Florida Pursuing Horford
Obviously there is a connection there due to his brother but it is interesting Horford is leaving one Elite 8 team for another a Final Four team. If he does land there it would quite a landing spot in terms of basketball and we'll definitely get to see if Horford's family's view of his skill set is realistic (and by definition he was being held back by Beilein's "emphasis on guards / wings") as UF plays a more traditional brand of bball. Morgan seemed to do ok in this system last year as did Mitch but we'll see.
LINK.
I think he could be a really good college player, but not an NBA player. Unless he has 3 pt range we didn't know about, he's not close to the level of athleticism to play NBA 4 or the size to be a NBA 5. Good college player, not an NBA player.
There is a big window of opportunity between how good Al is (elite player) and being on an NBA roster.
Jon potentially has NBA-level skill. His rebounding is good enough already. If he can refine his mid-range jumper and keep improving defensively there's a long career as an NBA backup in the cards for him.
Florida would provide an excellent opportunity for Jon to show off his abilities.
As a grad and 4-year contributor and quality guy, I wish him nothing but the best.
I'll agree that Horford isn't there yet, but that's why exposing himself to a new coach (with an impressive track record) and new system will help him develop his game more than coming back for another year at Michigan would.
Morgan is not big enough or skilled enough. He made the most of his skills and deserved to start ahead of Horford, but if you're interested in upside Jon has an NBA ready skill already (rebounding) is bigger, more athletic, and has a wider skillset. If he can up the other elements of his game (defense especially), he can have an NBA role.
Sims was a classic tweener and had no NBA skill to hang his hat on. There's a very clear and defined role for Horford in the NBA if he can put his game together in the next year. The NBA is not about who wins at one on one. It's the same reason why GR3 could easily be a better NBA player for longer than Nik.
He's not athletic enough to play the 4 in the NBA or big enough to play the 5 in the NBA. He could be a hell of a college player, but he'd have to be as athletic as McGary to have a shot at playing the 4.
If he was a great shooter he'd have a chance at the NBA, but if he was a great shooter, Beilein would've take advantage of that.
His lack of development in strength is the bigger concern to me. He can guard most non-elite 4s I think, but at times he gets overpowered by strong post players. Strength can be improved though.
I don't think anyone thinks Horford is going to be a Blake Griffin type of player, but people like Tyler Hansborough, Jason Maxiell, Udonis Haslem can have long NBA careers just by rebounding, playing decent defense, and hitting open wing jumpers.
sorry
Those three players you mentioned, Hansborough, Maxiell and Haslem were all elite college players, all-conference types (and i think Hansborough won college player of the decade??)
Surely, you don't see Horford being at all close to them??
Horford had the second best PER on the team and the best defensive rebound rate in the conference. His rebounding is better than 1st rounders like Vonleh, Payne, Kaminsky and other people with more impressive reputations.
Give him 30-35 minutes per game and more offensive responsibility and there's a good chance he can put up numbers comparable to people like Jordan Hill, Taj Gibson, Josh McRoberts and other serviceable NBA forwards put up.
My point is not to compare their college careers but their NBA roles. Rasual Butler wasn't as good as Jimmer Fredette in college, but one of those guys had a very long NBA career and the other can't see the floor and is probably headed to Europe anyday now. Hansborough is a good scorer, far better than Horford. Doesn't matter one bit in the NBA because his job is to rebound and defend. Horford can do that job if he rounds out his skills in the next year. He's far from a lock but he's got a realistic shot.
Jon explained his decision--an explanation that makes sense from his perspective. The family was entirely gracious in their comments about Michigan. Good luck, Jon.
"(Transferring) is something that my family has been trying to persuade me to do for four years," Horford said. "So I guess naturally it's always been inevitable -- when people are telling you something all the time."
April 17th, 2014 at 11:20 PM ^
Use your 5 fouls wisely, Jon.
I'm not sure what Jon' major is, but doesn't he have to enroll in a grad program that is not offered by UM? My question...is there any real enforcement of this rule (if this indeed a rule)? Or is a wink and a nod and "Welcome to the grad Hotel & Hospitality Management* dept, son. So sorry that Michigan didn't have what you were looking for, but you'll get a great education here!"
*Not intended to slight Hotel and Hospitality Management in any way, shape, or form. But I don't think UM has such a degree.
