With the Upon Further Review series, I attempted to dissect the performance of individuals and lineups throughout Michigan’s basketball season. Though I didn’t start until halfway through the year (and didn’t UFR the last couple games), the aggregation of all the data may help us learn a bit more about the Michigan basketball team this season. Once football spring practice is over, I may go back to all the games I didn’t UFR, and get the plus/minus data for every game, which could certainly teach us something about the effectiveness of different combinations. For now, however, I’ll just add up the shooting data for each player over the course of the games UFRed.

Games included: Iowa III, Purdue II, Iowa II, Minnesota I, Northwestern II, Michigan State, UConn, Purdue I, Minnesota II, Wisconsin II, Ohio State II, Northwestern I, Ohio State I, Penn State I, Illinois II, Iowa I, Indiana, Illinois I, Oakland, Wisconsin I, NC Central

Individual Players

The overwhelming majority of Stu’s shots came from the outside (which is not surprising at all). What is somewhat surprising is how infrequently he jacked up bad looks. Expect his chart to look pretty different next year, as the departure of every point guard currently on the roster will force Stu to play a little more point.

The casual Michigan Basketball fan can’t hate Zack Gibson enough (and there are a few legitimate reasons to not like his game), but he is actually a pretty darned good player at times. He can be a defensive liability, which obviously isn’t indicated on this chart, and he’s never going to dominate anyone offensively, but he is the quintessential role player.

The striking thing about Manny’s chart, especially in relation to everyone else on the team, is his shot selection. He shots a whole hell of a lot of bad looks. The reasons for this are multiple, and some are Manny’s fault, whereas others aren’t. Things that are his fault? Obviously, he needs to improve his recognition of what he’s getting himself into as he drives the lane, and not go for it, or dish after driving. Even when he gets up in the air, he can get enough hangtime to hopefully pass out. He also shoots a lot of poor 3-pointers, though he seemed to develop a touch for making them towards the end of the year (sadly, not encapsulated in this chart). Things that aren’t his fault include having to carry the load on offense, getting stuck with the vast majority of the team’s last-second chucks to beat the shot clock, not being able to draw a foul call to save his life (those are in the chart as “1” attempts, even though many of them were definitely deserving of a call). With a hopefully improved roster next year, some of the external factors will go away completely or be reduced, and Manny could really improve his offensive efficiency.

He was never meant to be an offensive player, and his (in)ability to consistently shoot bears out why.

After a blazing start to the season, he hit something of a wall (as did the other two freshmen), shooting more and more poorly over the course of the season, with a few excellent games mixed in. Next year, he’ll probably have to play more of a slashing PG-type role, which he actually did very well at times this year, to the point where I was begging for it in certain games toward the end of the year.

I will repeat again that all three freshmen had their hot games and slumps. Novak is probably the most prone to this, because he was playing a position in which he was a physical underdog in every game, and was getting the hell beaten out of him on a regular basis. Next year, hopefully Cronin, Morgan, and McLimans will be able to give the team a little more size on a consistent basis, and Zack will be able to move to a more natural position.

I don’t think I went an entire UFR of a game Shepherd played in one time this year without making the following statement: “Quintessential Jevohn Shepherd. He shows off his great athleticism and stunning lack of basketball ability all at once.”

Among shots that fans can reasonably expect him to make (that is, those graded “2” or “3”), he shoots ridiculously well. He also did a much better job than the team’s other star, Manny, of choosing his shots wisely. He would take big post defenders out toward the perimeter, or post up smaller mismatches. Sims has one more year to get even better, and with more big men on next year’s team, hopefully be entirely dominant next year.

At one point late in the season, he was actually leading the team in 3-point percentage. Like Lee, this sort of analysis isn’t going to make him look like a great player, because he does so little on offense.

This graph surprises me, because Kelvin was one of the few players on this team that I was absolutely convinced would make the shot any time I saw him shoot an open 3. His loss will be lamented, because it hurts Michigan in terms of PG depth (currently: none).

Man, I’m so over talking shit about Anthony Wright. His awesome performance in the Oklahoma game is not charted here, but he actually wasn’t as much of a “see the ball, shoot the ball” player as I’ve criticized him for (at least not in the second half of the season, when his minutes dropped off, which is what I’ve charted here).

