Find all the online slots reviewed and available for play at Slots Online Get live college football lines and the best bonuses including: Bookmaker bonus code, Betus bonus code and Sports Interaction bonus code
Find your Michigan football tickets, the Red Wings schedule, plus UFC tickets, MLS soccer tickets, Preakness Stakes tickets and Belmont Stakes tickets.
Online Casinos Elite
Onlinecasinoselite.com is the best bonus casino directory where to find an huge archive of the most trusted casino brands, a complete guide to all popular casino games like blackjack, roulette, bingo, poker, casino mobile for your phone and a reserved section for slot machines and videopoker fans. Plus the top casino reviews of the best usa online casinos.
Compare online slots games or play for big cash prizes.
Slots Galore
|
By Ace Anbender
Well, this offseason has just been filled with joy, hasn’t it? Official press release:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan men’s basketball head coach John Beilein announced today (Wednesday, June 30) that redshirt-junior guard Laval Lucas-Perry (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic HS) has been dismissed from the program.
“The University of Michigan and our men’s basketball program has established expectations essential to the success of all students and athletes,” said Beilein. “These university and team standards have been clearly communicated to the team and Laval on numerous occasions through meetings, conferences and mentorship.
“Unfortunately, Laval has violated our team standards. Therefore, I have decided that he will no longer be a part of our basketball program. Given the fact that Laval is near the completion of his degree, he has been extended the offer to remain on scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year and graduate in May with our 2011 class.”
After transferring from the University of Arizona midway through his freshman season, Lucas-Perry has played 58 games for U-M averaging 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assist per game.
For those counting scholarships, this does mean that Michigan will be able to bring in two additional class of 2011 recruits on top of commit Carlton Brundidge. Hopefully LLP can land on his feet, either in Ann Arbor or, if he chooses, elsewhere.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
There’s a ton of crazy news surrounding the college sports world today, but I wanted to drop off this press release before it gets lost in the shuffle. My internet has been down and I have class shortly, but I will be giving my thoughts on Nebraska joining the Big Ten later today. First, Michigan has filled the assistant basketball coach position vacated by Mike Jackson:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan men’s basketball head coach John Beilein announced today (Wednesday, June 9) the hiring of LaVall Jordan as an assistant coach for the Wolverines.
“LaVall is a terrific addition to our staff,” said Beilein. “He grew up in the state of Michigan and was a huge fan of the Maize and Blue. LaVall knows and appreciates the valued traditions of this great university and the Wolverine program.
“LaVall is a proven recruiter, excellent mentor and gifted teacher of the game. Bringing to Michigan his knowledge as a player and coach and his experience from a successful Butler program (multiple NCAA Tournament appearances including the Sweet 16 in 2007), LaVall will be a tremendous asset for us as we continue to develop our program’s culture.
“LaVall’s passion for skill development and deep understanding of guard play will undoubtedly benefit our backcourt players. I am especially pleased with his working and recruiting experience in the Big Ten and believe he will be a key component as we strengthen our program and recruiting efforts.”
“I know what the University of Michigan means to this state and around the country. To be part of that is truly a great opportunity,” said Jordan. “Returning to my home state, being closer to my family and working for Michigan is a tremendous honor.
“Having recruiting ties in the state of Michigan, the Midwest and across the country, I am looking forward to helping this staff bring in the right type of young man that will help this program become one of the best in the Big Ten and the nation.”
“I love the make-up of this staff,” added Beilein. “They will help this young team develop their games both collectively and on an individual basis. I am very confident that our terrific Michigan fans will embrace watching this young team make great progress in the years ahead.”
Jordan spent the last three years at Iowa as an assistant coach under former Hawkeye head coach Todd Lickliter. Prior to his arrival at Iowa, Jordan spent four years coaching at his alma mater Butler (2003-07) as an assistant coach for three seasons (2004-07) and as the coordinator of basketball operations for one season (2003-04).
Jordan assisted the Bulldogs to a 29-7 record in 2006-07, sharing the Horizon League regular-season title in 2007 and advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before a loss to eventual national champion Florida.
Before embarking on his coaching career, Jordan was a starting guard at Butler (1998-2001), helping the Bulldogs win three conference tournament titles and two Horizon League regular-season championships. He participated in four consecutive postseason tournaments — NCAA (1998, 2000, ’01) and NIT (1999) — and helped record Butler’s first tournament win in 39 years with a 79-63 win over Wake Forest in 2001.
