Could Mark Donnal Be An Upgrade For Michigan?

An article composed for Wolverine247 of 247Sports looking at whether Mark Donnal could actually be an upgrade at the center position for Michigan basketball next season.

My breakdown on Mark Donnal and whether he can actually improve the center position for Michigan - http://t.co/RSFPSThj5F via @247Sports
— Thomas Beindit (@tbeindit) July 17, 2014

B1G Award Picks

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Check out our conference award picks:

B1G Award Picks

A Look At Jordan Morgan And His Winning Ways

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Check out the piece on Michigan's Senior Night:

A Look At Jordan Morgan And His Winning Ways

2013-2014 Michigan Basketball Preview: Big Men

Photo Credit: Laura Pratt

Here's a look at what many consider to be the team's position of strength for this season:

2013-2014 Michigan Basketball Preview: Big Men

What If Evan Smotrycz Had Stayed?

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Over the last few weeks, I have been looking at some of the hypothetical situations that could have impacted Michigan basketball over the last few seasons.  First, I looked at what could have happened if Trey Burke had stayed committed to Penn State instead of coming to Michigan.  Then I looked at what could have happened if Darius Morris had opted to return for another season at Michigan.  This time, I am going to look at what could have happened if Evan Smotrycz had stayed at Michigan.

Smotrycz was not a great player for Michigan.  He played just two seasons for the Wolverines and failed to average 10 points per game in either season.  In his first season, he averaged just 17.8 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game.  He increased those numbers in his second season to 21.1 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.  So he wasn't great, but he was certainly a solid player.  The big problem he experienced in his sophomore season was that he often got put out of position in the lineup due to Jordan Morgan's foul trouble, which significantly limited his play.  I remember even joking during his second season that he had to have the highest foul to minute ratio in the Big Ten because he would often foul just seconds after getting on the floor.  So what would have happened if he stayed?  Let's take a look:

2012-2013 Season:
For as average as his contributions were to Michigan as a sophomore, I cannot express how big his return would have been for Michigan last season.  With Zack Novak gone, Mitch McGary in Ann Arbor, and Jon Horford back from injury, Smotrycz would have started from day one.  The lineup would have been: Morgan, Smotrycz, GR3, Hardaway, Burke.  Then McGary, Horford, Stauskas, LeVert, and Spike would have come off the bench.  Think about that.  That bench lineup would have probably done alright in the Big Ten and they would have been coming off the bench.

The big problem for Michigan's big men all season was that they were inefficient on the offensive end.  Well, Smotrycz was much better on the offensive end than the defensive end contrary to Michigan's other big men.  This would have given Michigan the offensive boost while also adding some size inside to help on defense and in rebounding.  Plus, GR3 would have been able to play his natural position.  McGary would have eventually moved in and started at the 5, but I'm not even sure Louisville could have slowed down Michigan's offense at that point.

2013-2014 Season:
At this time, we're really stretching this hypothetical situation, but it's hypothetical so why not?  This would be Smotrycz's senior year.  Assuming the same players leave after last year in this situation, that would likely give Michigan a starting lineup of: McGary, Smotrycz, GR3, Stauskas, Walton.  Then Irvin, Morgan, Horford, LeVert, and Spike would come off the bench.  For the second straight season, Michigan would have a fully capable bench lineup that could probably beat a few teams in the Big Ten.

It's tough to imagine this roster not going really far in the NCAA Tournament.  They would have a boatload of talent, experience, and depth across the board.  Every single position on the roster would be proven except point guard, where a 4* recruit would be coming to campus and Michigan would have a backup that scored 17 points in the national championship game (assuming this happened again).  I would also be hard pressed to see this team ranked anywhere outside of the very top of the preseason rankings and probably would have been higher than they even are now (Michigan - #4 by CBS & #10 by ESPN).

