Build your own greatest Michigan basketball team - here's mine
I went to the game Sunday and watched a God-awful OSU team pummel an even more God-awful Michigan team. If you had the misfortune of witnessing it like I did you know that game set the game of basketball back about 10 years which made me think about years gone by when times were much, much better. So I decided to build my all-time Michigan basketball team with starters, back-ups, bench, the head coach and players who just missed the cut.
Starters
- Center - Chris Weber
- SF - Glen Rice
- PF - Rudy Tomjanovich
- SG - Cazzie Russell
- PG - Gary Grant
2nd team
- Center - Phil Hubbard
- SF - Campy Russell
- PF - Bill Buntin
- SG - Mike McGee
- PG - Trey Burke
Reserves
- Jalen Rose
- Nik Stauskas
Just missed the cut
- Juwan Howard
- Roy Tarpley
- Rickey Green
- Henry Wilmore
Head Coach
John Beilein (over Johnny Orr & Bill Frieder)
Evaluation
My team will be strong on the boards with Rice, Tomjanovich & Webber so not a lot of second shot opportunities for the opposition. We will score a ton with both Rice & Russell leading the way and Grant will give us tremendous "on ball" defense as well as the chance to push tempo when we need to. My starting five is relatively small (only C-Webb is over 6'7") so large physical teams will be a challenge. Leaving both Tarpley & Howard off my reserves was tough but I needed a lights out three ball shooter to open up the floor when necessary (hi Nic) and I had to find a roster spot for Jalen. At 6'9' he can play literally any position on the floor if and when needed. I suspect some of you might question my selections of Mike McGee & Campy Russell but both were scoring machines at Michigan and at 6'8" & 6'5" respectfully each brings nice size to the 2nd unit. Phil Hubbard, before his knee injury, was one the best basketball players I've ever seen and while I never had the pleasure of watching Buntin play, every single historical record point to him being the only a shade behind Cazzie on those great 1960's Michigan teams.
Who's on your all-time Michigan team?
That is one heck of a starting five.
So, not the current team?
I'm building my team for modern basketball with 4/5 out that can shoot and a coach that can get the most out of them. Here we go.
Center - Mo Wagner
Power Forward - Chris Webber
Small Forward - Glen Rice
Shooting Guard - Jalen Rose
Point Guard - Trey Burke
Coach - Jon Beilein
Bench:
Guard: Nik Stauskus
Guard: Rumneal Robinson
Guard: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Forward: Glen Robinson Jr.
Forward: Franz Wagner
Center: Juwan Howard
Center: Maurice Taylor
Solid list!
Bench:
Guard: Nik Stauskus
Guard: Rumneal Robinson
Guard: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Forward: Glen Robinson Jr.
Forward: Franz Wagner
Center: Juwan Howard
Center: Maurice Taylor
I see on your list we get to cherry pick notable Purdue University hooper Glenn 'Big Dog' Robinson Jr from other teams. :)
I’d move Jalen up to starter on the first team. Like the rest.
Beilein is a no-brainer for coach, but I like Fisher over Orr and Frieder.
If you move Jalen up, who do you move down? It's gotta be either Rice or Russell because I dont think you want to put him at the point in that lineup do you?
PG gotta be either Grant or Burke IMO and I'll tell you this was one of my hardest positions to settle on a starter. I could make a case for Quicksilver lighting (Green) but his shooting wasnt nearly as good as Burke and his defense wasnt even close to the General's.
Burke versus Grant at PG is a tough, tough decision. Hard to move either one to second team. I love Jalen, but can't put him in front of either of them.
Rice is the first guy I would put on the team. All the other positions could be debated. Cazzie Russel was before my time, but he is likely another no brainer for first team.
This. The guy put up 6 games in a row in the tourney that would be season highs every year since. I cant imagine the press someone would get doing that these days. 50% from three, and yes they were close but it didnt matter with Rice. Move the line back he aint missing. I like the Mo at the 5 idea. Good luck trying to guard Mo, Rice, Nik, and Trey. Put your 2 point, back to the basket, all stars against this squad and good luck. You can put Sean Higgins out there and still torch people.
Loy Vaught is going to shoot 62% and rebound everything btw. Dude never missed inside 15 feet and was a monster.
I'm guessing that's because you weren't born when Johnny Orr was our coach?
Well I obviously was, and was an annual participant in his summer youth camps, so I'm probably biased. But the Hubbard-Green teams were special, and played as hard & as well together, as any Michigan teams of any era! Don't sleep on Johnny Orr!
In a quasi-related issue, when I saw the headline of this thread the 1st thing I thought was "I'm not sure I care enough anymore to give it any thought" - which is such a sad thing to have to face!
Juwan is killing my love of Michigan basketball with this unmotivated, directionless crap!
