Edited by WayBackVazquez, 17 October 2012 - 11:30 AM.
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2012 - 2013 Michigan Wolverines Basketball
#2
Posted 17 October 2012 - 11:47 AM
This doesn't look like a flash in the pan either, Michigan's pretty consistently appeared to be in the discussion for 5 star prospects of late, something that seemed impossible just a few seasons ago.
#3
Posted 17 October 2012 - 01:27 PM
#5
Posted 18 October 2012 - 08:20 AM
I didn't watch them a ton last year, but this seems like a surprisingly high ranking to me. Not saying it's unwarranted, just surprising. Then again, I'm probably just bitter that the Ohio University team that beat Michigan in the tournament, went to the Sweet 16 and returns their entire team didn't manage a single vote.
#6
Posted 18 October 2012 - 10:10 AM
PF Evan Smotrycz
SG Carlton Brundidge
BW Colton Christian
All three transferred and of the three, only Smotrycz played significant minutes.
In:
SG Caris Levart
SF Glen Robinson III
PF/C Mitch McGary
SG Nick Stauskas
PG Spike Albrecht
McGary and Robinson are the two that should be expected to make significant contributions. Stauskas is a lights out shooter, so I could see him being in there a lot too. Levart and Albrecht are late additions to the class (following the transfers), so I know less about them. I don't know if we're a top 5 team, but we added a ton of talent that I hope stays at MIchigan and is good for a couple deep tournament runs.
#7
Posted 18 October 2012 - 10:55 AM
Out of curiosity, what did Michigan add/lose from last year's team?
Out:
PF Evan Smotrycz
SG Carlton Brundidge
BW Colton Christian
All three transferred and of the three, only Smotrycz played significant minutes.
And seniors Novak and Douglas, who were rather large contributors in the lockerroom and on the court. Novak especially.
#8
Posted 19 October 2012 - 06:18 PM
Douglas was solid, but frankly his production screams replaceable His value, outside of spacing the floor a bit, was mainly as a guy who could bring the ball up when Trey was out of the game, and even that he struggled with at times. I think Stauskas should be able to step in and replace anything we got from him, despite the experience gap.
There are a lot of people who will rate Smotrycz impact on the team last year as incredibly important, but he put up HUGE numbers in games against cupcakes and then proceeded to shit the metaphorical bed during the BigTen season. Fans started to groan when he'd touch the ball, and frankly I think his confidence was really shook. It'd be nice if he was still around, but I don't think he was really capable of handling the spotlight at Michigan. Ultimately he didn't really contribute when it mattered last season.
I think another year of development for Burke will be huge. An awesome freshmen class makes Michigan one of the more talented rosters in the nation, so their ranking really shouldn't be that surprising. I'd probably have them more around 7 or 8, but to each their own. The talent on the roster seems to fit together really well too, with a smooth all around PG in Burke who can create for others, a solid SG with a bit of Rip Hamilton in him with Tim Hardaway JR, a slashing, athletic SF in Glenn Robinson III, a high energy athletic big in McGary, and then a number of other bigs and wings who are capable of seeing the floor with those 4 depending on whether the team wants to go big or small. Beilein hates having more than 1 guy who can't space the floor on the court, so it sort of goes against his schemes to have both Jordan Morgan and McGary on the court together, but I think Beilein will adjust to take advantage of finally having some legitimate big men to work with.
#9
Posted 19 October 2012 - 06:32 PM
#10
Posted 12 November 2012 - 07:43 AM
As far as the freshman, I'd say Stauskas has been the most impressive. I'd heard he was a terrific shooter, and I've seen videos that back up this "theory." He's a pleasure to watch shoot. I am also enjoying the Hardaway to GR3 oop that seems to be a staple of every game. Our guys might not be as hyped as Nerlens or Shabazz, but they can play.
We host IUPUI tonight, so hopefully we get some good time watching the freshmen. It's on ESPN U.
#11
Posted 14 November 2012 - 06:35 PM
Edited by Dick Pole Upside, 14 November 2012 - 06:35 PM.
#12
Posted 14 November 2012 - 06:53 PM
Burke is still Burke, but Hardaway has improved immensely and seems to have become more assertive. It's not like last year, where he'd force being the man. This year, he is the man. The other highly improved player is Jordan Morgan, who has lost a lot of weight, and just looks infinitely more athletic. This team is talented and deep. We'll see how the defense and free throw shooting comes together, but they look very good.
SSS and lower quality opponents so far aside.
#14
Posted 16 November 2012 - 12:46 PM
#15
Posted 23 November 2012 - 06:40 PM
Edited by Dgilpin, 23 November 2012 - 07:19 PM.
