MICHIGAN'S MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2015-2016

[Cody_Russell]

But, man, keep your form. Don't chuck.

Hey what's your take on how Purdue's come together? It's been a rough viewing year for me so I haven't seen much. Is Hammond doing better now?

Hammond is better. A monster on defense. Purdue also has a backup center, Isaac Haas, who is a beast.
Purdue has come together because of experience. A lot of players that had significant playing time last season are performing well this season... something that should happen with Michigan. It's all about continuity. They also found a good transfer from Colorado State and struck gold on a freshman (Vince Edwards). Outside of that, experience has been a key.
With that, Purdue has s problem with fouling. They are the anti-Wisconsin with that because Bo Ryan is good at teaching his players how to play defense and not foul.
It's been costly.

[hack]

Year-on-year momentum? Purdue shouldn't be a walk over Given the state it is in.

[WM Wolverine]

Purdue typically recruits pretty well in basketball, which shouldn't be a surprise given their in-state talent.

[hack]

There was a time when Purdue recruited well and performed well, but it hasn't been lately.

Anyhow, another thing -- can Beilein please figure out inbounding the ball already? It's not like that hasn't bitten him in the ass enough in the past season and a half not to warrant some attention.

[Hannibal]

There goes another season without even an NIT bid. Meet John Beilein -- the only coach in the history of college basketball who can miss the post season entirely three times in eight years, never win his conference tournament, reach one Final Four, and be considered a "great" coach.

[hack]

The things he does get criticized for are a bit weird, too. Autobench policy criticisms completely ignore the potential consequences. 1-3-1? How about just the damn defense in general? Get burned by Demps once; fine. Happens. Twice?

This is a Michigan problem, though. Not a Beilein thing. Michigan doesn't like to accept that the coaching is a problem. Especially when you have a Mr. Rodgers type like Beilein or Carr (on the outside).

[Hannibal]

The things he does get criticized for are a bit weird, too. Autobench policy criticisms completely ignore the potential consequences. 1-3-1? How about just the damn defense in general? Get burned by Demps once; fine. Happens. Twice? ).

I sympathize with the autobench bitching. It's dumb to sit a guy for 10 minutes when he gets his second foul. You take away a guy's minutes because you are afraid of losing his minutes. You play a guy for 27 minutes because you are afraid that he'll foul out after 32 minutes? Dumb. But every coach does it, so it's not a Beilein thing. It just gets extra frustrating when you lose winnable games because of it. And I guess it's extra frustrating in Beilein's case because his players already don't foul much.

[hack]

Last year against Kentucky in the Elite 8 Beilein put Morgan in with less than two minutes to go in the first half and of course he picked up a foul in that time. He fouled out late in the second, and having him to the end would have made a big difference. So we don't know that it's a way to lose winnable games at all. There's just no way to prove it. I think maybe at times it's reasonable to do, to sneak a guy in there. A guard, but never a big.

That said, it's not even close to the biggest problem with this team. It shouldn't get the most attention. People aren't bitching about the real problems. In large part because Michigan fans have a hard time with the idea that the coach is human, makes mistakes, accepts tradeoffs in one area to get what he wants in another, nails some parts and others not so much, etc. Here it is here in the mgoblog Maryland recap by Ace:

Yes, we have to talk about it.

John Beilein is a great coach. His tenure at Michigan has left no doubt. Even great coaches, however, have their downsides.

I know this is just a point about semantics, but you're basically the go-to choice for coverage of Michigan sports. Not only do you HAVE TO talk about ``it'', but it's your damn job. Stop being fanboys. At some point, if these guys want to provide INSIGHTFUL coverage instead of echoing the usual and trying to be funny like Brian is, they need to try out the contrarian position and see what's there.

[hack]

http://zagsblog.com/seton-hall/seton-hall-transfer-jaren-sina-has-suitors/

Chasing more effing perimeter players. There needs to be a goddamn serious rebounder in the middle already. Donnall isn't it. Doyle's not much for rebounds. High hopes for Jon Teske but come on already.

[Hannibal]

Last year against Kentucky in the Elite 8 Beilein put Morgan in with less than two minutes to go in the first half and of course he picked up a foul in that time. He fouled out late in the second, and having him to the end would have made a big difference.

Either way, they squeezed every last minute out of him that they could, no? I guess that's the point about the autobench complaining. Better 30 minutes and 5 fouls than 25 minutes and 4 fouls. If a guy picks up that second or third foul early, sure, give him at least a rest, but let it be three minutes, not ten.

John Beilein is a great coach. His tenure at Michigan has left no doubt.

With some of us, it has.

[hack]

It's great to end the half on a positive note like Dakich says, but more important to end the game on a positive note. With a guy like Morgan you take the 25 minutes over the 30 if it means 5 of them are the final 5. We lost that game and a Final Four trip and didn't have to, because Beilein wanted Morgan in there for the final three possessions of the first half. That meant he was playing with foul trouble for all of the second half, and therefore limited in what he could do. With Rahkman or Spike or whatever maybe it's different because they are on the perimeter and not the last line of defense, but autobenching is just far from deserving the scrutiny it gets. If they all played some damn defense it's not an issue. They should play some damn defense.

Hey, look -- me too. That should be pretty obvious from my posts. Beilein's approach lends itself to more highs and lows than a defense-first approach. This year's group probably would have made the tournament if Izzo were coaching them. Last year's group would have been meh with an Izzo, but Beilein had them soaring. Obviously I don't like ceding the paint or being a finesse team to such an extreme extent, but this is an exceptionally thoughtful version of that approach.

Bottom line is that like any coach, save for the ones that we can't get, you take the bad with the good. Still a lot more good here.

[Hannibal]

I view minutes as mostly fungible. That is, unless, you're talking about specific skillsets that come into use at the end of the game more than others, like free throw shooting.

[hack]

I don't see much in the way of supporting evidence. No coach does either, otherwise foul trouble wouldn't be a thing.

[WM Wolverine]

GR III cut today. Not much of a role in the NBA for a great athlete but only uses that athleticism a few plays a game and can only hit a jumper when he's wide open. His defense is lousy too, at least at the NBA level.

He's a fringe NBA player, 11th-12th man type until he develops some basketball skills. e.g. playing defense, rebounding, using his lefthand, penetrating with the basketball, creating his own shot and creating for others.

[Hannibal]

He was stupid to leave early. It was painfully obvious. Said so emphatically at the time. Wish that Beilein didn't suck so hopelessly when it comes to retaining players who don't have greener pastures to depart for. I can handle losing guys who have obviously peaked but it never ceases to amaze me how many kids fuck themselves over because some fat nerd livng in his parents' basement said that he was a lottery pick in his mock draft.