U of M MEN'S BASKETBALL 2016-2017

[hack]

IMO mgoblog nailed it: "There are signs of promise—today, from Wagner, MAAR, and Xavier Simpson—but this team so rarely puts it all together that it's becoming harder and harder to hold out hope for a strong run through Big Ten play."

Though I don't think MAAR having a decent game for the first time in weeks is signs of promise.

I agree with Walton needing to find Wagner more often. Wagner has a limited bag of tricks so far from the elbow-extended spot where he's doing most of his damage, and teams will figure out how to guard him soon enough. Overall, I guess I expected some ups/downs this year as they transition to a new system, but it's been mostly downs since that stellar weekend in New York. Maybe they gel in late February, but, for now, it's not too impressive save for Wilson and Wagner growing. Walton's half-court limitations are making Beilein earn his money, and Beilein isn't doing a fantastic job of that. And it's not as if Beilein couldn't see this coming. Spike Albrecht isn't healthy, but he's what we need if he was.

Very encouraging for next year, certainly. No leftover guys from the previous years of softness and passivity; and, assuming, excellent returning starters at 4 and 5. And Wilson will still stretch the floor. Man I wish we were in the hunt for an elite one-and-done perimeter player next year. Coming in to play with Wagner and Wilson should be really enticing. That would be a team.

[Hannibal]

LOL

Mgoblog

[hack]

Michigan's opponents are making 41.4% of their three-pointers, the seventh-highest mark in the country, and that figure has risen in Big Ten play to an astonishing 54.7%.

[Hannibal]

mgoblog has pretty much given up on Beilein now..

[paul daugherity]

Let's hope Warde has too. It looks like he's lost the team. This could get uglier.

[Niffla]

Barring a complete disaster of a season, which I guess they're on the right track of, I don't ever see the university ever really considering firing this dude. They're completely content with being a mediocre basketball program with the occasional tourney run here and there. Beilein's title game appearance probably cemented him at UM for life as long as he wants to keep coaching.

And by the way, Irvin & Walton -- these two have to be among the most disappointing players out of the program...ever. Seriously. Both came in highly regarded and will play out full careers at the school, and this is it? These are the senior "leaders"??

[Hannibal]

Both Rodriguez and Hoke were fired approrpriately. I would have liked to have seen each of them go earlier, but in the end, they were not given an extra year. So I'm holding out hope that Manuel will do the right thing here. I think that you give Beilein the rest of the year to implement some sort of miracle turnaround and if he doesn't, you give him a firm handshake and send him on his way.

But that contract extension was sooooo stupid. My Gad.

[hack]

The contract extension was really frustrating.

[Da Geezer]

And by the way, Irvin & Walton -- these two have to be among the most disappointing players out of the program...ever. Seriously. Both came in highly regarded and will play out full careers at the school, and this is it? These are the senior "leaders"??

So true. When was the last time UM successfully recruited a 5* talent? McGary?

[hack]

Irvin, IIRC, was a five-star. And GR3 was actually the highest-ranked member of McGary's class, in part because McGary slipped in the rankings becuase he was hurt as a senior in HS.

But it's true about this particular recruiting class. Never developed. We used to talk about players making a sophmore leap under Beilein. Last to do that was LeVert, and I don't know that he really and truly did. I think he was a low-usage player as a frosh that was just used more as an upperclassman. Stauskas blew up as a soph and so did Burke, but that's it. Walton hasn't really come along at all, and Irvin has been up and down. Irvin to me certainly embodies the softness that is the mark of Beilein. He is entirely willing to surrender a dunk rather than make a guy earn the two points at the stripe, and very casual with his layups, as if his own lack of defense has led him to conclude that nobody else does it either and he doesn't have to adjust his shot accordingly.

There's a part of me that thinks it might be different next year, without the ``senior leadership'' of two guys that haven't really been responsible for very many wins or a lot of defensive effort. Charles Matthews is eligible and Walton and Wilson should be able to dominate most frontcourts, and go toe-to-toe with the elite players at their positions.

But, then again, I'm sick of waiting, and I've come up with a few wait-till-next-year arguments that didn't pan out. Beilein's system is clearly a fragile flower that is only beautiful with a very specific type of point guard. Even with a year of Donlan building defense, I'm not confident of a big step forward next year.

[WM Wolverine]

Still desperate for a point guard next season (Xavier Simpson?), the losses to graduation aren't significant.

[hack]

Not feeling good about this Wisconsin game. Michigan just doesn't play hard enough to do it every possession in the way required to pull off the upset here. As Dakich said earlier, quiet teams don't win. Hopefully they suprise me. Certainly the defense has been much better, but of course Offensive Genius Beilein runs out an offense inferior to that of Not Offensive Genius Greg Garde.

[Niffla]

Could've been a season changing level win. Led by 8 in the 2nd half, and by 6 with 6 minutes left, but of course they collapse down the stretch. This team isn't making the tournament. Which will be the 2nd time in 3 years. That should be fucking unacceptable at this point.

I am so over John Beilein, man. I really, really can't stand this guy anymore. Thanks for getting UM back into the tourney, and that title game season was magical, but this shit has run its course.

Please get rid of this fucking guy.

[hack]

Yeah, basically. Even if they do, the whole notion that we can't find someone better is fucking nuts. Michigan can't do better than sneaking into the tournament once in three years just to be a sacrificial lamb? At this point the evidence suggests he just got lucky with a few recruits. There are some impressive things about the guy, but they sure don't outnumber the not-impressive things.

[Niffla]

I got a ton of respect for Wisconsin's program, I really do, they're at best very, very good, and at worst, solid...season in and season out. But should they be perennially higher in the hierarchy than Michigan basketball? I mean outside of few anomalies, they are always higher in the hierarchy. I can get Indiana because of their outstanding tradition, and State because of Izzo, but there's no excuse in the world why Wisconsin should year in and year out be higher up the ladder than the University of Michigan.

This program should be consistently in the conversation for the Big Ten, and at least making it into the tournament should be a freaking prerequisite, and if a coach can't deliver on that then they need to keep looking elsewhere for someone who can.