Rumormongering: Burke Departure, Gardner WR Prospects
A couple of good sources have passed along information about Michigan's hot topics du jour.
On Trey Burke. This should not be a scenario like Harris or Morris where the player leaves for dim draft prospects. In Harris's case he wanted out no matter what; Morris had people in his inner circle pushing him into the draft.
Burke is not either of those guys. If the NBA does not tell him he is a first round lock, he'll be back. Since that doesn't seem in the cards—name the last one-and-done under six feet tall—Michigan should avoid the terrifying prospect of entering next year with no point guard at all.
On Devin Gardner. Someone who's seen Gardner at all of Michigan's practices so far says he's "instantly Michigan's best receiver and adds a new dimension to the offense." He's "crazy athletic" with "surprisingly great hands." The one complication for Gardner-to-WR is the situation at quarterback, where he's still the clear #2 option. Gardner is still taking all the second team QB reps.
/end inside info, begin speculation
A lot of people have been mentioning Woodson when talking about this when trying to guess how much playing time is reasonable for a guy who's still full time at a second position. He got 10-15 snaps a game on offense back in '97. Gardner may start at that level, but if it's crunch time and he's 6'5" with a city block catching radius…
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
"Burke Departure" scared the shit out of me!
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^
Morris apparently was in the "just wanted to leave" camp as well. Insiders have said that he just plain was tired of being a college student.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^
i heard the same. and though he denies it, dollars to donuts says that if you gave him thruth syrum, he would tell you that he made a mistake.
an LA kid is now an LA Laker... chances he regrets that are nil
They always over value themselves and they never admit that they made a mistake.
Isn't he back on the team now?
He is, he got 2 minutes last night and made a bucket. Still, he hasn't had anything but mop-up time since Blake came back from his injury, and that was only because Fisher was too old to play more than 25 minutes a game. He'll probably stay on the roster for the rest of the year, and get in once every 5 games for 2-3 minutes at the end. The real question will be if he can improve enough over the off-season to get another contract.
The Lakers' worst position group is PG. If a PG can't make a roster spot for the Lakers, he won't make it anywhere else.
I think the Lakers take Burke in the first round of the upcoming NBA draft.
Why did they bring him back up so soon after they optioned him to the D-league? Something to do with the Sessions trade?
I think they were worried about Sessions being available the day after the trade. I'm not sure it indicates that Morris will be up for the rest of the season.
Who's "they"?
yeah I'm pretty sure there is some regret. At least nil sized.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^
Yeah, but I think he liked the team and coach B quite a bit more. I would say moreso that he "wanted to play pro ball" than he "just wanted to leave." He really like beating MSU. Manny Harris had some well-documented problems with JB and was even suspended during his career for a practice incident.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
It may have been that he enjoyed college basketball, but did not enjoy being a full-time college student on top of it. In the NBA, you don't have to write term papers and take bluebook tests.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
I predict Gardner will catch a last second tipped Hail Mary from Denard and fall into the endzone for a game winning TD against Sparty this year.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
yeah, fuck that. We need to crush Sparty this year.
I want to embarass those fuckers
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
That many?
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
Personally, I'd like to end the losing streak to MSU in more convincing fashion than a last-second miracle. It used to be that the only time we lost to them was in games like that.
I'd like to have a margin of victory larger than the one they had on us last year and eliminate the "at home" argument that always seems to pop up from those jack wagons.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
I would rather that Sparty not score a single touchdown on us for the next five years or so.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
Apparently, I should have added the "/s." (reference to sparty's last second catch by a converted QB to beat Wisconsin last year)
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^
Easy solution: If Denard gets hurt, Gardner just passes it to himself. It's what we all did in our front yards from ages 6 to 11, right?
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
As the youngest of 4, with 3 older sisters, I must admit that I did this past the age of 11.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
did it all the time so i could practice the over the shoulder catch.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
I turn 30 next month and I still do it.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
with a frisbee
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^
If they move Devin to WR and he does well, do they leave him there and give Bellomy a shot at QB?
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Not unless Bellomy beats him out. QB is too critical. The best QB on the roster plays QB. End of story.
the best passer on the team.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
I'm kind of wondering about Bellomy. I know he didn't come in with a lot of recruiting hype, but does the fact that they haven't just gone ahead with the switch and started giving Bellomy the second team QB reps indicate a lack of confidence in Bellomy's ability to lead the offense? Or are they continuing to give Gardner QB reps with an eye toward '13, when he'll be the most experienced QB on the roster?
Has he embraced it or is he just being the good soldier?
You're "kind of wondering" why a redshirt freshman QB who has been on campus for less than a year has yet to surpass a five star, dual threat QB on the depth chart who has been on campus for over two years?
You do understand just how utterly ridiculous your questions about Bellomy are, do you not?
Gardner went to the coaches and expressed just how unhappy he was with his playing time in '11. Hoke & Borges were up front and honest and made it clear to him that he was not going to supplant Denard as the starter this year. In order to get on the field, Devin asked if he could take some snaps at WR and the coaches obliged. Bottom line, Devin doesn't want to waste another year sitting on the bench. He wants to play, even if its at WR for a few snaps here & there.
I'm not disputing the validity of the information, just wondering if it is your speculation or if you have some inside knowledge. You didn't use the Sam Webb, "It's just my OPINION..." line, but you gave no indication how you could know what happened in a conversation between the coaches and a player.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
I'll still be a-scared, to quote Rick Moranis, when he's playing WR, but if he is "instantly Michigan's best receiver and adds a new dimension to the offense," that's hard to turn down.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
Gardner at WR opens up all kinds of questions for 2013. Will he slide back to QB? Will Morris / Bellomy together be competitive enough to keep him at WR? I hope he can get that redshirt year back. With three years at Michigan to focus his efforts at the reciever position, he can make the 1st round.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:30 PM ^
WR in 2013
i love your avatar.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^
Rivers is reportedly leaving Duke. Burke was widely thought, (from my impressions of the media), better than Rivers. This worries me greatly.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
1) they don't play the same position
2) I don't know of anybody who thinks Burke is better than Rivers. Rivers seems to be consistently in the 1st round in mock drafts that I have seen.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
1) My bad--thought Rivers played the point almost all season
2) I gues it was more of an expectations vs results thing for this past season--Burke seemed to be getting much more hype.
BUT, as far as next level goes, you are correct.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^
Some think Burke is a better college player right now, but not a better prospect at the next level.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
Burke is 5'11". Burke may indeed be better at the college game than Rivers, but 5'11" guys almost need to be a once-in-a-generation talent (e.g. Iverson) to succeed in the NBA.
March 23rd, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
Comments