Unverified Voracity Plays Hard
Well, that's that. I was going to write the exit post but I guess there's an incredibly faint possibility that Poole does an about-face and is able to give the money to charity or whatever:
ANN ARBOR - For $20, Jordan Poole will provide you with a personalized video shoutout.
Because of this service, it does not seem likely he will return to the Michigan basketball team for his junior season.
Poole, who averaged 12.8 points per game as the starting shooting guard last season, announced on April 9 that he would declare for the NBA draft. Meeting with local reporters the following week, he said he had not made up his mind about whether he would keep his name in the draft or return to school.
But his profile on the website Cameo.com would appear to jeopardize his NCAA eligibility. Like many of the celebrities on the site, Poole is offering video shoutouts for people celebrating birthdays, weddings, proms, or any other special event. He has posted two videos in which he declares just that.
Realistically that closes the door the last inch. Poole's last inadvisable step-back three at Michigan is entering the draft. I take no pleasure in reporting this, but in the end Poole overdosed on swag.
[UPDATE: price increase!]
[After THE JUMP: in praise of slots, small hockey schools should pound sand.]
Projecting wide receivers. Bill Connelly's latest is more about projecting WRs to the pros but it has a few interesting bits for those concerned with college football. One is more evidence that redzone fades are bad:
The saying goes you need a nice, big-bodied target to score in the red zone. This list could not push back harder on that truism. Metcalf, the biggest of big-bodied receivers, had the second-worst red zone catch rate and the worst per-target average of the group. David Sills V, another big body, scored an absurd number of touchdowns in college (33 in 2017-18) but required a metric ton of targets to pull it off. Notre Dame’s 6’4 Miles Boykin was also on the low end of the catch rate equation here.
Meanwhile, Renfrow was by far the most efficient here, proving mesh does what we think fade routes do in the red zone. Hollywood Brown, the second-best of the bunch from a catch rate perspective, is 5’10 as well. A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin are 6’0, Terry Godwin 5’11.
In fact, the only big body near the top of this list is that of Tennessee RB-turned-Baylor WR Jalen Hurd.
Another reason that getting some Dileo-with-rocket-boots slots in the program was a good idea.
Lotta agar around here. I apologize for the previous biology joke.
It turns out running a program is actually very simple: pic.twitter.com/XV9qKGyRcq
— Jordan Sperber (@hoopvision68) April 22, 2019
It was a bad joke. We need to change our joke culture at MGoBlog. In the future, all jokes will be good and/or be about something other than agar.
Conference single-plays. This is close to ideal:
Michigan basketball's Big Ten schedule breakdown for 2019-20: pic.twitter.com/ykcMH7DRI8
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) April 17, 2019
In his defense he probably just thought he was recruiting? The only thing surprising about this is that it doesn't happen more often:
Florida football assistant director of player personnel Otis Yelverton has been placed on leave by the school following his arrest for aggravated cyberstalking on Monday. He's facing a third-degree felony, according to court records.
— Robbie Andreu (@RobbieAndreu) April 23, 2019
Aggravated cyber-stalking is his job!
I love this man. Pointing to the sky to acknowledge the living is only appropriate if it's Rasheed Wallace:
After Game 4 win over Thunder, Blazers coach Terry Stotts channels franchise legend: "Both teams played hard. (Points to sky.) Rasheed." pic.twitter.com/SzLUB78cwH
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 22, 2019
Terry Stotts is my new best friend. Someone tell him so he can come over and we can play FIFA together.
Another shiny 2004 for hockey. Another high-end unspeakably young person:
4.75⭐️Frank Nazar to Michigan. 2004 is nearly impossible to stop 1v1. Has speed, skill, vision & a lethal shot. Quick in transition & has the puck a lot. Changes direction quickly. Can do anything he wants with the puck & all at top speed. Elite talent.
— Neutral Zone (@_Neutral_Zone) April 21, 2019
https://t.co/CVQ7GDRLqf https://t.co/C8bAmjCj1Z
The immediate question is as always "will this person actually get to campus?" This far out the answer is always "maybe." Nazar's quote to MI Hockey is encouraging as these things go:
“My whole life, I have always been a Michigan fan and I love the state we live in,” Nazar told MiHockey. “It is amazing how I can stay in the same state, get a great education and play the sport I love.”
