Kindly consider publicly abstaining from crying about Stauskas and GRIII

Submitted by Blue boy johnson on

Nik and GRIII are having very good freshman seasons, on a very good team, in a very difficult conference.

Did you know, since freshman became eligible  in the early 70's, (sorry Cazzie and Rudy), only 22 freshman have averaged double figure in points their freshman year. Of those elite 22, NIk Stauskas has the 2nd highest free throw % and highest 3 point FG % on anybody in Michigan history.

Stauskas currently ranks 4th all time among M freshman in 3 pointers made with 65, trailing only:

THJ 76

Daniel Horton 74

Lou Bullock 70

Horton and Bullock made their's in an era when the 3 point line was a foot shorter.

GRIII: WTF is up with the disappointment with this kid. GRIII is the most exciting basketball player at Michigan in a generation and a great team player. Many a freshman talented like GRIII have pouted when not the focus of the offense, not this kid, he plays his role and does what is best for the team with nary a complaint. Still, GRIII constantly gets criticism because he doesn't have Zack Novak's or Thad Garner's on court disposition. GRIII on court temperament is similar to the great Glen Rice. Because a GRIII or a Glen Rice aren't theatrical  on the court doesn't for a minute mean they are not intense.

Stauskas and GRIII are far from perfect but Michigan is damn fortunate to have these two in the program, plus they are only going to get better. For a pair of freshman, M has rarely seen better.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised with the ignorant impatience of M fans, I heard similar stupid shit about the Fab Five as freshman as they made their way to the National Championship game.

Name 3FG 3FGA 3FG% FT FTA FT% Avg Season
Steve Grote -- --   75 107 0.7 13 73-74
Phil Hubbard -- --   66 113 0.58 15.1 75-76
Mike McGee -- --   97 122 0.8 19.7 77-78
Eric Turner -- --   72 113 0.64 14.7 81-82
Gary Grant -- --   49 60 0.82 12.9 84-85
Jalen Rose 36 111 0.32 149 197 0.76 17.6 91-92
Chris Webber* 14 54 0.26 56 113 0.5 15.5 91-92
Juwan Howard 0 2 0 77 112 0.69 11.1 91-92
Maurice Taylor* 3 7 0.43 59 98 0.6 12.4 94-95
Louis Bullock* 70 182 0.39 98 117 0.84 13.5 95-96
LaVell Blanchard 33 91 0.36 81 98 0.83 14.4 99-00
Kevin Gaines 24 87 0.28 95 139 0.68 11.7 99-00
Jamal Crawford 33 101 0.33 40 51 0.78 16.6 99-00
Bernard Robinson Jr. 27 78 0.35 93 116 0.8 14.4 00-01
Daniel Horton 74 216 0.34 81 106 0.76 15.2 .02-03
Lester Abram 22 54 0.41 89 104 0.86 10.6 .02-03
Dion Harris 58 170 0.34 61 79 0.77 10.1 .03-04
Manny Harris 42 132 0.32 156 191 0.82 16.1 .07-08
Tim Hardaway Jr 76 207 0.37 91 119 0.77 13.9 .10-11
Trey Burke 57 164 0.35 93 125 0.74 14.8 .11-12
Nik Stauskas 65 142 0.46 49 58 0.85 11.8 .12-13
Glenn Robinson III 18 52 0.35 56 80 0.7 11.1 .12-13

 

DemetriusBrown

February 28th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^

Over anything Ellerbe or Amaker put on the floor. Not long ago it was hard to watch Michigan Basketball. Things have changed. Unfortunately entitled, whining fans will always remain.

mGrowOld

February 28th, 2013 at 3:37 PM ^

Gordie you might want to make sure Coach Beilein sees this as well.  Cause from the looks of his face when Stauskas walked off the floor with about 2 minutes left in the game I don't think he was thinking about his free throw percentage.

I don't know about you but I don't think I've ever seen Beilein get that pissed before.

Lucky Socks

February 28th, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^

I was an above-average player in the IM B league.  Not close to the physical specimen I am today (i.e. more chest hair).

These are kids and they're getting baptized by fire.  Too bad Burke won't stick around to grow with him (he shouldn't) but by most standards GRIII and Nik have exceeded expectations.  

WMU81

February 28th, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^

We dont hate, were just frustrated that we finallly have a good team that could do great things, but to achieve these goals we need our freshman to play like seniors...basically its our own fault for having such high goals..

We still love you Staukas and GRIII

WhoopinStick

February 28th, 2013 at 4:36 PM ^

Nik and GRIII are great Michigan men and talented bball players.  We should all be very thankful they're on our team.    Based on their freshman year performances I can't wait to watch them throughout their careers. 

LSAClassOf2000

February 28th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but it is worth noting here that, without the contributions of Stauskas and Robinson, Michigan loses 30% of its 2,129 points scored to date, and among other things, 246 rebounds (74 offensive, 172 defensive) would not happen. We would also get 65 fewer turnovers and 73 fewer assists, as well as 40 fewer steals and 11 less blocks (significant numbers, some of these, considering the defense overall). Compared to overall stats for the whole team, their value cannot be underestimated, freshmen or not. 