Jordan was a two-time All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference performer and was the league’s tournament MVP in 2001. He tallied 91 victories in four years, which at the time made him the winningest player in Butler history.
A native of Albion, Mich., Jordan earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Butler in 2001 and went on to play professional basketball in Europe. He was the first Butler player to participate in the National Basketball Developmental League, playing for the Huntsville Flight.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
Surprising news this morning from a surprising source — the basketball team — as several Michigan news outlets are reporting that Michigan basketball assistant coach Mike Jackson has left the team for a position on the Purdue basketball staff. This is certainly not good news for the Wolverines, as Jackson, who played basketball at the University of Detroit and graduated high school from U of D Jesuit, was known as the best recruiter on John Beilein’s staff and worked closely with the team’s guards.
People with a greater knowledge of Michigan basketball may disagree with me here, but to me, this sounds like the perfect time for the Wolverines to see if Jalen Rose would be willing to give up his TV gig at ESPN to return to Ann Arbor. Jackson worked with Michigan’s guards and was a good recruiter with deep ties to the Detroit area — Rose was one of the finest guards to even don a Michigan uniform, starred at Detroit Southwestern High School, and I have a hard time imagining he would be anything but a great guy to have on the recruiting trail. It’s just a thought, and in all likelihood the Wolverines will go in an entirely different direction, but as a fan I’d certainly love to see the team at least explore the possibility of bringing back one of the Fab Five, especially since Rose has expressed a strong interest in coaching at some point in his career. At a point where most teams have their coaching staffs set, there also may not be a lot of great options out there, and it could be very tough to find someone with as strong a tie to both the University and the State of Michigan as Rose.
Again, the previous paragraph is entirely speculation. I’ll have more on the situation when a list of potential replacements comes out.
World Cup Odds
World Cup Schedule
World Cup picks
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
 Michigan has hired Western Michigan assistant coach and former University of Detroit player Bacari Alexander for the vacant basketball assistant coach position. Here’s the athletic department’s official press release:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan men’s basketball head coach John Beilein announced today (Saturday, April 24) the hiring of Bacari Alexander as an assistant coach for the Wolverine program.
“I am very excited about the addition of Bacari Alexander to our coaching staff,” said Beilein. “From the very beginning of this search, I had specific qualities and characteristics I was looking for in our next basketball coach. Bacari fits that profile 100 percent.”
“He has strong roots in Michigan and significant recruiting experience both here and in neighboring states,” added Beilein. “He is a passionate teacher with strong communication skills. Bacari is a former post player and has a proven ability in the development of big men at the college level. With our young front court, that was an important factor in my final selection. I look forward to Bacari’s immediate and very positive impact on the growth of our program.”
“My family and I are very excited to be part of the Michigan family,” said Alexander. “As a native of the State of Michigan, I feel very fortunate to be associated with such a great program. For a lack of better terms, this is a match made in heaven for me.
“I am anxious to start working with this young and developing team, and I am eager and motivated to recruit the kind of student-athletes that will put Michigan back to the top of the Big Ten.”
Alexander comes to Michigan after a nine-year Division I coaching career, spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Western Michigan (2008-10). Working with the Broncos’ young group of front court players, Alexander helped Flenard Whitfield make the MAC All-Freshman Team in 2009 while assisting WMU to its second straight Mid-American Conference West championship, its fourth in the last six years. WMU went 18-15 in 2010 with a runner-up finish in the west division of the MAC.
Before making his way to Western Michigan, Alexander spent one season (2007-08) in the MAC at Ohio where he helped the Bobcats finish 20-13 overall and 9-7 in the MAC. The team advanced to the second round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
Alexander began his coaching career spending six seasons at his alma mater, University of Detroit, under head coach Perry Watson. Alexander helped the Titans compile 96 wins in six seasons, including 53 victories in the Horizon League. The Titans finished .500 or better in conference play in five out of the six seasons with Alexander on staff.
Alexander played two seasons at Robert Morris, where he was named to the Northeast Conference All-Newcomer Team in 1995, before transferring to Detroit.
In his final two seasons, Alexander helped the Titans win a pair of Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season championships and reach back-to-back NCAA Tournaments (1998 and 1999). He started 57 of 62 games and was named to the MCC All-Defensive Team as a senior. Alexander played high school basketball at Detroit Southwestern.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
It was a busy weekend for Michigan sports, and while one team lost in heartbreaking fashion, another pulled off a surprising road sweep to keep their tournament dreams alive.
