"They are unlike any other team in college basketball."
They said it, but I was just thinking how to word it myself. Michigan is weird and unusual. They are so good the only time the lose is when they make mistakes--usually because of their own hotdogging--or when an opponent does something really special.
It is a long, long game, and also a fun one to watch; say what I will (below) Avila is fun to watch. The first half seemed like it took forever and now, with 8 minutes left, Michigan has 79 points and the second half is dragging too. The outcome has never been seriously in doubt, but the Billikens look good.
OMG there's Tom Izzo! Determined is an understatement, and his big bodyguards (the players) look downright scary. If I were just about any team in the country I would not want to play Michigan State in the NCAA tournament, ever.
I remember the A10--I went to GWU and used to sit in the very nice but high school-like gymnasium because students then got in free with an ID. And men's basketball was the only real, almost big-time sport. Of course back then Dayton and others were not considered part of the Atlantic coast.
So the game is over but they are still playing. You see some very close games when unexpected teams celbrate and also complete blowouts in the NCAA tournament.
In Michigan's case it is a team that is designed then built from the ground up. Sometimes I wonder why basketball or football coaches get fired only to be replaced by people who appear to be no upgrade. Maybe it helps to take a fresh look at the whole thing; same goes for Michigan football, and while it was necessary and Kyle Whittingham may do a great job in the short term, that hire looks riskier to me than Dusty May especially given the last two years of Michigan basketball.
It is garbage time; you cannot tell from the boxscore what is going on, you have to watch. I've seen the name, but who is Oscar Goodman? Wow, another block! Is Mara still playing? Goodman is/was a promising recruit, as is the additional 7-footer in the young man from Germany. I am answering my own question again: they are simply not good enough to make the lineup and no one can predict the future beyond the last game.
Vipbox shut off fast and I missed the talking heads. No loss. Time to switch to the next game. "Oooo We." Caught it anyway. That is what I expected to hear. Clark Kellogg has finally removed his Ohio State-Michigan blinders. Even Charles Barkley is gaga and (reasonably) articulate.
Florida beats Prairie View A&M (what a name) 114-55 and you have to ask, why are they so merciless? It happens in the NCAA when teams have players they cannot match. Sometimes a little coaching helps; against Purdue I think coaching won the game when Michigan could not stop the Braden Smith-Trey Kaufman-Renn two-man game, but by far the main the main is physical action you just cannot stop, like running the rock fifteen straight plays at the end of a football game. In The Tournament you have to do it; you cannot lose the fire even for a few minutes or the game could be your last.
It took me a while to even watch this year given the off-season layoffs then rehiring. Since say midseason, Aday Mara has been Michigan's best player. He does things others cannot match or that makes you say I have never seen that before. (Googles Aday Mara full court alley-oop.) Mara's arms: I don't know how he does it. They are long, they look flimsy but they are strong and I have seen him rocket passes across the court and grab or catch the ball like vice grips and his arms are rubber bands made of steel. Still he has an incredibly, almost beautifully soft touch around the basket. He uses his vision of being above everyone else and is a smart and effective passer. He runs hard. What the heck is a Billiken? In this one Robbie Avila (a great and fun to watch player also) was having trouble getting up and down the floor.
A while back I looked at NBA mock drafts: Yaxel Lendeborg was slated in the 8-10 range; Morez Johnson Jr. was around 22ish; and Mara at the end of the first round of 30 picks. For most of the season Lendeborg was not a star and he can be flamboyant; he has turned it up at the end of the season. Johnson is great around the basket but I cannot remember the last time he made an outside shot and in a few recent games he has almost disappeared. To me Mara is the first Michigan NBA pick. You can just see how gifted he is in terms of size and agility plus he works on the little things. He is not just a tall guy with potential. Whoever or however nasty rumors from L.A. started is a disgrace and in interviews he is humble and likeable.
Back to the game. In the first half St. Louis was making runs and even taking the lead. Michigan is missing all these easy shots and turning the ball over. What is wrong? The stats showed different. Michigan was shooting 60% from the floor, around 50% 3's, and turnovers and assists look good; free throws not so hot but that improved, as did the rebounding differential. Michigan won all-around.
Strange team, Michigan basketball. Nimari Burnett does not usually miss all his free throws. I like a guy who's happy. And L.J. Cason doesn't sit in the stands.
The Billiken is a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator.
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As always, my top five reasons.
1. Robbie Avila didn't match the hype. Of course I cannot judge his season or career and perhaps he was having a bad day. He was ordinary and not a difference make; one rebound and not great shooting or assists either. Maybe it was the two fouls early in the game which, incredibly, he played through. Again, not my place to judge. To me he looks like he could be in better shape.
Two, the whole Michigan team. Everyone played skilled, smart, and together with a little bounce.
Mara as mentioned above. In the few times Michigan has had trouble this season most are linked to smart opponents and Mara foul trouble.
4. Lendeborg. Community college, bedrooms without furniture, and I don't even remember past developmental problems. He has worked his way up and through and he takes a while to appreciate. I haven't heard a bad word about him at Michigan. Going into the game and reading Brian Cook's accolades (among others), I thought the way to negate Avila is to put Lendeborg on him. There were signs of this. No question he has all the skills. It like one of those ridiculous comments after the murder when he or she didn't act the way they should have. Lendeborg's exuberance can be hard to interpret. It certainly does not hurt the basketball team.
Last. It is just a comment. But first, Roddy Gayle, Cheddar, McKenney too. The whole rotation.
Yes, and per coach Josh Schertz, there are teams that spend and manage NIL better than others but the number of them is way more than five or ten. You can probably count whole Big Ten in that group--even lesser teams this year spend like crazy. You can try, and you must be ethical, but you cannot change the rules, the landscape, or the market. If you play you play to win. This too took some of us a while to realize and appreciate. I forget the numbers; a writer with Yahoo or the NY Times who qualifies as an expert opinion estimated Michigan's payroll; $10, 15, 20 million annually. That is one donation from a booster or alumnus at any college. The talent differential was not close.
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