Hoops roster updated including freshmen
Horford up to 250lbs from 220lbs last year.
Good, glad to see that Horford put on those 30 lbs... Looked skinny as a stick last year.
Horford had flashes of brilliance last year, but definitely needed to get his weight up
Brundidge 200 lbs - not bad if it's muscle
Oddly, he is the only plkayer with any weight change from last season. I was hoping Smotrcyz would bulk up a bit as well.
If Horford can muscle around and not get gassed, he and Morgan inside could be really strong. Hopefully Horford put on the weight the same way his brother did, because Al is a beast.
Well, he's been working out with Al this summer I think, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results.
I really would've liked to see Morgan put on even more muscle than last year. Have you heard anything about how Morgan's offseason is going? He was able to provide some needed inside defense and rebounding last year, especially late in the season, but definitely still had a lot to work on in terms of post presence.
I don't know what Smotrcyz was at last season, but he has supposedly been bulking up this off-season. It was his main goal for the offseason: to bulk up so he can play the four spot more effectively in the Big Ten. I remember there were some Bacari Alexander tweets about it and an interview/story on MgoBlue.com about him bulkin up. Maybe he just shed some bad weight and added muscle.
Also, unless THJ goes pro, we don't have room for McGary for more than one year...
Mclimans would be a redshirt 5th year in 2013. McGary could still fit on the roster if he doesn't get that 5th year...
Denying a kid a 5th year is not the worst thing the world, but I'd rather not have to bump a guy out the door if he is willing to stick around.
You give a kid 4 free years of school and feel bad about letting him pursue something else instead of giving a 5th year? I don't.
I don't "feel bad" for guys who get to play basketball at Michigan. It's not ideal to deny 5th years because if you get a reputation for doing that it hurts you with recruiting. We already did it with A. Wright.
It doesn't give you a reputation. The 5th year is the exception to the rule.
Yeah. This is pretty common. If you haven't really contributed your 4 years, you shouldn't expect a fifth. Players understand this as well. There aren't any hard feelings.
Really, the 5th year is meant for big contributors. If he's just going to be a backup in his 5th year and he's not leader of sorts, then it does no good to keep him on for a 5th year.
Will he actually see any time or is he taking up space on a crowded roster.
Is a walk-on, and probably the best walk-on we have (although it sounds like Sai has some game, and Eso has looked ok at times). He didn't play the first semester because of transfer ineligibility and ended up redshirting because of a nagging injury.
Also, he's Joe Dumars' son. Great guy to have on the squad.
You mean 'freshmen'
There is an article on Rivals from Balas about hoops recruits. I try to temper Balas more than Helmholdt, but the article definitely got my hopes up.
At this point I think GR III will finish in the top 25 of the 2012 class, and Nickie S will move up as well (top 75? top 50?).
We're probably top three for McGary (top three is my words, not anyone elses, based on other teams most likely in the mix - Duke, UNC, Kentucky).
We most likely lead for a 2013 guy who is top 100 and picking soon.
I assume the 2013 prospect you're talking about is Zak Irvin. He's had a great July, so he's likely to move up the rankings quite a bit once they're revised. In fact, in the opinion of one analyst at NBADraft.net, he could end up in the top 30:
Zak Irvin, 6’6” 185, Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers, IN, SF, 2013 – An assistant coach that I sat with during this game told me to keep my eye on Irvin and I was not disappointed. Irvin is young, long and talented. He has a great game off the bounce and has a frame that will get bigger and stronger. He displayed a nice jumpshot out to three and mixed in a couple of beautiful step back jumpers at a pro level. He is still a puppy in his development and that is the scary thing. A large number of Big Ten schools attended his game Tuesday afternoon and with good reason. This kid has a chance to be special and should be ranked in the top 30 at least in 2013.
Morgan was at his best offensively in the pick and roll, and his baskets outside of that most people want to give credit to Morris for getting him the ball in great position for an easy score. I don't recall a ton of "tough" baskets for Morgan. So yes, I hope he can continue to build on his post prescence, and hopefully he and Horford playing against each other every day in practice will help both of them.
Coach Bacari's twitter previously reported Evan Smotrycz's weight as 235 and now I just saw a tweet by Smotrycz himself claiming to be 235, so I am going to go ahead and say he has probably added weight.
They're the ones who need to add weight the most. Followed by Horford. From the last post, it looks like Smotrycz HAS added some much needed bulk in addition to Horford. I'll be really interested to see how Horford improves his game too.