By now, we all know what happened to the basketball team on Friday, when Evan Turner’s 37-foot prayer was answered at the buzzer to give Ohio State a 69-68 victory over the Wolverines and ending the 2009-10 basketball season for Michigan. My quick thoughts on the game, because it’s still painful to talk about and somewhat old news at this point:
- First, it’s important to mention just how well the team played. While Michigan did allow Ohio State to go on a big run to end the first half, for the most part Michigan hung with, and outplayed, a team that just secured a two-seed in the NCAA tournament and had a strong argument for being one of the one seeds. Losing in that fashion was heartbreaking, but there’s no shame in the loss itself.
- Unbelievable effort by Manny Harris, which unfortunately was overshadowed by Turner’s late-game heroics. 26-6-4 for Manny on 8-15 shooting, including the go-ahead shot that should’ve given Michigan the win. When it came time for someone to step up and get the Wolverines back in the game or to put them ahead, there was no question who was getting the ball: Manny took over, scoring 22 of his 26 points in the second half and putting the team on his back in the final minutes. I felt bad for DeShawn Sims, whose college career ended on Turner’s shot, but I felt just as bad for Manny, who poured everything he had into that game.
- As for the last play: I can understand not guarding the inbounder, but there’s no excuse for not doing that and not getting a great deal of pressure on Turner in the backcourt. John Beilein and his players have tried to defend his, um, defense, saying they (obviously) didn’t expect Turner to hit a half-court shot and just wanted to contest without fouling or double-teaming and allowing another shooter to get an open look. That’s fine, except Ohio State had 2.2 seconds to get the ball all the way up the court and get a shot off. The only way to do that is to either pull the Christian Laettner (a desperation, full-court pass, for those that somehow don’t know what I’m referring to) or do exactly what Michigan allowed them to do: hit a guy running full steam towards midcourt and hope he has the space to get a shot off. If Michigan plays a tight man defense in the backcourt, Turner doesn’t have the chance to sprint before catching the ball, and there’s no way he crosses half court and launches a shot before the buzzer goes. Maybe he gets a look from 50 feet, but if he tries to pass it up to a closer player, he’s in grave danger of allowing time to expire without getting a shot off. I just don’t know how you can defend how Michigan played the last couple seconds, and it cost the team a (very slim, but still) chance at postseason play.
- As always, UMHoops has a more in-depth breakdown if you enjoy pain and whatnot.
In much less depressing news, the Michigan hockey team was able to sweep the hated Spartans in their own arena this weekend to advance to the CCHA semifinals this weekend at the Joe, keeping the team’s NCAA tournament hopes alive in the process. The weekend saw a maddeningly inconsistent Michigan squad turn into the team people expected to roll through the CCHA in the preseason, as they dominated MSU 5-1 on Friday and clinched with a 5-3 victory on Saturday that was much more dominant than the score would suggest. I was able to catch the Saturday game, so here are my thoughts on the clinching victory:
- First, as Brian gleefully points out in his weekend recap, karma finally caught up with Corey Tropp, the Spartans’ leading scorer who you may remember as “Goon #2″ in the Steve Kampfer on-ice assault last season. Tropp stepped on a puck in warmups before the clincher and wasn’t able to play because of the ensuing ankle injury. Seriously. If you don’t believe in karma, read that again: in all my years of watching hockey, I’ve never heard of that happening to a player, especially right before a potentially-deciding playoff game. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, in my opinion.
- One would look at the box score and think this was a close game, with Michigan needing an empty-net goal to seal a 5-3 win late, but this game never should have been close. The Wolverines put in two early goals within a minute of each other, and looked to be running away with the game before taking a couple dumb penalties that allowed the Spartans to score two quick goals of their own and then a go-ahead tally with just 0.7 seconds left in the first period. The shot totals tell the real story of the game: the final tally was 44-21 Michigan, and the Wolverines outshot MSU 16-9 in the first and 16-1 (!) in the second. The team did an unbelievable job playing defense by controlling the puck on offense, which was much-appreciated considering the walk-on playing in net.
- Those penalties, however, were infuriating, and not because of any issues with the officiating (surprise!). Tristin Llewellyn has a fully-deserved reputation for taking bad penalties at bad times, and he nearly cost the team the game on Saturday. He took an entirely unnecessary elbowing penalty with a minute left on a Chad Langlais penalty in the first, leading to a five-on-three that the Spartans capitalized on almost immediately, giving them time to score a second time before Llewellyn’s penalty time had expired. He then took another penalty, this time for a trip along the boards after turning the puck over, with under a minute left in the first, and MSU again took advantage with a goal. Yes, you could easily pin all three of MSU’s goals on Tristin Llewellyn taking bad penalties on Saturday. Brian points out, with a fair amount of surprise, that Llewellyn is a very impressive +9 in the CCHA tournament, which would be great if he didn’t spend so much time in the box. But he does, and it completely mitigates the positives he contributes when on the ice — take away his penalties, and this game is much like Friday night’s: a total laugher.
