Whew. I could live with this if it was, I dunno, April but it's like mid-May. The portal is pretty slim pickings at this point and we have 3 spots open.
Don't think I'm overreacting when I say, things are pretty f'ing scary for this team right now.
Was always going to be a tough sell on his extra year of eligibility. One more question answered. I think we're one 4 transfering and another portal pickup away from being a pretty interesting team next year.
Will you on nearly everything here EXCEPT I think you start Jackson. Do I think he's an elite 4? Likely not. Do I think he's better than TWill? Probably. TWill also seems to historically play better off the bench, when there is less pressure on him.
Plus, for my own mental health lol I don't think I can do another season of TWill being our starting 4. I just can't.
Without further attrition, a major logjam at the 4
Dylan asked an interesting question over at UMHoops, that I thought was a good one: compared to where you were a week ago (before Hunter's transfer announcement), are you more or less excited about next season?
My answer: I wouldn't say more excited but I'm WAY more intrigued.
If this is a depth piece to beef up the bench? I love it!
If he's being brought in to be the starting 4? ......Yikes
I fear this will only make the logjam at the 4 spot even worse UNLESS there is further attrition coming.
We're losing almost all of our scoring from last season. This doesn't really move the needle on that front
I dunno, I'm willing to let it all shake out but this seems like an odd move with so few roster spots available. Might be the reality of who is wanting to come here right now. If so, that's pretty damning.
Yea, I think I've accepted we're likely to look like a Rutgers team: good defense, kinda awful offense, win ugly, scrappy. I think the question is, will whatever next year looks like be enough to save Coach Howard and staff's jobs? TBD.
Yep, exactly where my head went. I'm still not sure the roster decisions/portal targets I'm seeing make much sense but just gotta see how it all shakes out.
I do fear that Coach Howard doesn't sense the urgency needed here but we'll know more soon.
For the record, I'm picking Miami for selfish reasons lol
I'm in 1st place in both my brackets. The only way I can lose? If UConn wins it all, on both. I can still win $450 but if Uconn loses, I will like $1,100, hence Go Canes!
Appreciate the encouraging words on the bball team. I loved the Coach Howard hire but I'm really starting to doubt it :-/
I gotta be honest, I'm having a really hard time kicking this bad mood after the Hunter news. Just seems like the basketball team has been one dong kick after another over the past 8 months. I'm pretty close to checking out until the fall for my own sanity.
Poured a big ol' glass of vino about 10 mins ago. Picking Miami to win it all.
I agreed with everything until the last 3 sentences. The problem is, the post-Beilein rebuild season was THIS season. Not sure Coach Howard is going to get or even deserve another year after this coming one. This season is the one and the offseason has been apocalyptically bad thus far unfortunately.
Some smoke that there may be an issue. Little unclear if it's admissions or otherwise at this point. Either way, I'd put it at about 50/50 if Papa ended up on campus. But I'll be honest, that's based on kind of some mixed info I've heard. And I certainly don't want to suggest I'm some big insider. Apologize for the vague previous comment. I know how annoying those can be, hope this helps.
It's my understanding that the only reason he'll be able to play right away is because he plans on graduating, so we'd be taking him as a grad transfer. Don't think we'll be getting him for as long as you're thinking here but I could have heard that wrong.
Has a lot of the same feel as the situation with Chaundee. Plays defense, needs a place where he'll get a chance, someone Michigan & Coach Howard knows. I'm totally onboard with this addition!
Yea, I only subscribe to 247 and I agree with you that I do like Sam's philosophy on only reporting established facts. I won't lie though, his refusal to be critical of the teams at times does annoy me. I know why he does it (access) but it still bugs me. Has the feeling of state-sponsored news at times.
I think you're right here. I think there also is the added element that EJ and Sam's approaches are so different as well. Gotta think that is also part of it.
I agree with almost everything you said here. I think the one thing I'd challenge though is I'd call our real problem more roster/player EVALUATION issues than construction. But I guess they kinda work hand in hand.
I'm in a VERY similar position. Good news is, one of the pools I'm in is my cousin's and he lives in Indiana, so A LOT of people picked Purdue and IU to go far, so that's helping me.
And much like you, my East region is a disaster lol
I think your last paragraph hits on something really critical/concerning. I don't disagree that next year could be weird or disjointed but Coach Howard can't afford it to be. Next year feels like a do or die year for him & the program.
You know, there are some mighty interesting match-ups should we make it to the championship game:
Oklahoma State - Interesting team. Was rated as the first team left out of the tourney. Our last game against them was in the 2017 NCAA tourney.
Oregon - Man, this is a team I'd LOVE to beat! They beat us by 1 point in OT in Ann Arbor back in 2019 and that heartbreaking loss by 1, when Derrick Walton missed a shot at the buzzer, that would have gotten us into the Elite 8.
Wisconsin - Wisconsin vs. Michigan for a banner. Enough said.
Yea, I recall someone made the point about Manny Harris in a thread yesterday (or at some point this weekend) and talking about Beilein pulling him out in a critical game against Iowa but that it didn't matter because a point needed to be made. Feels like Coach Howard likely could have/should have done something like that with Jett. I mean, that box out on that rebound against Rutgers.....I would have been fine with Jett not playing another minute in that game.
You hit on some key points here. I think part of my weariness is Juwan is SO positive in his post-game interviews and what not. Talking about the team improving, playing for each other, sticking together, etc. I dunno, some of the 'fire' you're talking about, I'd love to see. I'd love to hear him say that the results of this season weren't up to the Michigan standard, etc.
I've wondered if some of it is him kind of feeling like he needs to chill after the Madison....incident.
I dunno, I for one wouldn't mind if he seemed a little pissed because this season warranted it.
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Interestingly enough, it does seem that a lot of UK fans are ready for a change. Not sure if they're going to get what they want...
Certainly don't have to worry about waiting for him to lose in the tourney.....yikes.
Like a lot of the names listed here. I'll add three:
- Danny Sprinkle at Utah State
- Randy Bennett at St. Mary's
And perhaps a hot take, Jamie Dixon at TCU?
I've seen some mentions of Calipari but I'd prefer we not go that route but I understand why others would disagree.
We'd probably have a REALLY hard time getting him out of the west but he's be a fantastic hire!
My only challenge to Murray is, man I don't think I can do another coach without head coaching experience.....
1. Juwan defenders are annoying. The basketball program stinks and your defenses of him are ridiculous.
2. I love Twitter but hate that Elon has mostly ruined it.
And like many have commented here, life is pretty great. Not many complaints here! Pleasure talking Michigan sports with you all!
Especially with LBSU winning at USC today! We need to figure out a way to win that game against Florida. Could be our big OOC win.
I'll see you one group that was paying attention to Michigan basketball last week: the coaches.
We had exactly zero votes in the preseason coaches poll. We had 25 in the new poll released today. Essentially puts us in 32nd place as of today.
A win tonight likely moves us into the rankings next week. Let's do this!
I've tried to stay positive but man.....we're in a really bleak place. It wouldn't shock me at all if Coach Howard moves on. What a nightmare.
Whew. I could live with this if it was, I dunno, April but it's like mid-May. The portal is pretty slim pickings at this point and we have 3 spots open.
Don't think I'm overreacting when I say, things are pretty f'ing scary for this team right now.
Like, first-year Beilein bad.
Was always going to be a tough sell on his extra year of eligibility. One more question answered. I think we're one 4 transfering and another portal pickup away from being a pretty interesting team next year.
Will you on nearly everything here EXCEPT I think you start Jackson. Do I think he's an elite 4? Likely not. Do I think he's better than TWill? Probably. TWill also seems to historically play better off the bench, when there is less pressure on him.
Plus, for my own mental health lol I don't think I can do another season of TWill being our starting 4. I just can't.
I gotta be honest, I'm a big disagree on that first part. I'm so checked out on Hunter.
Yep, pretty much where my head goes. Likely nothing in between lol
…
Dylan asked an interesting question over at UMHoops, that I thought was a good one: compared to where you were a week ago (before Hunter's transfer announcement), are you more or less excited about next season?
My answer: I wouldn't say more excited but I'm WAY more intrigued.
It's a gamble but likely a necessary one. Dare I say I'm kinda excited about next season?
If this is a depth…
My take?
I dunno, I'm willing to let it all shake out but this seems like an odd move with so few roster spots available. Might be the reality of who is wanting to come here right now. If so, that's pretty damning.
Yea, I think I've accepted we're likely to look like a Rutgers team: good defense, kinda awful offense, win ugly, scrappy. I think the question is, will whatever next year looks like be enough to save Coach Howard and staff's jobs? TBD.
This entire tourney has just been a reminder of how painful it was watching Michigan basketball this season lol
Just looks like we were playing a completely different game out there....
Yep, exactly where my head went. I'm still not sure the roster decisions/portal targets I'm seeing make much sense but just gotta see how it all shakes out.
I do fear that Coach Howard doesn't sense the urgency needed here but we'll know more soon.
For the record, I'm picking Miami for selfish reasons lol
I'm in 1st place in both my brackets. The only way I can lose? If UConn wins it all, on both. I can still win $450 but if Uconn loses, I will like $1,100, hence Go Canes!
Appreciate the encouraging words on the bball team. I loved the Coach Howard hire but I'm really starting to doubt it :-/
I gotta be honest, I'm having a really hard time kicking this bad mood after the Hunter news. Just seems like the basketball team has been one dong kick after another over the past 8 months. I'm pretty close to checking out until the fall for my own sanity.
Poured a big ol' glass of vino about 10 mins ago. Picking Miami to win it all.
I agreed with everything until the last 3 sentences. The problem is, the post-Beilein rebuild season was THIS season. Not sure Coach Howard is going to get or even deserve another year after this coming one. This season is the one and the offseason has been apocalyptically bad thus far unfortunately.
Couple I'd love Coach Howard to kick the tires on, in addition to the ones you mentioned:
I'll fully give you player development is an area he has excelled. Roster construction and talent assessment has been abysmal IMHO.
I think the problem is, we're just as likely to look like Minnesota than we are to look like Kansas State.
There is just no talent on this roster. And call me crazy but I'm not exactly keen on Coach Howard's player assessment skills at this point.
I saw someone else use the analogy of a different version of Charles Matthews and I'd be good with that too ;)
Some smoke that there may be an issue. Little unclear if it's admissions or otherwise at this point. Either way, I'd put it at about 50/50 if Papa ended up on campus. But I'll be honest, that's based on kind of some mixed info I've heard. And I certainly don't want to suggest I'm some big insider. Apologize for the vague previous comment. I know how annoying those can be, hope this helps.
There are some rumors floating around Papa. I'm not going to add to that but I'll let you look into that if you're interested.
It's my understanding that the only reason he'll be able to play right away is because he plans on graduating, so we'd be taking him as a grad transfer. Don't think we'll be getting him for as long as you're thinking here but I could have heard that wrong.
Has a lot of the same feel as the situation with Chaundee. Plays defense, needs a place where he'll get a chance, someone Michigan & Coach Howard knows. I'm totally onboard with this addition!
Yea, I only subscribe to 247 and I agree with you that I do like Sam's philosophy on only reporting established facts. I won't lie though, his refusal to be critical of the teams at times does annoy me. I know why he does it (access) but it still bugs me. Has the feeling of state-sponsored news at times.
Ding ding ding ding
I think you're right here. I think there also is the added element that EJ and Sam's approaches are so different as well. Gotta think that is also part of it.
I'm not sure I've agreed with a single post on here this much before. Every single word.
Near perfect description of Sam IMHO.
I agree with almost everything you said here. I think the one thing I'd challenge though is I'd call our real problem more roster/player EVALUATION issues than construction. But I guess they kinda work hand in hand.
I'm in a VERY similar position. Good news is, one of the pools I'm in is my cousin's and he lives in Indiana, so A LOT of people picked Purdue and IU to go far, so that's helping me.
And much like you, my East region is a disaster lol
Agreed with all of this. I'm not calling Kobe a liar AND it wouldn't shock me at all if his "injury" wasn't as bad as they made it sound.
I think your last paragraph hits on something really critical/concerning. I don't disagree that next year could be weird or disjointed but Coach Howard can't afford it to be. Next year feels like a do or die year for him & the program.
With our luck, it will be MSU…
For the record, I liked your comment because I think it's important people know that, not because I 'like' it.
Just an awful person.
Defeating Mulkey would be so, so awesome. She's literally one of the worst people in college sports. Just an awful overall human.
Should be a really fun game! I'm hoping Nashville M fans show up, will be interesting to see how may show up for this game.
Go Blue!
You know, there are some mighty interesting match-ups should we make it to the championship game:
Two #1 seeds out in the first round. Good reminder of how fortunate we are to still be playing another day!
The bracket is opening up for Michigan to win the damn thing. Why not us?
Not gonna lie, that 3-point shot looks REAL smooth....
Great question. I assume so? But that Covid year stuff always throws me off.
Yea, I recall someone made the point about Manny Harris in a thread yesterday (or at some point this weekend) and talking about Beilein pulling him out in a critical game against Iowa but that it didn't matter because a point needed to be made. Feels like Coach Howard likely could have/should have done something like that with Jett. I mean, that box out on that rebound against Rutgers.....I would have been fine with Jett not playing another minute in that game.
Hoping for a fun game. I'm glad it a midweek game and short notice, otherwise I'd be terrified the arena would be half Toledo fans.
Win the game. Please.
You hit on some key points here. I think part of my weariness is Juwan is SO positive in his post-game interviews and what not. Talking about the team improving, playing for each other, sticking together, etc. I dunno, some of the 'fire' you're talking about, I'd love to see. I'd love to hear him say that the results of this season weren't up to the Michigan standard, etc.
I've wondered if some of it is him kind of feeling like he needs to chill after the Madison....incident.
I dunno, I for one wouldn't mind if he seemed a little pissed because this season warranted it.