VIDEO: MSU Preview
But, I agree completely.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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]