Grantland on Stauskas and Michigan's Efficient Offense
Not a lot of new info here, but it's always fun to read praise for our favorite Canadian.
My personal favorite part: "All told, it’s going to be very difficult for any team to completely stop the White Wolf of the North. (He’s from Ontario, he plays for the Wolverines, he’s white. I think it works.)"
I kind of really like White Wolf of the North.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
Sorry, I had to.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
The North remembers...
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
Nik Starkskas?
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
I feel like I should respond to this comment, but unfortunately I know nothing.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
ISWYDT
January 23rd, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^
hoooodoor
January 23rd, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
sounds so much better than King Joffrey!
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
This is like porn but better. I'm getting very excited for March.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
"This is like porn but better. I'm getting very excited for March.
Um....I think you're doing it wrong. And i'll bet you're a memorable guy to watch a basketball game with.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
HA,! I thought it sounded better than '"I'm getting tingly".
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
Winter is cu... never mind.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 7:57 PM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
Winter is coming.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:30 AM ^
Could Stauskas be the next Larry Bird?
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
let's not get ahead of ourselves here. i love stauskas. you love stauskas. we all love stauskas. larry bird is one of the 10 best basketball players of all time.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
I love Larry Bird, so does that translate into Stauskas is Larry Bird?
I love Stauskas
You love Stuaskas
We all love Stauskas
I love Larry Bird
Stauskas and Larry Bird are white basketball players.
Stauskas is Larry Bird.
See I knew that C+ in Intro Philosophy was good for something!
January 23rd, 2014 at 3:28 PM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 7:32 PM ^
I think of that every time I see Bill Murray in anything. Or Larry Bird.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
Larry Bird was 89% lifetime. Stauskas is only about 81%
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
I will never understand... why Stauskas wouldn't want to stay an extra year... all this talk about jumping to the NBA ? Who wants to live out of a suitcase, and make the game non-fun and a business, a year early? Like Burke leaving... unless one has kids and a family, then they should stay as long as possible....college life is great.... Why not get an insurance contract, and live it up one (or two) more years in Ann Arbor? Taylor Lewan got it right... that life can wait.....even if it costs one a little bit of money. One gets to be a campus celebrity, living quite the high life.
I sincerely hope that both Stauskas AND McGary read this post of mine..... and that they realize they should stay as long as possible.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
Nik, if you're reading this, please disregard my logic and come back next year. It's the right thing to do!!
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
Stupid iPhone.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
The college life these kids live is much different than the one you or I experienced. Being a D1 athlete requirements an extreme committment between grueling practices, class, media commitments, etc. I'm not saying it isn't enjoyable in many ways just like it was for the rest of us who also worked hard, but I think it makes perfect sense that someone would want to leave that to go make a few hundred thousand or more a year and soon as possible.
January 23rd, 2014 at 1:58 PM ^
Greg. Oden.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
He would need another year of improvement like he had this offseason, to further this thought... both in skill and in bulk too.... if that trajectory continues, then perhaps !!!!!
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
... is he turns out to be like a Manu Ginobili type of player. I don't know if Stauskas is quite as athletic as Manu but their playing styles aren't too different.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
with bulging chest muscles and a raging six pack, is waaaaay sexier than Larry Bird.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
White Wolf of the North ? Not a bad nickname.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
The efficiency of Michigan's offense in conference play so far has been remarkable, coming in at 1.24 points per possession on average for those six games to date. More interesting that this perhaps is that it includes a high of 1.39 against Penn State, and it has not dropped below 1.10 for five games now (1.09 at Minnesota). That is some consistently solid play, I would think.
Last night in particular, we slowed down a team that had an effective possession ratio of over 1.0 and prevented them from doing some of the things that they do well as a result. Ruthless, but in an exellent way.
January 23rd, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
I certainly hope nobody kills themselves on account of this Grantland column.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
God, I really can't stand nicknames that reference a player's race.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
Maybe envision it as 'loup blanc du nord'
January 23rd, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^
...Where would the world be without Clarence "Coffee" Black and the alley-oop?
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
That was a good read. Thanks for sharing.
Nik Stauskas might have just took over my favorite player of all time status from Burke. If he keeps up these numbers, we might have to start comparing his and Burkes numbers from last year...
I don't know how you shut him down. He can spot up from anywhere, create his own shot, drive to the hoop, and dishes the ball nicely. IMO, he needs to touch the ball every time down the floor.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
He's already taken over from the guy who returned when he could've left for the NBA? Won the wooden award? Took us to the national championship?
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
Like I said, "might have"
Plus Trey was supposed to do that anyways. LOL!
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
Stauskas could be something special, but will he achieve Burke status? I don't know....
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
Right. If Nik can keep this level of play up though....we will see I guess.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
I think if he stays another year he'd be a legit contender for the award. There's probably too many hyped up big names this season for him to win it even if he were doing what Burke did last year. The prospect of winning POTY and probably playing for the national championship favorite might be enough to bring him back. He really seems to love playing for this team and that whole class of Levert, GRIII, McGary, Albrecht, and Stauskas are all really tight it seems. If he came back, even without GRIII, the expectations would be through the roof.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^
The Wolf of State Street
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
GAME BLOUSES! You win.
January 23rd, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^
Wasn't sure if this really deserved a thread of its own, but Stauskas has somewhat denied his father's suggestion that he's ready to go pro. Probably just to keep his focus on the season but does say his dad doesn't know what he's talking about FWIW.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10338646/nik-stau…