Horford to Florida

Submitted by Genzilla on

He'll get the chance to play in a 2-post offense with post up opportunities.  Wishing him the best.

Considering the fact that his brother went there and their sustained success under Donovan, especially in developing big guys, this move makes a lot of sense.

 

Florida has landed Michigan transfer Jon Horford, sources told ESPN. Eligible next season. Will help Gators frontcourt depth.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 26, 2014

Sports

April 26th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^

Why would it be hilarious? The guy gave us four awesome years and, despite not being in love with our scheme, has spoken of Michigan in nothing but loving terms. If he wants to use his one remaining year elsewhere, best of luck to him. 

Blue Bunny Friday

April 26th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^

2010-11 - Scored 58 pts in 29 games.

2011-12 - 9 games played. 24 points. (injured and got a RS)

2012-13 - 2.2 rpg and 2.7 ppg. 

2013-14 - 4.2 rpg and 3.8 ppg.

He was one of 3 team captains this last season, and I have no idea how he was in practice or off the court.  Awesome though? I don't think so.

 

Blue Bunny Friday

April 26th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^

Beilein said in a statement. "He brought great enthusiasm, leadership and work ethic to our program. Jon is a wonderful young man, who has a very bright future ahead of him."

Horford's "I've got to do what's best for me" and "show people how I can play" stuff was just a little off-putting.  It wasn't the system that kept him off the court.  Morgan was significantly more limited in terms of offense and athleticism.

Canadian

April 26th, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^

Tell me why he shouldn't have done what's best for him and his future?? This is what I can't stand about some people, they think that because he plays for your team there is no way another situation could benefit that player in the long run vs the situation here. We are talking about a young man with a Michigan degree under his belt.

This was a decision HE had to make therefore HE should look for the best possible situation.

BlastDouble

April 26th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^

I just think hes gonna get shitted on at Florida like he did here. He also hurt big man recruiting on his way out with his comments. JMo coulda transferred, didn't, he persevered and became the man, that takes heart and guts, JMo was gonna be behind Mitch this year and he took the challenge head on, and might get drafted because of it (probably not tho).

redhousewolverine

April 26th, 2014 at 6:48 PM ^

"Hurt big man recruiting." What are you basing that off of? Just because he said he wanted to go somewhere else and show off his abilities? Has any big man recruit actually said that Jon Horford's statements are negatively impacted their perception of Michigan? It would seem to be baseless speculation that it will actually impact any recruit. I really doubt it makes much of a difference. I think Mitch McGary's draft position is going to be far more important for our big man recruiting efforts.

Plus, it's pretty well known that Beilein's offense doesn't feature big men posting up. He has really embraced new offensive schemes. So what if he wants to go to an offense that features more opportunities for big men. Horford is more of a back to the basket player. According to MHoops front page post on the transfer, Michigan only featured 2.7% of the offense to post-up changes whereas Florida had about 10.8% (citing Synergy Sports, and yes that is contingent on both Donovan's and Beilein's evaluations of their talent on the team and who can actually post-up). 

Jordan Morgan was great and it was a great story that he came back. I will always appreciate him that much more for it. But he is not going to get drafted in the NBA (could sign as a free agent though). Additionally, his style fit the Michigan offensive and defensive scheme much better than Horford's: he was a more mobile pick-and-roll type player than thrived with our various PG's/Stauskas. He didn't post-up much. Also, just because Morgan made the decision to come back doesn't mean we should value Horford's dedication to the team over the last four years any less. You can appreciate Morgan more but don't castigate Horford for making a decision that he thought and honestly might be the best decision for himself. He doesn't need to give up his chances for our fan allegiances. 

Blue Bunny Friday

April 26th, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^

That's fine. Don't get so angry. 

He can certainly do whatever he thinks is best for him.  I think what he said was not reality (that he needs a different system to play the way he does) and didn't need to be said (doing what's best for me? no shit...).  

The guy was a 2* recruit with Providence and Cal providing competition in his recruitment.  He's had a 2-3* career as an individual, but he thinks it's someone else's fault that he's not climbing draft boards.

