MBB- Michigan Ranked #18 in Preaseason Coaches Poll
October 20th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
We better continue the momentum this time. I really don't want to say "Thanks, Darius" after every close loss.
October 20th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^
Your irrational hatred of Daruis Morris is irrational.
October 20th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
I think Morris made a bad decision, but it is his decision to make and he did the best he could with the information and family input that he had at his disposal. There is certainly no reason to hate him for it.
I'm just thankful for the year he had last year.
October 20th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^
Love to see M in the top 25 to start the season.
Love to not see Sparty in the top 25 to start the season.
October 20th, 2011 at 12:30 PM ^
I skmmed it quickly but I think we're projected at 3rd in the b10 based on those rankings. I'd love to see us make a run at a b10 conference title this year. I don't think the league will be quite as deep as it was last year and I think we'll hold up better against the bigger teams given our experience and development of the younger big guys.
October 20th, 2011 at 4:17 PM ^
It'll be between Michigan, wisconsin and ohio with illinois having an outside shot.
October 20th, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^
Apparently the coaches have a lot of faith in our PG situation. I hope they are right.
October 20th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^
Oh no. Not again
October 20th, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^
So we will quickly know how good UM hoops will be this year - that is a good early season test.
October 20th, 2011 at 1:16 PM ^
It bears reminding that a new PG playing his first game against a top 10 team might lead to us losing that (his first) game. I'll wait until B1G season to judge.
October 20th, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^
I agree that it will be a mistake to judge this team too quickly, but Memphis is not U-M's first non-exhibition game. The team has three home games before heading to Maui on Nov. 21:
- Nov. 11: Ferris State
- Nov. 14: Towson (Maui on the Mainland)
- Nov. 17: Western Illinois
October 20th, 2011 at 2:06 PM ^
But at the same time, how much can you learn from games against Directional State, Unheard of State, and Towson?
Burke will struggle early on, of that there's no doubt. While it won't be his first game (my mistake) it will still be early. I really don't expect us to do well in the beginning of the season. If you doubt me, just look at '09, with Morris as a first year starter.
October 20th, 2011 at 2:30 PM ^
"Burke will struggle early on, of that there's no doubt. "
Says who? How could we possibly know that and who's to say he's even going to start to begin the season?
October 20th, 2011 at 2:53 PM ^
Who has ever heard of a freshman point guard starting and playing well early on?
/s
October 20th, 2011 at 9:20 PM ^
First, I want to keep this respectful. If you think I'm being harsh, tell me and I'll stop/edit my comments. That being said, here we go
"Says who?" Well, UMhoops for one. Also, while I can't find the link, Belein has said as much, in both circumstances where he has had a new PG.
"How could we possibly know that" : The argument's similar to "Says who?" There are a few knowledgable people who have played/watched/coached BB for a long time who say so.
"Who's to say [Burke is] even going to start" : Most of the pundits. The reasons are these:
1.) Burke is the only true PG on the roster. That means he's a natural distributer, a natural threat to drive, and athletic enough to not be scared by pressure.
2.) While you could switch another player in (the only two viable options are Brundidge and Dougless) Brundidge is not a natural distributer, and hasn't been one his whole career, so he's not likely to start. Dougless, OTOH, is definately not going to play PG against Memphis, for two reasons. First, we're playing against a very athletic team that WILL pressure us, and he handles that poorly. Second, he's not a threat to drive, especially against an athletic team, whose PG is one of the most athletic in the country.
To recap, Burke or Brundidge are going to start against athletic teams, with Burke being the most likely. In either case, you've got a Frosh starting, and Frosh usually do not do well. If you can think of any holes in my logic, please let me know, and I'll think about it.
October 20th, 2011 at 2:38 PM ^
remember last year when Sparty was #2?
I am much more interested in where we rank in late March.
October 20th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
USA Today's website makes me want to gouge my eyes out.
This is probably too high for us, but I don't care. This reflects positively on the Beilein era. Top-ten recruiting classes and top-25 preseason rankings are beautiful.
October 20th, 2011 at 6:48 PM ^
I'd rather see us outside and fight our way in, but I totally agree that the perception around the program is important. Even though they are just pre-season rankings, anytime Michigan is ranked and bringing in top-ten recruiting classes it's a good thing.
October 20th, 2011 at 7:09 PM ^
Going for a Sparty sweep in basketball for the 2nd consecutive year. Who would have thought that like 5 years ago?
October 20th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^
We really care more about beating OHIO.
October 20th, 2011 at 7:31 PM ^
Good things about our schedule:
We only play Wisconsin once and it's at home. Avoiding Madison is big We also only play Purdue once but it's on the road. We also play Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska only once.
Do we really only play 17 conference games this year? That's what ESPN shows, but that seems weird to me.
October 20th, 2011 at 8:48 PM ^
The team will play Purdue twice, and they will play 18 Big Ten games. The ESPN schedule doesn't have the home game vs. Purdue because it hasn't been decided yet whether it will be on Feb. 25 or 26. See the schedule at mgoblue.com.