Five Impressions From Michigan's Italy Trip

An article composed for Wolverine247 of 247Sports looking at how Michigan's team performed on their international trip to Italy and some impressions from the trip.

Five Impressions From Michigan's Italy Trip. http://t.co/yBlDNrPd4O | #GoBlue
— Thomas Beindit (@tbeindit) August 28, 2014

Michigan Takes Home Hardware

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

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Michigan Takes Home Hardware

Michigan Basketball - National Title Contenders?

The hype and excitement continues to build for Michigan basketball.  Magazines, newspapers, websites, and blogs seem to constantly be updating fans with a new ranking system that puts Michigan basketball near the top of the nation.  Last week, I wrote about expectations for this season and about how this may be the highest preseason expectations since the Fab Five at Michigan.  I wanted to continue along similar lines and evaluate whether Michigan will be able to do what the Fab Five could not, win a national championship.

Winning a national championship is no easy task.  Of course, this is blatantly obvious, but it's important to note how tough the NCAA Tournament format makes winning a national championship.  Just look at a few of the nation's elite basketball programs; Kentucky, UCLA, MSU, and Indiana.  Virtually nobody would challenge these programs and their legacies towards college basketball.  However, before last year's championship by Kentucky, it had been over a decade since any of these teams won a national championship.  Yes, some of the powers like Duke, UNC, and UConn won championships during that period, but it's still significant.

2012-2013 Expectations For Michigan Basketball

At lot has changed in Ann Arbor in recent years.  Not only for the city and the school, but also for its basketball program.  No longer are the Wolverines dismissed as a Big Ten bottom-dweller and no longer are they mitigated to irrelevancy.  This term may be a bit overused, but there is no doubt that Michigan basketball is "back".  After having two successful seasons that culminated in two NCAA Tournament appearances, a 3-4 record over basketball rival MSU, and a Big Ten Championship, things are looking bright on the court and for Beilein.

Things are looking so good that Michigan should be lined up for its biggest season in decades.  They return much from their Big Ten Championship team and are bringing in the best recruiting class that Michigan has seen in at least a decade.  Expectations are sure to be high, but today's question is about how high fans should set their expectations for this year.  The hype has already started to build, but is it real and should fans really believe the hype?

2014 Prospect Drake Harris Chooses MSU Over Michigan

Michigan's most interesting 2014 prospect has decided he will attend MSU over his other finalists, Michigan and Notre Dame.  Harris announced these finalists earlier in the week along with his desire to play both college football and basketball.  He is one of the few athletes in the nation that is planning to play both sports at the next level, which made him extremely intriguing to college coaches and fans alike.  We actually debated his ability at both football and basketball before his decision, which is something that I'm sure Spartan fans will now engage in before Harris arrives on campus.

In some ways, this is a major loss for Michigan. The ability to have a 4* recruit on your basketball team without using a scholarship is a pretty major advantage.  Tom Izzo is probably getting the most talented walk-on in the nation for 2014.  That's a pretty big advantage for MSU and Michigan missed out on that chance.  Michigan's basketball recruiting is in fine shape, but I don't think anybody out there will deny that adding a 4* walk-on will probably help the Spartans pretty significantly.

2014 WR/SG Drake Harris To Decide Wednesday

One of the key 2014 recruits in the state will announce his decision this Wednesday.  He's from Grand Rapids and is one of the most interesting recruits you will see anywhere in the nation.  Not only has he received major offers for football, but he's also received major offers for basketball.  Now, whether he will play both sports in college is still up in the air, but that is still extremely impressive.  Plus, it really changes up the way in which schools recruit him.


Instead of having to offer him two scholarships, a school can get away with giving him one scholarship and having him walk-on the basketball team.  Michigan and MSU have taken this route with Harris, which could potentially save them one scholarship.  This means that if Harris goes to MSU or Michigan and decides to play both sports, he would have to walk-on the basketball team, but it's doubtful he would miss it since he's rated as a 4* recruit in basketball.

Michigan Offers 2014 SF Trevon Bluiett

As I reported earlier, Trevon Bluiett was visiting Michigan's campus today and was in solid position to receive an offer from Beilein's staff.  This came true when UMHoops confirmed that Bluiett was offered a scholarship by Michigan.  He's a very exciting athlete and I'm not very surprised that he received an offer from Michigan just ten days after Offer Day.  All the scouting services that have ranked him so far have him placed pretty high, including #47 on Rivals list of the 100 best players in the nation.


He offers a tremendous advantage for any school and would be a massive pick-up for Michigan.  He's been described as a smart player that can "create on his own" and is "active" on the glass on defense.  Beilein is always looking for solid defensive players and I think we all know what Burke has been able to "create on his own" in the past.  Not saying he's the next Trey Burke, but having that ability in 2014 would be very exciting.  Along with this, he's been identified as a "good" shooter, which would fit perfectly with Beilein's offense and is one of the major reasons why he has attracted so much attention from programs including Indiana, Notre Dame, and Louisville.  He has decent size at 185 lbs, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he'll be a tad bit bigger before he enters Big Ten play.

Sai Tummala No Longer With Michigan

Michigan's basketball program has lost another player.  This will mark the fourth transfer since Michigan ended its season with a loss to Ohio in the NCAA Tournament.  Redshirt freshman Sai Tummala has decided to leave the program after just one year.  No reasons were given, but it did leave many fans wondering about the direction of Michigan's basketball team and roster.  Losing four players to transfer and two senior starters to graduation should put up a few red flags for next year.

Tummala's transfer is not extremely surprising.  He was rated as a 1* by ESPN, came in as a walkon, and received no playing time last season.  Along with that, he didn't seem to be lined up for much playing time in the future because of Michigan's depth and recruiting.  Michigan's 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes are stacked and it's not likely that Tummala would amount to anything more than a glorified backup for Michigan.

