2011: Johnny B's Make-or-Break Recruiting Class

Most people can foresee that the upcoming 2010-2011 Michigan basketball season will be a struggle. If you didn't know, allow me to refresh you with a simple equation:

Losing Team+ a bunch of decent freshman- leading scorer - leading rebounder= _________


I hate to sound too much like the kid who screams out answers before the teacher asks the class, but acceptable answers here are: uh-oh, damn it, a worse team, and do we really have to talk about the 2010-2011 Michigan Wolverines basketball team?

No. We do not have to talk about the 2010-2011 Michigan Wolverines (not yet anyway), because I believe that a true reflection of where a John Beilein coached team is headed is not exemplified by next year's team, but rather, is captured in the 2011 recruiting class. In essence, if you haven't been following basketball recruiting for the class of 2011, then you should. Currently, Beilein has only one commit, but is in the hunt for some premium talent. If all goes well, it could be the beginning of a flowering Michigan Basketball program under John Beilein.

What we have committed(according to scout):

6'1" Shooting Guard- Carlton Brundidge **** (Southfield, MI)
- Carlton is a scorer unlike any other we've seen at the University of Michigan in the past few years in the sense that does not have a lanky build like Manny Harris or Deshawn Sims. Sure, we've seen the undersized David Merritt drain the occassional 3-pointer, but this kid is a SCORER. He can't grab rebounds like Manny Harris, he isn't as tall as Darius Morris, but he puts the rock in the circular file. Remember this name, because he will surely impress when he sports the maize and blue.


What we have a decent shot at:

6'9" Center- Amir Williams **** (Beverly Hills, MI)
- While it is true that Michigan is competing with basketball powerhouses such as UNC, Duke, and Michigan State for this kid, Michigan still holds a few wild card factors that could play into its favor when attempting to land this kid. 1) He is a local kid. 2) He is friends with Carlton Brundidge (see above), and has done interviews with Carlton in which Carlton openly admits that he constantly recruits his AAU teammate Amir to come to Michigan. 3) He goes to Detroit Country Day. Now, the last time I checked, Michigan got a 6'9" center from DCD about 20 years ago and he went first overall in the NBA draft (I'm just saying...).

7'0" Center- Marshall Plumlee **** (Arden, NC)
- How John Beilein has found a way to maneuver Michigan into being one this kid's 3 "high interest" schools continues to baffle me, but I won't complain. Marshall Plumlee, whose two older brothers Miles and Mason just won a title at Duke, is a kid with size, versatility, and scoring ability. As mentioned, I'm not sure how John Beilein has slid Michigan into the race for this kid, but whatever he's doing, I like it.


What we have an outside shot at:

6'10" Power Forward- Cody Zeller ***** (Washington, IN)
- Yes, Michigan is in the hunt for a 5 star (according to scout) recruit. Much like Plumlee, I have no answers for how Beilein got into this position, but I do know this: Michigan is one of this kid's top 7 schools, and he has said in an interview that John Beilein is a guy that he could see himself playing for.



Yes, there is a still a lot of work to be done, and yes, star ratings are not perfect determinants of a player's potential. However, if your maize and blue heart is empty after a fruitless basketball season last year (and potentially one this year), I encourage you to look to the future. There is no guarantee that Michigan will land any of the non-committed recruits above, but if it could land one to compliment Brundidge, along with a 3 star supporting cast, John Beilein may be ready to take this program to the next level.

Manny Harris Suspension Rumor Mill

Michigan basketball star guard Manny Harris was reinstated today by Coach John Beilein after serving a one-game suspension for an unnamed offense that occurred during practice on Friday. While Harris has officially rejoined his teammates for their showdown with Michigan State at Crisler tomorrow evening - sparing Wolverine fans from what would have been utter humiliation - there has been no official word on what Manny L'Adorable Harris did to deserve sitting out the team's brutal loss to Purdue. WCBN Sports offers their best guesses:

• Harris, enraged when Michael Rosenberg interrogated him about the length of Coach Beilein's practices, punched the hack Free Press "journalist" squarely in the face. Beilein, while impressed by Harris' defense of his honor, was forced to suspend Harris, much to the pleasure of Rosenberg, whose vendetta against all things West Virginia continues to destroy everything beautiful about Michigan.

• Freshman walk-on and Club Trillion member Josh Bartelstein showed up to practice Friday and Manny Harris promptly delivered a roundhouse kick to his face, apparently, for existing. Coach Beilein was overhead laughing, and was seen high-fiving Harris, but out of the fear that Bartelstein's father would pull the $500,000 contribution he made to the program to secure Josh's spot, he decided to suspend Harris for one game.

What a clown.

Beilein applauds Manny doing what everyone else wanted to do.

Got other theories? Post them in the comments. WCBN Sports will continue to follow this breaking story and bring you updated rumors as they develop.

Running Diary: Illinois/UM from Friday

Night number two of our Live Blogging here on M&B. Again, apparently Canseco Fieldhouse has the worst internet server to ever be created. So we did this running diary during the game and edited it early this morning. Thanks for the patience.

Alllllllllright!!!! Back for Round Two! Between now and when we finished last nights game, here’s what happened:

• Rob and Stu were forced to share a bed after I won odds/evens throw-down to win the single.

• We saw LeBron make a case for defensive player of the year with his block on Jason Richardson.

• UConn/Syracuse played the game that never ended.

• Talked to Gus Johnson over beers.

• Drunk Iowa BTN intern spit all over Stu while trying to start a conversation with us and WOLV-TV

• I attended a job fair that didn’t take resumes

OK! Good times. Now on to the game…

Crowd has filled in nicely to the Fieldhouse. The fans are 80-20 in favor of Illinois. This feels like a UI home game.

“Queme los barcos”: The UM team comes out of the locker room wearing shirts with this phrase on the back. It means “Burn the ships” and was the message Cortes told his troops before storming the New World. Basically, it was a “leave it on the court” metaphor.

(By the end of the game, I was calling for the team to burn the shirts along with the ship they traveled in).

GAMETIME: Like the show 24, events occur in real time,

17:54 Douglass puts it on the floor and gets called for a 5 second. At least he put it on the floor as opposed to the picking up of his dribble. Of all the players on this team, Douglass has the biggest identity crisis. Scores 20 against UConn, and then disappears down the stretch in the B10 schedule. He plays great defense, and then we don’t hear from him for three straight games. I give up trying to figure this kid out.

