MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL- '23 -'24 Season.

[Whitley]

Well Michigan lost Diabte and Caleb H. To the draft
Lost a guard who has been at Michigan for 6 years.

Frankie Collins bolted for greener pastures once there more than incoming frosh for competition at the point spot. Then when JL was lost for the year which meant Dug had to start.

Michigan continued to have issues shooting the 3 ball and scoring off the bench.

[Mike]

I didn’t watch the game last night but this is getting embarrassing. Juwan needs to get his shit together or just go back to the NBA.

https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2023/02/wolverines-make-pregame-fashion-statement-juwan-howard-earns-technical-foul-in-return-to-wisconsin.html

[lineygoblue]

I can handle him getting "teed" up for griping at the refs. Lord knows its deserved more often than not.

I don't want him slugging/slapping anyone anymore. If that happens, its buh bye time.

I wonder what John Beilein is up to?

[hack]

"Earns" is a pretty astonishing choice of verb there. That was nonsense. But so is Juwan's team. Hunter has effort issues and Jett's are worse. I think Juwan arrived with a recruiting mindset based on the pre NIL/portal era, and has to adjust fast. It's a new era, and UNC and Kentucky are probably NIT bound as well. Teams need to adjust. Juwan has some blind spots maybe, and his sons are clearly a net negative overall, no matter what a good leader or tryharder Jace is.

In Juwan's defense, this year would look so different had the admissions office not kicked him in the balls over the Terrence Shannon transfer.

I'd like to see some staff changes, and I'd like to see Hunter go. Both sides probably need a change. Juwan still does some things really well. Overall, though, I'm much more skeptical. I think he's better off in the NBA, though there's still a good chance Juwan has more success. Sure hope he outlasts Warde Manuel though. Want someone else in charge of that coaching search.

[Mike]

I really like Juwan but you can’t let your team act out like that when you’re scuffling. Need to circle the wagons and have an all business approach. It’s one thing to clown the opposing crowd when you’re beating them but you look like a clown when you can’t back it up, Hunter.

[hack]

I agree. I maintain that Wiscy was pretty damn culpable last year, but Juwan may not have a sufficient appreciation for what you're talking about. A coach that took a swing, a year after having another confrontation in which he was possibly ready to, may not have the temperment you need to be a head coach. Kind of a bad combo with Hunter, frankly. There's a lot to like about Juwan but he may really be better off as either a brilliant lead assistant or an NBA head coach. Unless he's on the upswing again in a year or so, I won't be surprised if he's gone once Jace is gone. All of the stuff he struggles with in the college game will be gone in the pros. Mostly.

[Hannibal]

Juwan was a risky hire (that we were more or less forced into by circumstance) and I almost think of him as a "project", akin to an offensive lineman out of high school who has to learn the game. Juwan is learning some harsh lessons about modern college basketball vis-a-vis recruiting and chemistry. If it looks like he's adapting, I'm OK with keeping him. I'm a lot more patient with basketball than football because we're not a blueblood. Falling short of the tourney is something that is going to happen to us every once in a while. This year is very disappointing though, and so was last year. The '21 recruiting class was a massive bust and that's still hurting us.

John Calipari hasn't made a Final Four since 2015 and his team is probably going to miss the tourney for the second time in three years. He's having a lot of the same problems as Juwan -- lots of talent with poor chemistry.

[hack]

Agree with all of that, enthusiastically. Juwan needs to make rookie mistakes. It's a real concern that he went out and addressed last year's problems in a way that almost perfectly replicated last year's problems. The neoptism is hurting the program too. Jett is a historically lazy basketball player uninterested in anything but scoring, and Jace should never play. Their presence was a deterrent for other recruits.

But, ultimately, even if he learns the college game, he's still an NBA guy and probably headed back there. The money's better, he seems the type to treat men like men rather than the type to mold boys into men, and there's no recruiting bullshit or admissions office. I do think he's gone after his sons are, although it could take a hiring cycle or two to get there.

For Michigan, we can still hope. Maybe admissions won't kneecap him in the portal gain. But we should be thinking about the future. It would be so great if Saddi Washington took a job somewhere and thrived so we can bring him back as an experience HC. But, otherwise, Santa needs to replace Warde and this needs to be high on the list of future contingency plans.

[Hannibal]

What ever happened to Yaklich?

I agree that he's an NBA guy, through-and-through. Still, to get to the NBA, he can't have been a complete bust at UM.

If we're having this conversation again next year, I also agree that it might be time to start talking about moving on.

[hack]

The NBA won't care if he couldn't recruit or if Michigan's admissions office killed him on transfers. His sets are elite, and he hasn't been a complete bust at all. He made the E8 with a team that was NOT mostly Beilein players, and salvaged an S16 out of last year's mess.

Yaklich seems to be scuffling as an HC at UIC. If we do move on, knowing that Beilein regrets it, I'd try to get that band back together. It would be a temporary fix for a few years since he's 70, but both Dug and Reed could be Beilein style players. In the portal era and with Beilein's eye, it could go back to being a Beilein kind of team quickly.

[Hannibal]

What a colossal fuckup that was for Beilein to leave -- right when the program was at its peak and finally doing annual reloads. It hurt both him and probably us. And it was a dumb hire for the Cavs too. The biggest lose-lose since Henson decided to play baseball.

[WM Wolverine]

I don't see any issue with Howard other than relying on 5-stars to stay more than 1-year. I've been ignoring this season other than a handful of games, Jett looks good enough that he probably will be another 5-star that leaves after 1-year.

[lineygoblue]

I think if you could sit down next to Beilein over a cold beverage, he'd admit that his dalliance with the NBA was a huge mistake. He's a college coach, and he should have been able to go out with a winning team and lots of fanfare. He earned it and deserved it.

[hack]

He's said it publicly. A few months ago. I do still think Juwan's earned the time to get it right. He came along at a time of upheaval and the admissions office has hurt him.

[Whitley]

It might not make a difference in the chances of a postseason tourney, but it sure was nice to see to see them take to Sparty in the second half. 7 players scoring between 7-18 points tonight. 18 points from the bench (where has that been all year?).


15-12 on the year 9-7 in the Big Ten.

@Rutgers
Wisky
@Illinois
@IU

If they can win the next 3 (and by no means is that a sure thing) being 18-12 and 12-7 heading into the IU game would be very interesting.