mmwade

March 2nd, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^

For the first time I can remember this year, towards the end of the Penn State game, Belein completely lost it on the sideline.   What caused Belein's freak-out? Stauskas and his defense or lack thereof.

I wonder if Stauskas does not start versus MSU and if so:

a) start McGary and Morgan to counter MSU's size and rebounding

b) start Lavert to get more active hands/feet in the game to pressure Harris

Even if sitting Stauskas is not the long term solution I think it might be a great message to the team that if your defense is sub-par you are going to sit. Also, it seemed to me Stauskas played with a chip on his shoulder early in the year when he was not starting.  Coming off the bench could re-insert that chip. 

There are no silver linings from the Penn State loss unless it serves as a wake up call.  Sitting someone for poor defense can help make it that wake up call, IMO.

MGlobules

March 2nd, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^

which is up at umhoops, you will find that he addresses the question. He said that Stauskas failed to recover and guard on one play but that it was a non-issue. He noted that Stauskas has played his heart out, contributed mightily to the team, worked hard and improved, and that everyone played bad D during the game. Not an issue for Beilein, clearly. Those interviews are both very revealing and candid. As with many of Michigan's coaches, they help you to appreciate the guy. 

HelloHeisman91

March 2nd, 2013 at 11:25 AM ^

We have one of the youngest teams in the country in a year that when the best hit the road there is a great chance they are going to lose and you will be disappointed with a 3 seed? Getting a seed that essentially says that your a top 10 team in a year like this combined with the youth and the recent history of this program is outstanding.

85Lee

March 2nd, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^

Our record is solid, but their is definitely obvious that we are sliding backwards. Hopefully, the loss to psu has a positive affect, but this is not the same team from earlier this year.

LSAClassOf2000

March 2nd, 2013 at 8:56 AM ^

Beilein did put something into an interesting perspective in the presser, I thought. When he was discussing the overall record and how, in his view, they were not struggling and that if that was "struggling", there are a lot of teams that are. Looking at overall records for a second, it is interesting to note then that there are in fact only 12 teams in all of Division I with exactly 23 wins, and only 11 teams with more than that. There are also almost 330 teams with more than 5 losses too, so in that sense, all things considered, we're still in rather rarified air. 

 

Leonhall

March 2nd, 2013 at 8:58 AM ^

Agree but we have looked horrible for a month. If the two home wins were at Illinois and penn state, we would have lost both, couple that with a loss at penn state and you have the makings of things going very bad, very quick. Most of those wins came early and against marginal competition. This team has a lot to prove IMO, they need a victory badly on Sunday or I'm afraid we won't win another until B1G tourney time.

UMgradMSUdad

March 2nd, 2013 at 9:46 AM ^

A victory on Sunday would certainly be huge, but I will be happy if they battle and play with poise.  If Michigan (or IU or MSU) were in any other league in the nation, they would likely either be undefeated or have at most one or two losses in league play.

The loss against Penn St. really sucked, but perhaps it was just what this team needed right now.  A close victory doesn't get a team's attention the same way a loss does, and this team needs to be able to compete as a team the entire game.

Leonhall

March 2nd, 2013 at 9:49 AM ^

Should not be mentioned in the same breath as IU or MSU right now, we are a rattled team that plays poor defense, we need a victory bad but unless we get better defensively, it's not going to happen.

mGrowOld

March 2nd, 2013 at 10:54 AM ^

I'm guessng Mgovideo is the new monilor for my old friend Thorin?  When did that happen?

Personally I have decided I don't want to be called Mgrowold anymore.  From this day forward I would appreciate it if all of you would refer to me by my new name:

Thorin

March 2nd, 2013 at 2:02 PM ^

I didn't post in the more than one account thread, but Boyz n da Pahokee was my second account. Later, I changed it to Thorin which is my real first name. An MGoLawyer has since advised me that having my real name connected online to mgovideo may not be the best idea.

Spunky

March 2nd, 2013 at 3:18 PM ^

I enjoy all of your comments, and I call you "Hot Wife" while reading them. It will be quite the adjustment to see your posts and think of you as "The blogger formerly known as MGrowOld."

Additionally, I have nicknames for nearly everyone on the board. Mgovideo/Thorin was "Video Man," but now I'll call him "Outlaw Cameraman" (no offense, mgovideo). Chunkums is "Pinky" for his handling of Denard in that great Taylor Twosie gif. LSAClassOf2000 is "Brony with Stats." I keep these nicknames rather simple, I guess.

After this post, I should change my own name to "NotSoSpunkyB." Actually, that name was probably appropriate after my first comment on this blog. [Sighs]