New Ranking A Sign Of Beilein's Progress At Michigan

Recently, ESPN did an analysis on Big Ten basketball and ranked which head coaching jobs they thought were the best in the conference.  Normally, I don't respond to these types of lists because they're pretty arbitrary and are often based on some questionable logic, but I decided to respond to this one because of what it symbolizes for Michigan's basketball program.  Indiana, in unsurprising fashion, led the Big Ten as the best coaching job.  However, perhaps the most exciting placement was Michigan at #4, just behind OSU and MSU respectively.

As I said, normally these lists don't mean much, but I do think this is a sign of what John Beilein has done for Michigan's program over the last several years.  When Beilein took the job, Michigan was in the wake of a major scandal and had a lengthy absence from any relevance.  In fact, by time Beilein got Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament in his second season, Michigan had gone over 10 years without going to the NCAA Tournament.

To overcome these factors in what has become the best basketball conference in basketball and have the #4 coaching job is pretty impressive.  I mean, look at Wisconsin and Purdue.  Both teams were fairly consistent before and during Beilein's tenure, but Michigan was ranked above them.  Now, once again, I want to point out that these types of lists are never 100% accurate, especially because they often judge such arbitrary topics like "best coaching job", but it's still interesting to look at for Michigan's progress.

Who Could Be Michigan's First 2014 Commit?

As most following Michigan basketball know by now, Michigan will extend its first offers to 2014 recruits on June 15th.  Now, we don't know how many offers Michigan will extend on the 15th or how long it will take to gets the first commitment of 2014, but we can take a look at who will be the most likely to commit first.  There are a few likely candidates and there's always the possibility that several recruits will commit on the spot as some of the 2013 recruits did last summer, but I think one candidate rises above the rest as a likely commit.

Devin Booker, a 2014 SG from Moss Point High School in Mississippi, looks to me as the prime candidate for a quick commitment for Michigan.  Ranked as a 4* recruit by ESPN and as the #23 player on the ESPN60 for 2014, he would be a great pick-up for Michigan.  Beilein and his staff have dedicated a tremendous amount of time to recruiting Booker and he appears to be one of their priorities for this recruiting class.  He's been on campus several times and has also communicated with the coaches on numerous occasions over the past year.

Michigan Basketball In Play For Top 2014 Recruits

Photo Credit: DetroitSBNation

With the release of the Top 50 players according to Rivals, we can now take a look at the position of Michigan's recruiting chances in 2014.  How many recruits is Michigan seriously pursuing and does Michigan have a chance with these top recruits?  Michigan has done very well recruiting for the 2012 and 2013 classes and it should be surprising that Michigan will be competing for some of the top recruits in 2014.

First, before we get into Michigan's chances, let's take a general look at the list.  Only two schools (Virginia, Indiana) currently have commitments on the list.  This shouldn't be surprising, as it's well over two years before any of these recruits will appear on campus, but it does show the momentum of Indiana's program.  Along with this, the list is pretty well spread out geographically, although it is interesting to note that 6 of the top 15 players on the list come from the Midwest area.  Obviously, this does not mean Michigan will get commitments from any of these players, but it does show that there is a lot of talent in the area and that most of the Big Ten teams will probably have a good recruiting year.

Now that we've gone through a few interesting things about the list, let's go into the topic everyone cares about.  Where does Michigan stand with the recruits on the list?  In my opinion, Michigan is in solid shape for several of these recruits.  Michigan will probably never be able to match the recruiting status of teams like Kentucky, but if Beilein is able to keep landing high caliber recruits it will just be a matter or time before he is able to build Michigan's program and prestige for the long-term.

1.  Rashad Vaughn - G - #26 - 4*
Vaughn is a player that I believe could make an immediate impact at Michigan if he reaches campus.  He is listed as 6'4" according to Rivals, but 6'5" and 180s lbs by Scout.  Rivals has him as 4*, but Scout doesn't seem to have him quite as high.  Some of his other offers include schools like Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, and Baylor.  I really think he's a player that could have a big impact playing as a SG.  With Derrick Walton coming in 2013, I couldn't imagine how aggressive Michigan could be with Walton and Vaughn.  This is one to keep on eye on for Michigan fans.


2.  Devin Booker - G - #31 - 4*

Booker is from Moss Point, MS and has received much attention as of late.  Rivals has him listed as 6'3" and weighing 180 lbs, but Scout has him at 6'4" and weighing 175 lbs.  Most speculate that Michigan is in good position to land a commitment, though very early.  Booker also seems to be set-up to be a SG at Michigan, although others speculate that he might be able to play PG as well.  He averaged 23 points per game over this season at his high school, which is pretty impressive.  His father also played in the pros, which may follow the tradition of NBA offspring choosing Beilein as a coach for their sons.  He would be a great pick-up for Michigan and I do think he has the possibility of moving up a bit farther over the next year or so, although it's too early to say for sure.

3.  Keita Bates-Diop - F - #39 - 4*

Keita is from Normal, Illinois (Yes, that's really the name of the town).  He is listed as a small forward, 6'7", and 190 lbs by Rivals and he is listed as a power forward, 6'6", and 180s lbs by Scout.  I think he's a bit too small to be a true power forward for Michigan, especially with some of the immense size Beilein is bringing to campus, but he could do some damage as a small forward for Michigan if he ends up on campus.  He's being recruited by several other Big Ten schools including Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Northwestern, so picking him up would be pretty big.  I would like to see what he can do over the next few months before I can predict the scale of his impact right away if he comes to Michigan.

