SI's Seth Davis on Jon Horford, interview with NJIT HC, & MSU alum cop trolling in Crisler

Submitted by Leaders And Best on

Not a huge Seth Davis fan, but his new column had a couple notes of Michigan interest:

Jon Horford:

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but Jon Horford is absolutely killing Florida. He is a 6-10, 245-pound senior who transferred from Michigan. During his three seasons in Ann Arbor, Horford made a grand total of one three-pointer in 10 attempts. During his first seven games at Florida, Horford has shot 24 three-pointers and made only five. During Saturday’s loss at Kansas, he was 0-for-5 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, he shot just two free throws the entire game. I honestly have no idea why Billy Donovan is letting Horford play like this, but unless Horford is willing to get on the block a lot more, he will continue to hurt this team’s offense far more than he is helping it.

 

Zak Irvin:

Michigan’s Zak Irvin did not shoot a single free throw in the Wolverines’ loss to NJIT on Saturday. Not one! Yet, he went 1-for-8 from three-point range. I have been pointing out this flaw in Irvin’s game for a long time, but since he is usually so pure from behind the three-point line, my words fall on deaf ears. Irvin is 6-6, 215 pounds, yet in 280 minutes this season he has shot just 16 free throws. If he wants to become a great player -- a pro, perhaps -- he will have to learn to power his way to the rim a lot more often.

 

NJIT Head Coach on police officer assigned to him at Crisler:

SI.com: So what did it feel like when the final buzzer went off? Engles: Totally surreal. The cop there who was assigned to me, every time we scored I’d look over at him, and he was cheering. At halftime I said to him, “What are you doing?” He said, “I went to Michigan State, dude.” After the game, he gave me a big hug.

 

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2014/12/08/hoop-thoughts-zone-defense-ohio-state-njit-michigan

OccaM

December 8th, 2014 at 5:20 PM ^

I swear if they ever made a top ten list of most humiliating sporting defeats in history (football/basketball) Michigan would be #1, or at least top 3. 

 

On the bright side, Horford seems to be everything people thought he was when he left. Meh. Having him would maybe save us from the NJIT loss, probably not the loss against Nova though. 

Leaders And Best

December 8th, 2014 at 5:25 PM ^

Michigan would be #1. The NJIT loss sucked but let's not get overdramatic here. This is not on the order of App State (and I still think the App State loss is a little overblown). These losses happen every year in college basketball, and unfortunately, we were on the end of it this year. But it's not like they were some D-II squad like Chaminade. They already beat Duquesne this season and lost by 5 at Marquette.

ThadMattasagoblin

December 8th, 2014 at 6:50 PM ^

I thought App State was a big upset. I didn't think it was omg the biggest upset ever in all the sportz for a few reasons. We ended up finishing 8-4 and just barely inside the top 25, they ended up winning the national championship. Mike Hart was hurt during the game. When James Madison beat Virginia Tech, VT was a better team than Michigan in 07 and JMU was a worse team than App State. The reason why it was a bigger upset was because of preseason rankings which isn't really doesn't mean anything as to how good your team is and the ND, MSU, and Buckeye factor. Virginia Tech really only has Virginia that hates them and their fanbase is much smaller than any of our rivals. Also Stanford was like a 50 point underdog when they beat USC which is actuallyworse than App State who was like a 30 point underdog. Bottom line is Michigan should have done their research and scheduled Savannah State or Delaware State instead.

UMxWolverines

December 8th, 2014 at 7:35 PM ^

We were preseason top 5 for a reason...a lot of guys returning. The fact that Hart had to go out shouldn't be an excuse. Elite teams stick their next string guy in there and things don't change. The offense struggled to move the ball in the first half and the defense struggled even worse. Lloyd just didn't have them prepared enough. 

Leaders And Best

December 9th, 2014 at 12:32 AM ^

On the surface, in name and our preseason ranking, it was a huge upset. I get it. They were FCS, we were a preseason top 10 team, and it was the first time an FCS team beat a ranked FBS team.