You just find something obscure, transfer, and then pursue a degreee that you are actually interested in. As in, Florida has a graduate program in the stdy of Walt Disney World Character Costume Design but Michigan doesn't, so you transfer to Florida and then apply to pursue a degree in psychology.
You are a weird dude.
Walker and Finney-Smith have a pretty clear lock on the frontcourt spots. I suppose he'd be their main backup in the post, but he would've been no worse than that here. If he ends up there, he disliked being at Michigan more than he disliked his PT, imo.
Florida, having graduated all its key players, will likely be ranked lower than Michigan's team next season (assuming Mitch returns). But he likely would get more PT. So it's kind of a wash basketball-wise. Academically, though, he could do better. He seems like a kid who should have erred on the side of academics. There are a number of schools with better grad programs and tournament-caliber basketball: Cal, Stanford, Texas, Harvard. Florida seems a tad short-sighted, all things considered. But, hey, priorities.
i cant remember how many times i cursed at horford and morgan for not finishing around the basket pre mcgary era. morgan turned it around this year and had his best year. horford i dont see doing that. he doesnt have that mean streak around the rim that you need. hes fucking soft. hope he plays for state next year so we can have beilfeldt beat his ass in the paint
Oh my heavens. He said a system where the bigs don't play a lot with their backs to the rim isn't a good fit for him. How terrible.
Made that OG Bobby Johnson call.
Just as Morgan did this year. Maybe Beillein's system or personality just wasn't right to light Horford's fire. I always thought he has potential - and he certainly showed flashes of it.
Coach Beilein has a fantastic system for developing guards and winning college basketball games; not as clear his system is as strong when it comes to developing bigs.
McGary and Morgan demonstrated that you can be a successful big in JB's system, but that doesn't prove it's an ideal environment or system for everyone.
Sad to see him go, best of luck to him.
Respectfully, I don't agree that it's a "myth"; I think it's more of an unknown. Sample size of big men who really developed under Beilein is tiny, as is the list of those who didn't. JB's teams (and his system) haven't placed much emphasis on traditional big man play.
JB has an impressive list of guards who exceeded expectations, with dramatic improvement year to year. Not so much with bigs.
I've been watching Michigan hoops forever. IMO, Beilein is absolutely the finest coach we've had; one of the best I've ever seen. John Thompson was a master at developing bigs, yet he still helped Iverson; JB is a master with guards, and his system is fun and successful. Of course he can be a great coach for some bigs. That doesn't mean it's an ideal fit for everyone.
My opinion has no impact on any kid's choice of college.
I wonder if he goes to Florida if he will actually play more. I just don't see it, and I know he wants to get more minutes.
No major program wanted Horford out of high school. Beilien did him a favor by recruiting him but in Horford's interview he acted like he did the team a favor and should have gone somewhere else. Where? Now he graduates, quits the team, criticizes the coaches, makes excuses and is thinking about transferring to a team that had not interest in him? Nice.
April 17th, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^
He took a medical redshirt his sophomore year because of an injury. He contributed very little that year while taking advantage of the free rehab the university offered him. Now that he has a 5th year of eligibility he's quitting on the team and transferrring using a BS loophole in the system that allows a player that graduated with some easy degree to transfer to another school that offers some BS grad program his current school doesn't offer. The staff was counting on him to return for his 5th year and he bailed showing no loyalty to the school that gave him a chance when no one else would. Florida didn't want him coming out of high school. They weren't there for him when he was injured. What does Europe have to do with this? Are you saying he has a better chance of making it to Europe if he transfers?
It makes sense. Good luck to Horford!
Yeah, it makes sense to abandon the team that believed in you coming out of high school and transfer to a team that had no interest in you.
that Beilein's system is heavily geared towards guards and wings, especially guys who can shoot the 3, Horford had more than enough chance to earn PT for himself this year, especially when McGary was out. But, as another poster pointed out, he's soft around the basket, and he also has poor hands, doesn't finish strong, and misses a lot of easy shots. He's a decent backup center in college, but that's all. I don't blame him for tranferring though, because if McGary comes back, between him and Donnal, there would not be many minutes for Horford at a 4/5 spot. Donnal is much better suited to Beilein's style, and if he's as good as his teammates are talking him up, Horford wasn't going to pull more than 5-10 minutes a game.
April 17th, 2014 at 10:40 PM ^