4.  Drake Harris - G - #46 - 4*

This could be the most interesting recruit in the 2014 class for Michigan.  Not only is he from Grand Rapids, Michigan, but he is also being heavily pursued by MSU.  This could be one of the first major Beilein vs. Izzo recruiting battles.  Along with this, there is speculation that Harris could be a two sport athlete and play football in the fall and basketball in the winter.  I'm not so sure how feasible this would be in college athletics, but it's certainly something unusual.  Izzo has said he's a "priority" for MSU, which is going to make it pretty hard for Beilein to get him in Ann Arbor.  Harris has had good things to say about Michigan, however, and I think his recruitment is far from over.  Harris is listed as 6'4" and weighing 180 lbs.  This is probably the commit I want the most in this class.  Not only because he's an outstanding player, but who doesn't like stealing a commit away from their rival?

5.  Trevon Bluiett - F - #47 - 4*

The final recruit Michigan seems to be deeply pursuing hails from Indianapolis, Indiana.  He is listed as 6'5" and weighing 185 lbs and a small forward.  Bluiett, like Harris, is going to be a battle for Michigan.  He has received attention from many schools including Indiana, Illinois, MSU, Notre Dame, and OSU.  He is amazingly talented and is going to be a great pick-up for whichever schools he ultimately decides to attend.  This is purely specualtion, but I think this could be a recruitment that goes far in to the future.  Indiana has been doing a great job at snatching up their in-state talent, but I think this might be a player that takes a little longer to convince, if they do at all.



Whether or not Michigan lands these recruits, it should be a great year for Michigan.  Since Michigan has been able to secure so many early commitments in 2012 and 2013, the coaching staff has been able to dedicate a lot of time to 2014 recruiting, which should ultimately help bring in another great class to Ann Arbor.  Make sure to stay tuned because the recruiting battles should start heating up between Michigan and some of the big-time college basketball programs this year.

Trey Burke To The NBA?

After analyzing his options, Trey Burke has opted to go the NBA Draft according to CBS Sports Analyst Jeff Goodman.  His father disputes this opinion and says Trey has not declared yet.  If true, which appears very likely, this would probably be one of the most disappointing announcements in recent Michigan basketball history.  Darius Morris's departure was big, but at least Michigan had someone coming in to replace him (Trey Burke).  Burke announced a few weeks ago that he was considering declaring for the draft and appears very close right now, if he has not already done so.

Burke will probably be a late 1st Round to 2nd Round NBA Draft pick if he declares.  He was Michigan's leading scorer and assists leader last season.  For those who haven't kept up much with basketball, this would be a huge blow for next year's young Michigan squad.  Some projections had them as a Final Four pick and within the Top 10 preseason rankings.  However, this will likely vault Michigan near the bottom, or out of the Top 25 altogether if Burke leaves.

Michigan had a great season this year and won the Big Ten Championship, but without Burke the entire dynamic changes.  Certainly, there will be some solid players remaining on the team and some great recruits incoming such as Mitch McGary, but if Beilein is not able to land a point guard in the next few weeks, it could be a rough year for Michigan fans.

Michigan basketball is not dead by any means, but the chance of repeating its championship or advancing on last year's success will take a serious hit if CBS Sports is correct.  It may take a few seasons for the team and program to get completely back on track with solid depth, but there's no reason to give up.  Michigan will still have a shot at doing some success in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament next year, but guys like Hardaway, Morgan, and McGary are going to have to contribute a lot.

Trey Burke has not officially declared, but fans should make sure they wish him the best of luck and not blame him for whatever decision he makes.  He has to look out for his best interests and not just that of the school and if going to the NBA is in his best interest, good luck.  Michigan basketball will survive, whether Burke returns or not, and fans need to remember that.


Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

Michigan Recruiting Point Guards

With Trey Burke's recent announcement that he is considering entering the NBA Draft, there's been a lot of controversy surrounding who would be the replacement if Burke decides to leave Michigan.  As of now, because of transfer issues, Michigan doesn't have a clear-cut point guard that could fill in for Trey Burke next year.  Assuming Burke goes pro, Michigan only has one person that would at least be capable of replacing him right now and that's Eso Akunne.

Now, Akunne is a decent player and I think he could develop into a solid back-up for a guy like Burke, but he is not a guy you want starting at point guard for your team, especially not right now.  Yes, he's done well in a few games while here at Michigan, but he ended last season with an injury and never truly led the team from the point guard position like Burke.  Yes, if he's forced into the starting point guard position next year he'll likely have more help than Burke had this year, but he is not going to be able to dominate like Burke did.  He can contribute in some capacity, but I just don't see him as a game-changer like Burke, which will set this team back a lot.

As a result of this situation, Beilein and the coaching staff have begun a frantic search in an effort to find either a replacement for Trey Burke, or somebody that can play back-up now that Carlton Brundidge has left.  Brundidge was Burke's backup for much of the year, but has decided to transfer from Michigan.  Unfortunately, at this point, there aren't a ton of solid point guards left in the 2012 recruiting class.  Yes, there are a few guys that might be able to come in and contribute right away, but they are few and far between.

Now, there are some great guys in the 2013 recruiting class, but Michigan already has Derrick Walton coming in, who should be a great point guard for the Wolverines.  Along with this, any 2013 recruits won't be on campus for next season, which is the exact time that Michigan desperately needs a point guard replacement.  So, in order to make this frantic search a bit easier, I've highlighted some of the likely candidates to replace or back-up Burke next season:


Amedeo Della Valle
Amedeo is a 6'3" point guard out of Henderson, Nevada and is rated as a 3* recruit by Rivals.  He certainly is a talented player and his recruitment appears to be finishing.  If he decides to commit to Michigan, he probably won't get much playing time unless Burke goes pro.  I do think he has some potential to be a very solid player and has been recruited by some big schools including Gonzaga and OSU.  He probably will be commiting to a school within the next few weeks, but I can't see him signing to play with Michigan until he sees what happens with Trey Burke (I know that personally I would want to wait).  Beilein was actually visiting Amedeo last week.