One hundred million dollars of awesome. Puls made his first like 5 three-pointers, which also happened to be his first 5 field goal attempts. If he can get Barwisized in the off-season (seriously: have him work out with the football team), he could contribute down the road, because dude can certainly shoot.

Posted under Analysis, Baseball, Basketball, Misc.

Two ranked opponents came into Oosterbaan Fieldhouse this weekend with the intention of knocking off the #1 team in all the land, but Minnesota-Duluth and Colorado State probably wish they hadn’t even bothered to try. 

#7 Minnesota-Duluth
The Wolverines had to shake off some cobwebs after what must have been a rough week of class. They didn’t manage to score until the Bulldogs had already gotten on the board, the first time this season Michigan has trailed in a home game(!). However, they flipped the “dominate” switch immediately thereafter, as Davis Reinhard won the ensuing faceoff, then found Josh Ein for a goal just 7 seconds after Duluth. Trevor Yealy got going immediately thereafter, and Duluth didn’t stand a chance. Yealy scored a program-record 11 goals in the contest, three of which came consecutively in the first quarter for a natural hat trick. Then he got a hat trick of hat tricks. And two more goals. Wes McGowan (2) was the only other Wolverine with multiple goals. Though he gave up 10 goals, sophomore goalkeeper Mark Stone made several exciting saves in his first complete game of the year. The highlight for Duluth came on their last goal of the night, as Casey Mithun shot behind his own back to beat Stone. Still, the Wolverines dominated this game nearly from start to finish, winning 18-10.

#8 Colorado State
After the slow start on Friday, Michigan wasn’t bound to let Colorado State get on board first the following night. Kevin Zorovich drew first blood with just under 6 minutes remaining in the first quarter. The final goal in that quarter was the night’s highlight, as Riley Kearns (perhaps inspired by UMD the previous night) shot behind his back to beat the goalie. Eager to make up for the first 9 minutes of lost time, Michigan tacked on 3 more goals before the first break. The Wolverines kept the offense humming in the second quarter, as they led 9-0 before CSU finally got on the scoreboard with under 5 minutes remaining. Though Michigan didn’t have a dominant individual performance like they did the previous night, the team effort on Senior Night may have been even more impressive. The final score of 16-3 saw only two Wolverines (Yealy with 4 and Zorovich with 2) score multiple goals, and sophomore Andrew Fowler faced only 10 shots, saving 7.

Up Next
After the long home stand, Michigan finally hits the road, traveling to Kalamazoo and Chicago to face Western Michigan and Illinois. The Illini are barely ranked in the top 25, but with the way Michigan has been dispatching even better teams, the neutral site (Lake Forest High School) shouldn’t give them too much of a problem. As the team is finally leaving the confines of Oosterbaan fieldhouse, I won’t be able to attend both games, and the comprehensive wrapups must come to an end, but I do plan to attend Friday’s game (at Vicksburg High School), and will be able to give a complete recap of that contest.

Posted under Other Sports

Another weekend, another sweep for the men’s Lacrosse team. The going wasn’t quite so easy this time though, as rival (and national #4-ranked team) BYU came into Oosterbaan for the Saturday contest.

Central Michigan
 The Chippewas put up more of a fight than Michigan’s former CCLA opponent to date, Eastern (whom Michigan defeated 33-8), but still couldn’t hang with the clearly-superior Wolverines, who downed them by a count of 21-4. The Wolverines’ fast start was key to their dominance of the game, as they took a commanding 5-0 lead within the first 6 minutes of the contest. Anthony Hrsovsky opened the scoring, then Trevor Yealy and Kevin Zorovich each scored back-to-back goals. The Chippewas didn’t manage to get on the board until just before halftime, but they already trailed 10-0 by that point. Anthony Hrsovsky (4), Trevor Yealy, Kevin Zorovich, Wes McGowan, and Josh Ein all netted hat tricks in the beatdown. Faceoff specialist David Reinhard won 12 of his 13 opportunities, and Andrew Fowler and Mark Stone split time in the net for Michigan.