If he somehow turns into an NBA player, then I'll buy his jersey.  Good luck, Mr. Horford.

  

redhousewolverine

April 26th, 2014 at 6:56 PM ^

To an extent, you're probably right. I don't know if he can be an NBA player in a system that suits him. But we won't know until he tries. I wouldn't hold his explanation for leaving against him because he's right. If he wants a shot at the NBA, he needs a system that allows him to do what he is good at. Michigan might not be the best place for that. McGary is going pro because he has the physical tools and abilities that Horford lacks. Thus, Mitch could play in Michigan's system and still be an NBA player. Horford needs a system that shows he has developed into more than a 2-3 star recruit and can offer NBA or other pro teams something other players dont' offer.

Franz Schubert

April 26th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^

His comments were a negative for Michigan and Beilein. No one cares and has any issue with his right to do what he believes is best for him but he should have kept his mouth shut. The other issue is hyperbolic descriptions as "Awesome" and overstating his contributions. He was not very good, borderline worthless beginning at the Big Ten tournament when he was moping around the court and was called out by Beilein. There was a big blowup. If anyone thinks Horford wasn't taking shots at Beilein, you are mistaken.

Oscar

April 26th, 2014 at 1:36 PM ^

But conversely he left when Michigan needed him the most.  Plus, the way things turned out, it looks like he really screwed himself over for playing time, I doubt he'll get anymore minutes than he averaged while here.

Franz Schubert

April 26th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^

Did you miss Horford taking semi-veiled shots at Michigan and Beilein? He didnt have to say anything but he's mad about playing time. This was never about system, look at Mcgary and Morgan they did very well in this system. Horford was mad because he didnt play more.

 

Daniel Feldman @danfeldman31 · Apr 10 When I spoke to Horford's trainer and "best friend," Larry Turnbow, he had some choice words about Beilein and RE: Horford's playing time.

 

 

Mark Snyder ‏@Mark__Snyder · 2h Horford on Florida: "I believe in the coaching staff and they believe in me."

Yeoman

April 26th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^

"Mcgary and Morgan they did very well in this system"

As high posts, facing the basket, setting ball screens. It's certainly possible for a big man to do well in Beilein's system and in McGary's case it was even possible to showcase himself for the NBA, but if the skill you want or need to showcase, or just feel you need to develop, is your low-post offense, it's the wrong place.

That's no more a "knock on Beilein" than saying RR's offense is probably the wrong place for a traditional tight end or iso-blocking fullback.

Franz Schubert

April 26th, 2014 at 4:30 PM ^

Did well posting up during the Final Four run, as well as the other elements you mentioned. The bigs get plenty of post touches but unfortunately Horford and Morgan just didn't convert much when posting. Horford turned the ball over at an unprecedented rate when given the ball in the post.
The fact is that blaming the system is an excuse when in reality Horford was upset over playing time.

In reply to by Franz Schubert

Yeoman

April 26th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^

See my comment below for some data. Michigan went low post almost twice as often this year as last, and they still had fewer low-post touches than any other team in the conference. Michigan's bigs get half the low-post touches of an average team's, and that's in a year of relatively heavy usage. Last year they got a quarter of the average, about two touches per game total. Adreian Payne gets triple that by himself.

And efficiency on those touches was up over last year, despite the loss of McGary.

Relative to the league, Horford and Morgan got the fewest touches by far and were above average converting them.

pescadero

April 27th, 2014 at 2:31 PM ^

It's mistaking effect for cause.

 

Michigan went to the post very little BECAUSE they lacked talented post players.

 

The lack of post touches didn't cause Horford's poor play - 

Horford (and Morgan) lacking post talent is the cause of the lack of post touches.

 

Yeoman

April 27th, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^

Michigan goes to the post very little because Beilein is the head coach and his teams have never, in three plus decades of coaching, gone to the low post very often. If you look at his base sets it's not hard to figure out why that might be.

If the supposedly poor play of Horford and Morgan are the reason for the small number of low post looks, why were there twice as many this year as last when McGary was playing? Why is the efficiency on low post plays up over last year? Why is the efficiency on low post plays higher than 9 of the 11 other B1G teams?

