I love the way you take what I say, and then put your own spin on it.
First of all, you can’t imagine “a less relevant setting?” That’s comical. Yeah, me neither. I mean, how a guy performs against the best players from another state probably has nothing to do with his talent level, right? I’m sure those other players from Kentucky (including Quentin Goodin) were probably just letting Teske block as many shots as he wanted, right?
I never said we should “pencil him into the starting lineup.” I said he brings something to the table (shotblocking ability) that the other centers don’t, and for that reason, he’s unique.
But seriously, all you do on this board is whine and moan. “I will wait until he actually proves it at this level.” That’s a nice safe approach - you’ll never be wrong about any recruit, or any player ever, until they “prove it” first. Unless, of course, we land some five star recruits, right? Oh wait, we did that with Chatman and Irvin, they just haven’t played like five stars.
Honestly, I don’t understand why some people even root for Michigan (or any team for that matter). We had a great two year run, now we’ve had two disappointing years, and all you want to do is whine and moan about the two disappointing years. Either you expect to be in the title game and Elite Eight every year - which is absurd for a ton of reasons - or you just relish complaining. Did you actually even enjoy 2013 and 2014, or were you focusing on anything negative you could find during those years, too?
I think Teske has 4 inches on him, longer arms and defensive instincts. He has played center his whole life which Donnal hasn’t. I’m not sure how much he will play as a freshmen, but I think he can be quite good.
These are the same people that hated the Spike offers 4yrs ago complain that he is now leaving and piss all over the new comers. Talk about negative energy. We all want success for the Bball team. But some of you guys act like were back to before the Amaker days.
I think it’s all relative based on the situation. They took Albrecht in a class that had Stauskas, McGary, Robinson and LeVert. The first 3 highly touted recruits coming into a team that had clinched a share of a B1G title returning guys like Burke, Hardaway, and Morgan. Albrecht was pretty much a 4th or 5th piece in a top 10-15 recruiting class. Right now there has been just as much attrition as retention recently that’s not a good trend. If Michigan was bringing in a top 10-15 class every year and took on a guy like Albrecht every 2nd year I don’t think anybody would really care. The issue now is you have a guy like Watson replacing Levert or Irvin take your pick and now pretty much being forced into action at this moment because Chatman and Dawkins have now transferred.
Look I am not saying Teske doesn’t have some positive attributes or that he can’t develop into a quality big man, but given his size, profile and JBs track record with bugs I will need to see it on the court against real competition.
That is total BS and yet another straw man. Many people were happy to have Spike, including me because he was a good fit for the role he was brought In to play and we had a stacked roster around him.
Good post. When Michigan had their new assistants coming in the roster included Morris/Douglass/Novak/Morgan/Hardaway Jr/Smotrycz. The next year they had Burke replacing Morris. The attrition they suffered was after a B1G title and a big incoming class. This time around the attrition is coming off of a poor year.
I think it is a good trend. The guys who are leaving were not likely to be contributors going forward. Dawkins and Doyle regressed this year, Chatman never really got going in two years.
Last year, people were up in arms because we didn’t have enough room for Langford after Battle committed. Going forward, we now have room for some elite guys. The last time we had a couple starters graduating, we pulled in Nik and Glenn who stepped right into starting roles. If Cain comes, he may do the same, and a kid like Young might too.
I’m surprised so many don’t see much of a loss between Dawkins/Chatman. Losing one was fine but two really hurts depth. If we don’t get an equally valuable 5th year transfer, our wing rotation is awfully thin as is the guard rotation. We have 6 guys for 4 spots…and that’s assuming Watson will be ready and better than Dawkins/Chatman.
I only good part I see is that maybe it will force us to play big at the 4 spots with Wilson and/or Wagner.
Interesting piece. The 2014 class both at the time and obviously now was a big disappointment coming off the success from the previous years. But what this also illustrated to me is that there have been two defining classes during JB’s tenure. The first was 2012 (Mitch, Nik, Glenn, Spike, Caris) which pushed us to the highest level and the second was 2014 (MAAR, Kam, DJ, Ricky, Aubrey) which flopped and pushed us to what I see as the floor for this program. I think this can provide ammunition for both sides of the seemingly never ending debate. JB certainly deserves a fair amount of criticism for the 2014 class and the fallout since, but it also shows that we are one good class from righting the ship.
This obviously points to the 2017 class as the next critical (and perhaps last?) point of JB’s run. If we add a couple more top 100 players to go with Jordan Poole and bring in a high level 4-5 man class then we can see a program challenge for conference titles again. If we end up with another 2014 level class we are likely to remain a program perpetually on the bubble. My advice for everyone would be to stop beating the dead horses of the past and watch what happens next.
What many of us have been alluding to since 2013, and taking a ton of heat for around here, is now coming to fruition. Recruits like Doyle and Dawkins are not good enough. Kam just didn’t develop. Can’t blame JB for accepting his commitment.
I give JB all the credit in the world for taking the initiative in trying to fix his roster. At the same time, JB has no one to blame but himself for how the roster got to this point.
I’m terrified that another mediocre season could blow up 2017’s class. IMO, 2017’s class is the most important class in JB’s tenure at Michigan. Even more so than 2012 or 2013 due to the simple fact that JB has a new set of expectations for his program. These expectations weren’t around before that final 4 run. All the credit in the world goes to JB for elevating the program to the point we are having this discussion.
I agree with much of this. My major disagreement is with the thought that another mediocre year could blow up '17 recruiting. The truth is that most recruiting for 4* and 5* players will be done and LOIs signed before we play anyone of substance. A mediocre season could, and possibly would, affect '18 recruiting, but not '17.
I understand what you’re saying in some areas. A great deal of this is on JB and he’s the only one that can fix it. After 2013 and even 2014 the stocks for guys like Alexander and Jordan were quite high. They were still offered a job 2-3 years later and maybe they felt they had to take these jobs because the program was really struggling. Maybe their two new assistants will help bring new ideas that can be implemented. At the end of the day it’s up to Beilein to change though and recruit better. Since he’s the trigger man everything recruiting related it’s him that needs to make adjustments and get better recruits.
To put it in perspective the only students on campus that have seen basketball success now came in September of 2013. Fans aren’t breaking down the door to watch the current product it’s up to Beilein to change that.
I’m with u. Hopefully coach b finds some ready to contribute help or I’m less optimistic then I was. I was looking forward to All the upperclassmen and making a run. If irvin and Walton can step up and be consistent this could be a very tough squad.
It seems JB had been hinting at more departures for weeks, maybe even encouraging them. I think what people miss about him is that he’s a fierce competitor who has shown that he knows when change is necessary. It’s fair to cut him some slack for early departures he couldn’t have anticipated and injuries. It’s also fair to acknowledge that he’s not using that as an excuse and let mistakes stand.