Brigham Young
For those who don’t follow Michigan Men’s Lacrosse, having a team from Utah as one of their biggest rivals may seem a bit odd. However, take into account the number of games they’ve played in recent years (and the  potential impact of those games):

So, it’s pretty clear that there is legitimate material for a true rivalry here. With Michigan’s 28-game win streak on the line, the stakes were even higher. In a game that ended 14-11, however, it never seemed like the Wolverines were in serious danger of losing the contest.

Svet Tintchev and Matt Asperheim scored Michigan’s 1st two goals within 12 seconds of each other 3.5 minutes into the game, and the Cougars were playing catch-up the entire contest. When BYU’s Justin Hier scored the next goal, it was the closest the Cougars would ever get to Michigan, as the Wolverines rattled off two straight before BYU would put another goal on the board. Michigan’s eventual game-winner would come with 2 minutes still left in the 3rd quarter, as Kevin Zorovich put the Wolverines up 12-6 (while completing his hat trick). Sophomore Andrew Fowler played the whole game in net for Michigan, making 11 saves. Tyler Yealy (4), Kevin Zorovich, and Anthony Hrsovsky all netted hat tricks.

One of the highlights of the game, oddly enough for a contest one by Michigan, was a BYU goal. The Cougars’ Elliott Grow scored on Fowler by shooting behind his own head, surprising not only the keeper, but just about everyone in Oosterbaan Fieldhouse.

Up Next
The home schedule comes to an end next weekend, as #7 Minnesota Duluth and #8 Colorado State come to Ann Arbor to make an attempt at taking down #1. Friday’s game is at 8:00 PM against the Bulldogs, and Saturday’s contest against the Rams is at 7:00 PM. Both games take place in Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, and tickets are $3 for students, $6 for non-students.

Ein Photo by Martin Vloet.

Posted under Other Sports

Stu Zaas gives us his story on the women’s lacrosse team. 

Ann Arbor, MI — In front of a standing-room only crowd, #3 ranked Michigan (10-2, 4-0) topped interstate foe #14 Michigan State by a score of 12-9. Over 475 fans crowded Oosterbaan Fieldhouse to watch the Wolverines battle the Spartans in tight contest from start to finish. Michigan had not been challenged in a game since returning from the Santa Barbara Shootout winning by an average margin of 11.2 goals in its last five games.

Michigan State made it very clear that this would not be another cakewalk for Michigan, taking a 2-1 lead off two goals from Allison Atchoo. On an eight-meter penalty, Micaela Battiste (Flint, MI/Grand Blanc) leaped into the air, then bounced a shot past the MSU goalie to knot the score at 2-2. Michigan would take the lead for good, using two more goals off eight-meter shots from Amy Johnson (Washington, D.C./Holton-Arms) and Rachel Lary (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines). The Spartans would cut the lead to one with a goal at the 6:30 mark from Chelsea Beam. Quinn Golinske (Beverly Hills, MI/Groves) scored her second goal of the season, recovering after bobbling the initial pass then beating her defender with a spin move to open up a shot on goal. Johnson then opened the lead up with her second goal of the contest as she converted on an eight-meter, giving Michigan the 6-3 advantage. Michigan would take a 6-4 lead into the intermission, marking the eleventh time this year the Wolverines have gone into halftime with a lead.

Lary opened up the scoring in the second stanza with her season-high tying third goal of the game. Lary ran a give-and-go to perfection with Johnson who earned the assist. Alexis Pavle (Grosse Pointe, MI/Grosse Pointe South) became the third senior to tally a goal on Senior Night, putting Michigan on top 8-4. Fellow senior, Battiste raced up the field weaving through Spartan defenders before finding an open Pavle in front of the net.

The Spartans would not go down quietly with Atchoo taking control of the subsequent draw and beating the entire Michigan defense back leaving just Emmy Scheidt (Birmingham, MI/Seaholm) in her path. Scheidt was unable to come up with the save making the score 8-5. Michigan State would score again three minutes later to draw back to within two goals. Golinske erased any momentum the visiting Spartans were able to build up scoring her second goal of the night on a beautiful one-timer off a Lary assist. Lary found the cutting Golinske on the left post and Golinske swatted the pass right into the net before the MSU goalie could even move her stick. Pavle again pushed the Michigan advantage back up to four goals at 10-6, scoring at the 14:10 mark. After Michigan State narrowed the gap to 10-7, Lary found Britt Boehm (Rocky River, OH/Magnificant) with a cross-goal pass leaving Boehm an open net for her 22nd goal of the season. Pavle would ice the game, completing her hat-trick – all of which came in the second half – at the 7:21 mark. Michigan State would score two goals in the closing minutes to bring the final tally to 12-9.

