Maryland HC Turgeon says Michigan BB can win it all
Yes, we know this a good team, they're playing great & look like a #1 seed right now, but an opposing coaches opinion on the quality of this team is worth a listen... if for no other reason than to tickle our fever dreams. Relevant answer begins @ the 5:04 mark. https://youtu.be/E1vYxMIrgmU (Sorry, couldn't figure out how to post vid).
January 20th, 2021 at 12:59 AM ^
Can, but won't.
January 20th, 2021 at 2:52 AM ^
Okay Vlad, explain yourself...can but won't what? You watching the video or us winning it all?
I need answers man and don't you dare try to poison the fun!
January 20th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
It is surely an "odds" thing. This team certainly is demonstrating the ability and probability of ascending to NC status-it is a helluva road to actually achieve.
January 20th, 2021 at 2:52 AM ^
Drat, double post
Go Blue!
January 20th, 2021 at 6:10 AM ^
Don't you have more important things to think about today, Vlad?
January 20th, 2021 at 8:09 AM ^
Mixed emotions for sure.
January 20th, 2021 at 7:57 AM ^
Douche!!!!!!
January 20th, 2021 at 9:06 AM ^
Such a Michigan fan.
January 20th, 2021 at 9:25 AM ^
A fully-BPone'd autocrat?
January 20th, 2021 at 1:36 AM ^
If we’re healthy, why not?
January 20th, 2021 at 2:27 AM ^
That's nice, but any coach who gets their ass beat like that should say that about the opponent. He should be worried about his job, that team was not your typical Maryland team.
January 20th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Maryland won the BIG just last year lol. What are Terp fans complaining about?
The move away from the ACC hurt their program more than anything.
January 20th, 2021 at 2:31 AM ^
Profit
January 20th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
Prophet!
January 20th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
Gracias!
January 20th, 2021 at 3:12 AM ^
Michigan is exceptionally good this year. Normally, they would be the top dog for basketball in previous years. However, I do not think anyone comes close to Gonzaga. They do not have any glaring weaknesses. Jaelen is godly and they have the veterans. I think this team goes down as one of the best ever. Also think they have a good chance going undefeated.
January 20th, 2021 at 3:24 AM ^
If Gonzaga ends up being this years Villanova, I will lose my shit.
January 20th, 2021 at 7:50 AM ^
Sure, maybe this Gonzaga team is the best Few has ever had, but history tells me that they'll crash at some point in the tournament. It does look like he's learning that the WCC doesn't test his teams enough during the regular season, so they've certainly bulked up their non-conference schedule, and that may be the difference. As far as winning it all...I'll believe it when I see it.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:11 AM ^
Baylor would give them a pretty good game.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:16 AM ^
Gonzaga has been playing top non conference teams for over a decade. This year they played and crushed Kansas & Iowa.
It was too bad the Baylor game got canceled because that would have been really good. Very few teams play three top 5 teams nonconference like Gonzaga does.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:20 AM ^
I’d agree with your stance typically, but if their OOC schedule is a solid one. This team is averaging over 80 pts a game!!! I don’t even believe they have scored any less than 80. Few now has top talent recruits coming to him along with his development of these other players and 2-3 year players. This is the most complete team that has ever been assembled in college ranks, IMO. They haven’t come close to losing and are manhandling ranked teams (KU, WVU, VA, and IOWA). This team will win, it’s whether they lose to an unexpected team before the tourney or not. Again, my opinion anyways.
January 20th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Michigan will be battle tested by the time March Madness begins. Gonzaga was tested a bit in November and December. Time will tell if it was enough.
January 20th, 2021 at 1:07 PM ^
I agree with you BleedThatBlue. This is the best Gonzaga team they've ever had. Great players at every position. And bigs that play both inside and out. They and Baylor would be the favorite and Michigan as of now in my mind would be one step below that.
The two teams I root for are Michigan and Gonzaga. I would be happy if either of them won it all this year.
January 20th, 2021 at 3:27 PM ^
Yeah, I am not trying to discredit UM whatsoever. The team is amazing. Unfortunately, this team is in the same year with this Gonzaga team that will go down as one of the best. Years past, Zags were not a 1 seed or didn’t fit the narrative of being a top dog. It’s changed. They have bigs, they can shoot, and the D is pretty damn good. This team is one of those teams that you look at and just know there won’t be any competition for them.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
I feel like "ungodly" should be a negative term. Jalen is more like "godly" in terms of his talent/production, right?
January 20th, 2021 at 9:43 AM ^
Noted. I corrected it.
January 20th, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
I think "ungodly" is often used to describe things that are so extreme or outrageous or incredible that they seem to fall outside the natural order of things (the idea being that the natural order, created by God, is "godly".)
So "ungodly" is not always a negative term.
January 20th, 2021 at 3:23 AM ^
Sounds like he’s applying to be an assistant coach next year ?
January 20th, 2021 at 3:30 AM ^
Get Pierre Turgeon in the HOF!
January 20th, 2021 at 8:08 AM ^
Seriously. He's the Lou Whitaker of hockey!
January 20th, 2021 at 10:28 AM ^
Averaged over a point a game over a 19 year career,
- over 1,300 pts, (32nd overall and more than anyone not in the hall)
- over 500 goals
- in the 50+ goal in a season club
- 5 all-star appearances
January 20th, 2021 at 4:55 AM ^
He was pretty complimentary after the last game, too. Trying to soften us up in case we meet again in the B10 tournament. /s
January 20th, 2021 at 6:32 AM ^
Respect earned. Regardless of the season's outcome, it's a good, unselfish team with lots of valuable players.
