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

[*JD*]

Speaking of lessers, a certain team is down 3 at the half. If things go right, MICHIGAN could be tied for 1st place in about 90 minutes.

[*JD*]

Looks like that was too much to ask for but maybe Hummel will get going again.

[chemiclord]

The "lessers?" Why are you talking about your Wolverines like that?

[*JD*]

Bilas recognizes:

Jay Bilas @JayBilas Reply Retweet Favorite ? Open

The more I watch, it's seems clear I haven't seen a better freshman point guard than Michigan's Trey Burke. He's a special player. Strong.
Retweeted by Michigan Basketball

[*JD*]

The "lessers?" Why are you talking about your Wolverines like that?

Speaking about lessers, that's the best you could come up with?

[chemiclord]

Speaking about lessers, that's the best you could come up with?

Well, I can't imagine who else you'd be talking about.

Can't be MSU... since the Spartans are better than the Wolverines.

OSU? No... not better than the Buckeyes either.

Oh, you're talking about Purdue, aren't ya? Okay. Now I get it.

[*JD*]

All of the above. Whatever happens, Michigan is always Michigan and the lessers are always the lessers.

The on field/court culture is righting itself as well.

[*JD*]

p.s.- MICHIGAN landed two more 4* verbal commits today. That's EIGHT 4* players this weekend.

[chemiclord]

Until Michigan proves it on the field and on the court, THEY are the lessers. And that recent history ain't so good for the Wolverines.

All the arrogance in the world won't change that.

[*JD*]

3 out of 4 against spartie on the court. That's recent history.

[chemiclord]

I had composed a long response before I remembered, "Dude, I'm just trolling. Chillax."

Michigan's had a very nice revival, and I'm sure in the very near future, they'll be right back at the top of things both on the football field and the basketball court.

But for the time being, as much as you hate to hear it, it's Sparty's show. Ya gotta beat Little Brother a few more times before you can rightfully parade that good ol' Meechigan arrogance.

[jaadam4]

Trolls need to watch what they say in big brothers house.

[*JD*]

Nah. This is just MICHIGAN PRIDE. The "lesser" talk is just for fun (although I can't fathom why anyone would choose to be a fan of red and silver or green and gold when there's the option of Maize and Blue. That's just bad parenting.....)

As for timing, I'm cool with where we are at and where we are heading.

RR is gone, the aftermath will start to leave this year as we have people that can Coach up the talent now and there's also talent arriving. The D line likely will be worse than last year and I'm worried about who is snapping the ball but most other areas should be equal to what they were or better. Maybe we won't win as many jump balls without Hemingway but I'm hopeful we won't have to. The non-DR run game was only established once Fitz got healthy in the last 5 or so games and I think Borges may dial down the deep ball and go with more high % passing plays. Plus, with Denard's work ethic, I'm sure he'll get better and smarter back in the pocket.

I expect maybe a step back in overall record (the schedule is probably the toughest in the nation) but still see progress being made and there's one game I feel pretty darn good about.

I'm superstitious about betting money on Michigan games (plus, I think it somehow taints it) but I would bet that MICHIGAN takes down the evil from EL this fall).

Coach Hoke and Co. overachieved this past year, put together a top recruiting class (#4 in Scout, #7 in both Rivals and ESPN) for '12 and is already killing it for the '13 class. Obviously, 2012 was no recruiting fluke, like you wondered last fall. 10 out of their 11 verbals, are rated 4*. In this year's highly ranked class there's only 12 out of 25 that were rated 4*/5*. He's topping himself.

The man who landed Tom Brady is even turning the top players from Illinois, which is traditionally Domer Country, into proud future members of the Maize and Blue.

uFrankm in stinktown is probably going to have a good class too but they'll be hurt a little by the penalties from their cheating ways. Tressel jr. is just getting scraps (#37 Scout, #40 Rivals, not in ESPN's top 25, which is all they list) right now. Maybe kids are realizing how much of a douche he is? I mean, in all honesty, which man would you want coaching and influencing your kid? This is more a nod to Brady than a knock on spartie's coach. It appears he just can't keep up.

The hoops program is ahead of schedule from where I thought they'd be after Morris left. I though Burke would be very good but not quite this soon. I thought they'd be a (on the good side) bubble team that might have a chance to make it to the Sweet 16. Now, I think they have a good shot at the 16 and have a great shot at being a top 4 seed.

Beilein's best recruiting class comes in next year and adds size and athleticism. We'll have the B1G's best PG and as much depth as anyone. We have another very good recruiting class coming in '13. The new practice facility is one of the best, if not the best, in the country and more renovations are coming to the Crisler Center.

Now, L to the Izzo ain't chopped liver and neither is Mata. I'm not predicting sweeps. Just splits. Being on par with other top programs is all one can ask for and we're getting there fast.

What's not to be excited about?

[*JD*]

On a side note, I'm really happy that the B1G is the premiere conference in college basketball. This is the best I've seen it since the early 90's. I expect at least 4 teams to make it to the Sweet 16 and would be disappointed if there wasn't a representative in the Final Four.

[nhwbrooklyn]

Just for the record Mata isn't on the same level as Izzo