16:33 Zack Novak hits the deck and is bleeding. The official tells Beilein “He’s bleeding again.” I swear Novak loses more blood a week than any other player in any sport I’ve ever seen. They really should set up some sort of charity deal with the Red Cross where U of M will donate 100 dollars for every time Novak loses blood on the court. This would be the biggest charitable donation in U of M history. Guaranteed.

15:14 McCamey for three. 7-4 Illini. Anthony Wright into the game for the Wolverines. He attempts his first three and it’s way off. Over/Under Anthony Wright taking 2.5 shots on the next three possessions…or until he feels better about himself.

13:28 Davis with another turnaround over Novak. He is getting whatever he wants off the low block. I’m feeling Déjà vu from last time we saw him, where we made him look like Antonio McDyess 11-9 Illini.

11:40 Douglass for three!!!! Davis answers with a jumper. He looks like Sims last night. This could get ugly real fast.

This is a good time to mention that Michigan is going to be in trouble during the tourney if they face a team with a big front line that can pass (See Memphis or MSU). Right now, they have Novak playing the 4-spot. I know he’s a great shooter, but they NEEEEEEEEED Jevohn Shepherd to be ready come next Thursday. Hell, I’ll take Wright, too. But if they insist on starting four guards against a frontline that all hovers over 6’8, I would suggest everyone save their money and not even book a hotel room for the first round.

10:00 Coach Beilein just called the Illini “not a good rebounding team.” Irony?

9:10 Novak takes a charge underneath the hoop. I’ve seen this call go either way 6 times today in the previous two games played here today. The rule change that needs to happen most is the charge under the hoop. If this happened, Manny Harris would set the record for foul shots in a month.

7:33 Mike Davis has ten points. Anthony Wright back into the game as Merrit knocks down a three. Wright puts a bigger body on Davis. I like this match-up. Maybe not as much as with Jevohn Shepherd, but we are up 22-18. I’m going with it.

5:28 Zack Gibson with his second reverse in as many possessions. Good thing Illinois doesn’t watch film, or else they’d know this is all he does on the low block.

4:22 Heat-check 3 by Gibson. Way long. CJ Lee just said “Don’t leave McCamey! Leave Jordan” in the huddle. Stu said “That’s the first time any one has ever said ‘Don’t help on Jordan!’ in a basketball huddle.”

3:49 Timeout on the floor.

I need to mention quickly that Larry Fitzgerald Sr. is here covering the tournament for his Minnesota newspaper. Fitzgerald Sr. was the subject of a ton of coverage for the super bowl because his son (Larry Jr.) was playing. He said he refused to cheer in the press box if they he scored, in order to not appear biased.

Good to see Larry Sr. holding his journalistic integrity to the highest degree.

…However, it hasn’t stopped him from wearing a Cardinal’s No.11 jersey this whole weekend. Each day. At least it was easy to tell who he was.

2:36 Wright. Shepherd. Lee. Sims. Harris. Lineup combo 102098756 for Coach Beilein this year.

1:19 Meachem on Harris. I’m thinking mismatch. Michigan thinks otherwise and settles for a Novak fade-away three that lands way short.

23.5 Manny with an incredibly awkward looking three point. He shot that as if he was walking a tightrope with one foot in front of the next. Something is not right with this team…

0.00 Illinois misfires at the end of the half, but keeps a one point lead. 25-24 Illini. I’m trying to figure out whether I should be looking for a hotel, or drinking more coffee for the ride home.

HALFTIME:

Stu has nothing to add. Terrible shooting half. This team almost looks like they won the first game vs. Iowa, and then collectively thought “Uhhh so… what do we do now?” They just look a step slow.

Here is our Halftime exchange with Rob:

Rob: We are playing well!

Stu: Is that sarcasm?

Rob: No, it wasn’t Iowa yesterday but if they play that was in the 2^nd half they win.

Stu: They are shooting 9-30!

Rob: Relax. It will work out.

10 minute pause….

Rob: Alright. Well, these stats are worse than I thought.

SECONG HALF:

19:22 Tisdale hits the Illgauskas-patented 16 footer off the high screen and roll. Sims answers with a deuce of his own. 27-26 Illini

16:56 Davis with the full court reception and bucket…Then the steal….and then the dunk. Partisan crowd roars with approval. Bruce Weber is one of those coaches that likes to run the wacky schemes that have you pass up open shot, but also wants to run when he can. Well, they are definitely running. Timeout Michigan. 33-26 Illini.

14:13 Douglass has a two-on-one with Harris cutting to the hoop. Here is my thought process:

“GO! Nice steal! He's got Manny on the wing. Take it- wait…

What’s he doing? He’s slowing… He’s not going to sho- NO! #@$%!!!!!!!!!!!

(Missed three)

Uhhhhhh, OK. Five steps more and he’s got Harris on the low block. Wide open.

5 seconds later...

Coach Beilein: "Five more steps for the wide open lay-up!"

See? Me and Coach see eye-to-eye on plenty of stuff.

12:26 Meachem with a dagger three. Manny with the runner that goes too long. Crowd is roaring behind us. It looks as if Illini was the only team to buy second session tickets.

Bill Martin just used his phone to cancel his hotel reservation for tonight.

10:27 Sims with a steal and the forced foul at the other end. Splits the pair. Just notced Jeffrey Jordan has a “Jumpman” tattoo on his entire right shoulder. Jeff, your dad is Michael Jordan. Everyone knows this! This might be the worst tattoo decision I’ve seen in a long time.

9:20 Sims walks after getting good low post presence. Mich looks a step slow and every three is landing short. That’s a sign of tired legs. See Iowa/Mich live blog below.

7:08 Davis has 20 pts and ten boards. I don’t know what they thought was going to happen defensively here, but he can’t miss. This is just unbelievable. If they send Wright out there to guard Davis, Tisdale runs the pick-and-pop with McCamey. They just don’t have the weapons and strength to guard UI at this point.

4:12 Sims for 3 from 19 feet… even though Rob had the call and said it was a 30 footer! Like Belushi giving his speech in Animal House, Rob was in the moment and we are letting it slide. Momentum is starting to swing slightly at this point.

3:29 Sims on the lay-up. Down by 7. UI controls. Here we go.