- Michigan’s first two goals were set up by absolutely gorgeous passes. Ben Winnett made a great cross-ice pass that Matt Rust knocked home (with a deflection, it appeared) on the power play to put Michigan up 1-0, and David Wohlberg hit A.J. Treais tape-to-tape from the corner on his backhand 21 seconds later for the 2-0 lead. It was nice to see Wohlberg, who has been a disappointment in his sophomore season, have a great game on Saturday — he was passing the puck really well, especially in the first period, and he made a nice play to force a turnover and convert the empty-net goal to seal it.
- Chris Brown’s effort to whack home a loose puck at the side of the net — a goal that proved to be the game-winner — was nothing short of a tremendous individual effort. To display that kind of power and presence of mind as a freshman is really impressive.
- As for the goaltending situation: Shawn Hunwick has done an admirable job of stepping in for the injured Bryan Hogan, and the (awful) Comcast announcing team was calling for Red Berenson to stick with Hunwick until the team stops winning, but I think this team needs Hogan back if they hope to knock off Miami on Friday and move on to the title game. Hunwick makes up for his lack of size and talent by committing very hard to every shot, but while that style keeps him afloat sometimes, it also leads to goals like the one that tied the game at 2-2, when State’s Andrew Rowe (after faking out Brandon Burlon) made a quick fake on the short side that Hunwick over-committed to before going behind the net and converting a wide open wraparound. A better team probably would have been able to take more advantage of Hunwick’s style — it was really an adventure any time State got consistent pressure, which luckily wasn’t often. Hunwick has played well enough to advance Michigan this far, and he should be praised for it, but now is not the time to try “riding the hot hand” instead of going with your one scholarship goalie.
The Wolverines will need to advance to — and probably win — the CCHA title game to earn a bid in the NCAA tournament. They take on top-seeded Miami on Friday night at 8, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. As this is our last chance at salvaging something good out of an otherwise-awful 2009-10 academic year, I encourage you to make your way to Joe Louis or your sports bar of choice and pull hard for the Wolverines this weekend.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
I’ll admit, before launching into this diatribe, that I did not watch a single minute of yesterday’s loss to Michigan State. In fairness, I was driving home from Canada for the first half, and by the time I got home — well, 14 first-half points didn’t exactly inspire me to flip on CBS instead of unpacking. It’s not hard to imagine, however, how the game played out: Michigan State completely overmatched Michigan inside, and the Wolverines couldn’t hit their shots. A quick check of the recap confirms. Now Michigan sits at 14-16, and if they can beat Iowa in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament, their season will almost certainly end against Ohio State in the next round.
John Beilein has, thus far in his Michigan career, avoided much criticism. This is in large part because, until this season, his team was progressing ahead of schedule: sometimes we have to remind ourselves that this very team made the second round of the NCAA tournament last season. This season, the controversy surrounding Rich Rodriguez and the football team has deflected a lot of attention away from the floundering basketball program. Games like yesterday’s, however, have caused Michigan fans to ask again a question we thought Beilein had answered with a resounding ‘yes’ last season: is he the right man for this job? Over at Genuinely Sarcastic, Brian takes stock of the program and finishes with a disturbing question:
Beilein, as a person, should be exactly what every Michigan fan (and every fan everywhere, really) wants as their coach. He’s a great man who refuses to bend his morals even a little bit. He refuses to delve into the filthy world of AAU coaches getting handouts, family members getting jobs, and all the other gray areas that accompany the majority of basketball recruiting. This leaves a huge chunk of recruits each year off limits to Michigan – and considering UM’s past, it has to be that way, anyway. So in that regard, Beilein has no peer. But as a gameday coach, a teacher, and from an Xs and Os standpoint – color me thoroughly underwhelmed. Dave Brandon officially starts his duties as Michigan athletic director today. It’s highly unlikely (and would probably be too hasty) that he decides to suddenly fire Beilein. But if you can’t draw conclusions about a coach after three years, you absolutely can after four, and I ask again – do you see any scenario where Michigan is substantially improved next season?
