That sounds good! Oh. This tweet has a very Ben Mason twist in it:

UM players say Ben Mason comes off the ball SCREAMING. Cesar Ruiz: "I only went against Ben maybe once or twice, but I remember the reps vividly because there was so much yelling and grunting and I almost didn’t believe it. I was like, 'He’s really yelling at me right now.'" lol

— angelique (@chengelis) March 30, 2019

Literally screaming at people is probably not as good as having an explosive first step. Mason's dalliance at three-tech is a wee bit alarming since he's listed at 254 on the roster. While that's not updated, there's no way he's able to get to reasonable DT weight in a year. It's going to be a rough year at DT.

Harbaugh's having a presser right now in which he's detailing various position groups, and there's an open practice Saturday.

This actually sounds good. Gattis offering glimpses into Michigan practices and his approach to routes:

Some times in order to teach you must show! If you know me you must master the details on 2nd level releases!
Head/eyes/hips ✔️
Inside foot stays in the ground✔️
Re-stem snap the head pin the shoulder on the out✔️#Crafting101
ft: young @MikeSainristil pic.twitter.com/IA92zbJKVL

— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) April 1, 2019

At the very least he should be a top-tier WR coach, and the idea of a guy who cut his teeth under Joe Moorhead getting Patterson, Black, Collins, and DPJ… could be good.

There's a real easy explanation. Insane article from Dennis Dodd in which a suit working at Virginia Tech looks at college football's attendance problem and concludes that facepaint is the solution:

"I wasn't an athlete. For me, at least, the fundamental [way] how you run an event is the way KISS runs a show."

Wurthman went to describe the anticipation built by the band's introduction hype video on the jumbotron -- KISS walking from dressing room to stage -- and the same old songs that are the foundation of classic rock radio.

Yeah, they rock the house. They could also lead a morning athletic department staff meeting.

"It is," Wurthman concluded, "quintessential sports marketing."

The article is full of people dancing around the real issue, because they are prohibited from realizing what the real issue is. USF's AD:

"The reality is that the national attendance numbers are going to continue to go down," Bulls AD Mike Kelly said, "mainly due to the comparative social and leisure experiences that can now be had outside the football stadium even if those experiences still center around the game itself."

Read that again. This is USF's athletic director saying attendance is going to go down because the in-stadium experience sucks. That's the problem. If a KISS concert had six commercial breaks in its first half hour, people would stop going to KISS concerts.

[After THE JUMP: NBA draft items]

The latest from Draft Express. They've updated their draft risers and fallers. Both Poole and Iggy draw mention. Poole's ranked 64th:

…intriguing long-term projection, but he showed why he's still far away from being able to help an NBA team [against Texas Tech]. His decision-making often leaves much to be desired. He's contact-averse and could stand to add more ways to impact the game when his shot isn't falling. …could use another year of high-level experience at Michigan to maximize his draft stock.

Should Poole opt to enter the draft he without question will garner workout interest and would likely hear his name called, but one more year of seasoning at Michigan would serve him well. -- Schmitz

Iggy is barely inside their 100 at 88:

…could certainly hear his name called in the back end of the second round with a strong pre-draft process, but questions still remain about how the 20-year-old Brazdekis moves the needle on an NBA floor. His confidence, aggressiveness and ambidexterity as a straight-line driver are certainly positives, but he'll need to become a much more consistent shooter (career 32.2 percent from 3 on 410 attempts) and more adept passer to make up for his lack of length (6-8 wingspan) and foot speed on the defensive end of the floor. -- Schmitz

Those numbers from three apparently include high school attempts, which were much more likely to be bad off the dribble shots than his threes at Michigan. DX may be underrating Iggy a bit based on that.

So it's status quo: draft folks think both should return if they want to maximize their draft stock. If either wants to go they may go in the second round. There is of course a chance of that.

Matthews is 67th, so they project that he'll get drafted if a reasonable number of underclassmen in front of him return to school.

Speaking of that chance. Uh. Not great when random assholes are drawing this kind of response:

The decision here may not be based entirely on draft status.

Related to said chance. Jeff Goodman's transfer tracker has a few grad transfers mentioning Michigan as a possible destination. They are:

• Daniel Utomi, wing, Akron. 6'6", 22% usage, Just A Shooter profile. Hit 37% from 3 on 232 attempts.
• Dazon Ingram, guard, Alabama. 6'5", 20% usage, 22 assist rate, 26 TO rate, shooting 48/38. Big FT rate.
• Justin Pierce, wing, William & Mary. 6'7", 25% usage, 24 assist rate, shot 55/33.
• Jahaad Proctor, guard, High Point. 28% usage, 22 assist rate, low TO rate, shot 53/33.

None of these guys are particularly exciting. That Michigan has reached out to a number of grad transfers says at least a little something about the roster's stability, or lack thereof.

Michigan hockey… summer? Will Lockwood will return:

#Canucks F prospect Will Lockwood has informed the club that he will be returning to the University of Michigan pic.twitter.com/tASVTcG2bV

— Nucks News (@nucksnews) March 31, 2019

That's a big deal for a team that struggled to score. Lockwood led Michigan forwards with 31 points in 36 games. He was also +8, which led all forwards. Michigan is still waiting on Luke Martin, Josh Norris, and Nick Pastujov. It is a good sign that none of the three have already signed. Frequently you'll see teams sign guys and stick them in the AHL immediately. Norris's injury does mean that his failure to sign yet is less encouraging than the other two guys.

Etc.: Remembering Charles Matthews. Strangely fascinating article about illegal sports streaming. Pomeroy on yelling at people in public. One time I went to the Old Country Buffet in town because my girlfriend insisted and we saw one of our professors there with a woman who seemed uncomfortably like a mail-order bride anyway buffets aren't really a thing much anymore.