2:55 Davis squashes that run with the turnaround. Novak tosses it off Sims’ hands and into the back court. Over and Back. This is the basketball equivalent of “blue balls.”

UM Band plays “Living on a Prayer.” Cliché and not necessary.

1:06 Someone just yelled out “What are you doing Hightower?” That’d be great except… Eddie did the first game at noon. Valentine (the ref from this game) probably gets this a lot, but looks nothing like Ed, except for the fact that they are both black. For future reference, Hightower has hair… Valentine has very little of it left.

0.00 Terrible finish. 60-50 Mich loses. Interesting towards the end, but I’m not really happy with how things went. Michigan shot terribly and got very little from both Sims and Harris. We all know how what happens if both those things occur. Leaving the game tonight to head back, as are the kids from WOLV and the Daily.

Best Moment of the Weekend: We have a tie! Getting to meet Gus Johnson over beers at the BTN media party, or getting to say “hello” to Erin Andrews. Media Relations director Bruce Madej got a hug from EA, so this trumps anything WCBN achieved this weekend. Although I got to give props to Gus for taking a couple minutes to chat and let us ask some questions.

We’ll be back next week, hopefully with a full broadcast. Hope you enjoyed the blog, and we’ll have a tourney preview (with a special guest) hopefully later this week.

Until then…

LIVE BLOG: Big Ten Tourney: Game 1

After a pilgrimage-like drive through the cornfields of Indiana, we arrived in Indy for the 2009 Big Ten Tourney. Our (Me, Stu, and Rob) original plan has us sneak-broadcasting, but given that we are two rows behind the bench, someone would notice. So we went with the live blog instead. Always fun, entertaining, and very off the cuff. I was a little intimidated since I saw the LaX live blog that Stu did this week. The response was good…. So good that we had an actual celebrity write Stu to give him praise (I’ll let Stu tell that story later… we may even get this woman to do a podcast. Who knows?)

Anyways, here is the live blog. This was written at the game and then edited after we got back to the hotel. Enjoy!

1:47pm: Minnesota vs. Northwestern is still going on, so me, Rob, and Stu are trying to see the game through the glare off Tubby Smith Jr.’s bald spot. I won’t complain with courtside seats, though. Good game though! The first half was slow with the Gophers getting out to the early lead. The media hospitality room started showing the Providence/Louisville game because it was so bad.

(Speaking of the Big Ten, Stu has 7 teams from the B10 in the tourney right now. I agree. Rob is skeptical, but willing to go along with this assessment).

1:56: Northwestern down 7 with 1:11 to go. Hellooooo, NIT!

2:04pm: Gophers beat up on the Wildcats and stretch it out to a 13 pt. win. The Gopher mascot is the last person in the “sportsmanship line” for shaking hands with the other team. If I were Kevin Coble, I’d hit him in the face. That’s just insulting. I would’ve gone “Randall Simon” upside his fury head.

OK, so we are about 25 minutes to tip-off at this point. I got to hand it to Minnesota. They traveled extremely well and had a nice little cheering section across from their bench. Same with Northwestern. As for your Maize and Blue? Nope. Barely any students and no group seating.

2:24pm: We have our first Erin Andrews sighting of the day! Talking to assistant coach Jerry Dunn… during which she was heckled by two 30 yr. old men behind me. It’s real hard to feel sorry for someone that pretty, but she gets this everywhere she goes! More on EA later. 4 minutes to tip-off.

2:30pm: The UM band just tried to start the GO-BLUE chant with five fans sitting in the middle section courtside. This school has seen prouder moments.

GAME TIME: The time counter will now coincide with game-clock.

18:03: Officials for today’s game are Steed, Gray, and Crawford. Eddie Hightower did the MN/NU game, so this game shouldn’t stop every 30 seconds. Gotta love Ed’s animated calls though. Dick Bavetta he is not.

16:49 : Sims draws a foul on Cole after a nice post-up move. Sims can get basically anything he wants from these guys but whenever I watch him play, I can’t help but think he ends up like a Corliss Williamson-type player in the pros: A guy with huge upside, but kind of a tweener without a niche. I reallllllly hope I’m wrong about this.

14:44: Michigan has worked the ball in the post nicely so far. Sims all but two of the Wolverine points…Nice block by Stu Douglass! Talk about a kid who has turned things around mid-season. He looks more comfortable in transition and doesn’t pick up his dribble anymore.

12:48: Sims is 6 for 6 with 12 points, all within 8 feet of the hoop. Iowa has no answer.

12:20 Sims again with a fall-away J at the free throw line! He has alllllll of Michigan’s points and is on fire! 14 points in 8 minutes.

***Just as I’m typing this, Beilein takes Sims out of the lineup!! What?!? Talk about taking your foot off the gas. (Post Script: Looking back on the game, this was a good move by Beilein. Sims was really pumped and this move probably evened him out a bit. I criticize his lineup changes a lot, but Beilein made the right move here).

10:51 Sims turnaround on the low block! I’m beginning to see a pattern…. (PS): This was the point in the game where we all thought he was going to go for 30+. The Michigan Daily guys floated out the idea and it slowly started gaining momentum.

10:28: Harris with the “And-1” off a pretty feed from David Merritt. Michigan looks like-dare I say it- a tournament team. I thought this day would never come! Somewhere, Robert Traylor is eating his 6^th slice of cake to celebrate.

9:44: LLP with his second three of the game. This guy must love big arenas because he’s had his both his biggest games in big arenas (The Barn and the Palace). Bright lights and big stage. However, he looks to have taken my advice and is extending the follow through nicely. He must read the blog.

7:58: The Big Ten and the Big Ten Network are taking this tournament as an opportunity to advertise their new shows, including Eddie George’s new show. I’ve seen the commercial 5 times and still can’t tell you what this show is about. Great job, BTN. Stu has a list of every time we see the commercial. The over/under has been set at 20 for the day. I’m taking the under.

6:00: Gibson got a nice feed in the post, chucked it high off the backboard and ball over to the Hawkeyes. One interesting note about Gibson. Each team is given a booth in the concourse area to show off jerseys and trophies. His jersey is the only one Michigan has in their little booth. Were Nos. 34 and 3 sold out at the M Den? Hell, I would’ve opted for a CJ Lee jersey!

5:08: Harris Dunk. 30-17 Wolverines rolling!!!

