i like this michigan basketball team II

[b-diddy]

this team is back on track. that losing streak was awfully painful, and it likely ended any hope we had at the tourney, but even so there is a ton to play for this year. i love seeing the kids take the step forward.

the butterfly is gonna make all big ten honors next year, if not this.

tim hardaway jr is a stud. 3 star i dont think so. he's got all the tools to be a PTP'er

and now that sr is broke i wouldnt be surprised if he got a little extra coaching from dad in the offseason. maybe teach him the ol' "killer crossover". tell me thats not fundamental.

evan smotrycz, cant call him disapointing, more like lost in the shuffle. kid has game. just think he needs a little time to establish his role on the team playin third fiddle to morris and THjr.

and the big men are legit. morgan is decently polished as a red shirt freshman, john horford is a beast and seems to get better every game.

even matt vogritch seems to have found his shooting stroke.

its not gonna be 11 before UM wins in the breslin center, you can bet that.

[Jethro34]

sooooooo....apparently the UM hoops thread was not good enough for you?

Here's the catch, I like this team when they hit 3's. When they don't they can be painful to watch.

Also, these freshmen bigs have hit the wall. Morgan was fantastic the early part of the season, and is worn down now. I still wish the incoming recruiting class, while talented, wasn't exclusively two 6 footers. Iowa is horrible and still had the game manageable the entire first half. A lot of that came from our wiped out freshmen allowing the green hot sauce with sushi to go nuts. (I swear I kept hearing wasabi while watching the game).

They need to get better each year and not go backward, then they'll be quite good. Like last year's team - Harris and Sims were stagnant instead of taking the final step forward most expected them to.

[Timone]

^ shining some basketball knowledge

[b-diddy]

nice win today. win at psu isnt easy, and michigan did it with THJ game being ruined by foul trouble.

the butterfly and jr will be the best backcourt in the big ten next year, if they arent already this year.

frankly, this win is more impressive than winning at the breslin.

[Jethro34]

Is anyone else concerned that people will get to Morris and Hardaway with talk of their "upside" and the potential weakness of this year's draft, and therefore make leaving early a potential concern?

Both still have a ton more to work on, but for the last few years we've seen really good NCAA players drafted behind unproven guys. There were some lottery picks last year that were far from ready. People might see a guy with the slashing ability, court vision, and size of Morris and get him thinking about the draft. Hardaway seems further away, to me, but not outside of the realm of possibility.

[Jethro34]

By the way, I in no way want to suggest that Hardaway would be a 1st round pick in this year's draft, but if you compare him to Elliott Williams drafted by Portland out of Memphis last year - I thing the comparison is fair. Similar in size, and Williams was picked as a sophomore last year and teams might choose to take a guy with the same "potential" earlier if the draft looks weak.
I'm not sure which SGs are in line to be top picks this year.
My hope is that his 37% FG scares them all away. While some may blame that number on 3-happy Beilein system, his % on 2 pointers is even only 43%.
Clearly he is an athletic talent that can be a great asset on this team, but his shooting and shot selection need great improvement.

[Tahoe]

I don't follow as much but thought Morris would be more apt to go, no?

[b-diddy]

i dont think so.

1) with the cba expiring, not a good year to go pro. the most they'll raise the minimum age, if at all, wouldnt effect either guy.

2) beilein convinced harris to stick around a year when manny was further along than these two and a worse fit for the offense.

3) beilein, unlike amaker, has shown that he molds talent very well. this is a crucial time in their careers to develop their games. would you rather do it with a proven coach like beilein, at the end of the bench in the nba, god knows where in the nbdl, or even miss a year do to a lockout?

never say never, but players bolting this year isnt a worry of mine.

[b-diddy]

also, the dream of ncaa tournament is not dead, yet. the 6 game losing streak + losing at OSU hurt, but there are still scenarios to get into the tourney.

remaining schedule:

vs nw
vs indy
@ il
@ iowa
vs wisco
@ minny
vs msu

we're 14-10 (4-7). a pretty likely scenario is finishing 4-3, 8-10 in the big ten. even though msu is gonna bring it for that last game, i maintain my stance that they are just a bad team, and michigan will beat their best.

at 18-13 (8-10), and not really having a signature win, they'd need to do alot of damage in the btt. right now, theyre schedule is ranked 9th hardest in the country, and theyve played the top teams tough, but thats a pretty weak argument.

they would do themselves a huge favor by winning the 4 obvious ones, and stealing a win out of one of my 3 losses. if we can finish 9-9 in the big ten, suddenly the argument changes from "why should they belong" to "why shouldnt they belong". also, those iowa and indy losses dont look quite as bad with both playing well of late. 1 win in the btt and we'd have 20 wins and have finished in the top half of the big ten.

anyway, my point is the path is still open, and doesnt involve having to win the btt.

[b-diddy]

solid win tonight. love the diaper dandies taking over.



i have no doubt last year, northwestern would have taken this game. instead, we almost let it slip away but didnt.

i think if we beat indiana saturday the bubble talk will begin.

i still think 3-3 is the likeliest finish, but looking at that schedule, they got to think there are no unwinnable games left.