is definitely a good thing to remember.
February 28th, 2013 at 5:56 AM ^
smarts, and toughness , and D, and road acumen etc etc. Very young team. Guys that think they are NBA ready are not. So do we win out or lose out. We shall see what our coach and players are made of within 2 weeks.
February 28th, 2013 at 6:20 AM ^
He is already stating what the world knows now...but the problem is some of our players diappear for very long stretches, it amazes me. Yeah someone can have a bad game here or there, still though with this talent, this loss should not have happened. I have to wonder whats up with JB, I mean he brought us out of the dark ages and now it seems like he is at a coahing roadblock for some reason...
February 28th, 2013 at 6:23 AM ^
I haven't looked at the previous threads on the PSU game, so I'm probably repeating something already said, but I think rather than "heart" or "toughness" what this team lacks is leadership. Novak would have willed the team to a victory last night, and his leadership void simply hasn't been filled.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
Save yourself some pain and heartache and avoid those previous threads like the plague.
February 28th, 2013 at 6:36 AM ^
Don't forget him crying about the refs. That's what losers do.
February 28th, 2013 at 9:14 PM ^
After the MSU debacle, people were complaining that Beilein needs to complain to the refs before UM plays a physical team. Now c/o officiating is whining. Last night, UM shut down completely after being ahead by 13. Hard to explain. This team has reached it's zenith for this year. Burke is gone for sure, GRIII could leave and next year is not looking so good.
February 28th, 2013 at 6:39 AM ^
is heart spanish for defense or something?
February 28th, 2013 at 7:35 AM ^
was Italian for "Rebounding"
February 28th, 2013 at 8:40 AM ^
It's Flemish for "Composure"
February 28th, 2013 at 6:44 AM ^
Penn St. definitely didnt play like they are ranked. Defense or not, that team could not miss at all. Long jump shots and threes were all going in. That said, JB is not coaching this team at all. Young team with no leadership, he better get his shit together if he wants to continue to coach at michigan.
February 28th, 2013 at 6:51 AM ^
At least the hockey program isn't the joke of the school this week.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:26 AM ^
I started not watching a couple of weeks ago. Not that I don't care but I just can't live or die with this team anymore. They have not played we'll for a month and I realized I have a life. Last night was my birthday party and I was damn sure not going to ruin it by watching that crap live. This team needs a pair of balls, immediately.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:31 AM ^
terrible iPhone grammar sorry
February 28th, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
that they share those two balls, one guy puts one in his pocket and keep one on the bench, or have them both in the game at all times and risk a possible season-ending injury?
February 28th, 2013 at 9:35 AM ^
HaHa. Boy my school has fallen down hard when fanboys accept this performance and shrug their shoulders.
February 28th, 2013 at 9:54 AM ^
...he was being snarky, not accepting. It was funny.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:34 AM ^
maybe Burke calling the team out this way will be good for us in the long run. I'm sure it doesn't feel good to get your toughness questioned by a leader
February 28th, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^
I doubt it. This sounds like a weak response and he's talking to the media. We've played with a lack of heart for the last month and clearly no one has gotten to them about that and I doubt it starts after the fifth loss.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:39 AM ^
as it was a lack of defense... We had like 3 minutes in there where we didn't score a point that saw them go on a 10-0 run, but 76 points should be enough be beat Penn State any day
February 28th, 2013 at 7:42 AM ^
The team is playing like one that believes it won something in December and doesn't have to prove itself anymore. I guess that's a lack of heart. Maybe more of a lack of hunger, which is unconscionable considering they haven't won anything. It's all gone downhill since they were expected to be ranked number one vs. OSU in January.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:48 AM ^
Was a neutral court. From what I understand, that seems to be death to anyone who plays Michigan. I wonder if being undefeated at home will help kill that stupid thought as Crisler is not a neutral court, either.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:03 AM ^
They hadn't won a B1G game this season. They were missing their best player. There is NO excuse for this abortion of a game. None. Home, Neutral, on the moon. This should have been a victory.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:46 AM ^
Ah, the moon. Isn't that where MD found some guy named "Bollman" due to low galatic spacefare from last season?
February 28th, 2013 at 8:03 AM ^
I wonder how many times UK went to the 'We're a young team' card last year? BS excuse in March.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:06 AM ^
Does anyone know exactly what Stauskus did or didn't do to cause Beilein to go all Brian Kelly on him? I know he was terrible down the stretch, but missed the exact cause of the blowup. Was it the sloppy pass into the lane that was picked off for a turnover / breakaway / dunk?
February 28th, 2013 at 8:13 AM ^
I thought it was his absolute lack of effort in closing out on the previous PSU drive to the basket for a score. On the replay it looked like he just watched the play from the middle of the key while their guy beat a double team and drove the baseline.
A better question would be why did this surprise Beilein? Not like Stauskas has played D this season at any point up to then.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:21 AM ^
I think Nik Stauskas is one of the more over-hyped Michigan basketball players I've seen in a long, long time.
But hey, he's a killer shooting in his driveway, so there's that.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:28 AM ^
When he was actually getting the hype he was one of the best shooters in America as a freshman. That's not overhyped. No one is talking about him anymore. Seems pretty on point to me.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:33 AM ^
But he was "back" a few weeks ago, according to him.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
seventeen years old and likes the Beaver. He's gonna be great, but not on D this year.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:39 AM ^
His defensive liabilities have been obvious all season, and there have been more than a couple games since the start of the conference season where he was invisible offensively. Yet it was barely two weeks ago here that we were subjected to that dumbass "Blouses Stauskas" stuff.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:39 AM ^
Gotta love 60-year olds mocking 19-year olds anonymously on the Internet because they didn't win a game of basketball for their favorite team.
February 28th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
Gotta love the traditional calling up of the antiquated self-righteous internet proscription on complaining about young adults who play for sports teams. Its very aught of you.
By the way, what is the elusive prescriptive formula to determine the age at which one adult cannot complain about another adult on a sports team? Perhaps, 1.5[the player's age] if the player's age is less than 25, but with a decreasing multiplying ratio as the player's age increases above 25? Does the formula change if the complainer is not anonymous? Do you mind just giving us the formula?
February 28th, 2013 at 9:50 AM ^
I have never even remotely felt better ripping my team after a bad loss, but go ahead, if that's your thing.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:55 PM ^
Who only comes around during the bad times.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
Yeah it must be that play, but like said, the PSU Guy beat by a DOUBLE TEAM already and for Stauskas to fully come help would have given anyone else coming trough the lane a free basket, anyway. Yeah I guess get/stop the man with the ball first but the fact he beat a fuggin' double team consisting of a PG and our Big Man in the first place isn't Stauskas' fault, it's an overall bad concept of defense to begin with. Beilein was as livid as I've ever seen, but I don't get why, nothing about that particular play was any revelation about how this team plays at times.