Even if Manny Harris returns, and the Wolverines land Trey Zeigler and Jon Horford, can this team overcome the loss of DeShawn Sims, the one viable post player on this team? Even Michigan fans with the most rose-tinted glasses of all will have a hard time saying yes. With Sims and Zack Gibson graduating, the Wolverines are left with just two returning redshirt freshmen bigs with huge question marks — Blake McLimans, a perimeter-oriented forward who wasn’t physically ready for Big Ten basketball this season, and Jordan Morgan, who sat out this season with a knee injury and just this week injured his shoulder. In a perfect world, neither of these guys would be forced to take on big-time minutes next season. As we keep getting reminded, this world isn’t perfect, and both will be forced into major playing time unless Evan Smotrycz and Jon Horford (assuming we have room for him and he commits) can both come in and contribute from day one.
I’m not holding my breath.
As Brian points out in his article, much of the blame for Michigan’s lack of viable big men can be placed simply on bad luck: Epke Udoh transferring was a bigger deal than anyone thought at the time, Draymond Green was wooed by Tom Izzo (and who can blame him?), Ben Cronin had a career-ending hip injury, Robin Benzing couldn’t qualify, and Morgan’s aforementioned knee injury kept him from getting valuable experience this season. This is how you end up with Zack Novak at the four.
That said, next season will be Beilein’s fourth, and there’s a very good chance we’ll be looking at consecutive losing seasons and another rebuilding project when 2010-11 is over. The pieces may be coming into place for a successful team: Smotrycz and Tim Hardaway are good prospects that fit Beilein’s system well, 2011 commit Carlton Brundidge is a blue-chip player, Darius Morris has made great progress this season, and Michigan has a shot at adding some big-time recruits. The hole in the middle can’t be fixed immediately, however, and unless this team turns into a three-point juggernaut — I’ll be kind and say this year’s performance makes that sound unlikely — we will be fielding a very flawed team next season.
Patience is key when rooting for a rebuilding program. Michigan fans are getting very used to being patient by now. But when does patience become a flaw, instead of a virtue? I wish I had the answer, but I don’t know. It’s Dave Brandon’s first day as the official athletic director, and I can’t say I envy him one bit.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
It’s been a long time since I did anything on basketball recruiting, so I decided to enlist the help of Dylan, who runs the outstanding Michigan basketball blog UMHoops. The following is the second half of my Q&A with him — the first part, covering 2010 recruiting, is posted over on his blog, so make sure to head over there for the full hoops recruiting scoop. Big thanks to Dylan for taking part in this, as his basketball recruiting knowledge puts mine to shame.
TWB: Michigan needs a lot of help in the frontcourt in the next couple classes. Which 2011 prospects do you think Michigan will recruit the hardest, and who do they have a good shot at landing?
Dylan: With one top 100 guard, Southfield’s Carlton Brundidge, already in the fold it’s likely that Michigan will look to bring in some more size in the class of 2011. Some of the frequently mentioned names on the recruiting board include Amir Williams (video & scouting), Marshall Plumlee, Justin Gant, and Cody Zeller.
It’s tough to say who Michigan has the best shot at. Williams, Plumlee, and Zeller all have extensive lists of high-major suitors. Williams hasn’t even begun to narrow down his recruitment, while Plumlee’s brothers both play at Duke and Zeller’s brother is at UNC with another graduated from Notre Dame. Justin Gant on the other hand is a developing prospect from Terre Haute, Indiana but he doesn’t have a Michigan offer yet.
Depending on how the 2010 class closes out, it’s likely that Michigan will only have one, maybe two scholarships available for class of 2011 to go along with Carlton Brundidge. (Scholarship breakdown here.) More prospects will certainly emerge over the course of AAU season as well, when the 2011 class will truly begin to heat up.
TWB: Does Michigan have a shot at landing Michael Gilchrist?
Dylan: Gilchrist is the consensus #1 player in the class of 2011 and maybe the #1 player regardless of class. Just about everyone has Gilchrist penciled in to attend Kentucky because of his connection with the infamous William Wesley. Others say that he might be more likely to stay closer to home, attending Villanova (the home of another former St. Patrick’s star Corey Fisher).
Regardless of the speculation, Gilchrist continues to insist that he is interested in being recruited and is open to any and all suitors. Most recently (2/15/10), he released a list of six schools that included Michigan along with Kentucky, Villanova, Oregon, Texas, and Georgia Tech.
