After getting over the initial shock of realizing the season was over, and after moving past the initial anger towards the referees, who gave Blake Griffin a Lebron-like treatment, I just wanted to reflect on this past season for the Michigan Wolverines.

What a great, unbelievable season!

Michigan did what all of us thought was impossible at the beginning of the year: the team got to the big dance, and advanced!  Michigan Basketball fans were treated to two excellent games in the NCAA tournament.  By doing so, I had the most fun I have had watching college basketball in my entire life.  (seeing as how I barely remember, nor could I truly appreciate, the fab five when I was 6-7 years old).  

But, Michigan proved to be a good basketball school yet again by beating teams like Duke, UCLA, Clemson, Illinois, and Purdue, and going down to the wire with top 5 schools like Oklahoma and Connecticut.  Michigan had their ups and downs, and were placed squarely on the bubble for about 3 straight months.  However, they overcame where Tommy Amaker teams failed.  They made the tournament, celebrating like they had just won the lottery when seeing their name on the screen of the selection show.  Not to be outdone, Michigan went in to a tournament game, its first in 11 years, and won on the back of Manny Harris.  The miraculous season ended in upsetting fashion, but in a game that did not lack in thrills.  Michigan had Oklahoma worried, but they just happened to have the best player in college basketball.

So congratulations to Michigan on advancing a round, something teams like Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota cannot say.  Congratulations for making the tournament with a group of players everyone doubted.  And finally congratulations to the basketball program for hiring the right coach and bringing Michigan basketball back on the map.

While this loss hurts, there is so much to look forward to next year.  Sims and Harris both announced that they would be back next year; our graduating class only includes C.J. Lee, David Merritt, and Javon Shepard, and most importantly, John Beilein is back.  Michigan will have yet another year under their belt utilizing the Beilein system.

The tournament appearance, coupled by the win over Clemson, and the promise of a new basketball facility should entice some nice talent to head up to Ann Arbor.  And even if the talent isn't quite "top-tier," expect Beilein to do what he does best: win with less talent than other coaches could dream of.

So, in the grand tradition of "Putting it in Stone," I will dip into my spiritual gift of foresight and make a prediction.  Michigan will make the Sweet Sixteen in 2010.  

Put it in Stone.

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I will be honest; I could do without conference tournaments.  They are unrealistic, overhyped, and frustrating.

As a subscriber to this sports blog, you inevitably ran into the ESPN “Championship Week!” commercials.  Also, as someone who reads my likely meaningless words, you probably see eye-to-eye with me on many issues, including how annoying these commercials were.  The hype for these conference tournaments is unbelievable.   Do you really care who wins the Horizon League?  I don’t, until I see a bracket.  And yet, we are berated by an onslaught of inconsequential basketball games – even in the major conferences.  Don’t get me wrong, I love watching college basketball, but I am just trying to get you to see conference tournaments for what they really are: money-makers for television networks.

You may not all agree with me, in fact, for some people, the conference tournament is an image of hope, as sitting atop the figurative Aggro Crag representing a grueling, 4-day tournament is an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.  An automatic bid essentially erasing 4 months of poor play, and replacing a dreadful season with, believe it or not, a conference championship!  Can you believe it folks; it only takes 4 wins to make the NCAA Tournament. 

For some people the conference tournament is a source of fear (see: Penn State, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, etc.).  Teams like Cleveland State (52 RPI, only 2 wins against the top 50, one of those coming in the conference tournament) stole a bid from an arguably more deserving team like St. Mary’s, whose only sin was having their star player get hurt, or Penn State, whose unforgivable transgression was scheduling a relaxed non-conference schedule. 

The reason that this fear exists is simply because teams KNOW they are in.  It is really not surprising that during “Championship Week” there are so many upsets.  The classic upset follows the formula of teams playing for their lives vs. teams that only care about seeding.  If anyone watched the Pitt Game, or the LSU-Miss. State game, you know they didn’t give it their all.

The lack of effort stems from a natural human reaction to a meaningless game: apathy.  If LSU won the SEC would they have gotten a higher seed than 8 seed?  Maybe, but they would not likely have gotten a much higher seed than a 7.  So, what difference does it make to LSU if they lose to Mississippi State and get a day off instead of playing for a conference tournament championship?  Exactly, nothing.

