U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[chemiclord]

I thought so too but those assist numbers are really really good (didn't realize until looking at them).

If he's hearing he's going to be a 1st rounder its hard to blame him for going pro. I doubt I would turn down millions.

He's probably the #3 point guard in the draft... possibly even #2 in scouting reports that think Knight is more a combo guard.

There's no guarantee at all that would be the case next year.

[*JD*]

I think he has more upside as a pure PG than The Jimmer or Kemba. Those guys are just more talented in other facets of the game right now.

[*JD*]

Another argument for him going pro played in East Lansing this past season. If Kalin Lucas had left after his Sophomore year, he may have been a 1st rounder and now it looks like he won't be drafted.

[jaadam4]

Don't be bitter about his chances because you wanted him to come back.

Yeah you pretty much nailed it.

[froot loops]

One thing I don't understand is the conventional wisdom that if you can get selected in the first round that it isn't a mistake because of the guaranteed money. I think if you have things to work on, you're better off working on them in college than trying in the NBA. The NBA has very little instructive practice time and its really bad if you go to a team that isn't going to have you in the rotation. In my mind it can kind of stunt the growth of a player.

[*JD*]

I agree that that is (or should be) a factor.

Morris seems to know the areas he needs to work on and has shown that he is willing to do so, so he has that going for him.

[froot loops]

I just think its hard to work on in the NBA if you are getting 5 minutes a game as opposed to college where you have a lot of practice and you are the focal point of an offense for 30 minutes a game.

[*JD*]

Other than spelling Kobe's name wrong (which I kind of like) this is a pretty good article on Trey Burke:

In an instant, Trey Burke went from future to current point guard for the Michigan basketball team
Posted: Thu, May 5, 2011 : 4:33 p.m. Topics: UM Basketball, Sports 2 Comments



Trey Burke’s future changed while he sat in a Northland High School classroom on Wednesday afternoon, three weeks from graduation.

The first sign of change came as he checked email in the Columbus, Ohio, room and noticed his Twitter followers expanded by at least 150 people. The second sign came in a text message from his father, Benji, saying it was official, Michigan point guard Darius Morris stayed in the NBA Draft.

Trey Burke works out each day in hopes that he can find significant playing time as a point guard for the Michigan basketball team.

Burke’s role as an incoming freshman for the Michigan basketball team jumped from a key backup with a chance to push for more minutes to potentially a major key to success for Michigan next season.

“I kind of knew,” Burke said Wednesday night before a workout. “After a while I got all these followers, and I thought about it and knew Darius was making a decision. I received a text from my dad saying he was staying in the draft, so I knew a lot of people were going to start following me. And I had shouted out to Darius, and that got me a lot of followers, too.”

The point guard job isn’t Burke’s yet — he still has to win the job from senior combo guard Stu Douglass and freshman Carlton Brundidge — but he’ll be the only pure point guard on the roster.

If he didn’t realize it, Twitter told him.

“I was following it, what people were saying,” Burke said. “I was trying to respond back to everybody, everybody saying that it was my job to lead the team next year, make sure I respond to everybody.”

Burke, who averaged 23.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game as a senior, didn’t need motivation. He’s had it since his Northland season ended with a Mr. Basketball award but a loss in the state championship game.

Every day, Burke wakes up at 4:15 a.m. and heads to the Lifetime Fitness Center in the Easton Town Center, a Columbus mall. There, he meets his trainer, Anthony Rhodman, and starts his day in the steam room to loosen up followed by 20 minutes of stretching.
In the mornings, they do on-court work and drills for one to two hours, including using a speed ladder with a basketball to improve his footwork and ballhandling simultaneously. He does other drills with resistance bands on his legs so when he takes them off, he has more explosion making drives.

“I like to put Trey in scenarios he’s going to have in the game, so when he comes into a situation, he has been there a thousand times,” said Rhodman, a former Louisiana-Lafayette point guard who runs In God’s Image, an independent personal training business. “A lot of people do drills for drills sake. I don’t like those drills. I like what is similar to what is going to happen in the game.”