Hello Heisman

February 28th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^

The problem is not really the freshman.  Its that they don't have any senior leadership to rely on.  I know I know, kentucky won NC with freshman.  Our freshman are not that talented.  They are very solid freshman and contributing in a big way to a pretty good team.  I think more of the problem is why a coach in his 6th year at a program has no upper classmen except for Morgan in the rotation.

Blue boy johnson

February 28th, 2013 at 5:27 PM ^

Uptick in recruiting is a major reason why there are no seniors in the rotation. Vogrich and McLimans are seniors but get very little PT, because younger more talented players have taken their spot in the rotation. Vogrich did start the first 6 games of the season before being usurped by Stauskas

Darius Morris would be a senior this season, had he stuck around.

THJ is a junior and 3 year starter, but there is a good chance he won't be around for his senior season.

M just finished a season with 2 great senior leaders, and  won the BIG, so Coach B did have senior leadership in his 5th season, it's not like he's gone 6 years without  any senior leadership.

umchicago

February 28th, 2013 at 5:36 PM ^

we don't have many upperclassmen because cronin had a career ending injury, douglas and novak had to play as true freshmen, smotrycz transferred and DMo left early.  that leaves hardaway, morgan, mclimans and vogrich.  vogrich is another story, i really thought he would become a better version of stu douglas.  not so much.

AlwaysBlue

February 28th, 2013 at 5:19 PM ^

I really have never understood how a former football player can make a negative comment about the previous regime and get blasted here but blasting current players is acceptable.  Maybe most of this comes from the same voices that had little good to say about Stu last year, or were exceedingly anxious to bench Morgan in favor of McGary.   Where was all the expertise about defense when all of this was going on?

 

umchicago

February 28th, 2013 at 5:44 PM ^

or perceived lack thereof.  did you watch the way THJ and Levert shadowed Paul all during the illini game?  that takes huge effort to clamp that guy down.

then there's the msu game when the team quit.  it's one thing to lose, and even lose badly, but don't quit, especially against msu.

then there is both psu games.  their less-talented bigs out worked our bigs in both games.  that is unacceptable.  it comes down to hustle and desire.  we all know it's there.  we saw it against bigger teams like kansas state and pittsburgh.  i think the frustration is now showing on beilein, because he knows it's there too, but for some reason it's gone now.

Wendyk5

February 28th, 2013 at 6:00 PM ^

My theory is they didn't face enough adversity in the beginning of the season to develop that ethic and drive over time, to know how to get out of the hole when they needed to. There was so much over-the-top media attention, and I can't imagine trying to keep it all in perspective as an 18 year-old. 

Lordfoul

February 28th, 2013 at 7:04 PM ^

While we're at it, I would add that we shouldn't be throwing Beilein under the bus just yet.  The man has brought Michigan back and is widely considered to be a great coach, irrespective of a bad loss to PSU.  All of you fans that would turn on him so quickly don't deserve him.

 

Budaseal

February 28th, 2013 at 7:27 PM ^

Just curious, how are you so sure they're giving it their all?  I'm not saying they're not but how are you so sure? 

And here's a hypothetical:  what if you knew GRIII or Stauskas weren't giving it their all?  What if you knew they loafed on certain plays for one reason or another?  Would you criticize them or would they get a pass because they're freshmen/college students? 

 

 

Indiana Blue

February 28th, 2013 at 7:33 PM ^

to not watch the game last night !   But this team is really built around an up-tempo pace and the refs in the B1G have simply ignored all the hand checks and body blows that are by Rule Definition .... FOULS.

Michigan doesn't foul people because we are NOT a physical basketball team.  We are athletic and talented ... but "macho" rule about basketball in the B1G actually hurts us precisely for the same reasons that make us good.  Yes an oximoron ....

Go Blue!

jasonmkeith

February 28th, 2013 at 9:13 PM ^

I'll be the first to admit that the recent struggles have crushed my short sighted expectations of an undefeated season and a national championship, and I have focused that unfettered rage  at the handful of freshmen who show less than "best ever" qualities on the court.

Gordie is right and I'm glad he posted this thread.  We should be enjoying Trey Burke and his POY caliber season.

Now back to my regularly scheduled miserable evening.

Don

February 28th, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^

are the people who were claiming earlier in the season that he had already established himself as A: as good a shooter as Glen Rice; or B: a better shooter than Glen Rice; or C: the best shooter in Michigan history. I heard and read all three statements more than once.

It wasn't Nik making these wild claims, or Beilein, or anybody on the team. It was passionate fans letting their enthusiasm run completely amok over a kid who hadn't even played a single full season yet. Stauskas is going to have a fine career at UM, but he's got a lot of games to play yet before anybody should be comparing him to Michigan's all-time leading scorer and the holder of the NCAA tournament scoring record for the last 23 years.

Good stats & info anyhow Gordie.