But App State was an extremely unique FCS team. They were a two-time defending FCS National Champion that went on to three-peat by winning the National Championship later that year in 2007 by beating a Delaware team with Joe Flacco at QB. Look up some of the computer rankings from 2007. Sagarin has App State ranked in the top 50 that year. If you look beyond the name and uniforms, that was a decent football team. They had several future NFL players on that team. Personally, I find the Toledo loss in 2008 way more embarrassing than the App State loss. Toledo was one of the worst teams in FBS in 2008 when we lost to them.

 

freejs

December 8th, 2014 at 6:20 PM ^

Are you trolling or actually this lacking in testicular fortitude? 

Nova was DONE if Spike is more wide open for Donnal to pass to after receiving the long baseball pass. 

I know because I was right fucking there, and only feet from where Donnal had the misfortune to be fouled before he could find someone more reliable at the line to pass to. 

He had at least three opportunities to get rid of it, but, unfortunately, no one was open enough for a big to attempt that kind of pass. They finally just fouled him and put him out of his misery. 

He hits both those FT's or gets rid of it to someone who does, and I'm telling you, we were walking out of th Barclay's with 2 wins. 

We didn't need anyone to "save" us against Villanova. We were the better team and had the game won prior to missing the front end of a 1 and 1, which is the equivalent of a turnover, which you can't have while protecting a 1 point lead, the shot clock off, and the other team fucked. 

Do you even watch these games, or just look at the score and post whiny sackless comments? 

OccaM

December 8th, 2014 at 7:05 PM ^

We lost...

Do you realize the whole game would be different if Horford was a part of Michigan? Said scenarios wouldn't exist. 

Every single scenario would be different. Given that Villanova is a senior laden team and we are not. I would bet Nova would win at least 6 out of 10 times. We played more towards our capable potential, which gave them more of a game than they bargained for. 

Who knows maybe having Horford would give us enough of an interior presence to win the game outright. Or maybe we would still lose. I think we would still lose given the circumstances. 

I'm not sad about losing to Nova; it was a well fought loss. Where do you reach these conclusions? 

Given the current status of MgoBlog, I would say my post falls right in line with the up and downs. I even stated "bright side." that Horford isn't going on to be a world beater at Florida. Jesus. 

 

 

freejs

December 8th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^

in any of a multitude of ways. 

It probably would have been better to have him, but you don't know that and neither do I. Horford flubbing lay ups or having the ball bounce off his hands in transition has an actual opportunity cost, you know? 

Regardless, you used the word "save" and no team needs "saving" when they have the ball, one up with the shot clock off. They just need to finish better in that scenario, period! 

You seriously wouldn't sign up in any game to have the ball, up one, with the shot clock off??? Whut? 

mi93

December 8th, 2014 at 9:53 PM ^

it isn't the losing that hurt.  We're young, they're guys were hitting step-back 22-footers, and it's November.  Better now that round 1 in March.

What hurts is the jack-ass Spartans and Buckeyes that HAVE to say something.

And that is why losses like this suck.

carlos spicywiener

December 8th, 2014 at 5:26 PM ^

Engles:

* pauses thoughtfully*

" You know, the cop wasn't the only MSU grad who congratulated me that day. After that, on our way outside, several janitors who graduated summa cum laude from the school gave me fist bumps.

"And as we stopped for McDonald's on the way home, we entered to a standing ovation from the staff, and the fry cook sprinted out of the kitchen and hugged me, fry grease and all."

jmblue

December 8th, 2014 at 5:30 PM ^

 

Michigan’s Zak Irvin did not shoot a single free throw in the Wolverines’ loss to NJIT on Saturday. Not one! Yet, he went 1-for-8 from three-point range. I have been pointing out this flaw in Irvin’s game for a long time

 

He makes it sound like this is some deep insight that only he possesses.  Yes, guys who shoot lots of threes often don't get to the line.  Not really shocking.  