As long as Zack Novak and Spike Albrecht are on the bench, any semblance of the above roster is unstoppable
Honestly I'd probably just go with the 2012-2013 team, except with sophomore Nik Stauskas, and both Wagner brothers.
Guards would be Gary Grant (great defense and great all around really),
and Ricky Green (a real x factor as the fastest man on the floor in almost any game).
Forwards Rudy Tomjanovich (rebounding and shooting)
and Glen Rice (best pure shooter ever).
Center Phil Hubbard pre- knee surgery (defense and more speed at the position).
No claim that these are the "best 5" only that I think they would work great as a team and be a blast to watch play.
Cazzie a notable omission, but he was a scorer who needed the ball and don't think he'd fit well with both Rice and Rudy T on the floor at the same time.
6th man because he was a personal favorite -Henry Wilmore, who could play guard and forward and was also lightning fast. He burst on the scene as a soph (freshmen didn't play varsity) by going for 40 pt against Kentucky on 18-25 from the floor.
DANG! Geln Rice was 99/192 for .516 3 point shooting percentage in 88-89? Hot Damn, I knew he could shoot but your post made me want to compare him to others such as Stauskus...not even close. You will have to excuse my ignorance since I was 4 years old that season. My son always kills me with Rice in 2K.
Many many fans dont know about the Charles Woodson of basketball. "yeah he was a good shooter sure" seems to be a lot of the responses. Look into the NBA career. Youll see this blip of over 26ppg one season. The coach gave him exactly one season of a Stephen Curry green light.
The NBA wasnt bright enough to understand what 47% from three translated to in a points per possession advantage. 47% good god. Curry hit 45% a couple times. Good for him.
Tarpley would be my starting PF. People seem to forget how good he was. He averaged 20/10 his Junior year. Dude threw away a HOF career with substance abuse issues but there's no doubt in my mind that him and Webber would have been unstoppable on the court at the same time.
I didnt forget how good he was, hell, he was the center on my own personal all-time favorite Michigan team (86). Leaving him off the roster along with Juwan was very, very difficult but I felt with Webber & Hubbard we were good at the five and I needed to make room for Jalen & Nik.
If he could have learned to go straight up with the ball in the post, without the inevitable dribble, he would have been a god.
Rose King Jackson Webber Howard
Good answer. Or, on the other hand: Rice, Robinson, Vaught, Mills, Higgins.
I think you meant Mike Griffin
/s
I would love to them play again together
Them too
Tough call, but I can't imagine not starting Trey Burke at PG.
Definitely the position I struggled with the most. Burke is a much better shooter, Grant is a much, much better defender. Both could get to the rim but Grant was better, IMO, in the open floor when we want to run.
Like choosing between Mary Ann or Ginger & Bailey or Jennifer. There are no wrong answers here.
The block was clean:
Still too soon...
Mary Ann over Ginger and Bailey over Jennifer. Easy choice on each.
Team Bailey forever
Wrong. The answer is always Marianne.
Starters:
Trey Burke
Nik Stauskas
Glen Rice
Chris Webber
Mo Wagner
Bench:
Tim Hardaway
Franz Wagner
Derrick Walton
Mitch McGary
Caris LeVert
Jordan Morgan
Duncan Robinson
MAAR
Coach:
John Beilein
MAAR!!!!....low key a very good guard, fun player to watch develop over 4 years. Great at driving and finishing. Morgan was an unsung hero coordinating the defense so well.
I could not get behind a team without Jalen Rose on it.
PG: Trey Burke
SG: Jalen Rose
SF: Glenn Rice
PF: CWebb
C: Mo Wagner
Josh Moore at center
Brandon Hughs sg
josh asslin PF
Air Georgia SF
David Merritt pg
How does Avery Queen not make this roster?
Forgot him
AIR VIGNIER
No one with Mitch McGary? Man he was a pleasure to watch, great touch, court vision, post play, mid range, facilitator, if he had been at Michigan as long as these other centers I would take him hands down. We would not have won that Syracuse game without him operating from the elbow masterfully. Just my recency bias, no Terry Mills either?
Wish he would have stuck around.
Would this team led by Beilein and three years to gel beat unc's all stars with Dean Smith coaching?
Jordan dunk worth 2
Rice jumper worth 3
Dunk for show, jumper for dough!
No Livers?!?!
Burke
Stauskus
Iggy
Tractor Trailer
Teske
Let me guess, Graham Brown and Courtney Simms are on your bench....
No, Novak, Harris, Douglass, Lucas-Perry and Bartlestein.
biggers - McGary and Belfeldt
There will be no Aneurysm of Leadership slander!
Can you imagine our 08 team playing this current team? Cant get any different. Those teams had unprecedented grit. What a fun time.
Agreed
I miss maceo baston