Glenn
02-01-2007, 08:39 AM
Here's the place to track and discuss Amaker's eventual firing.
Anybody want to throw out some potential replacement candidates?
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/COL22/702010431/1123/SPORTS02
Is Amaker's fate sealed?
As usual, coach's team folds under pressure
February 1, 2007
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Tommy Amaker wonders why there are so many questions about his Michigan's 16-7 record. Perhaps it is because people have watched his team.
Michigan just lost to Iowa at home. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad, but trust me: It looked awful.
The Hawkeyes would be a legitimate NCAA tournament contender if they just had a better non-conference record, more talent and a good coach. They lost at Drake by 16. They lost at home to Northern Iowa. Wednesday night, they spent the first half discussing who their next coach would be. They missed 17 of their first 20 shots and were just as bad defensively; Courtney Sims scored 19 first-half points for Michigan, and on several of his dunks, Iowa did everything but provide an elevator.
The Hawkeyes were down 11 with less than 14 minutes left.
Then they went on a 20-1 run.
Or to put it another way: Michigan went on a 1-20 free fall. In that stretch, the Wolverines lost a game, probably blew their season and might have ended a head coaching career.
Afterward, Amaker said his team showed "great heart and passion in the first 20 minutes. For whatever reason, we didn't sustain it in the next 20." He spoke in incredibly calm tones for somebody whose job is on the line. The problem is not that he was like that after Wednesday's game. He is like that after every game.
The best coaches get angry when their teams play poorly but win. Amaker could never bring himself to do that. His personality demands too much positive reinforcement, and he gives too much to his players. It is a likeable trait, but not a winning one.
What went wrong Wednesday? For one, Dion Harris, the MVP of the team thus far, had the worst game of his life. Heck, this would have been the worst game of Avery Queen's life. Harris missed all 11 of his field goals and didn't score a point until there was less than five minutes left, when he hit a free throw. Harris smiled. Then he missed the next one.
It was that kind of night for Harris, and it probably sealed his fate as an NIT-only college player.
Halfway through the Big Ten schedule, Michigan is 4-4. U-M needs to go 5-3 the rest of the way -- and the second-half slate is a lot tougher. Even if the Wolverines sweep lowly Minnesota, which is so bad the uniforms actually say "Lowly Minnesota" on them, they would probably need three other wins against the following schedule: two games against Ohio State, two against MSU, home against Indiana and at Illinois.
Is it possible? In a world where Kevin Federline is a celebrity, anything is possible. But it is unlikely. Here's why:
All of those teams are a lot better than Iowa.
If the Wolverines fail to make the NCAA tournament, will U-M bring Amaker back for a seventh year? I don't see how it can. Athletic director Bill Martin has been incredibly complimentary of Amaker in the past but noticeably silent about him this year. And though Michigan is a football school, Martin is a basketball fan; he was a regular at U-M men's and women's games for many years before becoming athletic director.
Martin has seen the same program as the rest of us: a talented team that folds under pressure, shows little mental toughness and has long stretches of offensive cluelessness.
This squad looks like most of Amaker's teams: not bad, but not good enough. And with a tough schedule coming up, will this year's Wolverines collapse like last year's Wolverines did?
"I guess we'll find out," Amaker said.
I think we just did.
Anybody want to throw out some potential replacement candidates?
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/COL22/702010431/1123/SPORTS02
Is Amaker's fate sealed?
As usual, coach's team folds under pressure
February 1, 2007
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Tommy Amaker wonders why there are so many questions about his Michigan's 16-7 record. Perhaps it is because people have watched his team.
Michigan just lost to Iowa at home. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad, but trust me: It looked awful.
The Hawkeyes would be a legitimate NCAA tournament contender if they just had a better non-conference record, more talent and a good coach. They lost at Drake by 16. They lost at home to Northern Iowa. Wednesday night, they spent the first half discussing who their next coach would be. They missed 17 of their first 20 shots and were just as bad defensively; Courtney Sims scored 19 first-half points for Michigan, and on several of his dunks, Iowa did everything but provide an elevator.
The Hawkeyes were down 11 with less than 14 minutes left.
Then they went on a 20-1 run.
Or to put it another way: Michigan went on a 1-20 free fall. In that stretch, the Wolverines lost a game, probably blew their season and might have ended a head coaching career.
Afterward, Amaker said his team showed "great heart and passion in the first 20 minutes. For whatever reason, we didn't sustain it in the next 20." He spoke in incredibly calm tones for somebody whose job is on the line. The problem is not that he was like that after Wednesday's game. He is like that after every game.
The best coaches get angry when their teams play poorly but win. Amaker could never bring himself to do that. His personality demands too much positive reinforcement, and he gives too much to his players. It is a likeable trait, but not a winning one.
What went wrong Wednesday? For one, Dion Harris, the MVP of the team thus far, had the worst game of his life. Heck, this would have been the worst game of Avery Queen's life. Harris missed all 11 of his field goals and didn't score a point until there was less than five minutes left, when he hit a free throw. Harris smiled. Then he missed the next one.
It was that kind of night for Harris, and it probably sealed his fate as an NIT-only college player.
Halfway through the Big Ten schedule, Michigan is 4-4. U-M needs to go 5-3 the rest of the way -- and the second-half slate is a lot tougher. Even if the Wolverines sweep lowly Minnesota, which is so bad the uniforms actually say "Lowly Minnesota" on them, they would probably need three other wins against the following schedule: two games against Ohio State, two against MSU, home against Indiana and at Illinois.
Is it possible? In a world where Kevin Federline is a celebrity, anything is possible. But it is unlikely. Here's why:
All of those teams are a lot better than Iowa.
If the Wolverines fail to make the NCAA tournament, will U-M bring Amaker back for a seventh year? I don't see how it can. Athletic director Bill Martin has been incredibly complimentary of Amaker in the past but noticeably silent about him this year. And though Michigan is a football school, Martin is a basketball fan; he was a regular at U-M men's and women's games for many years before becoming athletic director.
Martin has seen the same program as the rest of us: a talented team that folds under pressure, shows little mental toughness and has long stretches of offensive cluelessness.
This squad looks like most of Amaker's teams: not bad, but not good enough. And with a tough schedule coming up, will this year's Wolverines collapse like last year's Wolverines did?
"I guess we'll find out," Amaker said.
I think we just did.