3:10: Michigan SID Tom Wywrot gets a little hug from Erin Andrews. Tom’s one of the best SID’s Michigan has in the Media Relations Dept… and I’m not saying that just because I’m hoping he gives me her number. Tom also just became the envy of all the men sitting in Section 8 of the lower bowl. Sims hits a pair of FTs for 18 points IN THE FIRST HALF. He looks like a young Antonio McDyess (Rob says I’m being too generous. Probably true, but 18 points in 20 minutes? Just for today I’m going with this)

1:19 Michigan up 38 to 17 on Iowa. Nice little 8-0 run the past few minutes. ..Timeout on the floor. Zack Novak is bleeding (go figure). A cut on the hand. He should be back. He’s a hockey player.

HALFTIME: Here is the Halftime story as told by Stu Zaas:

Deshawn Sims has dominated, leading all scorers with 18 points on 8-8 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. Seven of his eight buckets have been assisted on and if Manny Harris can finish off a triple-double he’ll have Sims to thank. Harris has eight points, five boards, and five assists (four of them to Sims) at the break. Michigan as a team has been passing the ball around extremely well as they have 12 assists on 15 field goals. The extra passes have led to great looks and a much improved shot selection which has contributed to the team’s torrid 68.2% field goal shooting percentage.

I’ll take this opportunity to add that Conseco Fieldhouse is one of the nicest places I’ve ever taken in a basketball game. It reminds me of the Palace but a whole lot smaller and thus more intimate. The seats are only about 40-50% full for this game with Indiana fans dominating the attendance as the Hoosiers will look to pull the upset and end Penn State’s NCAA Tournament hopes in this afternoon’s final game.

****Quick note before the second half: In the media hospitality room, I got coffee right next to Erin Andrews and we exchanged pleasantries. From now on, I can say I “got coffee with Erin Andrews.” No one is going to take this away from me. I refuse to hear otherwise. Mike Titus, eat your heart out.

SECOND HALF

18:35: Iowa scores two quick unanswered hoops. CJ Lee answers with a nice move to the rim. Look at old-man grad student being assertive! The WCBN/Daily Coalition agree that Lee was probably the kid in 3^rd Grade YMCA Leagues who always had his shirt tucked in, and got way too excited over pass deflections out of bounds when he is cheering on the bench.

17:01 Sims from the baseline. 9 of 10 from the floor and 20 points on the day. Ridiculous. Nasty. Stupid. I’m running out of adjectives… 47-26 now off the Douglass triple.

15:45: Sims dunks the lob from Manny Harris. 22 for Sims on 2^nd alley-oop dunk of the season.

Timeout Iowa. SLAMMM IT HOME, DeSHAWN!!! During the timeout, we see two commercials on the Jumbotron…. And there is Eddie George!...again, plugging his show. I’ve asked five people what that show is about and no one knows. This commercial has been plugged more times than The Watchmen.

15:16: Three for Sims! 25 points and shooting the lights out. Guess he took the 2^nd Team All-Big Ten thing kinda personally.

Kelly gets his fourth for Iowa. 54-28 Wolverines. Looks like I’m going to have an extended stay in Indy, Dad!!

13:25: Gibson gets a nice dime from Harris on the high screen and roll. Harris is 10pts, 6 Rebs, 8 Asts. He’s obviously looking to pass, hitting Douglass who misses a three. He’s been watching Lebron this week, and thought the triple double might be fun. 56-32 Big Blue

Timeout: Stu and I have come up with the rankings of preferable tournament cites we would like to cover for Michigan’s first round game. They are ranked in order with estimated drive times: Miami( 22 hrs.), KC (11hrs), Philly (8hrs), Greensboro (11hrs), Boise (27hrs), Dayton (3 hrs), and Portland (34 hrs)

6:25: 61-36 Wolverines…. BUT Sims and Harris are still in the game. The Coalition all are trying to figure out why the two best players are playing in a blowout when the prospect of 4 games in 4 days looms overhead.

6:09: Harris hits a three to go up 64 to 36. Uhhhh, Coach B? Hello?….

4:38: Harris with a stat-padding three…. IN A GAME YOU’VE ALREADY WON!!!! What are you doing?!?! Keep these last 10 minutes in mind when you are watching the Illinois game. I need a cigarette… and I don’t even smoke.

4:26: Lee and Sims and Harris come out of the game… I’m putting down my cigarette

3:29: Timeout Michigan. Erin Andrews was just put up on the Jumbotron for the “Flex Cam” and showed off the guns. Highlight of the game! I always worry this will happen to me, much to the disappoint of all in attendance. I better see this on Youtube tomorrow.

2:48: CJ Lee says, “Start drinkin’ for tomorrow!” on the bench. Good advice from the captain… Grady into the game for the first time.

1:45: Douglass with the jam! Starters up off the bench in approval… Novak looks jealous.

47.5: Eric Puls into the game after Beilein says “This is how we earn victories!” Over/under 0.5 three point attempts for Eric Puls. I got the over. Stu has the under. Fasten your seatbelts.

46.1 Puls into the stat sheet with one foul! Cyrus Tate (who really fell of the map after last season) makes a pair. 73-45 Blue.

9.2 Puls for threeeeeee!!!!!! A miss…. But I still win the bet. I’ve been 1 for 2 on over/under bets today.

0.0 Game. Set. Match. Illinois tomorrow. Sims with 27, Harris with 18, 7, and 8.

Final Thoughts: Sims says that he “Can get a little crazy” sometimes and said he never started a game as hot as he did today. Coach Beilein is very happy with the maturity of his players.

Assuming things go like they did today, we’ll be doing this again tomorrow. Hopefully it lived up the Lacrosse blog.

Until tomorrow…

UM-Oakland Preview: Mid-Major Trap?

Due to the massive amounts of snow that were dumped on Southeast Michigan (and much of the Midwest), I spent most of the day digging my car out from underneath all the powder.  The roads sucked and getting to Crisler on time for the Women's bball match-up was not happening.  However, props to Stu and Kyle or giving us our first Women's Bball experience of the season (To hear this game: Click on the YouCastr link to the right and find the UM-Cincy match-up for all the highlights).

On to the Preview... Oakland University, out of the Summit League, is located in Rochester, MI.  This is their 10th season as a Division 1-A program, making the jump in 1998.  Largely a commuter school, Oakland has employed only one head coach the last quarter century. OU's coach Greg Kampe has been an institution for their Men's Basketball program.  He's been the head man for 24 years and received his 400th victory this season.  While many notable mid-majors have pretty loyal fan bases, Kampe has never able to establish a big following during his tenure. 

