Oh god, the football season must be really bad…

Last year, Michigan finished 148th in the nation in Jeff Sagarin’s college basketball rating system. This is a bad thing, and the 10-22 record would certainly speak to that. However, there are a few caveats that may give a little hope to UM basketball fans in regards to the upcoming year. First, last year’s record was compiled against the 7th most-difficult schedule in the nation. The teams with more difficult schedules than the Wolverines are as follows:

1. Arizona (36th in final Sagarin Ratings)
2. Georgia Tech (63rd in final Sagarin Ratings)
3. Southern Cal (26th in final Sagarin Ratings)
4. Texas (6th in final Sagarin Ratings)
5. Tennessee (9th in final Sagarin Ratings)
6. Illinois (73rd in final Sagarin Ratings)

Of course, all of these teams finished well ahead of Michigan in the final standings. A tough strength of schedule helps Sagarin rating, so unless you are a bad team (as Michigan certainly was last year), it makes sense that there is something of a correlation between the two metrics. Michigan, however, went 1-10 against the final top 25 and 1-13 against the final top 50 (the lone win came against Ohio State the night of Rich Rodriguez’s introduction).

The schedule isn’t leaps and bound easier this year, however, with games at Maryland and against Duke in the first semester, along with (hopefully) a pair against highly-regarded teams in the Coaches v. Cancer Classic. Duke, UCLA, and Southern Illinois are the other hosts and likely favorites to make it to the Garden. Michigan would face off against UCLA in a hypothetical semi-final where all the favorites win. On top of the conference slate, the Wolverines play UConn in Storrs February 7th.

So why should there be confidence for Michigan basketball fans this year? The most important reason is the coach. John Beilein is undoubtedly a system coach, and a damn good one at that (check out Brian’s offensive efficiency conclusions). Having one year to install his system, without players that he recruited, can only be expected to be a disaster (just as Rich Rodriguez is learning now). Now Beilein has been able to prepare his players for a much longer period of time. Both offensively and defensively, the players should improve somewhat.

Speaking of the players, essentially all of the important ones except Ekpe Udoh return, and there are a few notable additions. Beilein recruits Stu Douglass and Zach Novak are long-range bombers with the ability to handle the ball a bit. Both perfectly fit the system. Ben Cronin is a bigman with an outside touch. Laval Lucas-Perry was with the team last year (meaning he already has a year of the system under his belt), but was ineligible to compete because he was a transfer student; he will join the active roster after first semester exams.

So, if I haven’t at least drummed up a bit of excitement for Michigan basketball, I guess there’s none to be found. However, if nothing else, this team deserves support because it wears the maize and blue. The season starts tomorrow with an exhibition against Saginaw Valley. Watch it on BigTenNetwork.com at 7pm. Go Blue!

Posted under Football

Basketball prospect Blake McLimans, from Worcester Academy in Worcester, MA, has committed to the Michigan Wolverines. McLimans is a 6-10 big man (a huge need for Michigan) in the class of 2009. McLimans was a weekend visitor for the UM football game against Michigan State, where he decided that he would pick the Wolverines over Providence.

With McLimans’s commitment the 2009 class is now full, and John Beilein and Co. will focus on the 2010 class. For more on McLimans, head to UMHoops.com.

Posted under Football

Matt Vogrich, a 6-3 shooting guard from Illinois, has pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverines. Vogrich is Scout’s #100 player in the class of 2009. Vogrich joins Darius Morris and Jordan Morgan in MIchigan’s 2009 recruiting haul.

Vogrich visited Michigan this weekend, and enjoyed himself enough to offer a commitment to John Beilein and the Michigan Wolverines. For more information on Vogrich (and much better basketball coverage than I could ever provide), head over to UMHoops.com.

Posted under Basketball

Basketball target Darius Morris plans to announce his college decision tomorrow.

Morris attended Michigan summer camp, and sources have indicated that he will pick Michigan. If he does, the first piece to John Beilein’s recruiting plan will have landed, and the road will be paved for future recruiting classes.

Posted under Basketball

Max Pacioretty, Michigan Hockey forward, has decided to forgo his remaining three years of eligibility and sign with the Montreal Canadiens. Pacioretty’s departure means that Chris Summers will likely move to forward.

Robin Benzing, a signee in the 2008 class for John Beilein’s basketball squad, has been denied initial eligibility by the NCAA. This means that Michigan will likely refocus its recruiting efforts for future seasons, though there will be little effect on this year’s team. Even if Benzing was eventually allowed to play, he was expected to have to sit out the 2008-09 season.

Posted under Basketball, Hockey

The NCAA published its Academic Progress Rate reports yesterday, and Michigan has a clean bill of health. All scores were above the penalty cutoff of 925, and three sports (both genders of golf and women’s tennis) recorded perfect scores of 1000.

Since Michigan’s main sports have been so attrition-y lately, let’s see if they are in danger for next year (when players who left the program this year will count against APR).

Football’s score was 951. In the past year, the team has lost Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham to the NFL. Arrington was a fourth-year junior, and probably graduated prior to leaving Michigan. Manningham may have been enough of an academic liability to hurt APR next year. To transfers, Michigan has lost Ryan Mallett (Arkansas) and Justin Boren (Ohio State). I know nothing of their academic prowess, though I would assume that at least Boren was in good standing when he left. Several players have also left the team for other reasons. If Johnny Sears doesn’t hurt the APR, I’ll be shocked. Alex Mitchell and Jeremy Ciulla are the only other two that spring immediately to mind, and I know nothing of their academics either.

Basketball’s score was 927, dangerously close to sanctions. With all the people that left the program (Kendric Price, Jerret Smith, Ekpe Udoh, K’Len Morris), I wouldn’t be surprised if the team at least gets a warning for next year. At least they’re not completely toast like Indiana, already below the cutoff, and going downhill with lots of attrition in this offseason.

Posted under Basketball

No but seriously, basketball?

One of the most important aspect of running a successful athletic department is being able to rely on your revenue sports to support everything else that goes on. Under Bill Martin, Michigan has been able to turn from a money sink into one of the nation’s most successful athletic programs (monetarily) despite not having a basketball team that has been anywhere close to successful. Thus, if Michigan is able to make the basketball team a big draw, and perennial NCAA tournament participant-type program, it can only continue to help.

Without further introduction, I present the basketball-relevant portion of Bill Martin’s interview with the BTN’s Dave Revsine:

It is clear that Martin is intent on supporting basketball, and trying to bring success back to the program.

Facilities
Crisler Arena is a dump. Regardless of what Martin says, it really should just be demolished, and the AD should start over from scratch (a few suggestions: smaller size, better concourse layout, and location closer to campus (ok, that one is just a pipe dream)). Failing that, The House that Cazzie Built is eventually going to be overhauled for the better, though definitely not until Michigan Stadium is completed, and probably not until there is a practice facility. The practice facility is apparently ready for approval. The sooner that can be completed, the better for Michigan Hoops. Interesting note: Martin stated in no uncertain terms that the funding for a facility will be ready whenever plans are completed.

Recruiting
Martin states that he doesn’t want his coach to recruit players who want to go one-and-done to the pros. Luckily for him, the coach he hired is John Beilein, who does not seem to favor this type of player (and nor does his system). Martin favors the NBA amending its entry rules to require players to spend 3 years in school (I believe they should probably step it up one year at a time).

The Future
Though Beilein was unable to get it done in year one, the improvement made by the team over the course of the year was encouraging, and it is unlikely we will see 2008-09 be a repeat of the epic struggles of 2007-08. With several players accustomed to the system after one year in it, and a few new additions who are good fits for Beileinball, an NIT bid isn’t out of the question. Though that may not be good enough for some fans, it is important to remember how far this program had fallen, and realize that it will take some time to rise again.

Udoh
Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Junior-to-be Power Forward Ekpe Udoh intends to transfer from the University of Michigan. This has now become official. While I am not sure he is making the right decision (though UMHoops.com’s analysis has certainly gone a long way to convince me), I wish Udoh the best of luck in the future.

Posted under Basketball

UM Press Release:
University of Michigan men’s basketball coach John Beilein has announced today (Monday, May 5), forward Ekpe Udoh (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe HS) has made the decision to leave the Wolverines basketball program and transfer to another school. Udoh has not yet made a decision on which school he will attend.

“Ekpe is a fine young man and we thought he made tremendous improvements throughout the season,” said Beilein. “I will miss Ekpe as a person and as a player and we hope success will follow him in his future endeavors.”

“This was a very difficult decision for me,” said Udoh. “I just feel I need to explore other options right now. I had a wonderful experience at Michigan and I want to thank everyone for helping me the last two years. I wish them nothing but success in the future.”

In two seasons in Ann Arbor, Udoh did not miss a game playing in 67 consecutive contests, with 31 starts. He averaged 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for the Wolverines. After leading the Big Ten in blocked shots in 2007-08 with 92, Udoh compiled 159 blocks in two seasons ranking him fifth all-time at U-M.

Posted under Basketball

…but our coaches aren’t. On top of Rich Rodriguez’s ongoing lawsuit deliberations with West Virginia University, Coach John Beilein is also paying the Mountaineers for his departure to Crisler Arena.

Don’t believe me? The Wizard of Odds has some proof (which they got from West By God Virginia, who, presumably got it from the source).

Perhaps interesting to note: The Bank of Ann Arbor, the institution that allows Beilein to write checks for more than a quarter-million dollars, is owned by Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin.

Posted under Basketball

With two commitments and a few prospects down, it was a big weekend of change for the recruiting board.

Removed:
KS LB Jaydan Bird. Committed to Oklahoma. Not a huge loss, as I don’t think there was ever great mutual interest. He seemed like one of those guys who mention Michigan early in the process to make them sound like big-time prospects.
TX OL Mason Walters. Committed to Texas. Not sure anyone but the Horns ever had a really legit shot at him.

New Information:
MI RB Teric Jones. Freep article on his commitment.
VA QB Kevin Newsome. Track video interview.

Etc.: Wisconsin looking to add some spread? Trotwood-Madison track (Michael Shaw and Chris Freeman). AP Indiana all-state basketball selections (Stuart Douglass special mention, Zach Novak 1st team). Mike Hart will be signing autographs at Briarwood MDen on Saturday. Free Press photo gallery from Saturday’s spring practice.

Posted under Basketball