U of M MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2018-2019

[hack]

Z, Poole, Matthews. Jesus fucking christ.

This is college, and a John Beilein team. Players develop and some just outright explode. We replacing valued system guys with NBA-level athletes, all of them relatively skilled at this point already and two of them with a pretty good amount of seasoning for returning sophs.

I'm fine with them not being conference favorites though I think clearly there's no better team on paper at this point. I think at some point a Beilein team needs to enter the season with expectations and shoulder them the whole way through, like Jay Wright's awfully impressive Villanova team did this year, but 18/19 isn't going to be that year. 19/20 could be. In 18/19, MSU will probably be the preseason favorite despite losing far more talent than we do. Which is fine. Let's continue to let MSU believe basketball lives there.

What I think is truly great about next year is that for the first time in a long time we'll be going into a season without any major question marks or a spot in the lineup so raw that we might have to play our way off the bubble. We'll be ranked and have experience at every position. You can't expect the same kind of in-season improvement when you aren't so tender early on, but when everybody's up to speed on the offense Beilein can have more plays they're able to execute at a high level. Next year's going to be fucking great even if Beilein can't get the spacing he needs.

[hack]

IMO Livers could be the X factor. Can he get some backup-5 minutes? Camp Sanderson strength? Can he roll or pop? If so, we could have a five-out look on offense for at least some of the time.

[Hannibal]

LOL what?

They were a poor offensive team even last season with MAAR, Duncan and Mo. now they?ve lost their 3 best shooters, as well as 3 of their top 4 scorers from a team that had issues scoring.

They?re fucked, at least for the first couple of months until they can figure out where the scoring is going to come from aside from Matthews.

They will not be pre season B1G favorites. They may not make the top 3. Hopefully their defense will keep them afloat in the transition process. I?m not saying they?re going to be bad but Beilein is going to have a hell of a time finding guys that want/need the ball.

If Michigan is ranked nationally anywhere in the preseason top 15-20, I?ll be thrilled.

Who should be ranked higher? We're not losing more than the teams that we beat en route to our B1G tourney title.

[Kstat]

Who should be ranked higher? We're not losing more than the teams that we beat en route to our B1G tourney title.

MSU will be the favorites. They’re reloading with their normal upper echelon recruits and they return a handful of really good players, albeit guys that M has owned the past 2 seasons.

Wisconsin will be back. They took their lumps last season but it’ll pay off in 2019, plus they have Ethan Happ, probably the best big man in the country.

Maryland will be back as well, so long as their poor coaching doesn’t get in the way. They’ve recruited fantastically.

Nebraska will be better as well. They have gotten a little better every year without losing a whole lot. Should be a top-25 team next season.

[hack]

MSU's recruiting class isn't better than ours. Our PG recruit has repeatedly torched theirs in HS. But I would be interested in what you think ``normal upper-echelon recruits'' means at MSU, and whether you have noticed how they develop from year-to-year in comparison to Michigan's. And whether you've noticed what kinds of groups of players Izzo tends to succeed with, and what kinds underachieve. Do you know anything about that?

I agree about Nebraska -- decent team. You'd be hardpressed to argue it'll be better than Michigan. Wisconsin, I dunno. If Happ leaves, forget it. If he stays it seems they don't lose much off this year's team, but this year's team was the worst in a while. Are there young players there? I don't know. You don't either, I know that much. You're just saying stuff.

[Kstat]

Wisconsin improved more towards the end of the season than any other B1G team. Yes they had the most room to grow but the point stands. They should have beaten MSU in the tournament.

I’m not saying I fear MSU at all, but they will be ranked higher in preseason. You can bet on that.

[Kstat]

Michigan has the 6th ranked recruiting class in the conference according to 247. Not that MSU’s is much better but they also have more weapons coming back.

Purdue and OSU both lost a lot but they apparently have great classes coming in. They’re wild cards.

[hack]

Wisconsin improved more towards the end of the season than any other B1G team.

Michigan went into the tournament as a fifth seed and proceeded to win 9 consecutive post-season games. It's hard to make sense of your statement other than it's uninformed or silly trolling.

I agree that MSU will be ranked higher. I already said as much, so if you want to agree then go ahead. I am not sure you know the true nature of what's going on their their recruiting vis-a-vis ours, or the player-development factor. The real actual variable with them is whether Nick Ward comes back or not. And, even if he does, I'm not convinced they're better than Michigan.

[Kstat]

I don’t think they will either but that will be because I believe in Beilein more than I believe in Tom Izzo, not because Michigan will have any kind of talent advantage.

[hack]

Michigan has the 6th ranked recruiting class in the conference according to 247. Not that MSU?s is much better but they also have more weapons coming back.

Purdue and OSU both lost a lot but they apparently have great classes coming in. They?re wild cards.

I don't think you know enough about this.

[Kstat]

ah, was looking at last year?s rankings. Michigan is 3rd, but MSU?s is still higher and the best player and class belongs to Maryland.

And no, I don?t waste my time scouting high school kids.

[hack]

Then you're just making that statement about MSU's recruiting based on nothing? I don't "scout" HS kids either. I'm not a scout. But I do know that Michigan's ranking is an anomaly because of Brazdeikis. You're not making an apples/apples comparison. And I know that our incoming PG recruit has consistently abused their incoming PG recruit at the HS level.

Would be interested to know what weapons you think MSU has coming back. I suspect Ward won't go in the first round, and since he hasn't hired an agent he'll probably be back, as he makes Mo Wagner look fleet of foot. He's a legit post threat, albeit one who has yet to really win Izzo's trust. Langford has been a disappointment. Winston is a nice player, but Z owns him.

I'm sure some of those guys will show at least SOME incremental improvement, but that's no given at MSU. Bridges leaves the same as he arrived. The top-fiv e pick in this year's draft played 16 minutes in MSU's tournament loss this year. Winston was ranked 30 or so as a recruit and there is absolutely no draft buzz about the guy at all.

It's a pretty good bet our guys will get better in the offseason than theirs, and we were better than them anyways. So whilst we both agree that MSU will probably be ranked higher in preseason, I think you're off as to the reasons why. They don't have anything to do with coaching OR talent. Michigan will almost certainly have more future NBA players on its roster.

[hack]

The interesting discussion here re M and MSU is future head-to-head battles. It's pretty clear who improves kids' NBA prospects and who does not. Izzo and Beilein don't often go after the same player, but like with Brandon Johns I expect Michigan will start winning more of these. Even if it won't by dinner for Miles Bridges' parents.

[Kstat]

Ward and Winston have been really good. They just haven’t been really good against Michigan. Tillman and McQuaid should break out with more time. Langford has been garbage but the talent is there.

[Cody_Russell]

M is definitely ahead of Purdue for the 2018/2019 season. That can drastically become clearer if Carsen Edwards stays in the NBA draft... Losing 4 starting seniors will do it’s damage anyways.
Maryland with the junior core of Cowan, Huerter, and Jackson should be good.
Wisconsin returns everyone.
MSU loses key players Bridges and Jackson.
Illinois should be tougher with the dangerous Brad Underwood + returning everyone.

M will be up there. Preseason top 25 ... return 3/5 starters, a number of young players (Poole, Livers, Teske, Brooks) ascending. Talented freshman class. Coach Yak.
B10 title is up for grabs next season. There isn’t a clear favorite to me.