Fun Fact: Kampe's father was a O-lineman for the Wolverines 1947 Rose Bowl and National Championship squad.

The Grizzlies' Peak:  Oakland is 7-5 coming off an OT road win against Wisconsin Green-Bay and will begin the 1st of what looks to be their toughest three week stretch of the season. The Grizz are riding a four game win streak, but will need all the momentum they can get for their upcoming slate of games. They will play Michigan, Eastern Mich, and Michigan State next week, with both the Spartans and Wolverines traveling to the Palace for the match-up.  Oakland's biggest win came against Oregon in Eugene earlier this year.  However, this mercurial team has also sustained miserable loses to teams like Iowa and Southern Utah.

Rise and Shine:  The Wolverines are well rested, having had the past week off for final exams.  They beat a weak EMU in a battle in which neither team had their head coach.  However, John Beilein returned to practice this week and looks to pick-up right where his team left off in a 30 point drubbing of the Eagles.  Beilein's team looked good without him, so don't expect the time without their coach to affect the Wolverines too much.

OOOOOOOOO CAN-A-DA!: Well, it took 3 years and 9 games to see the Jevohn Shepard be the player everyone thought he would eventually become.  Shepard played a complete game on both ends of the court.  And his timing couldn't be better: OU's leading scorer, Eric Kangas, is a perimeter scoring threat who can find his own shot coming off screens.  Shepard's defense, length, and athleticism could be used as a shut-down option on Kangas.

Speaking of Shepard: We need to STOP calling this guy Air Canada.  Vince Carter? Sure.  He is Air (Fill in the city name).  That's fine.  Brent Petway? OK.  Air Georgia is fine, because that guy 

did nothing else but dunk.  But let's find a better nickname for Shepard.  Yes, he is athletic and has good jumping ability... but the kid has not dunked on ANYONE yet.  Nor does he have a career defining dunk.  When people are able to say "Oh yeah... that was the game where Shepard dunked on (insert team name here)" we can then bring it back.  

The Twine Twins:  The freshman sharp shooters have been making gradual progress, so I have decided to graduate them to their next nick name. Why? Because at times, it seems like these kids never hit the rim.  While both have played well individually, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass haven't both played well in the same game yet.  When Douglass seems to have played big in games, Novak seems to have disappeared.  Same with Novak (playing well against MD, and Duke) and Douglass vanished.  Could this be the game where we see both come together to play well instead of being interchangeable parts?  If so, Michigan will see their three-point total hit the teens for the second straight game.

Super Sims:  No one has been able to stop DeShawn Sims this season.  He has been the biggest player in the biggest spots or this team.  Manny Harris might be the one with the better scoring average, but Sims has hit the biggest shots (Savannah State) and been the best player in a career defining game (Duke).  He has had to play the 5 spot, and has faced much larger front lines.  OU's front line boasts the 6'10 Dan Waterstadt  and 6'11 Kieth Benson.  Benson leads all Grizzlies with 6 boards a game.  While neither team seems to

emphasize crashing the boards, Michigan will need Sims to stay out of foul trouble early in order to keep OU of the boards. 

Faces in the Crowd:  Expect Michigan fans to show up nicely to this game. While the game is only 5 minutes away from Oakland's Rochester campus, expect alumni and students alike to show up in droves for the Maize and Blue.  

For those not able to make it: FSN will carry the game at 4pm.  Mario Impemba (the Tiger's play-by-play man and Rod Allen's better half on the FSN's baseball coverage) will have the call and does an excellent job in basketball as well.  I'm actually kind of surprised the BTN didn't call Impemba's number as one of their broadcasters for basketball coverage.  I think he'd be a great guy to have as like a B or C team guy behind guys like Gus Johnson and Mike Reghi.

UPDATE:  One big story-line not mentioned in the original post is the primere of Laval Lucas Perry in the Beilein offense.  The reason I haven't written much about it is due to the fact that I don't buy what people are selling about this kid. There is a lot of hype surrounding this guard and there has been for a while.  UMHoops.com has been carrying the storyline for the better part of a week now.  While I think LLP will play a part in the offense, I'm not buying the hype of this kid being a perennial scorer.  Not yet anyway.  I watched him in person when he played at Flint Powers and wasn't overly impressed.  And that was against Catholic School League Teams!  Not to mention, LLP had the benefit of sitting out on the perimeter to hit open jumpers while teams doubled Powers' 7-ft Center Tom Herzog (now with MSU).  While his jump shot was smoothe, I question his ability to get his own shot.  Tomorrow should give people a lot of insight into the type of player he will be and how far he has come in just over a year.

HOWEVER: FSN carries the game on a slight delay.  For unfiltered, LIVE coverage, click the YouCastr link to the right at game time because we will be carrying this game right HERE.  Special Guest broadcaster Mike Silverman (broadcaster for the Daytona Cubs of the Chicago Cubs Single A affiliate) will join me on the call.   

Like the Blog? Got A Comment? E-mail us at goblue232@gmail.com 

UM-EMU: School's Out

Well, classes aren't out just yet, but with some kids already making the trek home for the holidays, it is time for Wolverine Basketball to start their holiday schedule. First Up: The Ypsilanti Eagles from just down Washtenaw Ave. Eastern Michigan comes in off a 20-pt win over Wayne State at EMU. They are 2-6 with one of those losses coming against Purdue to the tune of a 30 pt drubbing. Purdue beat EMU by 30, but lost to Duke by almost as much. Michigan beat that same Duke team last week. Do the math.

Not good at math? OK, Michigan will win. Easy. Think Ben Cronin, except for the entire second half. Seeing as he is about to be res-shirted, might as well get him 3 months worth of minutes.

(Sidenote: a friend of mine mentioned that Ben Cronin is easily at the top of Beilein's "Wait! Don't Shoot!!!" list. Seeing as he is about to be redshirted, Anthony Wright will go back to taking his rightful place atop this throne).

Flying Dangerously Low: EMU is going through a tough season. Last week, they lost their coach to a school imposed 3 game suspension after he allegedly punched a fan after a loss to UDM. I guess if i realized my team was awful and I lived in Ypsilanti, I'd want to hit someone too. But in all seriousness, what possess a grown man to hit a student? The shame in all this is that it was not captured on film. It would've been the most viral video clip out of Washtenaw Co. since Kevin Borseth's rant.