Spike Albrecht

Albrecht hasn't received much publicity and is only 5'11", but he has shown some promise in a lot of games, including a game against Mitch McGary's team.  He was named the MVP of the AAA high school tournament and averaged 9 pts and 7 assists during the season.  Another important note is that he's from the same high school as Zack Novak and Novak's only had positive things to say about him.  He's also noted as having few turnovers and as being well conditioned (played 40 minutes in the AAA Final).

Derrick Walton 

Now, I only put Walton on this list because if Michigan doesn't land one of these two they are probably going to be relying on Eso Akunne to carry them through next season.  After that, I think Walton will come in as the starting point guard and make some major contributions.  Walton is 6'0" and is rated as a 4* recruit by Rivals.    He is also credited with having a great basketball IQ and as a true point guard by Scout.  I think he'll work out to be one of the best incoming point guards in recent memory, even including the sensational season Burke just had for the Wolverines.  However, if Michigan's point guard depth depends on Walton, they're going to be in major trouble for next season.


Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com, Draftology, MGoBlog, NY2LA

Michigan Basketball Now Faced With Big Transfer Problems

In an extremely unexpected move, John Beilein announced today that three members of Michigan's basketball team were leaving the program and planning to transfer elsewhere.  Typically, almost any program (especially a successful one with some great incoming recruits) has to endure some transfers.  However, this time, it was the individuals that decided to transfer that really took many by surprise.  Evan Smotrycz, Carlton Brundidge, and Colton Christian all decided to leave the team.

The big thing to mark here is that none of these transfers are program or team killing.  The team was not built around any of these three players and I don't think anybody would say any of these guys were the best on Michigan's current or future squads.  Having said that, these transfers are very significant.  You have one player who made major contributions this season, another plaery who was likely going to contribute big time next year, and a guy who, frankl,y shouldn't hurt too much.  The team is likely going to have to make some adjustments now if they want to be able to compete with the great teams next year.

The biggest challenge by far is going to be filling the void left by Evan Smotrycz.  He may not have started for the last several months of the season, but that's primarily because he was replaced by Stu Douglass (who will be graduated before next season).  Without Smotrycz, there is not really a guy who is going to be a great fit to fill the "4" spot on the roster.  Almost everybody assumed he was going to start and play significant time next season in the "4" spot.  This is a better and more natural fit for Evan and this was apparent when he was forced to play at the "5" this year because of Jordan Morgan's foul trouble and Jon Horford's season-ending injury.

In order to address his transfer, I'm assuming that the coaching staff is now going to have Mitch McGary play the "4" spot.  Most had McGary projected as playing center or the "5" spot on the roster, but I don't see how Morgan or Horford are going to be able to move down.  Perhaps Horford could play the "4" spot, but there's no way Morgan is going to be able to play anything but center.  The most logical solution to this problem would be to have McGary play the "4" and leave Morgan and Horford to rotate as the team's center.  This way Beilein can get Morgan and McGary on the floor at the same time.  Without Smotrycz and with Horford's season-ending injury, these guys should be "locks" for the best two "Big Men" on the team.

Michigan is finally going to be able to play "big" next season and this means Beilein is going to want his best "Big Men" on the court.  This should be, without a doubt, Morgan and McGary.  Since I, and I'm assuming most others, don't see Morgan as a "4", the coaching staff is going to have to play McGary there if they want two quality "Big Men" on the court at once.  McGary probably would have done better at the "5" spot, but without Smotrycz, I just don't see another option for Beilein at this point.

Now, addressing Smotrycz's transfer is going to be the biggest challenge of losing these three players, but Brundidge could leave a hole as well.  He was the closest thing Michigan had to a backup point guard for next season and without him, Burke is going to be forced to do what he did this year, play just about the entire game.  This may not have hurt Michigan too much this season, but Michigan was really looking for someone that could pick-up the slack for Burke when he needed it.  Brundidge was certainly the best option for this next year, but Beilein is going to have to look elsewhere next year.

These kind of losses may not seem significant, but if there was an injury to Burke (PLEASE NO!!!), Michigan fans would surely miss Brundidge.  Christian didn't really have a ton of significance for next year's team simply because he was deep on the depth chart and unlikely to get much playing time at all, especially with guys like McGary coming on-board, but Smotrycz and Brundidge's exits will certainly be factors.  Fans just need to hope that for the second year in a row Michigan will be able to replace a player that exited unexpectedly.


Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

Hot Topics: Which Coach Did A Better Job Rebuilding? Hoke or Beilein?

Each week we have our writers break down a "hot topic" among the Michigan fanbase and allow them to express their personal opinion on the issue.  Topics cover everything from rivalry games to team and fan apparel.  Writers have their own opinion and you are welcome to comment below or contact them via Twitter with your own thoughts.


Kyle Curtiss - Representing Those For Brady Hoke As The Better Rebuilding Coach


1) When Rich left, Michigan was left in limbo. In comes Brady Hoke, saying he would have walked here, and restored the faith in Michigan football. In one brief season, Hoke has brought Michigan football back to the national conscious mind with an 11-2 record, and a trip to the Sugar Bowl. Naysayers dismiss it; saying there were more deserving teams. Yet the bottom line shows we were there, and we won. Beilein has made the NCAA Tournament 3 years now, and has done nothing with it. One shared regular season title does not make a championship program.