So, unlike any other tournament in major sports, conference tournaments are completely unrealistic.  College Basketball teams never play more than 2 games a week, except in this tournament.  Even in the NCAA tournament, teams get a day off between matchups.  In a conference tournament, teams have to play 3-4 days in a row to win the tournament.  Do good teams really want to wear themselves out for 3 more days before eventually receiving that inevitable #1 seed?  Pitt didn’t, Michigan State didn’t mind settling on a #2.

So, I ask you this.  Would you really miss the conference tournament?  If they moved the NCAA tournament a week earlier (thereby making it really March madness, instead of March/April madness), would you care?  Would you feel outraged if you were a Miss. State fan?  Or would do you sympathize with the Penn State fan?  I guess my point is the season is 30+ games in duration, while the conference tournament is 3-4 games long.  Clearly the longevity of the regular season is a much better representation of a team’s success.  So erase the conference tournament and make the selection committee’s job a little easier because I think most see my point and could really take or leave the conference tournament.

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Before I get into the awesomeness that happened at 6:30 on Sunday night I want to take this time to apologize for my extended absence from writing. I have been busy, but mostly I just haven’t been struck by anything in particular to write about. As Nate put so eloquently, there is a ton of stuff going on this week so I too plan on being an active participant this week.

On that note, today’s post is brought to you by procrastination. Why post today? I can ALWAYS wait till tomorrow…sorry guys.

Ed DeChellis (Head Coach at Penn State) and Tom Izzo split the coach of the year award in the Big Ten this year. Congratulations to both of them are in order for very productive and successful years. Now that my manners are out of the way, I want to tell you that it’s bull crap that both of them won this award over John Beilein.

DeChellis’s Nittany Lions went 15-16 last year and finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 7-11 conference record. Compare that to this year at 22-11 and 10-8 and you can see a significant improvement over the year. Izzo on the other hand, led his Spartans to a 27-9 record last year with a 12-6 Big Ten record. This year the Spartans went 26-6 and 15-3 respectively. Izzo maintained the excellence he so frequently demands and gets out of his players this year.

John Beilein on the other hand went 10-22 last year with a second to last place 5-13 Big Ten record. This year, not only did the records change to 22-10 overall and 9-9 Big Ten, but Beilein’s Wolverines are NCAA Tournament bound for the first time in ten years. After changing around his starters for a big portion of the non conference schedule, he finally settled on starting 4 guards and one forward for most of the Big Ten schedule and into the post season. In a conference loaded with talent (MSU I am talking about you) Michigan starts a pudgy, white freshmen shooting guard at power forward (Zach Novak.) Michigan also starts a committee of walk-ons at point guard or occasionally the defensive liability Kelvin Grady. With not a single starter taller than 6’8 and no smell of a 5 star recruit since the ‘sigh’ Ellerbee days, Beilein was able to completely flip the teams record in one year from the worst in school history to being NCAA Tournament bound.

When it all comes down to brass tacks, DeChellis did a lesser form of what Beilein did but with more experienced players and no past NCAA sanctions looming over his head. Izzo had a great season and his Spartans won the conference out right for the first time since 2001, but does he start any walk-ons? When was the last time Izzo was ever as talent deprived as Michigan is now? Oh yeah, I know, it was before Michigan got in trouble by the NCAA. Congratulations Tom for doing exactly what everyone thought you would do, win, and do so with excessive amounts of talent. So, although both Izzo and DeChellis had admirable seasons, neither of them stacks up even close to what Beilein has accomplished in his short tenure at Michigan.

As for Thursday’s game against Clemson, I pretty much agree with every bit of analysis that Nate has brought up. Although on paper Michigan is an underdog (10 seed and +5.5 points to Vegas,) they are by no means EXPECTED to lose. With Clemson not being very tall either, our 1-3-1 zone may actually be somewhat effective too.

Remember our team’s motto; shoot first, cross the timeline later. When that doesn’t work remember that DeShawn Sims is on your team. Death to Clemson. Its Great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

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It is a busy week in sports, so as a result it will be a busy week for me as well!  Today I offer the Michigan keys to victory.  Tomorrow a post about the Lions getting Cutler, Wednesday I will post my brackets, and Thursday through Sunday, I hope to live blog most of the tournament games as I hope to watch all games (with DirecTV's sweet service)

So, visit often!

Here are my reasons to be hopeful for a Michigan victory on Thursday evening:

1. Coaching.  Beilein has as history of success in the NCAA tournament, Prunell has lost every single tournament appearance in the first round.  Any sort of “chess match” between these two will clearly go to Michigan’s Beilein.
2. Clemson is not a team with tremendous size.  Everyone knows Michigan is a small team and any 4.8 rebounds per game type becomes a 8-9 rebound per game type.  That said, almost any team will have a size advantage against Michigan, but Clemson doesn’t have much of one.  Clemson is not like a Florida State or Ohio State that just could beat Michigan because of a clear size advantage.  Booker is a good player, but I think the size advantage is not enough to overcome Michigan’s defense and shooting advantage.
3. Pace of Play/Clemson’s press.  Michigan has never struggled with a press all year.  Because they are a well coached team that isn’t looking to run, Michigan’s three guard offense will not struggle with this press.  Michigan will look to get it over the timeline and set up their offense.  They proved my theory by beating strong teams.  UCLA tried to press us to no avail.  I expect Kelvin Grady to play a little bit bigger role in handing the ball, but walk-on CJ Lee has been fairly careful handling the point (only 19 turnovers all year, 2.8 assist/turnover ratio).   The pace of play will put Clemson in long defensive sets.  Michigan will confuse Clemson with their constantly changing defensive zones and looks, slowing the pace down even on Clemson’s side of the ball.  The UCONN had one of their lowest scoring games of the season against us, and expect Clemson to suffer the same fate.  The lower the total points, the more Michigan gains an advantage.
4. Free Throw shooting.  As with any NCAA tournament game, I expect it to be close and the winner will probably be the team that shoots free throws at the end of the game.  Michigan ranked first in the big ten with a 75.5% free throw shooting with one of the best free throw shooters in Manny Harris shooting almost 86%.  Clemson as a team shoots 68%.  Expect Manny to drive, get to the line, and convert.
5. Lastly, Trend.  Michigan is on a bit of an upswing in their schedule, while Clemson has been struggling more as of late.  Also, Michigan seems to really show up for big games.  They played their heart out against UCONN, Duke, UCLA and all their big games.  They needed a win against Iowa and destroyed them.  This is the biggest game of the year and I have no doubt they will play their hardest.  

Please add your own.  Talk to you tomorrow!

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Today’s post is brought to you by Valentines Day. Not because it’s a stupid Hallmark holiday and its sole existence is to drive sales of retail stores nationwide during a financial down time, but because ONLY girls like it. When I say only girls like it, I mean absolutely NO guy would ever care if it didn’t exist. In fact most would be happier. This stupid “holiday” appeals to like 25% of the nation but like everyone is roped into celebrating (or not celebrating) it with someone else. I wish there was a holiday where a girl is forced to deliver guys a six pack of beer and a pizza in like August or something. Get on that sh*t Budweiser!

So, like Nate, I too have been busy/lazy and haven’t really had the time I would like to write a post about steroids and how they relate to the Baseball Hall of Fame (its coming sometime I promise.) So I want to take this time to look at the rest of the Michigan basketball season.

Michigan has only two home games remaining, those being Purdue and Minnesota. The other games are all away, those being at Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northwestern. Michigan is currently 15-10 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten. The ONLY way Michigan has a chance to get into the field of 64 is to finish with a Big Ten record of 9-9. This really looks like a daunting task. Michigan would have to win both home games against Purdue and Minnesota (both ranked), and steal road victories most likely at Northwestern and at Iowa. Saying Michigan can actually pull that off, they also would need to add a first round win in the Big Ten tournament in my opinion. All of that mixed in with the UCLA and Duke victories should give us the nod at like a #9 seed. I promise there is not a single #1 seed team that wants to play Michigan knowing what they can do against quality opposition.

With all that being said, sadly it looks like a #1 NIT seed for Michigan yet again this year. To be honest, a #1 NIT seed is still leaps and bounds better than Michigan’s bruising 10-27 record a year ago. The growth of this team over the course of a year has been nothing short of astonishing and there is no need to think that it will stop next year. C.J. Lee is the only graduating senior and all signs point to DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris coming back for another year. Coupled with the core of the team staying together is the addition of Darius Morris. Morris is a Rivals top 100 player for next year who is already committed to Michigan. Fortunately for us, he also plays PG. Morris will be able to actually handle the ball effectively and be able to distribute the ball to players like Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims. This will increase their productivity as well as lower team turnovers. Sims can complete his post game, Harris can actually play the small forward position, and Morris can drive and dish effectively. If that all happens, players like Stu Douglass and Lavel Lucas-Perry should have way better OPEN looks at three point attempts.

College Basketball is all about good guard play and if Darius Morris can achieve these things at the tender age of 18, Michigan will be in shape for a top 5 finish in the Big Ten.

On a horrible side note…with the NFL Draft looming close by I have a prediction. Put it in Stone, Mark Sanchez will be a better NFL Quarterback than Matthew Stafford.

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John Beilein is a great coach.

Not good, great.

He is such a great coach that he turned around a horrible Michigan basketball program in 1 year. Beyond the results from half of this season, John Beilein is a great coach because (1) he knows how to coach in all game time situations, (2) he is a great teacher, and (3) he wins young basketball player's respect.

In game time situations, I have been so impressed by John Beilein's ability to control the game. He seems to know exactly when to put players in, when to switch up his defenses, and when to call the right offenses. Any student of the game of basketball loves to watch when coaches throw different looks at opposing teams through different defensive schemes. The most recent game against Illinois is a great example. Beilein mainly stuck with the man to man defense, but whenever things got tight in that second half, he would switch quickly to the 1-3-1 zone. Illinois was caught off guard after getting a steady dose of man-to-man and took bad shots. In additon, his coaching control extends to the offensive side as well. The UCLA game is a great example. Beilein knew that UCLA was afraid of the 3 point shot because Michigan had lived by it through the entire game. So as a result he spreads out all his shooters along the perimeter and calls for a backdoor cut by DeShawn Sims for an easy dunk. Michigan may lack talent, but you can never say that Beilein got out coached.

Beilein can accomplish these strategic and often complex offensive and defensive sets because he is a great teacher. He has clearly taught each and every player on that team what to expect in just about every situation and what each of their roles is. Player know their roles, they fit those roles, and they carry out their given tasks on the floor. The Michigan players have bought into the Beilein system and they are carrying it out.

As stated above, the play and success of the basketball team so far is attributable to players buying in and understanding the system, which is a direct reflection on the respect that Beilein has earned. To garner the respect and faith of all of these players is absolutely impressive. Keep in mind the varying personalities on this team. There is the superstar mentality of Manny Harris that he has over come. As a result Manny is a total team player: happy to score 25 or get 12 assists based on what the team needs him to do. Or you have the personality of entitlement that DeShawn Sims displayed early in the year. Beilein combated that by benching Sims early in the season; a bold move, and one that has paid off. Lastly, you have the group of young kids who were not highly touted. Beilein has instilled a sense of confidence in all of them by giving everyone on the team the go ahead to shoot all the time. Nobody hesitates, and everybody can shoot from all over. Players like Gibson, Novak and Douglass all seem to have ice running through their veins even though they are young or lack the talent. That is a true reflection of a good coach. Beilein is sucking these players for everything they got by putting them in the right situations and teaching them his vision.

However, the aspect of Beilein's coaching I respect the most is his ability to make a player better. Tommy Amaker was a pretty good recruiter, especially given Michigan's turmoil involving Chris Webber and the booster Ed Martin. But, Amaker was a terrible coach. Player's like Daniel Horton and Lester Abrams were exactly the same players they were as freshmen when they were seniors. They displayed no improvement whatsoever. The same cannot be said about John Beilein. Everyone on that team who played last year is better than the year before. The best example may be Kelvin Grady. He was a turnover waiting to happen last year and was down right afraid to shoot. This year he is dynamic handling the basketball and has become a legitimate downtown threat. It may just be players gaining experience, but I think the tenure of Tommy Amaker proves otherwise.

So, while Beilein may not be the best recruiter in the world, he gets wins with fantastic coaching. And that great coaching has turned around the Michigan program and made it relevant again.

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Today’s post is brought to you by Sony Playstation. Thanks for building a great controller that literally breaks while I am playing Bioshock. Real cool. Its not like it cost me 55 dollars to get another one or anything. I’m not bitter. Ass hats.

So really? Michigan basketball? Yeah! I’m serious everyone, these kids are gonna be fun to watch this year. As everyone knows last year was about as painful as this years version of anything but “ninja” football. John Beilin has his kids playing hard and playing with a purpose. Another year into the system and big wins have already succumbed to reality. Unranked Michigan upsets UCLA. I watched every play of that game completely expecting to get blown out. They didn’t, they played right along with UCLA and their number one rated recruiting class. Eventually the clocks hit 0:00 and Michigan was singing “Hail to the Victors!”

Could this have been a fluke? Most certainly, but I would like to propose to you why it isn’t. The following day after the UCLA victory Michigan went into another game against a top 5 team in Duke and played VERY competitively. Yes they lost by 15, but last year they would have lost by 40. Michigan survived a scare from Savannah State about a week ago and then went into hostile territory in Maryland last night. Michigan lead at the half only to lose in the end. Normally this would make me upset but given the current state of Michigan hoops I will literally take any minor victory. But seriously, they played hard and gave this Maryland team fits who not to long ago put a whooopin’ on MSU. I am in no means saying that Michigan is better than MSU at basketball, but you can clearly see development. Manny Harris and Sims are making huge strides and Stu Douglass can hit 3’s from all over the court. Adding LaVell Lucas Perry (LLP) to the mix at guard will eliminate a walk on (Merrit) and increase the teams offensive productivity immensely. Defensively this team has been great using the 1-3-1 zone to its advantage, and I have to say, so far I really like it. The team is quick enough defensively to not get burned and they have created a lot of turnovers. I am somewhat concerned about its longevity however. I would like to see some man to man defense so they can be more versatile defensively.

Because of my huge love for Michigan Athletics, I am always excited about basketball season. This year everyone else should be too. They have been competitive and have even won games they have no business winning (UCLA.) Support this team. Go to games. You will be happy in the end of the year when John Beilin has this team in the NCAA tourney. Yes, put it in stone, this team WILL be in the tourney this year. I know its bold and I know I am a homer, but this kind of development is not a fluke. The Big Ten is great as a conference, but John has these kids playin’ well and LLP is only going to add to the mix. With the UCLA victory and a better than .500 mark in the Big Ten this team will make the tourney (probably as like a ten seed or something.)

Watch the development of this team because next year could be special…

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West Virginia is in the Sweet 16 with a bunch of players nobody else wanted, except John Beilein

The same type of players John Beilein is recruiting right now.

West Virginia is also running a similar offense to which Michigan should be running in the very near future.

West Virginia is what Michigan could be in 3-4 years as a basketball program.

Look, Michigan isn't a place where high profile players want to come to play at. Chrysler Arena is a crappy place to play; all the players know Michigan is a football school; and Michigan hasn't been to the tournament in forever. Not Exactly a recipe for successful recruiting years. And everyone knows basketball is all about recruiting.

But Beilein seems to be the exception to the rule. He almost recruits like a mid-major coach. He gets players who are 3 star recruits and puts them together in a team situation, run his style of basketball, and they win games. And apparently they have tournament success.

Now granted Duke was a very weak 2 seed, but shit, the Sweet 16 is the Sweet 16. I would be thrilled if we just made the tournament as a 12 seed. Let alone win two games. And Xavier is a beatable team for them; WV could easily be in the Elite 8.

And really, the players he has are pretty interchangeable. Is Joe Alexander that good of a player? He is a good player, but nothing special. Michigan could easily recruit a player like him from the stockpile of 3 star players. Learn the system, get the players who fit the system, and suddenly we are a decent team: A tournament team. And that is a step right? Is Michigan ever really going to become a National Championship threat? Probably not in this decade. But, I would be happy with a run at a Big Ten title and a few tournament wins.

That is what West Virginia is currently enjoying.

Why can't we be that team in a few year? Michigan wearing glass slippers? If West Virginia is the outline of what we could become, then we just need to be patient. Beilein's system seems to work, it just needs time and players.

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