#16
Posted 23 November 2012 - 06:50 PM
The thing that's obviously going to be of concern heading into the NC State game is the status of Hardaway. He was wobbly as all hell when he walked off the court after taking a knee to the back of the head. I wouldn't be surprising if he had a concussion, and I wouldn't expect him to be cleared to play so soon. We'll see though.
#19
Posted 27 November 2012 - 09:12 PM
Dan Dakich on McGary: "He's got a good basketball IQ. He knows who he is... he's a big, giant brute that plays like a big, giant brute." I love it... And he's right!
And Stauskas... Holy Moly can he stroke it.
#21
Posted 08 December 2012 - 02:18 PM
#22
Posted 15 December 2012 - 11:07 PM
#24
Posted 17 December 2012 - 09:09 PM
In short: bummer for Horford, but I think the Wolverines will hold up without him.
#25
Posted 20 December 2012 - 10:29 PM
After some more low quality opponents, some higher quality opponents, I'll say most if not all of what I've said has been reinforced. This is probably the best ball movement from a Michigan team since the Fab Five, right (I'm asking because I don't remember/know)? Mitch McGary is earning more minutes and getting adjusted to the college game. He notched his first double double tonight and was impressive overall. Bielfeldt looked alright, taking Horford's minutes. Three offensive rebounds. Yes, please. Burke and Junior had 8 and 7 assists respectively and I'm not even sure if they deserve the credit or if it's the shooters on this team. Air Canada had a 5/8 performance...all from 3 pointers!They just move the ball so well. I think that it's tough to call what they do chucking. They're not forcing shots. They're moving the ball to the open guy, and there are so many good shooters and they have so much confidence in each other. They spread the perimeter well too, so they create a lot of easy layups/dunks as well. Stauskas might be the best shooter in the country when it's all said and done. He might miss once, but he won't miss again.
Burke is still Burke, but Hardaway has improved immensely and seems to have become more assertive. It's not like last year, where he'd force being the man. This year, he is the man. The other highly improved player is Jordan Morgan, who has lost a lot of weight, and just looks infinitely more athletic. This team is talented and deep. We'll see how the defense and free throw shooting comes together, but they look very good.
SSS and lower quality opponents so far aside.
They are so fun to watch.
#26
Posted 04 January 2013 - 10:30 AM
It seemed like everything in last night's game went our way. It began before the game where it was known that Northwestern would be without their leading scorer. Additionally, we saw that Hardaway Jr. would be back in the line up. If you consider the former, you've got to believe that Northwestern will battle harder at Crisler at the end of the month. If you consider that Hardaway was rumored to be hurt more than it seemed (last night), then you just have to be just damn impressed.
At one point in the game, Hardaway lost his shoe, continued to dribble, then drained a three like it ain't no thang.
Hardaway and Burke were insanely on and the whole team just clicked. They were the catalysts, but Morgan played well too, finishing with a double double. Tre, who has been somewhat quiet relative to his other peers, had a solid game. If anybody struggled, you'd have to say it was Nik Stauskas with his 2/7 performance from downtown. The important thing is that it didn't even matter. Michigan cruised to its largest Big Ten road victory since 1964.
Next up for the Wolverines are the Hawkeyes on Sunday at noon. That'll be followed up by Nebraska next Wednesday before a big game against Ohio State on the 13th (yes, if you're a Patriots/Michigan fan, you can tune into CBS all day).
#29
Posted 06 January 2013 - 08:57 PM
This could very well be the best team in the country. Burke's 18.2 points, 7.5 assists numbers are the best for a Big Ten player since...Magic in 78-79. He has to be leading the PotY race right now.
There's no could be , they are the best. Without a doubt the best offense in the country , so many different ways for them to beat you. Four different guys who can carry the scoring load on any given night. Bring on the Hoosiers and the Buckeyes
#30
Posted 09 January 2013 - 08:52 PM
In any case, maybe they were looking ahead to this weekend, maybe not, but to struggle as bad as they did tonight and come out with a win is pretty awesome.
#31
Posted 13 January 2013 - 09:13 AM
#33
Posted 13 January 2013 - 03:44 PM
I fear that Michigan has shown the formula to beat them. They're going to have to find ways to overcome that (McGary or Morgan inside?).
#34
Posted 14 January 2013 - 12:57 PM
After getting over the fact it sucks to lose to Ohio St., I'm not that upset with the loss. I was pleased to see them fight back and tie the game late in the second half. This team has not faced many deficits this season, so it was nice to see them respond well, instead of pack it in and lose by 15. Also considering the Big Ten this year is an absolute meat grinder, I think its going to be very difficult for anyone to win at Michigan, Ohio St., Indiana or Minnesota. All four of those are top 10 ten quality teams, and they all are extremely tough at home. That doesn't even take into account teams like Michigan St. and Wisconsin who historically are very good at home as well. For me the biggest thing yesterday was the turnovers, for a team that has really taken care of the ball well it was very uncharacteristic to turn the ball over 13 times. Looking forward Thursday at Minnesota should be an equally tough match up, a win there would go a long way to helping me forget about about Sundays loss.