2) Is it easy to recruit for a national powerhouse? Nowhere near. Pundits say Lloyd left the cupboard bare, and Rich didn’t stockpile Big Ten talent. That’s not to say Rich couldn’t recruit—he did land Denard Robinson, but it wasn’t the same. Going 3-9, 5-7, and 7-5 in his 3 years of coaching was Shakespearean tragedy at Michigan. With Hoke at the helm, he landed the 21st ranked recruiting standing, followed by 6th, and going into 2013 he has the #1 ranked class. With another year under his belt, Borges and Mattison as his coordinators, there should be no reason why Michigan is not ranked in the pre-season top 10.


3)  There is a reason why Bo labeled his players as “Michigan Men”. Rich came into the program and didn’t give much credence to it. Oh he’ll say he wanted to be a Michigan Man, but it goes above and beyond wanting to be one. It has to be earned. Hoke has brought back that distinction. It’s no small feat to accomplish but just absorbing his natural candor is infectious. “It’s Michigan, for God’s sake!”


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Thomas Beindit - Representing Those For John Beilein As The Better Rebuilding Coach


1)  The first and most important thing that has made Beilein a better rebuilder for Michigan than Hoke is that the team he inherited was significantly worse than the team Hoke received.  Michigan's basketball team hadn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1998 when Beilein was hired and he has made 3 tournaments in the last 4 years.  Along with this, Michigan hadn't won a Big Ten title since 1986 and really hadn't competed for almost a decade.  Michigan has just won the Big Ten Championship this season and has propelled Michigan to a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, it's highest seeding since 1998.  Michigan football may have only made 1 bowl game in the 3 years before Hoke was hired, but in order to have even close to a fair comparison, the football team would have had to do almost nothing significant for the 9 years before Hoke was hired.  During that same time period Michigan football made 7 bowl games including 3 Rose Bowls, and won some of them.  In the 9 years before Beilein was hired Michigan basketball didn't even make the NCAA Tournament once.


2)  Rebuilding Michigan basketball is also more difficult than rebuilding Michigan football because of the name alone.  Michigan has not only been a good historical power, but it is consistently considered to be one of the elite programs in the entire nation.  Think about it, I don't think anybody could argue there is a program anywhere else that has been significantly better than Michigan.  Even teams like USC, Notre Dame, and Alabama are pretty comparable to Michigan.  However, Michigan's basketball program is not exactly elite.  I'm pretty sure a novice sports fan could name 5-10 basketball schools before Michigan.  Certainly Michigan has had some great moments (notably the Fab 5), but can't really be compared to teams like Duke, UNC, or Kentucky.  There are even Big Ten schools like Indiana that can be considered historical powerhouses in comparison to Michigan.  Not only does this perception make recruiting more difficult, but it gets less attention and support for the program.  For instance, I think we can all remember watching Michigan basketball games with empty arenas.  That's not exactly something that helps the team compete on a consistent basis.  Now, compare that to the football team.  Everybody can remember watching 2008 and 2009 home games (Michigan's football team was horrible both years) and seeing record-setting crowds.  So, not only did Beilein have a weaker team to work with, but recruiting was more difficult and the team had less fan support.


3) Along with the team's weak performances and smaller prestige than the football program, Beilein also entered a program suffering under real sanctions and the results of those sanctions.  Michigan had to vacate some of its most successful history as a result of the Ed Martin Scandal, but more importantly had to give up scholarships over the next several seasons.  Giving up 1 basketball scholarship may seem small, but it's actually pretty significant because of its ramifications on team depth.  There's still plenty of scholarships for starters, but there are fewer players to develop and less to come in off the bench.  After poor performance coupled with this sanctions, there wasn't much for Beilein to actually inherit when he took over.  The team was not absolutely horrible the two years before Beilein was hired, but they never really competed for anything significant and playing in the NIT is not what I'd refer to as a successful season.  Michigan's football program got in trouble before Hoke was hired as well, but never lost any scholarships and only had to give up some practice time over the next few years.  Comparing these two scandals is just not realistic, the basketball program's scandal made Beilein's rebuilding efforts even more impressive.


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Final Points


Kyle - The cupboard was far from bare when Beilein arrived. Udoh was a budding superstar before he decided to transfer to Baylor, where he starred. Beilein tried to replace Udoh with Benzing and Coleman and Benzing failed to meet eligibility guidelines, and Coleman was a dud. Novak and Douglass soon followed, but neither were All-Americans. Beilein still had Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims, and both failed to make a splash. It wasn’t until a few months ago that Beilein landed his highest recruit yet with Mitch McGary, a top ranked power forward from Porter, Indiana. Highest one since he got here in 2007?  Not saying Beilein hasn’t been able to bounce back from the years of Ed Martin, and scholarship losses, and mediocrity…but it’s nowhere near the level of stature that the football team is. It never will be. Ballplayers want to play at Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State. Michigan could be up there with a few Final Four trips. BUT you’ve got to be able to recruit on selling Michigan, the best college and amateur sports program in the country. Using sanctions as a crutch is fine, and a lot of people do. Fact is, USC is coming back from their sanctions, Miami did a few years ago, and probably will have to again. “Ohio” can never be counted out. The only school ever truly damaged by sanctions, irreparable ones, was SMU. Michigan basketball didn’t receive the death penalty but it sure acted as though it did.