LSAClassOf2000

December 8th, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^

Even without Irvin getting to the line, we still shot more FTs as a team that NJIT did (14 versus 9, as I recall, so it isn't as if there were a ton of opportunities in the game). It was simply difficult to argue with NJIT's 27-46 from the field, which included 11-17 from beyond the arc - good for a 70.56% eFG%. 

klctlc

December 8th, 2014 at 7:57 PM ^

We lost the game because defense sucked.  Could not stop the high screen, they had an open lane to basket and nobody could block shot.  They kicked for open 3's all day.  We could not stop them at all.  

70% is amazing and it was not all luck.

Doyle is way better than Horford.  They are not in the same solar system.  Stupid post above.

reanimator

December 8th, 2014 at 9:17 PM ^

lol look I know some of you have created this narrative that Doyle is prime Kevin McHale but

Horford can actually set solid screens

Horford can actually shoot out to 18 ft

Horford can actually protect the rim

Horford can actually grab defensive rebounds

Horford can actually roll to the basket

Horford can actually positionally defend

Horford: 10 ppg on 49 % 94 FT % 14 % total rebound percentage 6 % block percentage 92.4 DRTG (2nd on the Gators)

Doyle: 7 ppg on 70 % 71 FT % 12 % total rebound percentage 3 % block percentage 106 DRTG (dead last on the Wolverines)

Yes, you made a stupid post. 

Mocha Cub

December 8th, 2014 at 5:31 PM ^

I said that about Irvin after the loss. When a player is having that bad of a shooting night, he needs to either get into the lane or find a way to create easy scoring opportunities for his teammates. Getting to the line and seeing some free throws going in is a great way to get a struggling shooter back on track. I'm sure he'll be coached up on this in the future though.

ThadMattasagoblin

December 8th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^

I think we really lost that game at the 3 point line. I don't know if our 3 point defense was terrible or they were just shooting an ungodly percentage in spite of us playing good D.

Trolling

December 8th, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^

I think Brian has discussed 3pt defense before and the conclusions drawn are basically that once the shot goes up - all you have is chance, your best bet is to limit attempts. Teams that play Wisconsin, who doesn't allow many threes to go up, shoot a low % against them. NJIT shoots just under 22 threes per game, and shot significantly fewer (17) against us, which would indicate better 3pt defense than their average opponent. They were on fire, that is all we can draw, and hopefully Beilein uses this to motivate some players during conference and tournament play.

Yinka Double Dare

December 8th, 2014 at 6:09 PM ^

They were just shooting an ungodly percentage. I mean, one of them was a stepback 3 with Walton draped all over him. Another one was from like 30 feet. They hit a running floater from 7, 8 feet out with our best defender (Caris) practically in his shorts AND Doyle getting over to challenge. Sometimes they just can't miss.

The defensive problems were more in regards to them getting in the lane at will for a while. The D tightened up on that and then everything they threw up there went in anyway. 

Tater

December 8th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^

I am putting NJIT in the "Shit Happens" file.  In basketball, an otherwise inferior team can get hot from 3-pt range.  It's just the way it goes.  If this is the worst thing that happens all season, it could end up being a great one.  Really, it's just another digit in the loss column.  It didn't affect Michigan's Big Ten record and it won't make much of a difference in their NCAA seeding if they are playing well at the end of the season.

freejs

December 9th, 2014 at 4:01 AM ^

when the Duke squads were noticeably thin in the front court and a tick down in overall star power, they were still Duke, but - they were susceptible to getting beat by a team catching fire from three while they clanged all their threes on the other end. Iirc, that's what happened when Grady and co. beat them in Crisler. Although it may be that we just shot well, minus the three barrage, but I'm pretty sure they missed a bunch of 3's in that game. 

SysMark

December 8th, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^

You would think a guy with Davis' supposed level of professionalism would be able to start these things off without the old "I don't mean to sound harsh, but...", when you're obviously about to get real harsh.  Just say it without the melodrama.

turtleboy

December 8th, 2014 at 7:17 PM ^

Staee friends on Facebook had all kinds of things to say to me about our bball loss, no posts after their game with ND though. Karma is a wonderful thing sometimes