MICHIGAN'S MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2015-2016

[hack]

This team was supposed to be harder. Not an all-star team but one that plays together regularly. Am starting to wonder if they meant to schedule tougher teams and failed, or meant to do this?

[Pasadena Blue]

these are supposedly Italian third division teams ... i.e. real dogs.

The blowouts don't mean much. All we are getting out of this is some practice time. Wish they got some of the Top or Second division teams to play.

[Dr. Strangelove]

They are the Italian equivalent of YMCA teams

Next up, the Torino Generales

[lineygoblue]

And they get to see cute Italian girls saying "Ciao Bella" ...

[*JD*]

I forget where they played 4 years ago but I don't think they won a game. Belgium?

By the way, Donnal had 20 & 11 today. Nice to see.

[*JD*]

It was Belgium. http://www.umhoops.com/2010/08/25/eu...0-michigan-55/

[Hannibal]

That's what I'm saying. The perimeter play is going to be fucking excellent. Walton/Irvin/LeVert is a hell of a trio, nicely balanced in terms of skills, and there's returning players who have both NBA talent and a few years already in Beilein's system. Execution is perhaps going to be better this year than in the last three. One of the kids will emerge nicely as a backup on the wing, and there's Spike. Add 30 minutes of McGary to that, or even 25, and the interior play goes from young and iffy to an elite strength.

Michigan is too well coached miss the tournament, especially in a year in which the league isn't as good as it usually is. Michigan will make the tournament, though this might be a year where it has to beat a higher seed to make the second weekend.

To me, expecting an 8 seed or higher at this point is irrational exuberance. According to the notes at mgoblog, Donnal has looked pretty bad. Doyle is a Northwestern caliber recruit who is a true freshman and the season largely depends on him. If he exceeds expectations like Jordan Morgan, great, but Morgan took five years to do that. Even if he wildly exceeds his recruiting buzz (or lack thereof), he can't play 40 minutes a game. That means get used to seeing a hopelessly out of place guy playing at the 5 and get used to seeing Max Bielfeldt getting 20 minutes in lots of games because guys are in foul trouble and we have no depth. I had enough of the "Zak Novak, power forward" experience to know that this ain't pretty. The impessions at mgoblog also say that this will probably be Beilien's worst rebounding team. I mean, holy shit, that's saying a lot.

I'll be fine with making the tourney. We're not basketball royalty and we don't cheat. It's going to be a down year and there's no shame in being a 9 seed in the tourney in a "down" year if recruiting is good and help is on the way.

[*JD*]

Morgan had a great redshirt Freshman year and Michigan made the tourney 3 years out of 4 with Novak at PF, so maybe things aren't as bad as you make them out to be?

[*JD*]

Highlights of Michigan vs what looks to me like the Washington Generals of the Italian league. It's against not very good competition but the Freshmen are looking pretty cohesive with the others. I look at this as the equivalent of whatever Game 1 or 2 will be in November and Michigan won by 40, like they should. As long as nobody gets hurt, this can only help. That seemed to be the case for Hardaway, Morgan and Morris in 2010.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl3H9xfGqg"]Michigan vs Petrarca Padova Highlights - YouTube[/ame]

[*JD*]

I asked Dylan what he thought about the competition-level, as compared to 2010.
Here's his reply:

Competition is definitely worse except maybe the final game. They played 1st and 2nd Division Belgian teams that year. This year they've played 4th and 5th Division Italian teams so far, 2 of which were just local all-star teams.

They'll play a 2nd Div Italian team on Friday.

[hack]

Doyle was rated a 4-star by ESPN, so it's not as if he was a marginal recruit. But, yes, Michigan is going to get pummeled on the glass and abused on D. The good thing is that that's nothing new, and that the big-game wins have piled up anyways. On paper at least the defense should be significantly better on the perimeter because there's nobody who will be as bad as Stauskas was. In fact Walton/Irvin/LeVert is very possibly going to end up one of the best perimeter groups in the country, and hopefully the coaches are challenging them to do it on both ends. The potential is there for that.

We'll see what happens with Donnal. Appears to be an in-game confidence thing. GR3ish, perhaps? Either way, Michigan's going to take its lumps non-con. The Arizona trip is going to be carnage. But just like last year, it will move into conference play better for it.

[Hannibal]

Morgan had a great redshirt Freshman year and Michigan made the tourney 3 years out of 4 with Novak at PF, so maybe things aren't as bad as you make them out to be?

9-9 in the conference just barely squeaking into the tourney is about par for that era, and for a down year, I'll totally take it. That isn't bad at all.

We'll see what happens with Donnal. Appears to be an in-game confidence thing. GR3ish, perhaps? Either way, Michigan's going to take its lumps non-con. The Arizona trip is going to be carnage. But just like last year, it will move into conference play better for it.

He's playing out of position at the 5, no? The buzz on him was that he was going to be an upgrade over GRIII because of his shooting ability and better fit into Beilien's system as a 4. But if he's supposed to be the next Jordan Morgan than all bets are off, I think.

That Horford departure really hurt too.

On paper at least the defense should be significantly better...

On paper, I see it being worse unless our young guys are as good as Morgan/GRIII from last year.

[hack]

The defense will be better on the perimeter because we don't have Stauskas anymore. Everyone involved now considers himself a two-way player.

We're not asking Donnall or Doyle to be Morgan. We want something different now, especially given the charge/block calls. Beilein now wants a shot-blocker back there rather than a charge taker, because you don't get the charge whistle anymore. But certainly I'm glad that with Donnall looking shaky that Doyle is coming along and looks to be the happy-pig-in-shit that I personally would want in a 5. I don't think we're going to get great play from the 5 spot but that's fine. We've suffered huge chunks of time with Morgan unable to make layups or Horford tentative after his injury or suffering the swings of McGary's bull/china shop routine, and still won. Morgan's been great and all but it's not as if our success in the past three years has been reliant on his play. Furthermore by the time the tournament comes our freshman will have had quite a bit of experience. The Italy trip and the practices surely are going to help on that front. It's the right year for this.

It's a down year for the conference too, so 9-9 is not acceptable. Michigan should hold serve at home save for perhaps maybe if Wisconsin is really that good. Michigan isn't going to go into Madison and win, but without seeing the schedule it's reasonable to think that Michigan can and should win on the road at least twice. Against the crappier teams.

[The Oracle]

Yeah, shouldn't be any worse than 12-6. I think throughout the B1G will be improved, but not as strong up top as it was. 7-2/5-4 home/away is kind of what I'm thinking.

[hack]

Winning record on the road? Dunno about that. Is the schedule out? I'm gonna check.