Overall
If Smotrycz had opted to stay in Ann Arbor, it certainly would have been a welcome addition to last year and this year's Wolverines.  Whether it would have ultimately changed the result remains to be seen, but with his size and his offensive weapons, things would have boded well for the team.  Of course, he did decide to transfer to Maryland and it will be interesting to see if Michigan is slotted to play Smotrycz in the 2014-2015 season for what will now be Smotrycz's senior season.  Interestingly enough, the only player that could be left on Michigan's roster who played with Smotrycz at Michigan would be Jon Horford as everyone else will have graduated, transferred, or went to the NBA from the 2011-2012 squad.

What If Darius Morris Had Stayed?

Photo Credit: Laura Pratt

Over the last week, there has been a lot of coverage regarding the Los Angeles Lakers, their rise to the NBA playoffs, then their subsequent collapse.  One of the key factors in this collapse was the massive amount of injuries the team suffered.  However, these developments were particularly interesting for Michigan fans because they were able to witness Darius Morris (former Michigan point guard) get the starting nod in the playoffs, which was not something many predicted to see this quickly.

Whether Morris did a good job in this position is up for debate (the Lakers got swept in 4 games), but it did get me thinking about the way Morris impacted Michigan.  Many have forgotten about Morris and the earlier Beilein teams due to the massive success in the last two years for Michigan and Trey Burke.  An NCAA title game appearance and a Big Ten Championship are pretty noteworthy and will make a lot of people forget about the past, but Morris was a pretty good player in Ann Arbor.

Morris was instrumental in not only getting Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament after missing it in the previous year, but also in a sweep of in-state rival MSU and a huge 1st round win against Tennessee in the tourney.  This may not sound that significant, but a sweep of MSU was actually pretty significant.  Not only had Michigan lost 4 straight games to the Spartans, but they had also lost 6 of the last 7 games against MSU and 10 out of the last 12 games.  Their last victory over MSU came in February of 2007 andthe 2002-2003 season was the last one that Michigan had a winning record against the Spartans and that was only a one game series, not a two game series.  The last season sweep for Michigan over MSU was in 1997.  Needless to say, these were two big wins.

However, after having an exciting year for Michigan with some big wins, Morris opted to jump to the NBA and was drafted by the Lakers.  Whether this was the right decision can be debated, but what could things have looked like if he had decided to remain in Ann Arbor.  Of course, his NBA draft pedigree would have likely changed, but what would have changed for Michigan?  Trey Burke came on campus the year after Morris left, won himself Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and then followed it with National Player of the Year.  This leads to some major lineup questions if Morris and Burke both would have been on one roster.

The 2011-2012 Season
This would probably have been the most interesting year if Morris would have stayed in Ann Arbor.  Trey Burke is a fantastic player.  You can make a strong argument that he was the best point guard in Michigan basketball history.  This is going to sway a lot of people into believing he would have won the starting role here.  However, this is a revisionist thought and represents something that wasn't know before or during the 2011-2012 season.  Why?  Because he was not the best player in the nation during his freshman campaign.

Burke was good as a freshman and maybe even great, but he certainly wasn't elite.  He should have been 1st team All-Big Ten as a freshman and he was the best player on the Michigan roster, but he still made mistakes and had some rough games down the stretch.  One of the biggest factors were his turnovers and risky outside shots.  He certainly had his moments and in some of the biggest games of the year, but he still had some major flaws in his game as a freshman.

Along with this, Morris had also entrenched himself as Michigan's starting point guard.  It's one thing to show up with little depth and take over the starting role, but another thing to come in and beat out the previous year's starter, especially when they're probably the best player on the team.  Morris was a good player the season before and there isn't much of a reason to believe he wouldn't have improved the next year, at least slightly.  I think Trey Burke is great and became better than Morris, but I'm not convinced that freshman Burke could have moved junior Morris from his starting spot.

