Burke-Floor General and Defense
After watching Syracuse send two long, athletic guards to pester Burke around the half-court line, I suddenly knew what Shaka Smart meant about "heating up the point guard", but Burke did not overheat, so to speak...
That does not show up on the stat sheet but limiting turnovers was a huge plus.
I don't think he ever forced stuff. The games where he took a lot of shots were because nobody was stepping up and he needed to. If he didn't do that, then we lose a bunch of other games most notably Purdue, and our offense was one of the best in the country with an occasional bad game at MSU, at Ohio. The real reason we had seven losses was defense and rebounding which have been steller in the tournament.
I'm not criticizing you, but I can't understand this view, which others here seem to agree with, all with the "stats aside" caveat. I watched the entire game and did not think Burke was a factor at all--apart from the undeniable fact that Syracuse paid lots of attention to Burke. Now that does mean he was a important factor in the win, and Syracuse (and everyone else) building their game plans against him is an advantage in our favor, but this continues a trend that apart from one half has occurred the entire tournament. IMO, for the player of the year (deservedly so), and accounting for the fact that he has other talented players around him, he has not looked like it for most of this tournament. I think if you never watched him in the regular season and only saw him in the tournament, most people would be like "why does he get so much hype?"
And a better thread title. An orignal thought clearly expressed in the OP would be nice too, bro.
With that said, we are in the NC game. Typical board etiquette should not apply.
We have established that we can win without hitting on all cylinders--Big 3 shooters 5 for 29 agin Cuse. We have now beaten (at least) 3 different types of defenses that were supposed to shut us down. Anyone watching the Wichita State game yesterday knows Louisville can be beaten and has its own share of limitations. If Louisville plays great, we just got to play "greater"---if we play poorly, we just got to make them play worse. One game---however, it gets done. And the fact that Trey didn't do anything special last night just makes me more optimistic that he will tomorrow.
mcgary is doing it alone inside like a superstar.
Project this tournament numbers over the course of the season and Mcgary would be all-american...
In fact he will be next year..
If NBA scouts are telling him he's suddenly a lottery pick, that would be hard to pass up. Especially if MIchigan wins on Monday night.
I disagree about tourney MVP. McGary has been the best and most consistent player on our team thoughout the tourney. Burke had the big 2nd half and OT against Kansas, but throughout the tournament it's been McGary.
True, but if he wasn't absent in the first half he wouldn't have had to go off like that in the 2nd half. Let's not forget that McGary had 25pts, 14reb, 3stl, 1ast, and 1blk in that game. We don't win without him either.
Obviously the offense runs through Burke, and I'm not discounting anything he's done, I just feel McGary has been the more consistent and better overall player throughout the tourney. It's not a huge difference, but a difference nonetheless.
Kid is a Michigan legend. If he doesnt have the greatest scoring game and others step up ( which they did) then I could care less.. I do believe we will have a better offensive game Monday. The 2-3 zone was a tough one. A lot tougher than when we got pressed all game vs. VCU.. Transition is our game so I think our chances are good.
What should I title my threads?
Please make your thread titles as informative as possible: "Justin Feagin" is bad. "Justin Feagin leaving the team?" is good.
I knew you would be the one to post this.
Syracuse probably would have bricked the next shot anyways....but Hardaway's save did help us breathe easier faster...
pedestrian in this tournament save for the brilliant second half versus Kansas. Sir Charles ALWAYS performed in the biggest games. You cannot say that for Burke.
Since you decided to bring in players from other sports I would have to remind you that Marty Turco and Brendan Morrison were here in 1998. I'd say both were better than Burke. This isn't to forget to mention Denard, Jake Long, Mike Hart, and a softball player or two.
Burke has had a great season, but he is behind Grant, Rose, and Ricky Green.