Bueller....Bueller....Bueller: With everyone going home, the cold weather, and the competition being really poor, I'm interested to see how many people show up to these next four games. Earlier tonight on Game of the Week (every Friday 7-10pm on wcbn.org), I agreed that the Wolverines could come out of this stretch being 10-2 heading into the Big Ten season. If they can do that, they are setting themselves up very nicely for a possible Big Dance invite. Beat UConn on the road and this team could make the tourney by just showing up to each Big Ten game from then on. A big part of the process is getting fans to show up in droves. These next four games are free, but will it be enough for kids to show up? And how many people would you expect to show up to these games, much less the Women's Bball games over break?

I already referenced Borseth and I just referenced his team again so its time to show them some love: Michigan Women's Basketball is cruising right now! Already beaten a couple of ranked teams and putting together a pretty solid season. Carly (Benson) and Co. did pretty well last year and are looking to improve on the NIT run they made last year. Myself and Stu will be broadcasting next Friday's home game vs Cincy and we'll have something up on the state of Women's Basketball shortly after the game).

...Whoa. What just happened? I passed out. Wait, did I just talk about women's hoops on the blog? I need to stop blogging at 3 am.....

Anyways, back to Beilein's team. Michigan should be expected to cruise through these next four games, as none of these teams are expected to be competitive or make the tournament (Oakland, being the only team with an outside chance if they carry the Summit league). Oakland at the Palace might be tough because it is 5 minutes away from their campus. Still, expect the crowd to be 75-25 in Michigan's favor.

To all the students: Good luck with exams, and check back here over the break as we will be giving you recaps and previews to all the games you might miss while on holiday. That's right: We don't have a life so you can enjoy yours by reading Maize and Blog.

If all goes according to plan, each of those games can be heard HERE through the WCBN sports stream or through our YouCastr link to the right.

UM/Duke Recap: Everyone On The Bandwagon!

A packed house at Crisler. Top 5 opponent. National TV.

In a type of game that they routinely struggled with in the past, the Wolverines rose to the occasion as they beat Duke at home for the first time since 1997.  This was their second time beating the 4th ranked team this year (UCLA @ MSG last month) and now boast one of the best non-conference resumes in the country.  It was the type of win that teams wish they had when they are one of the last few teams left out of the Big Dance in March.

Side note: Give the Men's Basketball program a lot of credit for going back to the yellow jerseys with black shoes/socks.  It was as close a respectful nod to the Fab Five as we have seen in quite some time, and the closest thing Michigan has with regards to a throw-back look.  We might not see the Fab Five prominently displayed in the arena, the move was a great idea that a lot of fans enjoyed.  It showed this program had not forgotten its rich history and storied rivalry with another historic program.

A couple things to take away from the win:

Brick by Brick: Duke shot 2-18 from 3pt range in the first half and, at one point were 4-28 from beyond the arc.  Kyle Singler went 1 for 9 BY HIMSELF!  Even Anthony Wright was telling him "Man, your shot selection really needs to be better." Duke is notorious for establishing a low-post presence and kicking it back out to the wings for a 3-pt shot.  Beilein's quirky 1-3-1 completely shut down the wings, and Duke was forced to take outside shots from well beyond the arc.  While they were able to find their rhythm down the stretch, it was "too little too late" for the Blue Devils.  Couple that with the fact Michigan shot 44% from long-range and Duke was doomed.

Also, Michigan did a terrific job on the glass.  They managed to out-rebound Duke 35-34 and limited 2nd chance opportunities to only 10 the entire game.  Keep in mind, this is a team that couldn't out-rebound a GLIAC team a few weeks ago.   Michigan has done a great job in adjusting their game week-to-week and Coach Beilein deserves a lot of credit for this.  The system is working.

Calm, Collected and..."Oh, @#$&!!!! We are down by 7"... It was interesting to watch Duke's demeanor change from the beginning of the game and how they reacted in the second half.  For much of the first half, Duke  looked poised and calm running their offensive sets ( Coach K remained in his seat until the 9 minute mark in the 1st half).  However, in the second half, Duke looked rushed after Michigan made a run coming out of a timeout late in the second half with about 6 minutes left.  The knock against Duke (as it has been with storied programs, like Michigan football) is that they show up and sometimes expect teams to wilt because of their reputation.  It's this lack of focus that cripples them when their opponent hits them in the mouth.  Consider this game the "round-house righthand" to Duke's jaw.

However, I have a lot more respect for Coach K after today than I did before.   I know people hate on him and Duke the same way people hate on the Yankees, but I have a new found respect for him. In hearing him speak to the media afterwords, he talked about how great the Crisler fans were and how proud Michigan should be for boasting not only a great team, but also a great academic program.  He's a class act and is definitely deserving of his place as one of the greats of all-time.

The 3rd Shooter:  One of Michigan's biggest problems this season has been their inability to find scoring from Sims and Harris.  Today, that issue was solved by Zack Novak's 14 pts and 4-7 3pt off the bench.  At times, Novak showed signs of brilliance by hitting bomb after bomb whether it was coming off a screen or in transition.  Novak played well and he needed to, especially after Stu Douglass got two quick fouls, definantly pouted to Coach Beilein,  and decided to mail-in the rest of the game.  It'll be interesting to see how Douglass responds after his 2nd straight sub-par game and whether or not Novak's performance, and recent play, warrants a starting spot against EMU.  

Speaking of starters, I really liked Beilein's decision to start Senior Jevohn Shepard instead of Wright.  Wright's on-the-ball defense was great, but Shepard's athleticism and ability to rebound was a real advantage against Duke.  It also eliminated any chance of Wright getting trigger happy and "heat-checking" five times before he realizes he has totally taken his team out of the game. Shepard gave Michigan another athletic body to throw at Gerald Henderson, who had one spectacular put-back in the first half and then disappeared.  Credit Shepard for kidnapping Henderson's game (and, at times, doing the same to Singler).

Sims' Meteoric Rise:  I still can't figure out whether John Beilein was trying to motivate Sims by bringing him off the bench to start the season, or if Sims was really that bad in the pre-season as to warrant playing under Zach Gibson for 5 games.  Either way, Sims played one of the best big game performances I have seen in a long time.  Duke had no answer for this guy.  They threw Zoubek at him, and Sims hit the jumper he was given.  If it was Singler or Thomas, he used a variety of nice low-post moves (including a nice lefty hook that could be a weapon if developed properly).  Sims had a swagger in his step, and at one point, looked like he was about to flash the famous "I don't know what's going on" shrug that Jordan used on the Blazers in the early 90's.  A career day, a big win, and a statement to all those who thought Manny Harris was the only All-Conference player on this team.

Here they come... :  It was a sold out crowd of over 13,000 people at Crisler, many of whom hadn't been there since the last time Michigan beat Duke.  In talking with an alum I happened to be sitting next to during the game, he told me about how today's crowd was nothing compared to how crowded Crisler would get when the Fab Five would play.  It didn't matter if it was Duke or Little Sisters of the Poor, he talked about how students would look forward to basketball just as much as football season and how much fun the games were.  This made me feel sorry for student fans who have come and gone in the past ten years without having experienced what that feels like.  While today's crowd was great, I'm not sure how many people will be back until Michigan meets MSU in a few months.  However, a ranking will certainly help their chances at consistently filling Crisler.  This, plus the fact that students are now aware they can experience the rest these games for free (sans MSU), should help the Wolverines get a healthy student turn-out each week.

I've previously said that Crisler's crowd could help Michigan account for a few big wins this season if enough people and students showed up.  I'm not sure wins get any bigger than the one we saw today.

Big Apple, Big Stage: UM vs UCLA Preview

The College Basketball season has finally gotten into full swing starting today, and I have to start by saying I have been very impressed with ESPN’s 24 hrs of College Basketball coverage.  This was an excellent scheduling ploy, and I loved watching basketball at 2 AM with St. Mary’s playing at home (Sidenote: Patty Mills is for real. Gets his own shot very similar to the way Iverson did back in college. He will be a name you hear come tourney time). I went to sleep with St. Mary's on and woke up in time watch the end of Hawaii/Idaho State.  It was a basketball fan's dream.

It reminded me of that first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament when basketball is on for 12 hours straight and you would always try and skip class/watch the game at work.  I’ve often said on this blog that those two days are the best consecutive sports days of the year, and I think ESPN could run with this “season opener marathon” idea in the coming years.  Put a couple more marquee games on the slate (ESPN scheduled only one game against ranked opponents in Davidson/Oklahoma and UNC/Kentucky is the next closest thing) and this marathon could be a ratings monster.  I'd also like to see more mid-major teams against the big conferences. ( For example, Oakland beat Oregon in OT on the West Coast, and was a much better match-up on paper than some of the other games shown today.)  I would have seriously considered calling-in sick had ESPN shown something other than Iowa/Kansas women's basketball at noon.  No offense to fans of Women’s Bball, but no women’s regular season match-up generates enough excitement worth cutting class for.  Not even Tenn/UConn.  Hopefully ESPN gives me something I can stay home for next year.

Finally, ESPN’s coverage doesn’t receive total praise from me as they dropped the ball in one of the day's final games in Syracuse/Richmond. The new “Interactive Messaging,” where they scroll fan messages across the top of the screen, is just another example of news networks ramming pointless technology down your throat.  This should be banned, along with CNN’s “Hologram Technology” and MSNBC’s “Virtual Pantheon” background from election night. It all needs to go. Now.

 

OK, back to the Wolverines. Here’s a couple things to watch for on Thursday:

 

Getting On the Glass:  Michigan has been out rebounded twice: once by a GLIAC team (exhibition) and the other by a CAA that got 20 Offensive rebounds.  Michigan has failed to block out on a consistent basis and will need to shore that up against the Bruins. Bruins F Alfred Aboya is averaging 6.5 boards a game with the team getting 35.3 rpg.  Ben Howland’s teams have always rebounded well (back to his days at Pitt), and the Wolverines will struggle if they don’t get on the glass early.

 

The Collison Effect:  PG Darren Collison is arguably the best on-the-ball defender in all the land.  He is lightning quick and made Kelvin Grady look like an eighth grader when these two teams played last year.  On Offense, Beilein will be forced to rotate CJ Lee, David Merritt, and Kelvin Grady.  None of these guys can match Collison’s quickness, but fresh legs should help a little bit. The point of interest here is whether or not the Bruins decide to put Collison on Manny Harris or give that assignment to Josh Shipp.  Look for Shipp to start on Harris, but if Manny gets hot don’t be surprised to see Collison start to put pressure on Harris and funnel him toward the help defense.

 

The One They Call “Fresh”: Manny Harris was named Big Ten Player of the Week last week and rightfully so.  On consecutive points, he put up 56 points and almost dropped a triple-double on a team that just got done giving Providence a reality check.  Harris has been great and could potentially become the first player to average 20 ppg since a guy by the name of Juwan Howard (actually, the last guy to do it was Louis Bullock, but “technically” that never happened…).  Harris needs to get started early in order to give guys like Anthony Wright and Stu Douglass opportunities to play “Beilein Ball” and hit open threes.

 

Last note on Harris: A lot of fans I’ve talked to have voiced their concern that Harris could go pro at the end of the season.  To them I say this:  Harris making the jump to the pros would be the worst decision since MSU’s Marcus Taylor tried to make the jump early as a Sophmore and was drafted 52^nd overall by the Timberwolves. Taylor was promptly cut after camp and was never heard from again.  However, I think Harris is smarter than Taylor and knows the level of skill needed to make the transition.  He has a bright future ahead of him.   However, NBAdraft.net has Harris not even on the board in ’09 and as a late first round pick in 2010. I agree with that assessment and will wait one more season before I seriously talk about his NBA prospects.

 

The Frontcourt:  I can only hope that Zach Gibson watched the game film from last week and totally changed his outlook of how he needs to approach this game against UCLA.  Hopefully the game film, plus the cold weather this week, has ignited a Rocky-like fire inside him.  Try and picture Gibson running up the steps of the Angell Hall in a gray sweatsuit, knit cap, and Chuck Taylors.  Few things would motivate me to get to Angell Hall before 9 AM in the winter, but witnessing this would be one of them.  While I have trouble seeing it, I think this is the mentality he needs to adopt to rebound from last week’s performance against Northeastern.  Both Gibson and Sims could really be effective against a somewhat undersized front-line of UCLA (Aboya at C is closer to 6’8 than his listed 6’9).  Look for Beilein to go inside early to test Aboya.

