Horford opens up on reasons for transfer; knows McGary decision

Beliens system allows a GOOD Big man to flourish..with all the attention drawn to the guards how many dunks and pic n rolls did u see this tournament and for that matter all year long. Horford has to admit that maybe hes not all that talented..I hate the way he hurt recruiting on the way out the door. but if hes unhappy by all means leave..I wish him well just think its a what about ME? mentality...its not about any one two or three players its allllllll about MICHIGAN...and winning FOR MICHIGAN

Probably as interested was Mitch already made up his mind before the draft advisory results came back.  I am not sure which way that makes him lean but interesting.

"I'm not at liberty to speak about it now, but I already know what Mitch is going to do. Mitch has already told me. (His decision), though, wasn't a factor in my decision."

Of course it means he knows Mitch is staying. Horford wants minutes -- that's his main goal. If Mitch leaves, Horford is a starter. No way he leaves there. Obviously, once he learned Mitch was staying, Horford bolted -- especially since Donnal will eat up a lot of "big" minutes as well. This is a no-brainer. Players aren't that complicated. I can't believe some people think otherwise.

I dont think we can read anything in that article about Mitch. My reading is that Jon feels he took a chance the past 4 years regarding getting the playing time he believes he needs and deserves, and didnt get it. Going forward, he is not taking any more chances. Staying in a guard-oriented system is, to him, too much of a risk after the past 4 years. For Horford, its about managing risk, no matter if he is competing with Mitch or a totem pole. Staying in Belein's 'system' is too much of a risk for him. He sees himself having one more shot at the NBA, and he has to maximize his opportunity to get there.  

I personally think Mitch is gone. 

I respect Jon Horford a lot and wish the best for the kid, but I'd be surprised if he was a major contributor anywhere else next year.  Whatever his reasons for leaving, he wasn't going to get more playing time than he would if he stayed with Michigan.  The sad thing is that he could've had a Morganesque season next year by choosing to stay.  Oh well, I hope it works out for him.

I guess he expects the consistent foul trouble and injuries to not affect playing time at all? what a bunch of BS. 

Crap double post....first time for everything! 

Hilarious read. Horford's family has finally convinced him that he deserves what he doesn't. They must think he's a better player than how he plays. If we could have the starting five with Morgan play the starting five with Horford, Horford's team would lose by 15 to 20. The team was that much worse with him on the floor. Both McGary and Morgan have developed and had huge impacts on the offense. And I wouldn't give Horford the ball in the post either because he didn't get high percentage shots.

Wish him luck.  I'm not going to crap on a kid who gave 4 years to this school and did so with pride and respect.  

I'm sorry but Horford got plenty of chances. He was missing bunnies left and right and was subpar defensively. Think he's taking a cheap shot at Beilein. The system is fine, Horford just isn't very good.

Back to the basket old school centers are getting more and more rare every year.

Ha! He's so full of it! Bottom line, forget what he said about coach B's system, it's great for bigs and better for guards. He feels slighted bc he knows mcgary is comin back and knows with Mitch and donnal, chances are that Jon doesn't play much. Thanks for ur services, but, understandably u want more minutes and are not gonna get it here! Also, I'm sure that if coach knows Mitch isn't comin back, he would've tried a little harder to keep horford around.

Epke left and did pretty well. Not saying Jon will make an NBA roster but I'm certain he is thinking about Udoh.

It kinda rubs me the wrong way that his family have been telling him to transfer for FOUR years.  Although I do think his departure and statement about McGary's decision mean McGary is coming back, it's possible Beilein told him he would be splitting time with Donnal and he just wants starter's minutes.  If he was going to get that here I don't see why he'd transfer.  McGary has shown it's possible to be an animal in Beilein's system.

Horford has devoted four years to the team, and that's a credit to him, especially with the (what seems to me to be bad) advice coming from his family.  Who knows though, maybe they're right and he will blossom into an NBA caliber player with enough playing time.

... But I'm bemused by the comments to the effect of "it's not the system, he's no good, he's making a mistake 'cause he'd get minutes here". If he's no good, why do you care if he transfers? If he's really not good enough for you, he should definitely go somewhere he can get starters minutes and get better. And if he is good enough, you're basically casting aspersions on a guy because you don't like the reality in front of him. That would be a sad way to go through life. Personally, I think he's likely to be a solid but not spectacular on ball defender who will be overmatched by bigger and stronger posts ... Of course, there aren't a lot of those. He probably has a low post move or two that he can use to be a solid option at the offensive end as well, but he wouldn't be better than the eighth option in A2 even if none of our Big Three come back. If he wants to develop and showcase that he should leave - simple as that. We'll miss him and hope he does well except against us.

I also still think all three are going to the NBA. Frankly, I was looking forward to having another 5th year senior center as a starter. Playing for Michigan next year with good odds of a B1G champ ring and a deep run in the tourney would be really good advertising for his basketball future. This hurts, and it's worse that he's saying that his lack of production is coach's fault. What a crock of slimy worm feces. This dude, as stated above, has Europe written all over him. He went to the National Championship game and Elite 8 and now he's leaving?? Have fun watching Michigan in the tourney next year from home, dude. I wish him luck but it's a Big mistake for him, his family and his career IMO.

IMO, this season he was a momentum killer. Wasn't physical, no post moves and slow on defense. Not trying to attack him personally, but hopefully he can find a small college to perform at to his expectations against lesser opponents.

...was almost sure to be defensive in nature.  First, Beilein and his staff have often commented on JMo's ability to direct the defense and never spoke one word about Horford's ability to do the same.  Second, the eye test on Horford defending a ball screen showed me how late and slow he was to recover to the big after flashing to the ball.  And I don't think it's coincidence that UK rebounded over 60% of its misses in a game where JMo was in foul trouble.  Third, it's reflected in the +/-: JMo avg. +/- per game was 6.4; Horford, 3.5.