OT? Jon Horford playing well for Florida.
I haven't seen any Jon Horford updates so I thought I'd look into how he is doing at Florida. It looks like Jon is the starting center and averaging 14 points and 6 boards in two games so far this year. On monday #8 Florida was upset by Miami (YTM), but Jon had 17 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks.
http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400587764 (game recap)
It's sad to see him playing for Florida knowing we could have used him this year, but glad he is at least starting and looking to have a good year. I wish him all the best and hope he makes it to the next level.
* looks like I missed a couple of posts about this already. Please delete or change it to Hey, It's Friday! Posbang Thread!
November 20th, 2014 at 4:28 PM ^
He's a nice kid and a decent college center. He will not make it to the next level. He could play in lesser European leagues, sure, but he also strikes me as a guy that doesn't want to play basketball forever and has ambitions outside of sports. With that said, we could have used him this year, and he'll be a solid rotation player for the Gators.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:29 PM ^
First link under mgo.licio.us
November 20th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
yep, missed it, sorry for wasting your time. Please accept this cute picture of a cat to make up for it.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
Max-Angus, Max-Angus, Max-Angus...
November 20th, 2014 at 4:30 PM ^
How did we lose him, again? Did he assume Mitch McGary was coming back?
November 20th, 2014 at 4:44 PM ^
In an interview after he made his decision to transfer and before the Mitch McGary announcement, he specifically said (without getting into specifics) that he already knew what Mitch was going to be doing and that it had no effect on his decision on way or the other. If he knew Mitch was going to be gone, I have idea why he would've left unless something with the program pissed him off or if he thought we wouldn't put him in position to suceed and turn into a potential NBA draft pick. It remains a huge mystery to me.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:07 PM ^
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November 20th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^
I am pretty sure Mitch already knew about the suspension and he was just waiting to hear about his appeal which was not likely to be granted. So I think Horford expected Mitch to be gone, but he still wanted to leave anyway,
November 20th, 2014 at 8:07 PM ^
Yeah, the McGary suspension really explains Horford's statement that he knew what Mitch would be doing. Horford also said he'd been considering transferring for a while but his family had previously talked him out of it (edit: I remembered this in reverse, HermosaBlue's post below is correct). I think he just needed a change of scenery after being on the team for so long and seeing so many players come and go. He probably felt like an outsider with the team being so young, which probably isn't easy for such a quiet, introverted person.
We could definitely use him this year, but it's nice to see him having success.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:43 PM ^
I'm too lazy to look up the interview, but he said he didn't think the program was set up to feature post players, esp. for a big man with a back-to-the-basket game, rather than a high screen/roll / high post game.
He also said his family had been on him since early days at UM (I want to say redshirt freshman year, but not 100% sure) to transfer and play elsewhere, namely Florida, where his older brother played.
November 20th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
He's right. If I was a back to basket type of post player I wouldn't even consider Michigan. Michigan bigs get great seals on their defender all the time and never gets touches. Only thing that bothers me about the offense. Other than that I can't complain.
November 21st, 2014 at 4:27 AM ^
It's sorta common knowledge that Horford's brother and dad have been pissing in his ear since the end of his freshman year. I am guessing he finally got tired of fighting them. I wish him well. I hope he finally maximizes his potential and makes it into a pro league somewhere.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
He of the three/huge calves.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:40 PM ^
Your / is light so I thought you were saying Bielfeldt has three huge calves. Which is impressive, even for him.
November 21st, 2014 at 9:04 AM ^
For a second, I thought that Max had another muscle in his legs a la Amara Darboh's forearms.
#MaxCalves
November 20th, 2014 at 5:04 PM ^
He's had family members lobbying him to transfer for years, as first noticed (by me!) a few years ago when his sister tweeted that he should become a Gator. I suspect that his family thinks he can play in the NBA, and what he'd been doing at Michigan certainly wasn't going to get him there.
November 20th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
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November 20th, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 6:11 PM ^
2014 actually has been pretty awesome for basketball, this (and McGary's suspension) aside. An outright B1G title (first in 28 years) and Elite Eight appearance are nothing to sneeze at.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
I'm still trying to figure out what happened with Horford-- it seemed like the 5 was equally open at Michigan for him.
I have read that family voices may have convinced him that he wasn't getting enough PT at Michigan (though that seems a small worry this season), or that he couldn't be properly utilized in a Beilein system, or something.