Gilchrist has been on an unofficial visit to Michigan and he continues to list them as one of the schools in contention, however I would certainly not get my hopes up or call them a favorite at this point.
TWB: How much do you expect 2010 commits Evan Smotrycz and Tim Hardaway, Jr. to contribute next season?
Dylan: Depending on what Manny Harris decides to do, there are likely going to be a lot of minutes available next year. Hardaway can play the two or the three while Smotrycz seems like a likely candidate to play the four.
Hardaway has posted monster numbers in Miami this year but it’s important to remember he plays on an incredibly weak roster and is forced to do the majority of the scoring. Hardaway is averaging 30.8 points, 7.3 boards, and four assists per contest which is good no matter how you slice it.
Opposite of Hardaway, Smotrycz plays on a much deeper roster. There are numerous Division 1 players not only on Smotrycz’ team but on opposing rosters as well. I have seem some panic regarding Smotrycz seemingly lackluster scoring numbers (around 14 points per game) as well as the fact that he has struggled shooting it at times this season. The hope is definitely that we see the Smotrycz that tore up the AAU circuit this summer. Regardless of his production at New Hampton, Smotrycz provides a combination of size and skill that will be unique to next year’s roster.
TWB: John Beilein wasn’t exactly known as a recruiter when he came to Ann Arbor, but recently Michigan has received interest from some big-time prospects. Should we expect Michigan to move towards becoming more of a national recruiting presence, or do you think we’ll have more classes similar to 2008 (more “system-type” guys)?
Beilein wasn’t known as a recruiter at West Virginia and he has had to attempt to shake that stigma since he’s been in Ann Arbor. The 2008 class was created in desperation. Beilein arrived in late April and had to figure out a way to convince kids to come to Michigan in the midst of a 10-22 season. Recruiting is a relationship game and it’s tough to find kids that late in the game especially at a program that wasn’t necessarily in the rosiest condition.
Early on, Beilein finished second for guys like Klay Thompson (Wash. St.) and Joe Trapani (BC) which definitely set him back. This team would look worlds different if either of those kids were on the roster. But recruiting is a bottom line business and second isn’t good enough. Novak and Douglass were taken because Beilein needed players and since then I think Beilein has proven that he wants to recruit more talented kids.
Beilein’s classes have consistently appeared to improve talent-wise although it’s tough to judge so early. The 2009 class probably deserves an incomplete with one guy playing, one very limited, and two redshirts. The 2010 class has two nice prospects in Smotrycz and Hardaway Jr. whom are both ranked in at least one scouting service’s top 100 but will be made or lost based on how Beilein closes. Finally, the 2011 class already has top 100 guard Carlton Brundidge.
Beilein has pursued other top level recruits from Nate Lubick to Mike Gilchrist to Casey Prather. Landing them is another issue, especially if he strikes out on Trey Zeigler. It’s clear that Michigan is involved with some high profile recruits and they aren’t going for “system” guys but if Beilein can’t close out the 2010 class strong it will certainly be disappointing.
For the rest of the interview, click here.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
Rarely does a narrow overtime victory over a 3-10 Big Ten team inspire confidence or hope in a fan, but I’d be lying if I said that last night’s performance by Michigan didn’t have me excited, at least temporarily. It may have been Iowa, it may have been meaningless to the Big Ten standings, and maybe it shouldn’t have been that close, but I can’t be angry when I see Michigan pull out a road game in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion. With the way this season has gone, nobody would have blamed the Wolverines for letting up down the stretch, when Aaron Fuller kept making big shots and Iowa held a five-point lead with 22 seconds to play. Instead, Michigan’s big man hit some big shots of his own, and the Wolverines were able to pull out a great overtime victory on the road. The fans may have given up on this team a long time ago (I know I’ve said some things to that effect), but this team continues to fight to the bitter end. You have to tip your cap to John Beilein for that.
If you told me before the game that Michigan would hit over 50% of their threes, I would have expected a blowout victory. Instead, Michigan had to battle with an equally-scorching Iowa squad that was lighting it up from outside and riding the hot hand of Fuller (30 points and 13 rebounds) inside. This wasn’t anywhere close to Michigan’s best defensive effort, but the offense carried the day. We haven’t been able to say that much this season. While you’d certainly hope that the team would play better D, it was nice to see the team find its shooting stroke (at least from the outside).