Thomas - I would agree that Brady Hoke entered Michigan during a rough period, but it's not like Beilein came in at a great time either.  Michigan had at least made a bowl game the year before Hoke entered the program.  Along with that, they had increased their win total during both of the previous two seasons.  Beilein took over a program without a NCAA Tournament bid in 9 seasons.  Beilein entered into what was undeniably a rougher situation than Hoke entered.  Hoke has certainly done well on the recruiting trail, but he not only had solid players when he entered, but he also had a national brand to market.  When Beilein took over he could only market based on his own coaching pedigree and Michigan's academics.  Hoke didn't have to leave out the program's successes from the past like Beilein did.  Could Beilein discuss teams like the Fab 5?  Yes, he could, but it was always tainted.  Hoke didn't have that same shadow hanging over the program like Beilein had to deal with.  I can't deny that Hoke has brought in a great culture for the Michigan football program, but Beilein has done a great job establishing a culture as well.  Recruits barely even considered Michigan before he got here.  Now there's so many Beilein is having to be careful with the scholarships he gives out.  Along with this, there was little to no fan involvement before Beilein took over.  Crisler now consistently sells out and fans are flocking to see the Wolverines be able to compete and win championships.


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All writers are entitled to their own opinion and those may or may not represent the held beliefs of Hoke's Mad Magicians as an entity.  Readers are welcome to comment below or contact the writers via Twitter with their thoughts.




Photo Credit: MVictors

Trey Burke And Michigan Stiffed In Big Ten Awards Show

Well, the results are finally out.  Trey Burke is Big Ten Freshman of the Year...kinda.  Burke won Freshman of the Year in the media poll, but Cody Zeller from Indiana won in the coaches' poll.  Zeller had an outstanding year, but Burke definitely seemed to have a better resume, especially if the voters were to consider that Michigan won the Big Ten Championship and Indiana finished in 5th place.

Along with this, Tom Izzo was named the Coach of the Year for the Big Ten in one of the most surprising picks I've ever seen.  Certainly Michigan State was not predicted to win the Big Ten, but it's not as if anybody predicted Michigan to finish better than last year with a freshman point guard and actually win the conference championship.  Beilein has done a fantastic job with this team and it's a shame that he hasn't gotten more appreciation for his work.  Simply having the "best" team should not make you the coach of the year.  Beilein's team is composed of players that most teams wouldn't even recruit, let alone win a conference championship in the best basketball conference in the country.

However, even though Burke did not win Freshman of the Year outright and Beilein was overlooked in shocking fashion, the All Big-Ten team selections were very, very questionable.  Obviously, players like Sullinger and Green should be instant inclusions, but somehow the media and coaches decided that Jordan Taylor from Wisconsin and Tim Frazier from Penn State were better than Trey Burke.  There is always room for opinion, but I was simply amazed by this selection.

Frazier was certainly a solid player on a horrible team, but that's important to note.  Penn State was horrid this year in Big Ten play.  They beat no Big Ten team of significance in 18 attempts.  Burke was the key factor Michigan was able to defeat teams like Michigan State and Ohio State and won its first Big Ten title since 1986.  Team success should not be the only factor, but it's not as if Burke didn't have the stats to back him up.  He was consistently good all year.

I mean, look at the stats on that.  Not only are Burke's stats comparable with Frazier''s, but his are actually better than those of Jordan Taylor.  It simply does not make sense to pick Frazier or Taylor over Burke because he not only had individual success, but his team did great as well.  Even look at the results.  Neither Taylor nor Frazier were listed on both the Media and Coaches' All-Big Ten teams.  That's right, Taylor was 1st All-Big Ten for the coaches, but didn't even make the media poll.  Frazier did the same on the reverse.  To me, this clearly shows how the inconsistency of these selections.  The best point guard in the Big Ten is Jordan Taylor or Tim Frazier, but they don't even make the Top 3 on the other list?  Something doesn't add up there.

Regardless, it was still a good night for Michigan as Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway were both listed as All-Big Ten selections and Burke won Freshman of the Year in the Media Poll.  Perhaps in the future these selections will be less random, but Michigan will still have its championship rings to show, even if it didn't fare as well in these awards.

Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

Michigan 2011-2012 Big Ten Basketball Champions

Michigan has finally done it!  They've won their first Big Ten title since 1986.  This is an outstanding achievement considering they weren't even considered that big of a threat for the title in the pre-season.  Not only is this a great achievement for the team, but it is a substantial one for the program and coaching staff as well.  This will be John Beilein's first major college conference championship and cement the fact that Michigan basketball is finally back.

Jordan Morgan tweeted this just a few minutes ago:


"all I can really say is #BANNER...thanking God for so many blessings"


I think that's a great instant analysis of what has happened over the last few days and tonight.  How long has it been since Michigan fans got to see a banner raised in Crisler Arena?  A pretty long time, I'll just say that.  However, that time's passed now.  Right now, it's time to look at this team and be excited for the future.  Winning a Big Ten Championship is great, but that's not the limit of this team.  They can do a lot more, not just in the future, but this year.

If Michigan can win at least a game or two in the Big Ten Tourney, they could easily be a 3 seed or higher in the tournament.  Given that, it's not that unlikely to see them get a deep run.  I mean with the shooting droughts appearing to end, there might not be a limit for where this team can go.  Michigan has competed and beaten top teams this season and I don't see the Big Ten or NCAA Tournament being any different.

Along with this, Michigan didn't "back" into this championship.  They earned it.  Not only did Michigan record wins over the other top two Big Ten teams (Michigan State and Ohio State), but they also played well against non-conference competition like Memphis.  Saying Michigan didn't deserve this title is simply ignorant.  It's the same with arguing the other two teams didn't deserve a share of the championship.  They were all tied for head-to-head match-ups and had a relatively even share of good wins and bad losses.  

The important thing to note is that Michigan earned it's Big Ten title this year.  Nothing gave them the title and as much as Spartan or Buckeye fans would like to think that the Buckeyes "handed" the Wolverines their title, Michigan didn't need any help.  They recorded victories over every Big Ten team except one (Iowa).  That's pretty impressive for a team that "backed" their way into a championship.  