And not all coaches would be as gracious in defeat as Turgeon. I don't have a strong sense of him but he might fit in the Painter tier, good coach and a good guy.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:04 AM ^
I don’t think he’s a very good coach. They’ve had a lot of talent over the last few years and have done nothing with it. And this year’s team has some real deficiencies - no point guard, for example.
January 20th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Again... he won the BIG just last year
January 21st, 2021 at 4:10 PM ^
Did he? I thought staee did? Even so, winning the conference once with all the lottery picks he’s had over the years doesn’t move the needle - gonna take a lot more to convince me he’s a great, or even above-average big10 coach
January 20th, 2021 at 7:20 AM ^
We certainly can, but if I just got my ass kicked by 24 points, I would also say the same thing about the other team.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:04 AM ^
Stay healthy win games
Eat healthy
Get a good night's sleep
Don't touch your noodle too often or you'll go blind
January 20th, 2021 at 10:42 AM ^
Is that last one why Blue looks Darker to you?
Perhaps that explains why I need glasses, with regular new prescriptions.
January 20th, 2021 at 8:05 AM ^
He had a tough time telling us how poorly his team played while also not wanting to take anything away from Michigan. A lot of times both sides come across poorly, or only one side gets amplified. I thought he did a good job answering all the questions while explaining what UMD did and why it didn't work, which included both that UMD sucked and UM was really good. He also qualified the 'win it all' comment with 'if they get hot at the right time'. He is absolutely correct.
I watched a fair amount of Kansas-Baylor the other day. Say what you want about an 8 point win, but Baylor looked like twice team Kansas had. Playing a game like UM did against Minnesota last time out isn't going to cut it in the tourney...
(And I'll sign off with that master of the obvious statement...)
January 20th, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
Continue to grow and build, and who knows? Hunter needs to adapt to the new doubles and we need one of the bench guards to play meaningful minutes.
This team is very good and they have that swagger. Minnesota came out and punched them in the face - they responded accordingly the next game. Can they respond during the game? We will see.
January 20th, 2021 at 9:10 AM ^
OK, I hate going into this mode because I have been so positive with this program.
#1- I don't really trust what Turgeon says, seeing as how he doesn't know what a championship team is and he's 8-7. He could also say that Clemson, Rutgers, and Iowa can win it all because those teams also crushed Maryland.
#2- I know it's one game and it happens to everyone, but the way they lost to Minnesota planted a strong seed of doubt Michigan can win the whole thing. I think Gonzaga and Baylor are a step above Michigan, just with the eye test. It will be critical for Michigan to stay away from those two teams, which will likely happen as long as they keep winning and MAYBE land a 1 or high 2. Gotta hope that one of them falls flat in the tourney, because after Gonzaga and Baylor, they can beat anyone.
If they go into Iowa and get crushed like they did against Minny, my doubts will be pretty strong. I think this team CAN win it all because March Madness, but there's STILL a tiny nagging feeling they just don't have enough pieces.
I get some 18-19 vibes from them right now. They were a 2 seed and seemed to be pretty good, but lost big time to Texas Tech. Hope they prove me wrong.
January 20th, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
I don't get those same vibes. The 18-19 team was elite defensively but had its struggles offensively. Having Simpson, Matthews and Teske on the court at the same time for a majority of the minutes meant that that team was always going to struggle shooting the ball in a way that this year's team doesn't. This team is pairing a top 10 offense (top 5 if you take out the Minnesota game) with a top 10 defense. Very complete. May not be enough to beat Gonzaga or Baylor but I wouldn't bank on this team losing before they play those teams.
January 20th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
They will drop a couple of games before the tournament. Probably an expected one like at Wisconsin, this game against Purdue will be tough, Iowa is looking good- if they get through the remainder of the season unscathed, I will be stunned.
Minnesota made this team look lost last contest, and it wasn't Michigan just missing open shots- those dudes were swarming defensively.
I think they are a really, really good team. But I just get the feeling they haven't been tested legit other than a road game at Minny, which was terrible. I realize every game is essentially neutral court this year, but going on the road is tough no matter what- they have barely left Crisler all year.
January 20th, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
I'd agree with you more about the Minnesota loss if Brooks played. He's our glue guy IMO. I still think Gonzaga and Baylor are a step above.
Also, Michigan does not go into Iowa this year. They play once this season, at Crisler. We also don't have to go to Illinois.
Though the remaining road schedule still has @ Purdue this Friday, @ Wisconsin, @ OSU, @ Indiana, @ MSU.
The only remaining road game that seems like a gimme is @ Northwestern (and @ PSU if it does get rescheduled), but even those could be an L.
January 20th, 2021 at 9:36 AM ^
Let’s see if Michigan can actually beat a quality team on the road first. That Purdue game is going to be very tough.
January 20th, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
Very good team. Try to cut down the turnovers. Achilles heels, injuries and foul trouble.
January 20th, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
Michigan did respond well to the loss at Minnesota, and a lot of that can be attributed to the presence of Brooks, but the woeful 3 point shooting against the Gophers also played a role.
It is kind of amusing to check out other teams' forums after a game. After getting beat soundly by Michigan a lot of fans want the coach fired. Opinions on Pitino went from fire the idiot! after the first game, to extend his contract indefinitely! He's a genius! after the second.
January 20th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
Fortunately, you'll never see that kind of knee-jerk reaction here.