Michigan will next be in action in Fort Collins, Colorado playing in the Colorado State Tournament this weekend. The Wolverines’ schedule for this tournament includes games against Wyoming, #10 BYU, Denver, #7 Colorado State, and #18 Minnesota.

Game Notes: This was the final home game for Michigan’s seven seniors: Alexis Pavle, Natalie Relich, Micaela Battiste, Julie Baskind, Rebecca Miller, Rachel Lary, and Christinne Lee…Michigan finished the season undefeated at home (7-0)…Game attendance of 475 set a new program record as spectators had to stand or sit on the ground once bleacher space was exhausted…Johnson’s two goals give her the team lead with 25 on the season…Lary and Pavle extended their team-high six game goal streak…Johnson now has ten multi-goal games on the season and has scored in ten of the twelve games this season.

Posted under Other Sports

Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt was canceled, so the Wolverines only partook in one contest this weekend. They squared off against fellow Washtenaw-ites (Washtenaw-ians?) Eastern Michigan on Friday night.

So, before this game I was told to listen for a few new names, because a lot of bench players would be scoring for the Wolverines. The obvious implication here was that Eastern isn’t exactly a lacrosse powerhouse. Understatement of the year. The Wolverines were up 6-0 before you could blink an eye, and ended up winning the game by 25 goals. Senior Peter Vasher returned from a hamstring injury to score his first 4 goals of the year, Trevor Yealy scored 8, Wes McGowan notched 6, and 5 other Wolverines got on board multiple times.

Once again, Sophomores Andrew Fowler and Mark Stone split time in net, with Fowler getting the start. Fowler allowed 5 goals on 8 shots in the first half, and Stone allowed 3 goals on 7 shots in the second. The men in net for Eastern also played really well (though the final score wouldn’t seem to indicate it). Michigan probably could have gotten as high as 40 considering the quality of defense, but the Eastern goalies made a couple ridiculous saves.

The only times Eastern put up any resistance were a couple stretches where the Wolverines had mental lapses, allowing the Eagles 2 goals in a 37-second stretch in the first quarter, and 3 goals in a minute and a half during the second quarter. Other than that, the Michigan depth in the second half gave up a couple.

This weekend, Michigan will face off against Central Michigan on Friday night at 7PM. However, the headline game of the home schedule is the following night, with the #4 BYU Cougars attempting to come into Oosterbaan fieldhouse and steal a win from their rivals.

Posted under Other Sports

Michigan succumbed to the Sooners, but for some reason I’m not mad. It wasn’t our year yet. Our two best players had foul trouble for most of the game, leading to lots of playing time for Walkons, Canadians, and Anthony Wright.

Speaking of whom, dude killed it tonight. Even if he reverts to Anthony Wright 2007-08 next year, I still don’t think I can make fun of him again, because he was a stone cold sniper in a tournament game. For Michigan. Anthony Wright. Seriously.

It’s a small miracle Michigan got to this point, much less gave a #2 seed one hell of a game. However, there’s a reason Blake Griffin is basically the consensus player of the year. He’s a damn good ball player. There’s also a reason opposing fans hate him, on top of the “beating the hell out of their team” thing. He acts like a bitch, is one of the cockiest players to ever not draw a taunting technical, is ginger, etc.

Getting to the NIT was a lofty goal for this team at the beginning of the season. Making the tournament was absolute gravy, despite what many people expected after wins over UCLA and Duke. Getting to the second round was just short of unbelievable, and we ran into a decent team with the best player in the country. So be it. Michigan in the tournament is crazy enough.

A more comprehensive basketball season wrapup is coming later next week, then you may return to your regularly-scheduled footballcentric programming.

A los barcos, hemos quemado.

Posted under Basketball

Well, they certainly made it interesting for us, did they not?