Regardless, now's the time to celebrate and personally I can't wait to be there when they raise the new banner in Crisler Arena.  It's been a long time and I'm proud this title can be given to Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, some of the best seniors Michigan may ever have in their basketball program.


Photo Credit: Melanie Maxwell

Finishing At Home: Michigan vs. Purdue Preview

Fans have one last opportunity to see this year's basketball team in action at home this season in a match-up against Purdue.  With Michigan's current four game winning streak, a victory over Ohio State for the first time in seven tries, and an undefeated home record, this is sure to be an exciting game for Michigan fans.  It's certainly not the biggest or toughest game in Michigan's remaining three regular season games, but a win is crucial if Michigan wants to walk away as the Big Ten regular season champion.  As I posted earlier this week, Michigan's in great position for at least a 2nd place finish, so every game left on the schedule is "must win".

Now, Purdue is not exactly the scariest team in the Big Ten.  They are 18-10 overall and 8-7 in conference play, but they are 0-6 when they have faced teams with winning Big Ten records.  They are essentially the best of "the rest" in the Big Ten.  They can certainly beat many teams and have a solid record, but they certainly aren't in the top-tier of the Big Ten.  However, Hummel is a great player who can create a lot of opportunities for his team and when he's playing well you can't count Purdue out.

Hummel's play, along with Purdue's current tournament situation is why I think this game will be a lot closer than many anticipate.  Even though Michigan has won its last four games and has been playing pretty well, it's crunch time for Purdue.  They will probably make the NCAA Tournament even if they don't beat Michigan, but a win over the Wolverines would go a long way towards securing a spot for them in the tourney.

With this in mind, this should be a pretty competitive game.  Is Purdue a better team than Michigan?  Not really.  In fact, as I pointed out above, they have done little to nothing against the good Big Ten teams this season and I expect that to continue when they play Michigan on Saturday.  The big thing for Michigan is reducing the impact of Hummel and his ever shrinking supporting cast (Purdue kicked several players off its team for a recent bar fight).

If Michigan can minimize Hummel and Lewis Jackson, they will have a great chance at giving Stu Douglass and Zack Novak a great win for their Senior Day.  I would normally say this is a trap game, but I think the emotions tied to Senior Day will inspire the Wolverines to respond to any threat from Purdue.  Douglass and Novak have carried this team for almost four years and I really don't see that stopping for the last home game of their careers.

Plus, this game is the most blatant definition of "must win" that the Wolverines have faced this season.  Michigan is currently only 1 game behind Michigan State in the race for the Big Ten Championship and throwing away a home game against Purdue would remove almost any chance of walking away with the title.  Michigan desperately needs to win its remaining games not only to put pressure on Michigan State, but also to help secure better seeding for the NCAA Tournament.  Right now, there's a lot of speculation that Michigan will enter as either a 3 or a 4 seed come March, so any win is crucial to help Michigan in the seeding.

I really believe that Michigan will come out playing hot and take a size-able lead over the Boilermakers to start the game.  However, Purdue will start to gain focus and close the gap, but I think Trey Burke is going to be too much for Purdue to handle.  Purdue did a nice job of handling him last time, but I think he's going to shred their defense for much of the night to vault Michigan to an undefeated home season.

My Magic Pick Is...


Michigan 69-63


Photo Credit: AP

The Seniors That Built Michigan Basketball

What if I were to tell you that Michigan had just fired its head basketball coach?  That neither he nor Michigan had made the NCAA Tournament in over 9 years.  That the basketball program was still shadowed by a scandal that not only removed its most cherished history and success, but fired one of its most famous coaches and plagued the program with vicious scholarship reductions that made the team almost incapable of competing.

This actually happened to Michigan and the year was 2007.  Surprisingly, Stu Douglass was about to commit to Michigan to play for John Beilein.  Beilein had some success over his career, primarily at West Virginia, but had never made a Final Four, nor coached in the Big Ten.  Few, if any, truly believed this coach could change the culture shock Ann Arbor had received from the Fab 5 Scandal, but two little known recruits believed that Beilein could change what had recently been a disastrous run for Michigan.

The task Beilein, Douglass, and Zack Novak (who committed in the beginning of 2008) were undertaking would be pretty substantial.  Somehow, these three had to convince not only recruits, but the entire fanbase and country that Michigan was ready to play basketball again.  From 1998-2007, Michigan's basketball team was, frankly, horrendous.  Not only did they seem incapable of competing at a high level, but they also lost to bad basketball schools and teams on a routine basis.  A return to glory wasn't exactly going to be something easy.

However, Douglass and Novak bought into what Beilein was preaching.  They would not only be Beilein's biggest pickups in his 2008 recruiting class, but they would be the ones that finally restored Michigan to its winning ways.  To be honest, Douglass and Novak didn't exactly excite many in the public.  Few big time programs bought into these two recruits.  In fact, most of the schools that did heavy recruiting on Douglass and Novak were MAC schools.  Kinda surprising in hindsight, huh?

Regardless of their recruiting hype, Beilein bought into these two players.  He recruited and ultimately brought them to play in Ann Arbor  But Beilein had a season to play before Douglass and Novak would become Wolverines.  The season went pretty badly.  Michigan finished with 10-22 and only 5-13 in Big Ten play.  Not exactly a great start for Beilein at Michigan.  However, Douglass and Novak still planned on coming to Ann Arbor, despite this setback.

By the time Douglass and Novak were getting ready to play Big Ten basketball Beilein had been working hard to turn things around.  He had already secured commitments from several plays including a 4* player named Darius Morris and an in-state forward named Jordan Morgan.  Michigan still had a long way to go both on the court and the recruiting trail, but it was at least a start.