Player bullets:
- This wasn’t DeShawn Sims’ best effort, as he struggled to hit his inside shots (10-25 from the field), but he hit the biggest shot of the game when the team ran a play specifically to get him an open jumper, and you can’t ask for much more than that from your senior leader. Sims managed to battle through the game despite not quite having it all night, and he ended up with 27 points — to me, that’s the sign of a really good player.
- Manny Harris also struggled from two-point range, going 3-10 on the night, but he finished 4-7 from three (including a few pull-up shots that had every Michigan fan cringing until they went in), pulled down 10 boards, and added seven assists. When Manny was struggling to create his own shot, he was able to find open teammates and help the offense with his passing. Again, it’s great to see your stars finding ways to make the team better when they’re not having their best game — Manny managed to be effective despite not having his bread-and-butter (getting to the hoop) and made some big plays in overtime to help lift the team to victory. Yes, he had six turnovers, but Manny’s good plays offset his poor ones.
- Stu Douglass started hot, hitting two early threes, but then disappeared from the stat sheet until he hit a huge three in overtime. While it’s nice to see him hit that late shot, we need more production from Douglass — three rebounds, no assists, and two turnovers is not what you want from a guy playing 42 minutes at guard.
- Zack Novak put up a nice overall stat line — 3-5 from the field (all his attempts from three) for nine points, four rebounds, five assists, a steal, and no turnovers, but you can’t talk about his game last night without mentioning that he was the main guy guarding Fuller, who routinely abused Novak in the post. It’s tough to put too much of that on Novak — on any normal team, he wouldn’t be guarding power forwards — but you’d still like to see Novak hold his guy under 30.
- Darius Morris has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks, but last night he was a complete nonfactor — 26 minutes, no points, 0-3 from the field, two rebounds, two assists. Games like this make you remember that he’s still a very raw, freshman point guard getting his first taste of Big Ten basketball.
- Laval Lucas-Perry briefly caught fire in the first half, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to help stake the Wolverines to a nice first-half cushion (that completely disappeared by halftime). He finished with his best stat line since early January, scoring 13 points on 3-5 shooting, hitting 4-4 free throws, and adding five rebounds and two assists. I’ll never understand how LLP can have games like this and then completely disappear for a month, but it’s always nice to see him step up.
- Zack Gibson finished with three blocks in just 12 minutes, but didn’t haul in a single rebound, which is somewhat unacceptable for a 6-10 college basketball player. Michigan went with Sims down the stretch, obviously, and it’s way too late in his career to complain about how limited Gibson is — at this point, he is what he is, which is a guy who can block a couple shots, eat up some minutes in the middle, and is a very inconsistent offensive player.
For more on last night’s game, check out the recap from UMHoops.
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
Sorry. I have a hard time thinking about last night’s game without bursting out into a stream of expletives. Up three, with a minute and a half on the clock, with the ball — even the most cynical of Michigan fans would’ve had a hard time betting on MSU at that point. If these past couple years have taught Michigan fans anything, however, it is that cynicism is the only protection against crushing disappointment.
Sonofabitch.
A couple points on the last play before I get into player breakdowns:
- I was not just okay with the play drawn up at the end, but thought that was by far our best chance of getting a basket in 1.5 seconds from near midcourt. I’ve seen or heard several people say they would have rather seen Michigan get a look at a jump shot. Have you seen Michigan’s ability to hit jump shots? We shot 19-58 from the field against MSU, and 7-29 from three. We managed to get our best inside player a shot from within three feet of the basket. It didn’t fall. Barely. Of all the things to c0mplain about, the final play call is not one of them.
- Yes, DeShawn Sims was probably fouled on that last play, as this screenshot from UMHoops shows. If you expect a ref to do anything but swallow his whistle on the final play of a game, however, you haven’t watched a lot of basketball — it would’ve taken a full-fledged assault to draw a foul on that play. That’s basketball. In this instance, we lost. Those are the breaks of the game. If you really want to complain about something, complain about the two airballed three-pointers in the final two minutes, when we could’ve made a last-gasp effort unnecessary.
Motherf******.
Let’s get to the good part about the game: Michigan, with a converted shooting guard and a true freshman manning the point, only turned the ball over four times. I’ve watched a lot of basketball, and don’t remember many games where a team held on to the ball that effectively.
Of course, there’s the bad part about this game (or this team, really): They can’t shoot. At all. I’d love to have an easy explanation for this, be able to say that John Beilein’s offense isn’t getting open looks, isn’t creating chances, and we could all point fingers and play the blame game. When your team goes 7-29 from three, you should be able to say that they were forcing bad shots, and this is a poorly coached team. Except it isn’t. The vast majority of those 29 attempts were good, open looks. But, just like the rest of the season (Michigan is now a stellar 29.7% from three on the year), the shots weren’t falling.