However, this still would have given Michigan really good depth off the bench.  Burke would have certainly got some solid minutes and rightfully so.  I can even imagine Beilein bringing Burke off the bench to play alongside Morris at the 2 spot.  How cool would it have been to see a Morris backcourt pass to Burke for a 3 point shot?  Beilein has shown he's willing to think outside the box to utilize guys and this roster would have been a perfect example.

You also have to think that Michigan would have been right in the Big Ten title race, especially considering that Burke would have been the guy pulled off the bench to get the offense going again.  I certainly think the team would have done better near the end of the year as well with less wear and tear due to the massive playing times of guys like Burke and Hardaway.  Morris could have made all the difference and maybe we would have gotten a big tourney run a year earlier.

The 2012-2013 Season
Now, this is the area where it gets really speculative.  One would think that Morris would have jumped pro following the 2011-2012 season if he had not jumped originally after the 2010-2011 season.  This would have put sophomore Burke into the starting role and things would have probably been pretty similar to the roster makeup of the past season.  Maybe Spike is recruited, maybe not, but Beilein would have probably brought in a point guard regardless of Morris staying since many signs would have pointed to him leaving the next year.

If for some reason Morris would have opted to stay for his senior year all bets are off on what the lineup would have looked like for this season.  Morris would have gotten better certainly, but this would be the season where Burke was the national player of the year candidate.  We don't know if he would have still been at this level, but if he was this good, would Morris still be on the court more than Burke?  Sophomore Burke was better than Morris was at anytime during his Michigan career and even if Morris had 2 more seasons to improve, I'm not sure he could gotten to that level.  Burke was much better than he was as a freshman and I think you can
make an argument about freshman Burke against junior Morris, which implies how good of a player Burke was for Michigan.

Regardless, if Morris was on last year's roster, the team would have been insanely loaded and both guys would have got some solid minutes.  I can honestly imagine a Morris, Burke, Hardaway, GR3, and Morgan/McGary lineup for the last season.  Stauskas and LeVert would have come off the bench and Spike would have certainly been redshirted.  That is a really good lineup.  It's certainly not crazy to think Michigan could have beaten Louisville with Morris on the roster.

Overall
Morris obviously didn't stay, but it's still a fun topic to debate and breakdown.  How much of a difference would Morris have made by staying?  In my opinion, the main difference would have been during Burke's freshman year when he was still improving his game.  This would have allowed players to rest and probably would have made Michigan better at the end of the year when they had a discouraging collapse against Ohio State then Ohio in the NCAA Tournament.  Either way, both players should be in the NBA next year and maybe we'll get a chance to see them compete there.

Michigan vs. Northern Michigan: Quick Reactions

So now that I've had a few hours to digest Michigan's first exhibition of the season, I think it's a good time to give some comments on what happened tonight, especially for those that weren't able to see the game.  There were a lot of expectations leading into the game and for the most part, I thought Michigan did a pretty good job living up to them.  Of course, nothing's going to be perfect during the first game of the season, but for a team losing two starters, two captains, and the team's best 6th man, they did pretty well.

I'll start with the obvious.  The starting lineup for tonight was Spike Albrecht, Matt Vogrich, Tim Hardaway, Glenn Robinson III, and Jordan Morgan.  Obviously, Spike only got the nod because Trey Burke was suspended for the first game, but it's still pretty significant for a true freshman who didn't have a lot of recruiting hype to start the first game.  I didn't expect Vogrich to start, but given that Mitch McGary doesn't seem fully ready (I'll cover this below) and Jon Horford is out with injury, it's not that surprising.  Vogrich was the best option at the time and he did pretty well.  The last three starters seemed pretty obvious and I projected them to start earlier this year.

Previewing The Roster: Jordan Morgan

One of the most consistent players over the last two seasons has been Jordan Morgan, the 6'8" center out of Detroit, Michigan.  Morgan will be a redshirt junior this season and may not have the same expectations as players like Trey Burke, who was recently named a preseason All-American, but many fans are looking for improved play from Morgan this season.  This will probably be the season with the most depth both at and around Morgan's position during his career, which means that he will have to battle for minutes, even if he ends up being Michigan's starting center, which I have already projected.