After the drills, Burke showers and heads to school. Later in the day, he returns to Rhodman, where they lift, do pylometrics and shooting drills. He gained four pounds to 176 in the last two weeks in hopes of reaching 185 by the time he arrives in Ann Arbor.
If Burke shoots 30 3-pointers, Rhodman requires him to make 25 or 26. If he has him make five 3-pointers from five spots on the floor, he has six shots to do so.

Then there is the Kobe drill, where Burke receives one point for every made shot and “Kobe Bryantt” receives two for every shot Burke misses. First to 10 wins.
“He is in the playoffs right now,” Rhodman said. “And is up 3-2 on Kobe.”

When Burke finishes, he’ll sometimes watch Michigan games from last season and studies Morris and Douglass. Since Michigan’s coaches can’t work with him until September, this is his best way to learn the offense and defense.

He actually doesn’t bother with the games, focusing instead on trying to understand the slight hand signals Douglass and Morris made to call plays. Then on defense, he pays attention to the intensity in an attempt to understand how hard he needs to train.

“I actually need to watch more (games), only watched a couple,” Burke said. “But now that Darius is gone, I’m going to have to buckle down and going to have to learn the offenses and have to perfect them.

“My job is to go in and learn the offense right away and show that I’m on top of everything.”

He plans to head to Los Angeles the last week of May to work out with his AAU team and perhaps the man he might replace, Morris, before heading to Michigan.
When he arrives, the biggest concern is his inexperience early if he wins the job. Michigan hasn’t completed its schedule, but will play in a difficult Maui Invitational field and then on the road in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

“We’ll make sure we can make it as seamless than it can be,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “It is different than last year and when I first got here because all the other guys have a pretty good feel for how we play and the culture.
“He is sort of fitting into that, as is Carlton as well.”

Burke isn’t concerned. This, maybe more than he’d even want to admit, is kind of what he wants.

“It’s going to just really help me come in and be an impact freshman right away,” Burke said. “With (Morris) leaving, that’s going to be a big thing on my shoulders and I’m going to have to do a lot of things and a lot of things are going to be expected of me as a freshman.

“But I think I’m ready for everything that’s going to be thrown at me for the most part.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein

[*JD*]

More on Trey:

Last Updated: May 06. 2011 1:00AM
Trey Burke, U-M's heir apparent at point guard, has 'will to win'
Rod Beard / / The Detroit News

Darius Morris has announced that he will remain in the NBA draft, and Michigan fans wonder what next season holds.

Morris, who led the Wolverines in points and assists, leaves a hole at the point guard position that will be difficult to fill. He departs a team that seemingly had every player returning. Analysts were unanimous in their projections that Michigan would be a top-25 team — if Morris returned.


To fill the void, coach John Beilein expects to use incoming freshmen Trey Burke — who was voted Mr. Basketball in Ohio — and Carlton Brundidge of Southfield, along with senior Stu Douglass, who assumed some of the ball-handling duties last season.

"(Morris) had the ball in his hands so much and there were times he needed a rest," Beilein said Thursday. "Actually, there were thoughts of playing him and Trey at the same time or him and Carlton at the same time. So, there are more minutes out there for guys now and that's always good."

After playing the role of sixth man to start the season, Douglass started Michigan's final 11 games — seven of which the Wolverines won — and averaged 7.1 points in 30 minutes. With a steep curve in learning Beilein's complex offense and with Douglass' experience, Beilein isn't forced to start either freshman immediately, as he did during Morris' first year.

Beilein and his staff are not allowed to work with incoming freshmen until September, but Beilein said Burke may arrive on campus during the summer and begin his own individual workouts. In fact, Burke (6-feet, 175 pounds) already has begun his training — as highlighted in his series of YouTube videos titled "Journey to Ann Arbor," where he is shown lifting weights and preparing for his first season as a Wolverine.