Quickly, before I give up on life, or at least sports, let’s get to the player bullets:
- Even with the two late misses from DeShawn Sims, you can’t put this loss on either of Michigan’s two stars. Yes, Sims wasn’t efficient on offense, scoring 19 points on 7-18 shooting, but the Wolverines didn’t exactly have a lot of other options to go to. He hit a couple of huge threes down the stretch, and actually went 3-5 from downtown in the game. Manny Harris, after a bit of a slow start, finished with 16 points, four rebounds, five assists, five steals (!), and two blocks. After struggling on the defensive end in his last couple games, Manny came out focused and put in his best defensive effort of the season, cutting off passes like a free safety. The two stars came to play, which leaves, well, the rest of the team…
- Stu Douglass just can’t get on track, and you can tell from his play that his confidence on offense is completely gone. He had a few plays where he beat his man off the dribble, but instead of going up strong for the layup, Douglass would stop and either force a pass or, in one case, travel. He accounted for three of Michigan’s four turnovers and went just 2-7 from the field (1-5 from three). Michigan’s lack of depth appears to be the only thing between Douglass and the bench — there just isn’t a reliable alternative. He’s going to have to break out of his slump at some point, or his starting spot will be in serious jeopardy when Evan Smotrycz, Tim Hardaway, and potentially Trey Zeigler hit campus next season.
- I love the way Zack Novak plays — I’m not sure how many more ways I can say I like how much he hustles. This game was no different, as Novak pulled down five offensive rebounds and seemed to get a hand of half of Michigan’s (numerous) misses. However, he shot 2-9 from the field (1-7 from three), and that’s just not going to get it done.
- Like Novak, Laval Lucas-Perry played a solid game if you took shooting entirely out of the equation. But, since the object of basketball is to put the ball through the basket, it’s tough to praise a starter when he puts up a goose egg on the scoreboard — LLP was 0-4 shooting, and his misses were not pretty.
- The reason Douglass remains on the floor, as evidenced last night, is that Darius Morris is simply not a threat on the offensive end. Morris played just about how he’s played all season — 20 or so minutes, two points, two assists, one turnover, decent defense, no offensive impact. He had an open look at a three from the corner, and clanged it off the side of the backboard. That about sums up Morris’ offensive acumen at this point in his career. I expect him to get much better, but he just isn’t someone the defense has to account for right now.
Nobody else really got significant minutes, which is merciful, since I’m getting really sick of writing about this game. For more pain recaps, check out UMHoops, MGoBlog, and The Only Colors (an MSU blog, so you’ve been warned).
Similar Posts:
By Ace Anbender
Well, it appears Michigan will actually have a chance tomorrow night against Michigan State; Manny Harris was reinstated to the basketball team by coach John Beilein today, ending Harris’ suspension at one game after an incident at practice last Friday. Harris sounded appropriately apologetic for his actions:
“I fully accept the suspension from the coaching staff,” Harris said in a statement. “It was the correct decision. I cannot tell you my disappointment for letting my teammates down and showing the lack of leadership that I normally try to provide.”
I don’t have a lot to add to this. Obviously, Manny made a decision that had a very negative impact on the team, and that is certainly disappointing. He has owned up to his mistakes, however, and I trust that John Beilein and the team have ironed things out. Since we still have no details as to what actually happened, it’s time to move forward with the knowledge that Beilein was able to handle this in-house. Even if Manny’s suspension may have cost the team a victory at Purdue, I trust that Beilein really was doing what was best for the team, and Manny himself, with the suspension. Let’s move on.
In other basketball-related news, current Michigan slot receiver and former point guard Kelvin Grady has rejoined the basketball team. Grady will contribute as a scout-team guard, and is already imitating MSU’s Kalin Lucas in preparation for tomorrow night’s game. He will make a decision at the end of the season about whether he will permanently stay with the basketball team, but Beilein said that football will remain Grady’s main athletic focus at Michigan. Regardless of his role, it’s nice to see Grady back with the hoops squad, and Michigan needs all the help they can get depth-wise. Don’t expect Grady to have much of an impact during games this season, but it will be interesting to see what he can provide to the team as a practice player and as a potential contributor moving forward.
Similar Posts:
|
|
Alex on 
JL on 
Ace Anbender on 
Steve on 
Loading ...
Email This Post