Morgan may have been on a better team last season, but that really didn't show in his numbers.  In fact, the majority of his production actually decreased.  He averaged 24.4 minutes, 7.3 points, and 5.62 rebounds per game during the 2011-2012 season.  In the season before, he average 0.4 fewer minutes, but actually averaged almost 2 more points per game and 0.3 less rebounds per game.  Arguably, a big piece of this was due to the emergence of Jon Horford, who got some significant playing time in the early season and actually started the first game of the season, but that kind of decrease is not what you like to see between a freshman and sophomore season, even if he did redshirt.  Of course, the team was better around him and there were more contributors, but if a guy averages more playing time, decreases on his points scored by a significant margin, and barely increases his rebounding, there are going to be some concerns going into the next year.

Previewing The Roster: Bigs

Photo Credit: Todd White

Earlier, I did a preview of Michigan's wings and who I thought would contribute the most for the 2012-2013 Michigan basketball season.  This time, I will be taking a look at Michigan's bigs and how the position group is looking for the season.  In the past few years, this has been a pretty weak area for Michigan.  When Zack Novak is playing the 4 spot and players like Evan Smotrycz play with such inconsistency, it will definitely not be the strength of the team.  However, this year, things are looking different.

Not only is Michigan returning every true big man on the roster except one (Smotrycz), but they are bringing in one of the most heralded recruits in the country at the position; Mitch McGary.  It's rare that a freshman recruit can come in at completely redefine a team's play in the paint, but not only have there been several recent examples (Cody Zeller, Anthony Davis) of big men coming in and changing a team's dynamic in one offseason, but Michigan is also bringing back three very experienced big men and a redshirt freshman with a ton of potential.

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Previewing The Roster: Blake McLimans

One of the fan favorites on the roster in recent years has been Blake McLimans from Hamburg, New York. He'll be a senior this year and despite making limited contributions during his career, he was an important piece for the Michigan team that won a Big Ten championship last season.  He's certainly not the most talented or the biggest contributor on the team, but bench players are a key piece of any team, especially for getting through some of the more difficult games mid-season.

One interesting thing to note about McLimans is that although he is a senior, he technically still has the option to come back for another year.  During his freshman season, he effectively redshirted, but with Michigan's incoming recruiting classes, it's pretty doubtful that he will be renewed for a 5th year.  This likely makes this year McLimans' last chance to make an impact at Michigan as a player.  Last year, McLimans actually played in 5 more games than he did the year before, but his total minutes and points decreased.  One could argue this was a step back, but part of it was the emergence of Jon Horford, which decreased his minutes, and the later injury of Horford, which meant McLimans played much of his time against the tougher Big Ten teams.  Despite these challenges, McLimans arguably improved his play and has the potential to be a solid player off the bench this year.

Updating 2013 Commit Mark Donnal

For the second consecutive year, Michigan will be bringing in a ESPN100 "big man" for their recruiting class.  In 2012, the Wolverines brought in Mitch McGary and now they will be bringing in Mark Donnal for 2013.  Donnal hasn't received the same hype or rankings as McGary, but he is a very talented player and will complement what already should be a pretty solid team in 2013-2014.  The most exciting thing about Donnal, however, is the fact that fans could potentially see him on the floor at the same time as McGary, which would be a lineup that should leave fans mouths watering.