Beilein said he doesn't have any qualms about starting a freshman — noting that at least one freshman has started in each of his four seasons at U-M. He won't make a decision until practice starts in September.

"I won't set my mind on any of that, but thank goodness we have four weeks of practice before our first game," Beilein said. "It would not be new to start freshmen, but (Burke's) got to prove in those first four weeks that he's ready for that."

Sam Webb, a recruiting analyst and managing editor of GoBlueWolverine.com, has seen Burke play several times and thinks he is talented enough to become an impact player as a freshman.

"The first thing I say about Trey Burke is that he's a bona fide winner," Webb said. "He has a will to win that's bigger than most and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He has a way of putting a team on his shoulders."

Burke averaged 23.6 points, 6.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals during his senior season at Northland High School in Columbus; he led his school to the state title as a junior. Webb doesn't predict Burke will start immediately, but believes he'll transition into the role as the season progresses.

"He's a terrific shooter and excels at the pick-and-roll," Webb said. "He has what John Beilein likes to see from guards. … I expect he'll see reasonable minutes at point guard and maybe backup Stu Douglass initially."

Although Burke is four inches shorter than Morris, he makes up for it with quickness and a more consistent jump shot, which could make his transition to U-M a little easier.

"Because he's been a point guard his whole life, it's more natural for him, but what I'd prefer to do is watch for four weeks and see who picks up college basketball the quickest," Beilein said.

Brundidge, who averaged 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists last season, is a 6-1 combo guard. Beilein says Brundidge will benefit from the pick-and-roll plays that are a staple of U-M's offense. He'll also split time with guards Zack Novak, Matt Vogrich and Eso Akunne.

Rod.Beard@detnews.com
Twitter.com/detnewsRodBeard


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110506/...#ixzz1LaMi69pD

[DanO]

One thing I don't understand is the conventional wisdom that if you can get selected in the first round that it isn't a mistake because of the guaranteed money. I think if you have things to work on, you're better off working on them in college than trying in the NBA. The NBA has very little instructive practice time and its really bad if you go to a team that isn't going to have you in the rotation. In my mind it can kind of stunt the growth of a player.

--------------------------I'm with you Loops. He may be able to get the money now but I hugely believe he's hurting his overall earning capacity. He's better off staying another year and getting that much better. He may not go as high but he'll actually have a better chance of being a productive Pro and increasing his future earnings. Everyone always wants immediate gratification. Look at the bigger picture.

GO LIONS "11" !

[chemiclord]

In professional sports, you may only get one contract no matter how good you are.

If you're being told you have a guaranteed contract waiting for you; you take it and don't look back. He can always go back to school if athletics don't work out.

[froot loops]

That's no confidence thinking right there. You probably going to have the guaranteed contract the next year as well. You are much more likely to only get one contract if you are going to the NBA when you aren't ready.

[chemiclord]

That's no confidence thinking right there. You probably going to have the guaranteed contract the next year as well. You are much more likely to only get one contract if you are going to the NBA when you aren't ready.

The numbers are against you getting a second contract no matter how long you stay in school.

Ask Kalin Lucas if he's going in the first round this year. He probably would have had he left last season.

Strike while the iron is hot. I don't blame Morris at all.

[nhwbrooklyn]

I dont think Kalin was ever a sure fire first rounder though and therefore wanted to improve his draft stock (Kalin Lucas isn't a natural distributer PG). He definitely wouldn't have gone in the first round after last season because of his injury (that he never even fully recovered from last year).

If Morris was getting a 1st round grade you can't blame him for going pro. I could never turn down millions myself. And if I did I would be outright scared to play basketball aggressively because one mistake will cost you that money.

[Masspartan]

There isn't a 'right' or 'wrong' way because every individual is different. What might work for Morris might not work for a different kid. Some guys might stay in college and regress ... some may thrive ... some may go pro and regress ... some may thrive. Which is why I'm with Chemi. If you have chance to get that first big contract, then do it. No guarantees that your situation improves by staying a year. none.