Choose one player, past or present, to add to men's basketball team next season
With news that the roster is set except for a Caris decision, it seems that if he comes back we'll have a legit shot at a deep run in the tourney. I got to wondering, what past or present player could we add to get us over the hump and get us the title. I was thinking a dominant center at first, but I would have to go with Lee Humphries. I was living in gainesville when they won their first title, the dude was clutch, especially in the tournament, they never would have won those 2 championships without him. Just think what he could have done in Beilein's system, he may hold all the NCAA 3-pt records instead of just 2 of them.
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I'd have to take Webber as well. Caris and Walton provide enough firepower in the backcourt and Irvin can hold his own at the 3 or 4. With a 5 as good as Webber was, it'd be a shoe-in Final Four team.
My second choice would be a senior Mitch McGary.
If you want a dominant 5 in your lineup, you should be picking Juwan Howard, not Webber.
That said, Webber is still the right pick.
I would take Webber, but only if he wasn't taking booster money. Otherwise, I would take Cazzie Russell.
I would take Mitch hands down. A shame his limited time playing here. There may be others but he's the one I'd most likely to see.
Still a boss and great energy/team guy. I don't think they'll need it next year but his energy, drive and enthusiasm would be highly contagious.
Trey Burke and it is not even close.
EDIT: Well, I thought the OP meant only Wolverines were to be selected, but others are choosing players who never played for Michigan. If that is the case, why would we all not select LeBron James? He is the best player in the entire world.
Assuming we're not talking just Michigan players, this.
I also wouldn't mind Georgetown era Ewing, if we're limiting it to college guys. I'd also like Houston University Olajuwan or LSU Shaq. Basically, I want a hilariously dominant big man to round this team out.
Glen Rice! What a shooter! Force!
Probably Webber. This team needs a skilled big man, and he's probably the best one I can think of. I would also take a healthy McGary, but we just don't have as much data on him as with Webber. Actually, Juwan Howard would also probably fit the bill, but I would still probably take Webber.
And now that I thought about it I'm torn so no decision...Rice was amazing, Jalen, arrrggghhh
I'd take the best player in our history at the postion of greatest need, which is obviously the 5 right now. So, it's gotta be CWebb right?
Webber wasn't the 5 for the Fab 5, it was Juwan Howard, who was backed up by Eric Riley.
Huh, I did not realize that! Still would take Webber because of his athleticism, but I had always assumed he was the 5 for some reason.
Best stroke I've ever seen, and a great all-around player.
Second choice would be Jalen Rose. (Not old enough to have seen Cazzie Russell, so I don't know how he would rate with today's players.) Jalen definitely played well, both making his own shot and making those around him play better.
Still holds the NCAA record for most individual points scored in the tournament (184). That record has held since 1989.
That record will never be broken in this era of college hoops. I would take Glen all day long. Instant points, great shooter for Beilien's system. C Webb would dominate in todays game also.
gotta be cwebb. we havent had a dominate big man since, well, McGary. and that was way to short lived
Wilt Chamberlain.
Personally, I'd go with Lew Alcindor, but that's just me.
Webber. Position of need, dominant player, great passer, could hit the boards, could play d. Definitely Webber.
But we've been fortunate enough to have a lot of great players pass through. Cazzie Russell would probably be my next choice.
And if you're talking about any player anywhere in college ball... I dunno man. Duncan, maybe? Robinson? Magic? Bird? Way too many great choices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhtar_N%27Diaye_%28basketball%29
Makhtar Ndiaye. Was there ever a doubt?
If the question is opened up to just Michigan players, the answer is probably Webber, closely followed by Rice.
If the question is opened up to any college basketball player ever, given this team's style of play and specific needs, Christian Laettner is the no-question pick.
If we're opening it up to all college basketball players of all eras, why pick a nearly-universally reviled player who prided himself on being a jackass? Lew Alcindor, Magic Johnson, Ralph Sampson, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc., would all be better players on this team.
And none of them would crater the ipecac market in Ann Arbor.
Why does everyone forget about Patrick Ewing when discussing awesome college/pro players. That guy tore it up at Geargetown
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I'd be inclined to pick Burke because he can win games by himself and has the definition of "ice in his veins." But I think I suffer too much from recency bias, with only starting to follow Michigan Basketball over the last few years or so.
So I think it'd likely have to be Webber. Its just a big position of need, and this guy was flat out dominant. Could grab down rebounds, play great defense, and change the course of the game.
I mean you could pick any one of our all-time greats, from Burke, Russell, Rose, Webber, etc., but I'm just going with a position of need. And that's at the 5, big time.
I hate him, but can you imagine our shooters around him? He averaged 28 ppg, 15 rpg and 5 bpg as a sophomore. Yes please.
Player with the most five-by-fives (5pt, 5reb, 5ast, 5blk, 5 stl) in NBA history.
If I had to pick a center [for an all-time best team], I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don't realize he was in the top seven in steals. He always made great decisions on the court. For all facets of the game, I have to give it to him.
If it's NBA careers, I don't really know how to pick between the two. I would probably go with you and pick Olajuwon, because of the additional defensive impact, and he didn't get too bulky like Shaq did. If we're going off of the college version of each player, give me Shaq. Olajuwon was still developing offensively at that point and Shaq's college numbers were just stupid. He was even a respectable FT shooter his sophomore year (63%).
I like to imagine what our team would look like with our whole 2012 class as seniors.
albert white...he looked like a beast with his shaved head, back in the day
...Jeffrey Jordan is the only acceptable answer to this question.
Jordan.
I don't care if he's a gambling addict. I won $260 at the blackjack table on Sunday and now I understand.
I understand, Michael.
Out of all the players who have played the game, the OP chose --- Lee Humphies? /s
yeah, i would choose humphries. im talking about only choosing players as they were in college, so its not like we can take lebron james right now. looking at this team and how they play and what they have on the team now, I want a stone cold 3-pt shooter who has proven to be clutch and was one of the best if not the best in tournament history. he could have average over 20pts a game playing for beilein.
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I respect the outside-the-box thinking, but saying that Lee Humphrey would be your choice from all basketball players, past or present, really might be the most ridiculous statement in the history of MGoBlog.
In the guy's senior season, he averaged 10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist per game at Florida. He then couldn't stick in a Lithuanian basketball league and apparently is out of basketball at the age of 30.
I'd probably go with Michael Jordan over Lee Humphrey. Hell, I'd take Sauce Castillo over Lee Humphrey.
I'm looking for a clutch shooter for the tournament, not the regular season, and there were none better than humphries in ncaa history at making 3pts in the tournament
You could take the guy that made alot of 3s in a tournament. Or you could take a guy that scored more points in a single tournament than anybody else in history, shooting 57% from the field, grabbing 8.3 boards a game and averaging 30+ points per game..... You've essentially picked a role player with one great quality over many many others that could do better than Humphries did in multiple aspects of the game. Add Glen Rice to that Florida team and he can hit open shots created by others and he could also create shots for others.
And to your original point of who would we add to our team next year - we don't need another spot up shooter. Caris can spot up and hit 3s, Irvin can spot up and hit 3s, Walton can spot up and hit 3s, Dawkins can spot up and hit 3s. What we need is someone to create those open 3s by either inside post play or creating off the dribble. Humphries would not assist us much next year.