After Terrence Oglesby was ejected, and Michigan was able to take and sustain a double-digit lead for much of the second half, it seemed like the first round was in the bag, and it was on to Oklahoma (Or Morgan State, as the case may be). However, Clemson suddenly drilled a few 3-pointers, Michigan forgot how to break the press, though they’d been doing it with relative ease all game, and this one turned into a nailbiter. I immediately went from “go for the triple-double, Manny” to “hey, just win, baby.”

Until Stu Douglass came down with that final rebound, this one wasn’t over. I still might not believe the outcome until I see the Wolverines take the court against Oklahoma on Saturday. The Michigan Wolverines, who have not been to the tourney since 1998, are in the second round. The Michigan Wolverines, who started 3 different freshmen and 2 different walkons during this year, are 1 win away from the Sweet Sixteen.

Oliver Purnell, 0-6. John Beilein, 5-1.

Queme los barcos.

Posted under Basketball

Though it doesn’t boast Varsity status, the Michigan Men’s lacrosse team is one of the best club programs in the country, winning the 2008 MCLA National Championship, and having won seven CCLA Conference Championships this decade. So, yeah: they’re kind of a big deal. The Wolverines had their home opener (and another game) this past weekend, and yours truly was lucky enough to attend (as I will do for the entire home schedule).

Colorado
The Buffaloes came into this game ranked #12 in the country (Michigan was #1), but Michigan was able to dispatch them with relative ease. The final score was 13-4, and the Wolverines got scores from 6 different players, led by Trevor Yealy’s 5. The second quarter was the difference for Michigan. Leading by a narrow margin of 3-2 after the first, they exploded for 6 more goals before halftime, and the game was never again in doubt. Backup goalie Mark Stone played for the entire 4th quarter, ceding only one goal. Also the Colorado goalie played the whole game in cutoff sweatpants.

Minnesota
This game was also out of reach for the opponent by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, but it ended much sooner than that, for all intents and purposes. David Rogers, Riley Kearns, and Kevin Zorovich all scored within 2 minutes of each other in the first period, and the floodgates were opened. The Wolverines led 10-1 at the half, and backup goalie Mark Stone got his second consecutive day of significant playing time. The bench was emptied in the second half, as 10 different Wolverines found the back of the net (Yealy again led the team in scoring, this time with 4). However, the Gophers did manage to get a bit of scoring on in the second half, as they had 4 tallies in the half (3 in the 4th quarter alone). When all was said and done, Michigan was walking off the field with a dominating 17-5 victory over a clearly overmatched opponent.

Up Next
Michigan again hits the turf in Oosterbaan this weekend, squaring off against conference foe (and cross-county rival) Eastern Michigan on Friday night at 8:00PM. The Vanderbilt game previously scheduled for Saturday night, so EMU will be your only chance to see the team in action this weekend. Admission is $6 ($3 for students), so come out and support a very strong Michigan club program.

Trevor Yealy Photo by Clark Bell for Michigan Men’s Lacrosse.

Posted under Other Sports

This team can’t come from behind.

This team can’t win on the road.

This team can’t make the NCAA tournament.

Yes. We. Can.

Photo via Nothing is Illuminated.

Posted under Basketball

In a way, the game against Wisconsin on Sunday showed how similar to the 2008 football team John Beilein’s squad really is: there were flashes of brilliance, and certainly lots of reason to be hopeful for the future. However, despite a few good players, the team simply doesn’t have enough quality depth to win many of the games in which they come close. Unlike the football team though, it was slow starts and not-strong-enough finishes that doomed the team against the Badgers.

There were also similarities to the Michigan basketball teams under Tommy Amaker, in which the offense was disjointed for too long, and several possessions ended with a hopeless three thrown up to beat the buzzer.That contrasted with many other possessions, to be fair, in which the crisp passes and cuts opened up enormous shooting lanes for open threes or layups.

The refereeing was inconsistent yet again (as it seemingly always is), though it wasn’t bad enough that I think it was a huge factor in Michigan’s losing the game, unlike the contest against Iowa.

The Wolverines are good, but they just aren’t good enough to win a game like this… yet. However, they are good enough to win a game on the road against Minnesota, and they’ll need to do just that on Saturday in order to keep the dreams of returning to the tournament alive.

Posted under Basketball