Donnal has a multitude of talents that will make him a great pickup for the Wolverines.  He has the ability to play above the rim and shoot from distance.  In fact, his shooting ability is one of the main reasons he should fit into Beilein's offense so well.  In a post by UMHoops,it was said that, "A lot of guys can step up and shoot, but [Donnal] can set a ball screen, pop, set a side ball screen and pop, and he's getting better on the block."  This shooting ability will separate him from many other big men and should hopefully pay dividends for Michigan.  He's also been improving on his rebounding abilities, which could make him even more deadly once he arrives on campus.  If this part of his game improves, he may also move up in the 2013 rankings.  This does little to help his actual game, but it is pretty exciting for fans to witness.  Donnal has also been cited as having a great motor, the ability to shot block,and as a good low post scorer.  All things that make him into one of the best players in Michigan's 2013 class.

Recapping 2012 Commit Mitch McGary

Arguably Michigan's most heralded recruit in years, Mitch McGary will be bringing an amazing set of talents to Ann Arbor.  When he first committed to play for Michigan over Duke, the Michigan fanbase seemed to flip upside down.  The excitement level and his ratings have faded slightly, but there will still be a lot of attention when he starts playing for the Wolverines.  He joins one of the best classes in the nation and seems very likely to make an immediate impact for the Wolverines.


McGary offers Michigan something they haven't had in quite a while, an elite big man.  Standing at 6'10 and weighing 225 lbs, McGary is a pretty big athlete.  Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford really aren't that much smaller than McGary and in fact, Horford is just as tall as McGary and weighs a bit more, but McGary is more athletic than both Morgan and Horford.  Imagine Morgan's rebounding ability combined with Horford's speed.  Along with this, McGary's offensive skills don't seem to be completely developed at this point, but I think they're better than what Morgan and Horford can offer.  I really like Jordan Morgan, but let's be honest, if he isn't doing a two-handed dunk, it's probably not going in.  McGary can do much more than this and I think he can get a lot better as he develops his offensive game.  He's a physical big man that really will give Michigan an advantage next season and beyond.

Michigan Basketball Roster: Part I - Returners

There's been a lot of early speculation following the recent announcements of many of the Big Ten's best players, such as Trey Burke and Jared Sullinger.  Most have pointed to Indiana as the Big Ten's best team for next season, but much of that has just been early season hype.  Indiana will be returning a ton of talent, especially in Cody Zeller, but there certainly is no set formula for determining the good and bad teams.

With this in mind, I wanted to take a look at how Michigan stacked up in returners against the rest of the Big Ten.  Michigan has received a lot of hype as well, not as much as teams like Indiana, but most of the experts at least think they're going to be one of the elite teams in both the Big Ten and the country next season.  I agree, primarily because of the immense amount of talent that is going to be in Ann Arbor in both returners and recruits.  Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Jordan Morgan will all be back next season.  These three players constitute the majority of Michigan's scoring and assists and also the team's leading rebounder.

Returning three starters, even if they were probably the team's best players, doesn't guarantee that Michigan will be as good or better than last season, but it should be interpreted as at least a positive.  Let's compare these returns to the rest of the Big Ten.  As of now, only four teams in the Big Ten will be returning their top two scorers, leader in assists, and leader in rebounds for next season (Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois).  However, let's dig a little deeper.  I wanted to quickly compare what each of these teams were actually bringing back.  For instance, Illinois.  They return five starters, but they finished 10th in the Big Ten.  What they're bringing back probably isn't as good as what teams like Michigan or Indiana are returning (1st and 5th in the Big Ten).  

	Michigan	Indiana	Minnesota	Illinois
Big Ten Record	13-5	11-7	6-12	6-12
Big Ten Finish	1st	5th	10th	10th
Postseason Ranking	#22	#13	NR	NR
Returning Starters	3	5	5	5
Returning All-Big Ten Players	2	1	0	1

* - All-Big Ten Players are counted as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams


Obviously, this chart has a lot of information, but the important thing is to separate the measures of team success and the returning aspects.  A quick glance at Big Ten record, finish, and final rankings clearly show that Michigan and Indiana had much better seasons than Minnesota and Illinois.  To most fans, this will be no surprise, but it's important to state before looking at returning rosters.  Returning successful teams and good players is much more valuable than returning players on bad teams.  This may seem obvious, but like I said, it's important to note.