The key fork in the road is next year, when he'll be drafted by the OHL and (presumably) offered an NTDP spot.
Nazar is Michigan's fifth 2004 birthdate commit, a group that includes two guys projected as top ten WHL draft picks (Connor Levis and Mats Lindgren), a D potentially in the Quinn Hughes mold (Hunter Brzustewicz), and a couple of forwards (Seamus Casey and Nazar) with an argument as the top forwards in their year. I would like to hit fast forward on the hockey program please.
Naturally, then. Schools that can't recruit like Michigan continue their attempt to strangle high-end talent out of college hockey with anti-player initiatives. This one is what's bound to be an ineffectual attempt to prevent early recruiting:
The NCAA D1 Council has approved rule changes that will alter the recruiting timeline for Division 1 men’s hockey prospects.
It comes “with the goal of slowing down and improving the recruiting experience,” per a release from College Hockey, Inc.
The highlights:
- Eliminating all recruiting conversations (whether initiated by a coach or a prospect) prior to Jan. 1 of a prospect’s sophomore (grade 10) year.
- Establishing Aug. 1 prior to a prospect’s junior (grade 11) year as the first date when NCAA coaches can make a verbal offer.
Instead of talking with the prospects directly they'll talk to their coaches, parents, and handlers, and the verbal offer prohibition will be about as effective as the one in basketball—which only John Beilein pays attention to. But if this actually worked, think about the results: no hockey player could be offered a scholarship until a full year (or two) after they got drafted by major junior.
Michigan should and will comply with the letter of this law while breaking its spirit every damn day.
Meanwhile, they've got a freaking graphic that makes the anti-player thrust of college hockey canon!
That should read "most Division I players commit after a year or two spent in limbo not taking college classes because Quinnipiac wants to win."
Etc.: Emil Ohrvall makes third-team All USHL. Owen Power is second team All-Rookie. Winovich profiled. Michigan's first round defenders scouted. Devin Bush has fans.
That photo is so perfect, and yes, Jordan Poole probably couldn't have gone out in a more Jordan Poole way.
It seems like this is the right decision for everyone. It's a shame he never became fully weaponized at Michigan, but he has a lot of talent and I hope he does well in the pros.
If DJ Wilson and Rashan Gary previously led the list of vaguely disappointing Michigan players to leave early, I think Jordan Poole has either topped that list or created an entirely new category of early departures (since I'm not sure "vague" applies).
But Michigan fans should be forever grateful for The Poole Shot. Thank you, Jordan.
Nothing but the best of luck to the kid, and I hope Ace is ok.
What's up with Ace... something new?
Just a possible broken heart.
Maybe a Jordan Poole video will brighten his day.
I don't get all of this hate thrown Gary's way. The man played injured when he could have easily pulled a Bosa and hung it up for the year. I think Gary wasn't utilized by the staff well. He should have been slid inside to a 3 tech. Our Dline would have been a lot better up the middle. I love Chase, but one of the reasons he was able to be as disruptive as he was was because Gary was constantly taking on double and sometimes triple teams, freeing up Chase to go one on one. Go back a look at the UFRs. Gary did his job really well and he made it a lot easier for the other guys in the front seven. That includes Chase, and Devin Bush.
And since you want to throw out records against rivals, name a Michigan football player who has a winning record against our rivals or in bowl games over the last 20 years.
This just reminds me of how Peppers was mentioned around here after he left for the draft. From everything I have heard, Gary is a good young man and a hell of a hard worker on and off the field.
The rumour in draft circles is Gary is telling NFL teams in interviews he doesn't want to play inside and wants to stay at end. So there may be a reason Michigan never shifted him inside.
Resume? Like this:
Amazon, Inc. 2016-2018
Product Development Manager
Led Home Grocery Delivery Team tasked with double digit growth; resulted in Jeff Bezos becoming richest man in US.
Just more proof that height is not as important for wide receivers as some make it out to be. The smaller, shiftier receivers seem to be more productive in our current landscape. Sure, everyone will take a Calvin Johnson on their team but those guys are very rare.
Been saying this about WRs and TEs for a while. Everyone got a boner about Zach Gentry being 6'8 but that that only extends his catch radius by maybe a couple inches over another TE and it also doesn't take into account leaping ability (how many times did a CB jump up to break up a jump ball thrown to him?) or arm length.
So the window is a couple inches larger but that doesn't give a college QB much better chance to hit the window. Speed and shiftiness that will create separation from a defender opens the window by feet. That's far better, especially for college QBs.
While we're at it, you could say the same thing about CBs. I'm looking at you, David Long.
Look at all the guys, save Randy Moss, to whom Brady has thrown the ball. Give me an Edelman and a Welker any day over a 6'5" guy who can't get open.
I'm still holding out hope that Poole returns. If he is still projected as a late second rounder, returning to improve his position would make sense. On the other hand, his game is extremely limited in college, especially in a Beilein offense (probably unavoidable, not a criticism of Beilein). He needs to be somewhere he has more freedom to showcase his elite offensive skills - and yes that includes step back threes or some other flamboyant drive or shot. That's what elite offensive players do. Sometimes they make spectacular shots and sometimes they don't. And yes, he has elite skills. I just don't think he had the full opportunity to blossom here. Unfortunately, many Michigan fans failed to appreciate him here and that's their loss.
Personally, I will continue to be a huge fan of his and be thankful for the opportunity to watch him at Michigan. I love his swag, his infectious enthusiasm, his love for the game and love for his teammates. Without Poole, I don't think Michigan makes it past the second round either of the past two years. I'm betting on him to be successful whatever decision he makes.
I'm still holding out hope that Poole returns.
It's not happening, man. It's just not. Head over to the UMHoops forum and read some posts by umbob1, DOTMAN, and Dylan (umhoops' proprietor).
You might have misunderstood my post - it's just a slim hope and I have no expectations either way. But I honestly don't think he's made a decision until he makes it official. If he decided to return, I guess he would have to give the "shout out" money to charity - to comply with NCAA hypocrisy.
https://twitter.com/umichbball/status/1120788600667480066
IT'S OFFICIAL! Jordan Poole will be staying in @NBADraft
EDIT: Double-posted somehow.
Not me. I'd rather the program move on with someone that clearly wants to be here and won't be jacking up bad shot after bad shot.
"Both teams played hard. (Rasheed.)"
Man I miss Rasheed (especially after witnessing a beat-down like last night's record-setting game*). Maybe the funniest Detroit professional athlete in memory.
*Most consecutive playoff losses. Jebus.
I think the conventional wisdom of big-bodied WR in the red zone comes from the NFL where the corners are all quick twitch ninjas that can jump a slant route, but the fade technique: if do right, no can defense. /Miyagi
In college, the corners just aren't as good and the fade is comparatively harder to throw for college level QBs. It makes more sense that slot-type college WRs are better in the red zone because they can still operate in the small space, while the big bodies are slower to get going and there is no threat to go deep. The big WRs also tend to be doubled as both the OC and DC see them as the go-to guys when it comes to the red zone and everyone's lizard brain takes over.
Also, a couple extra inches for some pro QBs is all you need. But college QBs can't hit those windows anyway. So you need guys that can get a separation.
That's been my read as well. In college it often feels like your best bet is to put one of your quickest athletes in space against their #3 corner and see what happens (as we saw with Watson against OSU, not good). But in the pros, the #3 guy is probably Jourdan Lewis, which means he can keep up with you across the field. So you have to be a bit more creative and exploit advantages elsewhere, and oftentimes that's in being much taller than the guy trying to defend you.
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we see slants and slot ninjas get greater visibility in the NFL as that part of the passing game endemic to college works it's way up the chain.
Poole's last inadvisable step-back three at Michigan is entering the draft.
HA!
Anyone that followed MBB saw Jp swag diminish as the season progressed. Indeed, he became a pouting fellow a couple games, refusing to shoot for an entire half one game.
It is becoming more and more difficult to be a passionate M fan as the $ has taken hold. Understandably.,
I wish all these players of early departures well, but I won't follow any in the pros.
Give me Brandon Peters types any day. There is a proper time to leave.
After you get a M degree. Bo rolling over again.
I have two pieces of bad news for Michigan fans:
- The NCAA will never have player welfare as any part of its primary mission.
- The NCAA will never institute policies that allow Michigan and similar institutions to fully leverage its financial and brand powers.
