WTKA Roundtable 3/9/2023: I Almost Swore
Things discussed:
- Michigan loses two coinflip games, because if you flip a coin with this team it's going to be tails 100% of the time.
- If they had anything that would make them a bucket better they'd be 22-9.
- They don't have a four, and they don't have glue guys who can give them anything.
- Are they un-crunch? That doesn't really exist. Sometimes you'll get a Hunter three, sometimes a Hunter turnover. They're all just possessions, unless there's just 4 seconds, in which case Shoot It, Kobe!
- If M can get guys back and have some bench they could really turn it around; if they lose Bufkin and Hunter and Jett to the NBA like it looks like they will, it's right back to the treadmill.
- Rutgers preview: Doesn't matter; you'll have watched the game by then. They're kind of like Michigan: two good players, two one-dimensional players, and nobody for the four.
- Chances at the tourney? Low. Even if they beat Purdue they're the easiest team to leave out of the tournament with a boat-anchor loss and no nonconference wins, and three teams on the cut line with them have head-to-head wins. Hope lies in whether they give credit for coming close and for scheduling Virginia, Kentucky, and UNC in the non-conf.
- BTT picks? All over the place. Iowa, Purdue, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State.
- Hockey: Brian thinks OSU is going to crush us. They have such an excellent PK, excellent goalie, and have Michigan's number, totally tilting the ice. OSU has an aggressive forecheck that really messes with Michigan's breakouts.
- Why is Michigan the most penalized team in America? Why isn't Fantilli a B10 PoY finalist? Because they get boned. They're undisciplined and young, yeah, but much of that is they get tagged with majors for things that no other team would get one for, all the time.
- Warde Manuel has lost the hockey fans. He should be bidding on Toledo every year instead of letting them get away with not having a single tournament game in the Midwest for four years. He should be raising absolute hell over the stupid review rules and the way Michigan gets called. College hockey is run by turds—the major schools that want to grow the sport are outvoted in everything by tiny schools that want a random winner every year so they can get a national championship without actually doing anything. But Warde could have done a lot to help his program, the way Minnesota has, and he's instead treated the program the way Ohio State treats theirs.
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Segment two is here. You can watch the video here:
MGoBlog Roundtable https://t.co/fHuDbauYx7
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We gotta stop getting these mediocre college players that the NBA is interested in.
Maryland went 1-9 away from home in conference. Thinking they will win 4 straight neutral court games is optimistic.
If we lose Kobe, Jett and Hunter, "back to the treadmill" seems really optimistic. The team has been flawed but serviceable the last two years. I would not expect a team without those three players (barring a windfall in the portal) to be serviceable. Maybe Seth is referring to a different treadmill than the one we've been on recently.
I see at least a little blue sky. Kante seems like someone who could be impactful on defense right away. That would be a nice change of pace from what's currently happening at "4." Reed is already good on that side and has shown some promise on offense. Dug will hopefully not pull a Frankie. Maybe Juwan will score with transfers as he did with Chaundee and Mike Smith a couple of years ago.
It is more likely that all 3 come back than all 3 leave. And Hunter isn’t going to the NBA so why would he leave early?
Agreed. Not sure what anyone is seeing that makes them think any of those three are NBA ready. This is why I don't put a lot of stock into analysis i see on Mgoblog
"NBA ready"
LOL!!! Define that, please...
Every year we talk about players that aren't 'NBA ready', yet they become lottery picks. And we still talk about the NBA drafting on potential. Kobe has craploads of 'potential'. As far as basketball goes, I refuse to get caught up in who will be, should be, or won't be drafted because my head has exploded with some of those picks!
Probably because Houstan and Diabate seemed arguably less NBA-ready last year, and we saw how that went …
He can probably make more money in Europe than via NIL. And I can't imagine this season has been much fun for him at Michigan.
On the positive side, with the transfer portal now teams can re-invent on the fly. With Terrence Shannon, this was probably a #3-#5 seed team with a legit shot at extending the S16 streak.
I believe Michigan will win 10 coin flip games in a row, all on improbable buzzer beaters, in a Valvano-esq run to the national title. Kobe, Jett and HD will all return, bc none will be satisfied with the losses and criticism they endured, and engage in a revenge tour season for the ages next year.
I don't see why it's UM's responsibility to sponsor a regional--the B1G should step up and fund it on behalf of all the teams in the conference. Chicago, Indy, St. Paul are all neutral sites.
Michigan is one of the 3 most talented teams every year, in a postseason that invites chaos and a home ice that could sway a game or 2.... it benefits us more than any other BIG team and it's criminal that we haven't pushed harder to host or at least get a site close to us
The whole thing with Warde Manuel as AD is that he is merely an administrator. So long as his department has a positive cash flow, he's happy and everything is fine. Rocking the boat is for suckers because that's what gets you noticed. And when people see you, you get more pressure about actions, questions, and consequences. So he'll just keep it quiet, low key, and unnoticed so long as cash flow remains positive.
The next time he stands up for his programs will be the first time. He doesn't back his coaches, instead letting them float in the breeze of a media circus of their own making (so far as he's concerned). He doesn't back his players, as the mentioned hockey season so well illustrates. He refuses to make tough choices, as his support for Mel Pearson and his refusal to make Harbaugh's contract a non-issue (NFL shopping, 'controversial' and attention grabbing figure) attest.
He is not a 'leader', he's an administrator. Nothing more, nothing less. He makes no more difference walking into a B1G conference room with his peers than the Maryland AD makes when he enters that room.
March 10th, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
This is the best description of Manuel I have read yet. He's not going to do anything publicly because he is behind the scenes only. Unfortunately, you need more than administrative ability to be a competent AD chief for a Power-5 school, and he doesn't bring enough to the table.
It should be a moot point, however, because he should have been let go over the Harbaugh contract situation. Maybe he still will be.
March 12th, 2023 at 12:50 AM ^
I'm appalled Warde won't publicly berate the BIG 10 refereeing. Stand up for your team! That’s part of the job description.
Warde is the biggest turd in the punch bowl.
So maybe we just watch the game as a game, not for what it means.
Michigan's top 4 players have been remarkably consistent.All 4 guys stats are within a tight window game to game..Michigan wins when 1 of Reed,Baker,T.Will make a contribution.Check out the stats for the 3 guys in Michigan's quality Big 10 wins....
How are the hockey regionals Warde's fault now?
If Michigan bids Toledo, are Michigan fans going to shell out $75 a day to watch regional hockey? I doubt it. And if Michigan is not in the field? No way.
Since 1990 they haven't made the field just 5 times, all of those when we were riding out the end of Red's tenure or rebuilding in the aftermath. Michigan fans are shelling out over $80 for Big Ten Tournament hockey this weekend, because season ticket holders had only a tiny window to get seats before the bots swallowed them up and marked them up on stubhub. Compared to most regionals, a Toledo with Michigan in it would probably draw 4x average at least.
Wasn’t there a regional in Toledo previously? How did it go?
Feels like Michigan hockey has been undisciplined for years, or at least they are prone to bone headed plays at the worst possible times. Either way they seem to have the worst possible luck in NCAA tournament games going back quite aways.
This is the 'Michigan Way'... It's not just hockey.
I think part of it culture, but a much larger part of it is that our hockey roster is usually one of the youngest, most talented, most turned over year-to-year. Youth makes a (not favorable) difference.
“It’s just luck”… but at some point you’re Scott Frost’s Nebraska.
Part of it may just be that Michigan’s offense is very clunky/streaky. They seem to have a multi-minute complete dry spell nearly every game. If that dry spell happens (only) in the first half, they make a game competitive or win and look good. If a dry spell hits late in the second, they look like they choked away a win.
Can someone tell me why Jett Howard is the best NBA prospect in the Big10? His play to me seems to be Caleb Houstan 2.0 with a bit more volume. Same height, same empty stats, same inconsistent shot, same effort. What Orlando saw in Houstan, I don't know.
I would think that Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids would be a great place the hockey playoffs.
Its almost starting to seem like we're bereft of scoring options as a result of feeding Hunter over and over again, instead of the other way around. Almost like the scheme lacks ways to get other guys going or easy looks to get them going. So they lean on manball, and never learn how to make things happen when times get lean. Caveman ball if you will.
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