Edited by Dgilpin, 14 January 2013 - 12:59 PM.
#39
Posted 25 January 2013 - 09:04 AM
New rankings come out Monday, and we have a game before then, so I'm going to have to give you:
Yes I know, I just feel like this is definitely the best team in the country right now. Illinois should be tough, especially at their place. I know they have some crappy losses this year, but they seem to play to their level of competition. A win there and then a win home against Northwestern would be great, since their next 4 games will be absolutely brutal: @Indiana, Ohio St. @Wisconsin, and @ Michigan St. That has to be one of the toughest 4 games stretches anyone will play this season.
Edited by Dgilpin, 25 January 2013 - 09:04 AM.
#40
Posted 25 January 2013 - 01:07 PM
Yes I know, I just feel like this is definitely the best team in the country right now. Illinois should be tough, especially at their place. I know they have some crappy losses this year, but they seem to play to their level of competition. A win there and then a win home against Northwestern would be great, since their next 4 games will be absolutely brutal: @Indiana, Ohio St. @Wisconsin, and @ Michigan St. That has to be one of the toughest 4 games stretches anyone will play this season.
I no doubt feel the same way. This is the best team in the country, but we're still fighting against a national perception that Michigan hasn't been good and is still unproven. Part of that is trying to build the program back to what it was a couple decades ago, part of that is that a lot of our players are freshmen and hence unknown. It's hard to give credit to players you don't know, and I'm strictly talking about that from a national media perspective. There aren't any easy games in the Big Ten especially on the road. Assembly Hall should be rocking on Sunday, but I think that the boys will respond. It'll probably be another one of these close at halftime, up by 15 points at the end type of games.
That four game stretch is absolute brutal. If they can come out with a 3-1 record from that, I'd be ecstatic. 4-0 and I'll be peachy.
On the game last night, it was nice to see the balanced attack and Stauskas to start hitting shots again. Hopefully, he can continue that away from Crisler.
#41
Posted 25 January 2013 - 01:39 PM
Agreed, I feel Stauskas is the difference in the offense from being really good to National Championship good. Right now they are already the most efficient offense in the country according to KenPom, averaging 1.23 points per possession. But when he's hitting his three's the offense is almost impossible to defend, I also appreciate his willingness/ability to take the ball to the basket and no just sit on the outside. McGary evolution this year has also been impressive, I really like what I see out of him and I love his intensity. By tournament time and going into next year I can see him being a huge part of the offense.
Looking forward I'm really beginning to get the sinking feeling that Burke, Hardaway and Robinson will be gone next season. The good news is Michigan right now has the 12th ranked recruiting class, with all 3 recruits being ranked in the ESPN 100. Two, Zak Irvin(SF) and Derrick Walton(PG) could be potential Burke and Robinson fill in's.
#43
Posted 28 January 2013 - 01:01 PM
So that should make it official , northwestern at home Wednesday and then at Assembly Hall Saturday for Indiana. Lets good this number 1 ranking lasts longer than 1 week
Well, we're going to have to wait at least a week (highly dependent on whether we defeat Indiana on Saturday or not) to get #1 in the coaches poll as Kansas takes the #1 spot...by 3 votes. As I've said all along, it doesn't matter being #1 during the season if you can't win all the things you set out to win before the season (Big Ten regular season, Big Ten tournament, National Championship). It's about what you do, not necessarily how you're regarded (if you do those things, you're going to be highly regarded). Northwestern should be a good game. Indiana should be a great game.
#44
Posted 28 January 2013 - 01:58 PM
Well, we're number 1 in the AP Poll:
For the first time since the Fab Five wore maize and blue uniforms, Michigan is the No. 1 team in the country.
After occupying spots two through five this season, the Wolverines finally moved to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 released this afternoon after a school-record 19-1 start. The Wolverines earned 51 first place votes ahead of Kansas with 13 and Florida with one.
So there's that.
#46
Posted 30 January 2013 - 11:04 PM
Indiana and Michigan Saturday night in Bloomington should be a heck of a game. Both teams looked great tonight and didn't overlook opponents, especially IU considering that Purdue plays them hard. Should be an incredible atmosphere in Bloomington Saturday.
Edited by Wings, 30 January 2013 - 11:05 PM.
#48
Posted 31 January 2013 - 10:16 AM
From ESPN stats, Michigan was only the 4th D1 team to have 2 turnovers in a game this season and the only one to beat another D1 team in the process. As stated earlier, it was nice not to see Michigan look ahead at all. I can't wait for Saturday night.
Edited by Dgilpin, 31 January 2013 - 10:23 AM.
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