Both of these are because of one simple reason: The NCAA was founded because a bunch of colleges that played each other in sports wanted the rules under which that competition occurs to be well defined and fair. Player welfare is at best tangential to these pursuits. Furthermore, in any given sport there are something like 5-10 schools with the kind of brand and monetary resources to compete at the very highest level under completely laissez-faire recruiting rules. But when you've got a democracy, the 50 - 350 other schools are going to outvote the very top tier every time, and they want legitimate competition, not to be the punching bag for the elite. As long as Michigan wants to play anyone who's not regularly competing for a championship (in any given sport), they are going to have to be subject to the whims of their competitively lesser, but numerically greater, foes.
The fact that hockey is a sport that has so many schools that are normally D2 and it's too expensive for most D1 schools to want to jump in only exacerbates this problem. The entire composition of the body of D1 hockey schools would have to change before anything changes with the recruiting rules.
It's simple economics: The 1% want unregulated capitalism, the 99% want socialism. The fact that the resources (players) to achieve the economic goals (winning) happen to be sentient human beings is unfortunate collateral (not that this is the way it should be - just the way it is).
I hear what you're saying, but if the 50ish teams in D-I that don't have big brand power don't want the Michigans and North Dakotas of the world to be able to recruit top talent, then just go all the way and have an NCAA draft and whoever shows up, shows up and then you can totally wipe out the recruiting advantage. This world where the smaller schools can restrict who we can recruit (top U18s) but they can march out a roster of 24 year olds and claim moral superiority is laughable.
Nazar means "evil eye" in Hindi
"Poole's last inadvisable step-back three at Michigan is entering the draft. I take no pleasure in reporting this, but in the end Poole overdosed on swag."
That's solid prose right there.
bball schedule is ideal from what perspective?
we have home/away with three of the top teams in big ten with OSU, MSU and Iowa... illinois could be sneaky tough and purdue usually a decent team
Mostly because the road-game only list is made of manageable opponents, and the home-game only list is made up of middle of the road teams who are far far more likely to be able to pull an upset at home than on the road at Crisler. The most important thing for a good schedule, in my opinion, is not playing other top teams on the road only, and not getting the dregs of the league at home only, since the former are likely losses on the road and the latter are likely wins anywhere they're played.
College hockey feels like it's basically run by a bunch of little schools in New England and Minnesota who can't win much else and figure if they can just roll some dice for a couple of weekends they can maybe stumble into a title and then have something to put on school brochures. It's insane how hyper-focused they are at making it clear that good young talent should go elsewhere.
I'll admit to being surprised Poole is leaving because he doesn't seem like a guy who is going to love hanging around the G-League, but he clearly is done with UM and I wish him luck finding a better fit somewhere else.
This is going to make it really hard to keep top American talent in the NCAAs - talent that the schools pushing these rules will never land, so this basically comes out to 'if we can't have em, no one can' and they'll just go play in the CHL
I'm not sure if I was more disappointed to see Poole or Darius Morris go before they are ready. Unfortunately, I think the outcomes will be similar.
Morris has made $2.5M in the NBA. His outcome had nothing to do with leaving "before he was ready." He wasn't able to develop a shot. And was given plenty of time. It happens. He wouldn't have been more likely to stick or develop a shot if he stayed longer.
The NBA is hard. Lots players don't make it because they're not good enough. Morris is one of many.
But if this actually worked, think about the results: no hockey player could be offered a scholarship until a full year (or two) after they got drafted by major junior.
This is what I don't get. I don't get why this isn't talked about more and why the big programs aren't furious. Doesn't this rule mean the NCAA is making it their official position that the biggest programs effectively cannot recruit top talent anymore? It seems like it's basically regulatory capture. The small schools have basically made their stupid way of recruiting the only legit way to recruit which is to have your whole roster be 21-26 and all the top American players just go to the CHL. I hope Michigan completely ignores this rule along with North Dakota, BC, BU, etc etc. I swear the Quinnipiacs of college hockey do everything they can to ruin this sport
I don't understand it, either, and I wish someone would explain why. (Ahem, Brian?) But one reason I can suspect is apathy from the Athletic Director. Aside from hiring Mel, has Warde even thought about hockey? I doubt it! I don't think he cares one bit about hockey - and that will lead to rules like these getting a free pass.
We are the ones that suffer...
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