Desperate for true big man

I am a huge coach B fan but when is he going to realize that we need some serious help in the paint. Rebounding on both ends of the court and of course protecting the rim have become non existent. I see both Donnal and Doyle as power forward not centers that can command respect in the paint and Wilson as our new version of Horford. With no one on the roster with the skill set of Burke or Stauskas we are void of any drive and kick threat. I know I know some will say Caris… where did Gustavo go? He promised that Caris could carry the load and be all that Stauskas was and more.

Crickets…

I think he probably realized it before this season started. By the time he found out that Michigan would be losing Morgan, McGary, AND Horford, it was too late to grab a big that would be any better than Donnal/Doyle/Wilson. You new to following the sport?

It all comes down to the same excuse no matter what anybody says…poor JB just couldn’t have known that guys were leaving. Lame excuse…you need to anticipate every player on your roster leaving after 1-2 years. Turnover in college bball is simply common and expected in contemporary times. Deal with it and adjust accordingly.

And it’s comical that you are calling posters out for their post history despite not having any post history here yourself. Let’s not forget that you use to repeatedly tout Stefan Jankovich in the comments section. Terrible call there.

It all comes down to the same excuse no matter what anybody says.........poor JB just couldn't have known that guys were leaving. Lame excuse.......you need to anticipate every player on your roster leaving after 1-2 years. Turnover in college bball is simply common and expected in contemporary times. Deal with it and adjust accordingly.

How many teams in college basketball (over 300 teams) lost their #1, #2, and #3 centers from last season? If just ONE of McGary or Horford stays, this season looks completely different. Go cry somewhere else. This is the same crap you were spewing last year, despite Michigan going on to a 15-3 Big Ten season and a 2nd straight Elite 8. Will you eat crow for being wrong about last season? Absolutely not. Coward is as a coward does.

It’s really a shame that this post will probably get me banned, but I’m just calling a spade a spade.

Why would you get banned?

I fessed up to that long ago, obviously the team finished much better than I anticipated last year, and I was happy for that. I’ve said that repeatedly

I’m not crying, that is you crying that JB was just placed in a no win situation. I realized 6-8 months ago this was going to happen, and it came to fruition. I just want change …more talent, less projects

But the past is the past, and I think it’s safe to say this year is going to be a down year at minimum. My question to you is do you see the future getting brighter assuming we don’t add any new personnel, which seems very likely. If not, will you eat crow?

You have already asked me this question several times and I’ve gave you thorough answers before. Without a talent injection, I don’t like the trajectory of the team next year. There’s no point in explaining further because obviously you don’t absorb information well.

Do you at least see how Michigan fans would get annoyed by your schtick? You were here complaining last year when Michigan had a solid team and a very impressive season. In hindsight, you can say you were happy for that, but that doesn’t negate the fact that all of us had to sit through your incessant whining last season that was all for nothing.

So what do you want from me? Do you want me to go back and retroactively change my statements?

It doesn’t change the fact that objective fans have to withstand your unrelenting loyalty to a guy that has put together 2 good years and is currently trending downward and appears to be getting worse by the day. You wanna call a spade a spade then let’s do it. JB is only as good as the talent he gets, and his tenure at UM has displayed that. Everyone wants to plant this narrative that he does less with more…lol that’s garbage. He didn’t have elite years until he had upper tier talent… just like any other coach. Can you in any way see my point? So just as you hate the complaining, I hate the constant cheerleading and promotion when the downward trend was so obvious to anybody with their eyes open. You let wins taint your better judgment into thinking JB could just roll out any Tom Dick and Harry because he ‘develops’ players…it doesn’t work like that my friend

Wait wait, he is only as good as the talent he gets (as in recruited)? And that talent (he recruited) took him to back to back Elite 8s? But somehow it was less talent than your man Amaker recruited? Wow MattD, you seriously do some sort of mental gymnastics to push your anti-Beilein agenda.

And unrelenting loyalty? Once again, I’ve repeatedly stated my displeasure for Beilein’s poor performance this year and on the 2014-2015 classes. I give Beilein credit where it’s due and I give him criticism where it’s due. How, after at least three threads with me stating this, are you incapable of absorbing this information? The fact that you repeatedly disregard my covering this point makes me lose respect for you in the sense of having meaningful discussion. I’ve reasonably stated my displeasure for this season and next years class, but you continue to ignore those discussions. Not very good social skills, Matt.

Im flat out asking you - what do you want from me? What’s your beef?

I’ve openly acknowledged I was wrong about the team last year time after time after time.

MattD, you know why people here (not just me) have beef with you. It goes far beyond because you are “objective” or a “realist”.

Actually I don’t care about anybody else’s beef, because I honestly don’t put much into it other than those individuals being ‘fans’. Fans gonna fan. I actually put some stock into your opinion because you are willing to debate on the merits without diverting attention consistently.

I’ve repeatedly acknowledged JB had 2 elite years.

That being said, what’s your beef?

Back on track, why is it that it appears he is not going after any of the unsigned bigs in the current sr class? Georgios Papagiannis - Ivan Rabb - Diamond Stone? All 6ft10 or taller who like to play in the paint and could defend the rim.

Back on track, why is it that it appears he is not going after any of the unsigned bigs in the current sr class? Georgios Papagiannis - Ivan Rabb - Diamond Stone? All 6ft10 or taller who like to play in the paint and could defend the rim.
We did recruit Stone. Just not interested. Rabb is staying on the west coast. Not familiar with the other guy.

Guys like Stone and Rabb are usually recruited the way Chris Webber and Robert Traylor were recruited, if you catch my drift.

When it comes to big guys, we don’t have an offense that really features them. Had McGary been healthy last year, I think he would have gotten plenty of post touches, and that would have helped in recruiting a kid like Caleb Swanigan. Unfortunately, Mitch got hurt, he wasn’t able to be showcased, and Jordan Morgan (while very effective) scored most of his points on pick and rolls.

In terms of rankings, the guys we have now (Donnal, Doyle, Wilson) and the guy we have coming in (Teske) as recruits far surpass guys like Morgan and Horford, who still turned out to be solid players. The issue is that these guys are going to need 2-3 years to develop, and they are not impact players now, even though we need them to be.

We are a guard and wing oriented offense, and recruits rightly perceive that. To me, it would be far more disconcerting if we can’t land a top PG and a top wing or two in the 2016 class. We probably have our bigs - Donnal, Doyle, Teske, Wilson - for the foreseeable future. No doubt we would take a Swanigan if he was interested, but he doesn’t seem to be.

Sane look up Georgios Papagiannis, not nearly the athlete the others are but he looks the part of controlling the boards on both ends of the floor.

LA Wolverine, not saying you are wrong in regards to recruiting tactics but my greater point is we do not seem to aggressively pursue such talent in the paint. Most all seem to be long term projects.

Papagiannis left his HS in PA and headed back to Greece before the school year started. He signed with Panathinaikos (Euro power). As the article stats, there is no opt out clause. He’s not coming to UM or any US college for that matter (unless there is new news on him that I don’t know about).

http://cityofbasketballlove.com/2014/06/report-westtowns-papagiannis-signs-with-greek-pro-team/

Sane look up Georgios Papagiannis, not nearly the athlete the others are but he looks the part of controlling the boards on both ends of the floor.

LA Wolverine, not saying you are wrong in regards to recruiting tactics but my greater point is we do not seem to aggressively pursue such talent in the paint. Most all seem to be long term projects.

Not sure what people mean when they say that we are not aggressive enough in recruiting. We are not privy to what the coaches do or say in recruiting, nor to the feedback they are getting from the recruit. Often, it’s more about who has influence over the recruit than the recruit himself. Our staff shows up at games and open gyms, at AAU events, etc. They work the phones and text just like other coaches (except Sampson). We identify kids who are genuinely interested in Michigan after making our best pitch to them. If an elite recruit goes elsewhere, it’s not for lack of effort or aggressiveness.

I think the point Ace may be implying is…even if a recruit doesn’t initially have ‘genuine’ interest in UM, it is the coaching staff’s duty to make them have genuine interest. I know some here loathe it, but being a salesman is part of the job description. Now, as Sane said, some aren’t privy to what our coaching staff does, or the extent of their aggressiveness, but the recent recruiting trajectory would seem to imply we need to improve the sales department.

Matt exactly, I am in sales as well just can’t take that first no as a forever no.