 

pescadero

April 27th, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^

Michigan goes to the post very little because Beilein is the head coach and his teams have never, in three plus decades of coaching, gone to the low post very often.

 

Belein in three plus decades hasn't gone to the post often because he has NEVER in those three decades had a good post player.

 

McGary WAS NOT a good post player.

Yeoman

April 27th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^

Have you ever looked at his sets? They're available on line--he's been running the same stuff, refining it over time, for over thirty years.

Your argument is precisely parallel to, and just as silly as, somebody saying that Rich Rodriguez runs read option because he never had a talented fullback.

M-Dog

April 26th, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^

+1,000.

He went out with class, to an envrionment that he perceives to be a better fit for him.  He did not try to burn the program down on the way out the door like Justin Boren did.  He actually set a good example of how to do what he did.

 

cbs650

April 26th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^

you really think his parents, his brother would advise Ro go there if he didn't have the opportunity to play? and how do we know this is about playing time as much as it is about Donovans work with big men. He's produced Noah, Horford, David Lee and now Young. And no I'm not saying Horford is better than any of those guys. And I don't think Donovan is just throwing him a bone.

freejs

April 26th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^

He's his HALF-BROTHER. 

How people continually miss this (not saying you are), is beyond me. 

But Jon and Al have totally different bodies, because, you know, different sets of genes. 

Best of luck to him, but if he thinks Billy Donovan is going to give him some sort of leash to work things out in most games, I think he's mistaken. 

Donovan is an intense dude. It's certainly worth a shot for Jon, but I hope he has no illusions about what he's stepping into (and it kind of sounds like he does). 

 

freejs

April 26th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^

let's even take an NBA team deciding whether or not to devote any scouting resources to Jon Horford down at Florida next year (moot point, as they will be there for Walker, but work with me here). 

If Jon, at 6'10", but not remotely on their radar, was headed down to play for Donovan, as Al Horford did, do you honestly think it wouldn't make a difference to them whether Jon was Al's full or half brother???

You don't think that the former would be more likely to create interest for them and lead them to giving Jon a second look? 

Oscar

April 26th, 2014 at 5:54 PM ^

"You don't think that the former would be more likely to create interest for them and lead them to giving Jon a second look? "

Well if that was your basis for pointing out that they were half brothers then yes, we were not understanding each other.  So to answer your question, you are probably right, I guess it would make a difference, but I wouldn't think it would make that big a difference.  But if Jon was as good as Al, then it would not matter if they were full, half or not brothers.

freejs

April 26th, 2014 at 7:06 PM ^

seeing as Jon is 6'10" and not a terrible basketball player, I would have always been looking for something more out of him and always thought something more was possible. 

Knowing he only had half of the genes that helped make Al such a great player, and being able to see that Jon is slight in the hips (Al's not huge there, but he's bigger than Jon) and much more narrow up top, I wasn't quite as optimistic. 

It was also possible to wonder if Jon's injuries were what made him so stiff, when Al is such a fluid athlete, but knowing that they have a different genetic makeup makes me think that Jon has been slowed by injuries, but just isn't going to bring that fluidity to the table. 

In summary, I would have had higher hopes for Jon's potential if they were full brothers, and I think an NBA exec would look at things similarly. 

freejs

April 26th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^

definitively increases the odds that you have different genes than your half-sibling. Your logic chain seems to come at this from the completely wrong direction. 

If you look at Al and Jon together, you see two different body types. Jon is much more straight up and down - he's a tall kid who is not unathletic, but Al is a tall kid who is very athletic. 

Seeing as there's a difference, one might imagine that having approximately 50% of one's genes coming from another source might have real world implications. 

 

Oscar

April 26th, 2014 at 3:05 PM ^

"Your logic chain seems to come at this from the completely wrong direction."

My logic chain?  When did I ever suggest that Al and Jon had similar physical traits?  If anything, your logic chain is wrong.  Genes are not the determining factor in success.  Yes it is a factor, but not the factor.  Which is why I asked what difference does it make if they are full brothers or not.