That season Michigan would finally turn the corner.  Not only did the team compete, but after eight games into the season, Michigan had already beaten UCLA and Duke who had both been ranked in the Top 5 at the time.  For a program who had not been to a tournament in over 10 seasons, beating two Top 5 teams in eight games was pretty substantial.  Eventually, that same team would finish 20-13 and lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.

In just one season Michigan had more than doubled its win total and snapped a 10 season tournament-less streak.  The culture had thoroughly been shocked.  However, Douglass, Novak, and Beilein didn't stop there.    In the 2010 season, the team would not only sweep in-state rival Michigan State, but make it to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament in a close battle with Duke.

This year the Wolverines have done even better.  Michigan has been ranked all season, recorded wins over Memphis, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, and Ohio State, and is poised for a great season and tournament finish.  So, what changed?  How did Michigan go from a train-wreck of a basketball program and team to one of the elite teams in the Big Ten competing for a conference title and high-seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Belief.  Stu Douglass and Zack Novak believed in John Beilein and Beilein believed in Douglass and Novak.  The coach and the players took a chance on each other and look how it turned out.  This Saturday will be Senior Day in Crisler Arena when the Wolverines face-off against Purdue.  Something special will be ending in Ann Arbor.  Douglass and Novak should be credited as the foundation of this new basketball program.  Cazzie Russell may have been the one who Crisler was built upon, but the Fab 5' scandal left that legacy in ruins.  Only with Douglass and Novak has that legacy been restored.

Stu and Zack are the ones who have resurrected Michigan basketball.  I'll miss seeing Stu's insane three attempt (that works once in a while haha) and Novak's endless fire and passion.  These guys built this program through dedication, hard work, and most importantly, belief.  Michigan may not win the Big Ten or NCAA Championship this year, but they're going to win a lot of games over the next few seasons and everyone will have Stu and Zack to thank.  We here at Hoke's Mad Magicians wish them the best of luck and thank them for their contributions to rebuilding what is and will continue to be a great basketball program.  It's been a great ride, now beat Purdue!


Photo Credit: ESPN

Michigan Tops Ohio State

Well, all the hype was for good reason.  Since Sunday, Michigan's campus, fans, and news groups hav been building up what quickly became the best game of this year's basketball season.  Not only was it Michigan's first basketball experience with College Gameday, but it was also a game between ranked opponents, a chance for the Big Ten title, and pitted Michigan against arch-rival Ohio State.  What more could a Michigan fan want in a game?  A win.  And that's just what fans got tonight.

Michigan started out on top of the Buckeyes and it stayed that way all night.  Not only did Michigan lead by as many as 10 points at several points, but they never trailed either.  That's pretty impressive considering the way the Buckeyes controlled Michigan when they played in Columbus.  Michigan started out strong in both games, but held up near the end in much better fashion this time.  Jordan Morgan was never in serious foul trouble and the defense was superb all night.

I remember glancing up at the scoreboard late in the game and realizing Sullinger only had 6 points with about 10 minutes left.  Six points.  That's amazing considering his talent.  If this team can continue playing that type of defense, they are going to go deep in the tournament.

However, looking at the team's tournament chances is not what tonight should be about.  This is a program changing win for Michigan.  Everyone knows the story of Michigan basketball over the last decade, so I won't repeat it.  Frankly, it's come a long way.

A few years ago fans were simply begging for competitive teams that could sneak in a win over Michigan State or Ohio State.  Those days are long gone.  A few years ago the tournament was a dream.  Last year, the tournament was a hope.  This year the tournament is a given.  Now, championships and winning are the expectation.

This expectation is going to go a long way for changing basketball in Ann Arbor.  As I talked about earlier this week, Michigan has been at the point where they can compete with top teams, especially over the last few seasons, but they have been pretty incapable of closing on those opportunities.  I'm sure everybody remembers losing nail-biters to Duke, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan State over the last few seasons.

That time has passed for the most part.  Sure, this is not a team that's going to go undefeated and blow every opponent off the court, but we're going to win against some of these teams on a regular basis.  Not only can we compete with the "Big Boys", but we can beat them too.

Ohio State is the perfect example.  I don't think there's a college basketball fan out there that doesn't think the Buckeyes have been a great team over the last few seasons.  Not only have they been consistently ranked in the top ten and highly seeded for the NCAA Tournament, but they've beat up on Michigan too.  Before this game, Michigan had a six game losing streak to "Ohio" as Brady Hoke calls them (he was honored for coach of the year by the way).  Michigan certainly played competitive with them during this stretch, but always ended up falling.  Tonight, that changed, tonight the Buckeyes fell to the Wolverines and not because of a fluke injury or blown call, but because the Wolverines played better and were the better team on the court.

Basketball may not be the biggest or most popular sport in Ann Arbor, but it's about time fans jump on the bandwagon and admit this is a great team and great program.  Michigan can truly become one of the select schools that can compete consistently in football and basketball.  There's no need to "wait on Mitch McGary" or claim that this team just "isn't big enough to compete".  If size will ever be an issue it's against the Buckeyes and this team just beat them.

This team is for real, NOW.  The waiting is done.  Let's cheer on this team and enjoy what is going to be a great season. This team is 1/2 game behind Michigan State for the Big Ten title and has a great shot at closing that gap to get it's first Big Ten title since 1986.

Plus, let's not forget a little thing called the NCAA Tournament, where Coach Beilein has been pretty good.  Hopes are high and winning feels great.  Go Blue and we finally "Beat Ohio".

P.S. I hear we picked up a few recruits lately too...


Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit