Going into the game against UCLA, I figured it would be a idea to play a drinking game where you take a drink for every field goal made. For the first few minutes it looked like a good call as UCLA appeared to be creeping out to a big lead at 9-1. Then something weird happened.

The team last year at times looked confused in the 1-3-1 defense. They didn’t get to their spots in time, couldn’t recover on the swing. It looked like it wasn’t going to work. Against UCLA the 1-3-1 allowed Michigan to aggressively trap and force a ton of turnovers.

The hardest part about watching the Amaker years was the complete lack of fundamentals coaching, especially on the offensive end. Lazy passes, bad spacing, and no movement were the norm rather than the exception. In this game we saw great bounce passes to back-cutting players, exceptional spacing for our players to get to work, and good shooting from the outside. Beyond that, there were a lot of good shots that the players just couldn’t finish. Soon they’ll be able to get those shots to go down and we’ll have a very potent offense on our hands.

At the end of the game I was waiting for UCLA to come back and win. Being a Michigan fan, my experience in the recent past is often “get a glimmer of hope; get that violently beaten to death.” After UCLA made the 3pt shot to get it within one I could feel myself thinking “OK. This is it.” Then, Michigan was able to inbound the ball, not just to anybody, but to a very legitimate closer in “Manny” Harris (quick aside: is it weird that out of Corperryale Manny Harris it’s the Manny that gets the quotes?). I jumped up and started cheering. This was before Manny nailed the two free throws. From my years watching Amaker “coach” Michigan, I fully expected either a 5-seconds call or the ball being taken away on the inbounds. Instead, they got to Manny who got fouled with 4.6 seconds left. He walked to the line and sank two huge free throws like it was practice. UCLA gets a great inbounds pass almost all the way to half court and gets to the arc. The whole time I was yelling “foul him! for the love of all that is good and holy in this world foul him!’ Instead, Harris decides he’ll just block the attempt. Game over.

Sure, UCLA is probably overrated. They lost a ton of production last year, but they are still one of the better defensive teams out there and Michigan only had 10 turnovers. 10 turnovers to 15 assists against a team that usually plays lights out man-to-man defense. This team is turning the corner. I have no reason not to believe they have a shot at the tourney come March. If they can hang with and beat UCLA, there’s very few teams they don’t have a shot to beat. Before the UCLA game, I would have been happy with a barely above .500 season where the team looks good and hangs in tough against the big dogs, but now I think Michigan has a chance to do a lot of damage, especially in conference play once they get Lucas-Perry playing.

The kids seem like they believe they can make the Tournament. I know Beilein believes they can do it. They know a hell of a lot more about their chances then I do. So, I guess get ready for March Madness.

Posted under Football

I did not attend either of Michigan’s games in their regional of the 2Ksports Classic benefitting Coaches v. Cancer (not getting into town until tomorrow: drat!), but I did manage to catch most of both games on ESPNU by heading out to local drinking establishments.

Pre-game tonight (IM conversation):
Paul: no one wanted to go to the bball game with me… i’m so surprised
Tim: haha. are you still going to go?
Paul: no
Tim: typical michigan basketball fan. i would go if i were there.
Paul: who wants to go to the bball game alone. that would be sad
Tim: THE BASKETBALL TEAM DOESNT SEEM TO MIND IT
Tim: der uberzing.

…And on that note:

• Am I supposed to be able to tell Zach Novak and Stu Douglass apart? I hope not.
• I love how “Academic All-Big Ten” is a synonym for “former walk-on.” However, it appears that, in basketball, “former walk-on” manages to not be a synonym for “white.”
• ESPNU’s coverage is… lacking. The worst part is the ridiculous length of commercial breaks.
• Manny Harris is much better than last year (with necessary caveats about level of competition), but he still tries to make things happen more than he needs to, resulting in turnovers or bad shots.
• What’s with Jevohn Shepherd changing numbers? That’s going to take some getting used to.
• Nobody on Michigan can rebound to save their lives.
• When are the kids on the fringes of the Maize Rage going to realize they look stupider being the only ones not to jump around than they would if they just went with the flow?
• A pair of good performance by the Wolverines, beating the teams they should. Now they have to pull off a surprise or two in the Garden.

Posted under Football

After watching Michigan handily defeat Radford and Brown this weekend here are a few things that I’ve noticed.

1. John Beilein can flat out coach. This is a completely different looking team at both ends of the floor. Beilein is putting guys in positions where they can succeed and is not asking them to do too much. It’s going to be very exciting once he can develop some talent and build a deeper program. Right now he’s going to have to rely on DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris for a bulk of Michigan’s scoring and you can’t have just two reliable scorers in college basketball.

2. Kelvin Grady might beat out Jerret Smith at the point guard spot. He has really good speed and he sees the floor so well. Daniel Horton did not run the fast break as well as Grady has in these first two games. He has really good vision and I have seen him on numerous occasions find DeShawn Sims or Manny Harris for very easy layups. He is really quick defensively and fits in nicely at the bottom of the 1-3-1 zone.

3. Manny Harris can flat out play. This kid was brought in to rescue Michigan basketball and he just might do that. He has a rare combination of length and quickness that allows him to play the top of the 1-3-1. I lost count as to how many tips he caused when he and Ron Coleman or DeShawn Sims trapped the ball handler in the corner.

4. When you watch DeShawn Sims play, you can see why Tommy Amaker was fired. This guy has proven in the first two games that he can score from anywhere on the floor. Yet under Tommy Amaker he was the second big man off the bench. He is a really smart player and is going to be a force to be reckoned with come Big Ten play. I’m having a hard time thinking of a player in the Big Ten that is as versatile as DeShawn Sims.

Bottom line: This team still has a long way to go. I do not see them winning at Georgetown or Duke, and I do not see them beating UCLA at home. However, don’t be surprised if they make a run in Alaska. The teams up there are not going to have a lot of time to prepare and may not know what to expect. If Michigan can knock down the three’s with the same consistency, they are going to beat Butler and possibly even Virginia Tech in the second round. We will know a lot more about this team after the Great Alaska Shootout. However, even if they do not produce results, just go back to point number one and remember that they are in good hands.

Posted under Basketball