The transfer strikes me as less zen-like than his public persona, but I wish him the best. I always enjoyed him as a player here, and hope he's enjoying himself more now. Sounds like he's doing really well.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:54 PM ^
HIs family was pushing for him to leave, but the main reason was the type of offense that Michigan runs. They preferred a high-low offense, where you pound the ball into the bigs. They felt this was more suited to Jon's skill set.
Too bad for Beilein in that Horford was not much of a player in his first three years and only started to contribute last year. He kept improving and was probably going to start this year and then he bolts. Oh well.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:55 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 5:14 PM ^
at Florida either which is what makes it all so puzzling.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^
Why not? It seems he's starting and playing pretty well so far, and he will probably be more involved in the offense than he would have been at Michigan. Besides, NBA gms will see Horford from Florida and make him a first round pick out of habit.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:58 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 4:39 PM ^
But it's Thursday... Make it a "It's almost Friday" posbang? Or maybe a "Michigan Basketball vs. Detroit predictions" thread?
November 20th, 2014 at 4:45 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^
Happy for him. But I don't think those numbers will last. Imho, the skill set just isn't there...
November 20th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
Where was his three point shot last year, man?!
Good for him, hopefully he has a solid year.
November 20th, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
box score says he went 3-6 from 3 in that game. Is that a typo?
November 20th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
Even if Horford has a great year, I'm happy with our depth at the 5.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:02 PM ^
1) bigger role in offense
2) has degree
3) Many of the guys who came through the program with him are gone
4) family pressure
5) wanted to get out of the cold weather for awhile
November 20th, 2014 at 5:40 PM ^
1) Couldn't play his way on to the court with JMo in the way.
2) Could've started on a better one.
3) None of those guys are at UF.
4) Mostly because Al did so well, and he's not Al.
5) Fair enough.
The comments he made when he left were not exactly positive with regard to his experience here and made it seem that outside factors were holding him back from reaching the NBA. For me it colored the prior observations (ie. lack of excitement, not interacting with teammates, etc.) as him just being a bad teammate. If he keeps it up, then maybe there was something to it.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:09 PM ^
I do recall reading that his family significantly pressured him to leave Michigan and look elsewhere.
"(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."
Additionally, he seemed to not like the limited opportunities he was given in Beilein's guard-heavy system:
"They just felt that it's a system that's difficult for big men to have success, especially when compared to the guards," Jon Horford said. "It's a great offense that's difficult to (defend) and it's a paradise for guards, it really is. If you're a guard and you can shoot and dribble and pass, that's the offense for you, but there is very little emphasis on getting bigs post touches."
From this mlive article.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
"It's tough to really go out and become the player that you want to be," Horford said of his time at U-M one day after announcing his departure. "I understand, for the sake of the team, people make sacrifices and I feel like as a ball player, as a hooper that gets in the gym as much as anybody in my time at Michigan, it came to a point where I sacrificed four years for the team."
He really didn't leave on a high note. Good for him now, but I think he'd get plenty of time if he could continue 50% FG% from 3. It's even noted in that article as a big reason for his success. Beilein4ever.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^
players so we will see if he even stays in the starting lineup. I still think he and his handlers went to Florida chasing something illusory. He will likely get as many touches at Florida as he would have had at Michigan. Max Beifeldt just scored 18 points here.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:41 PM ^
But, it's hard to tell what his real potential at FL is after only two games. I always thought at Michigan he played too soft and didn't take advantage enough of the opportunities he did have. This year, he would have gotten a lot more minutes I'd guess. But, with his family hounding him to transfer, he heard what he wanted to hear and left. I'm grateful for his contribution during his time here though.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
We'll see how long this success lasts. If Horford is their everyday center, I don't see UF doing much this year.
November 20th, 2014 at 5:58 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 6:15 PM ^
That doesn't make sense. Beilein loves big guys that can shoot it from the perimeter - remember Pittsnogle? If Horford had a perimeter game all this time, we should have seen it.
November 20th, 2014 at 9:41 PM ^
please tell me that horford was better than morgan at any point in his career here. horford was soft. horford would have started this year, but for whatever reason, he left. so be it. that's his choice. good luck in fla.
November 20th, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^
This is just weird because he always struck me as a guy whose life didn't revolve around basketball and was more into the student part of being a student-athlete.
November 20th, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^
Glad to see him doing well, but why not do this for Michigan? #ThanksObama
November 20th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^
November 20th, 2014 at 9:38 PM ^
can we get threads on him after every game too? and brundrige??
November 20th, 2014 at 10:39 PM ^
I'd be interested to know how Smotrycz is doing, have at it.
November 21st, 2014 at 3:18 AM ^