 

Other points of interest: Douglass needs to have a big game to give UM a shot, CJ Lee makes his Big Apple return, Michigan’s first National TV appearance of the year, and UM Bball could have fewer losses than UM Hockey heading into the Christmas break.  Didn’t think I’d be saying that a year ago…

UM vs the GLIAC: Round 2

Michigan Basketball will take on its second opponent in as many games from the mighty GLIACconference for the 2K Sports /Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.  Having already beaten tiny SVSU, Michigan now faces a program from even farther north in Michigan Tech.  The Huskies were picked to finish second in the GLIAC preseason coaches poll, with the Grand Valley State “Spartan Killers” ranked first.  If you’ve never been to Tech, just think of the movie “Fargo”…except more trees, snow, and a pregnant Frances McDormand isn’t solving crimes. 

 

Anyways, here’s a few things to look for Tuesday:

The Starting Five: Coach Beilein went with a line-up of Gibson, Wright, Harris, Douglass, and Merrit last game.  While Wright did a great job of forcing turnovers and being active with his on-the ball defense, I thought DeShawn Sims did a much better job on offense and on the defensive boards.  Remember, the Wolverines were out rebounded by the Cardinals 39-34 last Thursday.  Sims as a starter makes sense, but Beilein said he likes Sims at the 5 and may stick with him off the bench.  This game should show if he intends to stick with the plan.

 

This game isn’t being played at Yost…which is the only place Michigan Tech would ever have a prayer of beating Michigan.  The Huskies biggest frontcourt players are two 6’7 Freshman….meaning Zach Gibson gets another week to work on his low-post game before he faces a real test.  Gibson showed signs of a legitimate basketball skill set during the SVSU game, so it’ll be interesting to see if he continues his progress.

 

Benching Ben? I don’t know what we are going to see from Ben Cronin, if anything.  Cronin looked like an efficient passer out of the post, but only played 3 minutes and looked like he struggled.  A lot of people are high on this kid and think he could make a difference.  To all those people, I say that size is no substitute for skill and this kid is the poster-child for redshirt freshmen. He has a lot of potential, but he is a very raw player who would do better to get a year of practice and strength training under his belt.  Plus, I think he is injured far worse than people inside that program are letting on.  (All aboard the Gibson bandwagon!) 

 

Speaking of the Freshmen, can anyone think of a good nickname for the Douglass/Novak duo? The fact that they have almost the exact same skill set and hair style, and will be confused with each other for the rest of this year by all broadcasters, really calls for a moniker. So far, all I’ve got is “The Cabbage-Patch Twins.”  It stays until I hear something better.

 

Tuesday’s game is free for students (just like every other game that doesn't involve Duke and MSU).  The weather has finally turned towards typical November temperatures, but expect decent sized crowds this week, especially if Michigan gets a win the first night.  With Michigan Football coming to a close and Hockey becoming something of an underachiever, fans could be looking to this team as its savior for the Fall Sports season.  The answer to this could be found in attendance numbers for the Basketball games compared to Friday’s Hockey attendance vs. WMU.  More on this later in the week.

18 Wins? "Yes, We Can!"

After watching Michigan play in their only exhibition of the season, I came away with two main thoughts.  The first was that I never should have tried to eat two of the hot dogs the Crisler staff set out for the media.  These things looked like they had been saved and reheated from last season.  I had been warned by a friend not to try these, but I did not eat dinner.  I’ll just say the second half of the game was tough to get through.  But if the University is going to give a new wardrobe to every student that attends a game, can they at least make a “scarce” press core a little more comfortable in the food and beverage department?

The second (and more important) thought I was left with is that your Michigan Wolverines will win 18 games this season.

 ...and I swear to you, I am writing this sober.

Yes, I know it’s early and we have seen ONE game (an exhibition against a bottom-feeder in the GLIAC), but I am confident in this prediction. Here’s why:

Stu Douglass is for real:  Big Ten coaches will look back 2 years from now and wonder why they hadn’t come after this kid harder when he was a high school senior.  He is that good.  On multiple possessions, Douglass directed traffic like a seasoned veteran and let the offense come to him.  He made one or two bad passes, but the poise he showed in transition was well beyond his years.  He hit threes from the parking lot and has a sniper’s touch.  Crisler Arena’s “Ssstttttuuuuuuu…” chant will be heard early and often in his career.

 

Zach Gibson:  I know you’ve hated on him. I’ve hated on him. And as much as this may shock people…and I never thought I'd say this... Zach Gibson can play!!!

 

I know that was jolting so I’ll give you a moment…

 

Gibson looked good running the floor, was 2 for 3 from behind the arch, and added two blocks to his 11 points.  He looked for his shot with no signs of hesitation. In a conference where quality centers are few and far between ( MSU’s Sutton and OSU’s Mullens are the only C’s of note), it won't take much for Gibson to give consistent contribution to this team.

 

Manny Being Manny: Harris deferred to his teammates for much of the first half, making sure to work through the offensive sets.  Because Harris (and his teammates, for that matter) were so focused on running the play all the way through, they passed up open shot after open shot and were eventually left with an empty play clock.  In the second half, Beilein turned the offense loose and Manny was able to create off the dribble and in transition.  If Douglass gets hot during the season, defenses will part like the Red Sea and Harris will slash his way to 17-19 points per game.

 

The Zone:  Last year, Michigan looked lost and confused when trying to figure out the spacing of John Beilein’s specialized 1-3-1 defense. Not anymore. While it was SVSU as the opponent, the spacing looked much better and they did a better job playing as a unit.  Rebounding was an issue, but look for that to change once a line-up is established

 

The Road Home:  The Wolverines have a tough schedule, but can get to Jan 1^st with at least 8 wins if you give them loses to Duke, Maryland, and a Coaches Vs Cancer opponent.  That means they would need to win 10 games in the Big Ten after winning only 6 conference games with a much weaker team last season. It will be close, but I have them winning 6 games at home (assuming for at least one win against a top tier team), with wins at Iowa, Minnesota, PSU, and Northwestern on the road.  This is very achievable.  The home crowd tonight proved that 1) College kids will watch basketball in exchange for free stuff and 2) This team has the capability of filling most of Crisler’s upper bowl for Big Ten play if they get off to a good start…and keep the free stuff coming.