So, that leaves us with Michigan and Indiana.  I would go through Minnesota and Illinois' returning rosters, but let's be honest.  They are returning pretty weak squads.  The one note that should be made is that Minnesota had some early seasons troubles including an injury to Trevor Mbakwe, which probably skewed their results somewhat.  Regardless, I think it's safe to assume that even with Mbakwe, Michigan and Indiana probably would have finished a good chunk ahead of Minnesota.

Indiana had a better NCAA Tournament finish than Michigan, but I think one can make a strong argument that Michigan actually had the better season.  Not only winning the conference championship, but also being more consistent than Indiana over the season.  I will give the edge in success to Michigan, even though Indiana's season had some very exciting moments.

However, Indiana returns all of its starters, which is pretty impressive.  Michigan returns most of its starters, but Indiana will be returning more from this standpoint.  To most, this is the reason why Indiana will likely be ranked #1 to start next season.  This is certainly a logical argument, but I think it skips over the connection that I described above.  Not only do I believe that Michigan had a better team last season, evidenced by their conference championship and better record, but I think if you take a look at the returning players, one can make a strong case for Michigan over Indiana.

For instance, look at the two teams' returning All-Big Ten players.  Michigan actually has more than Indiana with Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr.  Indiana will have just Cody Zeller back.  Along with this, one can make a case that Burke will be the best returning Big Ten player next year.  However, just looking at these awards, you can at least strongly point to Zeller and Burke as about even.  Indiana's only other player that received love from the media and coaches' awards was Christian Watford, but I don't think many would argue that he is better than Hardaway.

Indiana may have two more returning starters, but I think Michigan's returners are better than Indiana's returners.  This is certainly something that is debatable, but I don't think you can argue that Indiana will have three returners that are better than the three Michigan is returning.  Some might ask why this matters when comparing returners.  It comes down to the basic argument; quality vs. quantity.  Indiana's returners are certainly talented, but I truly believe that Michigan's are better.  However, as noted, Indiana will have more coming back.  Maybe less talented on average than Michigan's starters, but they will have more.

There's obviously no way to prove who has the best returners, but I think using the arguments I've made above, one can certainly make a strong case that Michigan will have the best returning roster in the Big Ten. This does not mean Michigan will have the best roster for next season, but it is exciting to see that Michigan should at least be in the top of the league in returners, recruits, and overall roster for next season.  It is sure to be an exciting season for Michigan basketball.


Photo Credit: UMHoops

Projecting The Basketball Starting Lineup

Michigan will be returning a solid squad for the 2012-2013 season and is bringing is a very talented recruiting class. The major question early on was whether Trey Burke would stay or go pro, but now that he has decided to stay, the main questions are just about how quickly some of the new recruits can transition into college basketball and Michigan's system.

Bringing in 5 commitments, including 3 ESPN100 players, will go a long way towards building depth on a team that desperately needs some.  Michigan had a solid starting lineup and some decent contributors off the bench such as Evan Smotrcyz and Jon Horford, but with the loss of Zack Novak, Stu Douglass, Smotcryz's transfer, and Horford's season ending injury last season, Michigan will need to find some players that can fill these voids.  I think with some of Michigan's current players and with their incoming recruiting class, filling these voids shouldn't be as difficult as many first assumed.  The big question mark will just be whether these players can meet or exceed the production of last year's team and build off their great success.

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

Road Games And The Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Although much of the excitement and focus has been on the football team's dramatic victory over Ohio State (and rightfully so), many have forgotten that Michigan basketball will be tipping off against an exciting opponent Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Michigan's opponent in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be Virginia. Last year, Michigan faced Clemson in a rematch from its 2009 tournament trip. The game didn't receive the publicity of some other match-ups (such as Michigan State vs. Duke), but those who watched saw one of the first glimpses of a team that would sweep Michigan State, finish 19-12 in the regular season, and lose a close 2nd round game (technically the 3rd round) to Duke by two points.

In 2011-12, Michigan has already done some to prove themselves by defeating #8 (now #22) Memphis in the Maui Invitational by 12 pts, playing #6 (now #3) Duke tough for long segments of the game, and blowing out UCLA to have a Bright Finish In Maui. However, this is the first time Michigan will face a team in a true road game this season. There were many Memphis, Duke, and UCLA fans in Maui, but there were also plenty of Michigan fans (enough even to start a "Beat Ohio" chant at the end of the UCLA game).

This is important for Michigan because there are important players such as Trey Burke, Michigan's starting point guard who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, who have not experienced a true collegiate road game. He played at a high level and in big games during high school, but making a trip to Virginia to play in front of a hostile crowd will be something new. Obviously Maui was pretty far, but every team had to face the adversity of the trip and a mix of opposing and friendly fans.

Virginia (5-1) may not be #6 Duke or #8 Memphis, but they certainly appear to be capable of making the NCAA tournament. They have faced pretty weak competition up to now, facing no ranked opponents, but they have only lost one game, falling to a 4-2 TCU team at a neutral location by two points. Virginia has even received several votes in the Coaches' Poll.

I fully anticipate the #14 Michigan Wolverines will take care of business on Tuesday and win by a comfortable margin, but this should give fans an inkling about what to expect when the team has to go on the road to places like East Lansing and Columbus. Being able to compete on the road is going to be one of the main things that determines whether Michigan can compete for the Big Ten championship and a high-seed into the NCAA Tournament this year or will end up as a "middle of the pack" team.

Michigan was able to finish at 5-5 on the road last season and this is largely what allowed them to pick up near the end of the season (Michigan started at 1-3 on the road). If Michigan proves it can play on the road this Saturday, they should have a great chance during Big Ten season, and it would be one more potential win to point when it comes time to pick teams for the NCAA tournament come March.

Prediction:

Michigan 67-57

Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

A Bright Finish In Maui

Tonight will wrap up Michigan's trip to Maui with a game against UCLA starting @ 7:30pm ET (preview: here). Although many, including myself, were quite disappointed with Michigan's game last night, especially a mediocre first half where Tim Hardaway, Jr. appeared non-existent, I can't help but think this game still offers Michigan some great advantages.

Yesterday before the Duke game I talked about how simply playing in the 2nd round against Duke was a "Win, Win" situation. I voiced this belief because the added experience of playing a great team like Duke would benefit the Wolverines during the course of the season and I still believe it. Michigan may have fell to Duke by 7 points, but there were long stretches during the game where Michigan was on the attack and made Duke nervous.

Now, how nervous Duke really was can be debated, as Michigan was never able to take the lead, but when a team is able to compete with Duke in Maui (where they have been 13-0) one can't help but get excited. Michigan thoroughly dominated Memphis and even though it could be argued that Duke dominated Michigan, I think the slow start and poor play of Tim Hardaway, Jr. was what put the game away, not Duke dominance.

For instance, Michigan had several drives that would cut the deficit but Duke would be able to slow down or stop due to a great 3-point shot. I even posted on Hoke's Mad Magician's Facebook page that Duke was "killing it outside the arc." When a team is able to shoot from the 3-point line like that, not many teams are going to beat them, especially if you're talking about Duke.

Bottom line, there's no reason to be upset with the loss to Duke. They are a very good team who was playing very well last night. Michigan didn't play hard at first and it cost them at the end. Along with this, Michigan still has the game against UCLA tonight for 3rd place in the Maui tournament. If I had said last season Michigan would lose Darius Morris and still finish 3rd in Maui with teams like Memphis, Duke, and Kansas being there, you might think I'm crazy.

UCLA should be an easy win tonight and unlike what I said last night. Michigan doesn't need Burke AND Hardaway to show up tonight. Last night we needed both and only Burke came with full energy the entire night. If either or both have a big night, I think we can beat the 1-3 Bruins without too much difficulty, especially if the defense keeps playing the way it has at Maui.

Remember not to get too caught up in not winning the tournament and focus on the potential for this team. If Michigan wins tonight, they leave the tournament 2-1 and finish 3rd place against tough competition. We may have lost a game the team could have won, but it's not as if the season depends on Maui. This team will continue to prove and has already shown they can play with the "Big Boys" of the nation. I say expect a very solid Big Ten season.

Inside A Michigan Basketball Practice

On the Wednesday before Michigan's home opener (an exhibition game against Wayne State University), I was able to attend an open practice for Michigan student season ticket holders. Although most people will likely come to the same conclusions in the coming days and weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about what I witnessed during the two hours.

#1 - The Crisler renovations truly are as great as the team, university, and reporters have described. When I first walked through the doors I almost couldn't recognize the facility that had often been ridiculed as one of the Big Ten's weakest basketball facilities.

Things to note:

• Maize Rage (student section) bleachers have alternated sides. The Maize Rage will now be behind the visiting bench.
• What I'm assuming to be the press area looked very nice with the all blue seats.
• The seats look fantastic and are well organized, but it is a TIGHT fit. Try to avoid coming to games with a heavy coat, you WILL regret it.
• The stands are now almost on the court instead of having a significant gap. Hopefully this will add to the noise level, etc.

#2 - Tim Hardaway Jr. HAS taken the next step towards being a superstar. His play was very impressive during the practice. Not only is he clearly the best player on the court, his attitude embraces this role, but not in the usual fashion. Instead of simply being cocky and arrogant, Hardaway simply appears more focused this season than in his last. Hardaway had some dominant periods last year, but he will be taking over games this year, and not just against teams like Ferris State, I'm talking in legitimate Big Ten games. Anticipate a big year.

#3 - Be prepared for a shock when you see the team run out. The size of some of the players has changed dramatically since the end of last year.

Things to Note:

• Tim Hardaway - body has filled out, looks like he's gained weight
• Jordan Morgan - has definitely trimmed down, looks in great shape
• Evan Smotrycz - has put on a lot of weight, especially in his lower body
• Jon Horford - looks a little bigger

#4 - Freshmen:

Trey Burke seems to be a very talented player. He can shoot the ball well and plays fantastic defense, but his understanding of the game is still not up to speed yet. For those of you expecting a huge start for Burke, don't hold your breath. He will be fine, especially after he's played in a few games, but I would predict there's a good chance he doesn't start on Friday. Even if he does start, he will be rotated a lot. He will be a great player, but he needs experience. Also, this kid seems very small compared to the other guys. Not saying it's going to hurt him, but just an observation.

Max Bielfeldt had some great defensive moments during practice. He didnt' seem to be a player that could take over a game, or at least not yet, but his play implied that he will have a bright future here at Michigan.

#5 - Beilein and Bacari run some intense practices and really made it enjoyable for the students. The drills seem to be quite effective and looked as if the team could get some real improvement. Also, Beilein repeatedly came over to the students and explained aspects of practice and voiced his appreciation for the Maize Rage (plus the free pizza and pop wasn't bad either).

In an overall sense, the team looked pretty solid. There was great rotation (which I expect for the entire season) and there didn't seem to be a drop-off for any of the players. The team's shooting and rebounding looked great, but there were points when their play looked downright sloppy. Although this still remains a slight concern to me, I think a lot of this was due to the significant rotation (I think there were only a handful of time that I saw what I believed to be the starting lineup, play together) and some significant freshmen play.

Look for Michigan to play solid, at least defensively, but have significant improvement over the course of the season. I do not see a drop like the team had in the 2009-2010 season, but the team taking the floor in the coming weeks will not be as good as the one that lost a nail-biter to Duke last March, but after a month of play, it could be darn close.

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit