Heard lots of talk of how Langford was getting ready to pull the trigger back in May and that Battle caught wind of that and committed early. Does anyone know how Battle found out that Langford was on the verge of committing?
Easy way to put it…kids talk. Further reflection on Tyus character and lack of maturity. That said I do still believe it was more his family than him…but definitely lends itself to how he was raised.
I was reading comments on the MLive board and there seemed to be some conversation around rumors of Langford having second thoughts about his MSU commitment.
1.) is there any truth to it or is it just total wishful thinking by fans. I tend to lean more towards wishful thinking.
2.) even though they got Swainiganed wouldn’t it be great for it to happen with Langford if were to come to us.
Probably 100% false. But I want it to be 100% true
Aside from a Bridges/Winston combo, there could be no sweeter outcome than a Langford somehow joining the class. Hadn’t heard that anywhere, but am hoping he realizes what his skill development would look like in Lansing vs AA.
Agree that the mid-range 4s is probably the best spot to settle and cobble the best team that covers weaknesses as best as possible and gains benefit from people staying 3-4y. I still think the ratio of projects:4s is too high, but i’m over 5stars, esp those that seem likely to bolt to the league after a year.
I’m a JB supporter through and through, and fully appreciate the idea that he didn’t want to oversign, but he seemed to prioritize taking a PG in 16, when he could have taken both Langford/Battle and figured that out later in the year or in 2017 if needed (I don’t know this definitively, but everyone seems to treat the Langford option as fact). That one is going to sting for a while, and the lack of adaptability is something that could keep putting us in a corner if he can’t break out of his forced slotting until ink is on paper. Short version - don’t turn down 5stars and stay position-flexible
Syracuse dot com – apparently the Central NY version of MLive? – quotes a comment from a UM Hoops poster in a short write-up about the backlash to Battle among Michigan fans.
Maybe they can get Langford in for a visit, maybe a football game. I mean, why not? He hasn’t signed anything, has he? Playing a little hardball wouldn’t hurt at this point. Meanwhile, I hope they are selling Bridges and Winston hard on a “package deal” type arrangement. It appears to have worked for Cuonzo Martin and Cal.
I’m almost worried the “package deal” sell might end up working against us. With the Flint-Sparty connections and reports saying its a 2 horse race for Bridges (UK/MSU), my biggest fear is that convincing him how great it would be to play with Winston would help push them both to East Lansing. As much as I would love Bridges, I’d almost prefer we go all-out for Winston to keep him away from Izzo and then chase Huerter or Ibi Watson on the wing. If we could somehow get a quick Winston commitment, my gut is that Bridges leans UK, and the nightmare MSU Winston, Langford, Bridges trio is avoided
This is a little off topic but Syracuse style of ball is a real snoozer. Offensively and defensively. I’m surprised kids are attracted to that. I know they win a lot, but it seems like nothing but zone D is the last thing somebody needs to get ready for the NBA. I’m surprised Tyus isn’t gonna run the fast break and play lock down man to man in a pair of Maize and Blue limited edition Jordan 11’s. Also the more I watch Ibi Watson I love his game, he’s sneaky long and athletic and hits a lot of threes. He does however have a fairly low release point and shoots out front of himself. He’s a kid who could really blossom in 2 years.
I think its obvious at this point that MSU is going to get all three. We had our chance to turn the tables on this rivalry and become the premier basketball program in the state. One kid screwed that up. Should have made Langford the priority the whole way.
I saw some youtube clips of Watson and he looks ok. He can certainly hit the outside shot, not sure he has a lot of quickness. Maybe he gets an offer but there seems to be a wide gap between Watson and Battle. Is there no middle ground between the 2 or is Huerter considered the middle ground?
Not a big fan of Watson. It definitely is a drop off from who we had been desiring. Another plan
One thing I don’t understand is why are we not recruiting Josh Jackson? Does the fact that he’s from Detroit mean absolutely nothing?
good one.
Yes. Why aren’t we recruiting the walking NCAA violation with the crazy mother?!
I'm almost worried the "package deal" sell might end up working against us. With the Flint-Sparty connections and reports saying its a 2 horse race for Bridges (UK/MSU), my biggest fear is that convincing him how great it would be to play with Winston would help push them both to East Lansing. As much as I would love Bridges, I'd almost prefer we go all-out for Winston to keep him away from Izzo and then chase Huerter or Ibi Watson on the wing. If we could somehow get a quick Winston commitment, my gut is that Bridges leans UK, and the nightmare MSU Winston, Langford, Bridges trio is avoided
Not exactly sure why Flint would be considered Spartan territory, unless its by the same logic that says that the Detroit PSL is Spartan territory, which I would dispute. But yeah, I definitely see how selling the “package deal” concept to Bridges and Winston could backfire… Still, I think we really need to go all in at this point and shoot for the stars. That said, if Winston starts looking like a Spartan lean then I think the staff should switch priority to Goodin, who has fewer real alternatives than Winston (basically just the wilted husk of the Florida Gators, last I checked). There’s no good reason to miss on both PG targets unless we really, really suck at musical chairs.
I'm almost worried the "package deal" sell might end up working against us. With the Flint-Sparty connections and reports saying its a 2 horse race for Bridges (UK/MSU), my biggest fear is that convincing him how great it would be to play with Winston would help push them both to East Lansing. As much as I would love Bridges, I'd almost prefer we go all-out for Winston to keep him away from Izzo and then chase Huerter or Ibi Watson on the wing. If we could somehow get a quick Winston commitment, my gut is that Bridges leans UK, and the nightmare MSU Winston, Langford, Bridges trio is avoided
Some may consider Bridges an out of state guy but for all intents and purposes he’s a local guy. Unfortunately in Beilein’s tenure at Michigan he doesn’t have a lot of juice in state to sell these kids. The most high profile guy he’s gotten to Michigan is Walton or Manny Harris depending on how you view his recruitment. After Walton it’s Morgan, Horford, now Davis. Izzo still has the juice to get the top guys in the state like Valentine, Appling, Davis, Lucas, Summers and many more. If MSU adds Bridges and Winston along with Langford it’s curtains for Beilein in the state.
I'm almost worried the "package deal" sell might end up working against us. With the Flint-Sparty connections and reports saying its a 2 horse race for Bridges (UK/MSU), my biggest fear is that convincing him how great it would be to play with Winston would help push them both to East Lansing. As much as I would love Bridges, I'd almost prefer we go all-out for Winston to keep him away from Izzo and then chase Huerter or Ibi Watson on the wing. If we could somehow get a quick Winston commitment, my gut is that Bridges leans UK, and the nightmare MSU Winston, Langford, Bridges trio is avoided
Some may consider Bridges an out of state guy but for all intents and purposes he’s a local guy. Unfortunately in Beilein’s tenure at Michigan he doesn’t have a lot of juice in state to sell these kids. The most high profile guy he’s gotten to Michigan is Walton or Manny Harris depending on how you view his recruitment. After Walton it’s Morgan, Horford, now Davis. Izzo still has the juice to get the top guys in the state like Valentine, Appling, Davis, Lucas, Summers and many more. If MSU adds Bridges and Winston along with Langford it’s curtains for Beilein in the state.
Most of the guys you listed for MSU were being recruited early in Beilein’s tenure. And Valentine’s dad played for MSU. Davis was not a head to had battle. Izzo offered him before he was a highly ranked recruit. Morgan turned out to be better than Nix and without the off the court issues. Costello and Valentine are the last two top 100 recruits from Michigan landed by Izzo before Davis. Instead of Costello, we ended up with Mitch McGary. Instead of Valentine, we ended up with Stauskas. The Battle/Langford situation has skewed some people’s view of recruiting.
I'm almost worried the "package deal" sell might end up working against us. With the Flint-Sparty connections and reports saying its a 2 horse race for Bridges (UK/MSU), my biggest fear is that convincing him how great it would be to play with Winston would help push them both to East Lansing. As much as I would love Bridges, I'd almost prefer we go all-out for Winston to keep him away from Izzo and then chase Huerter or Ibi Watson on the wing. If we could somehow get a quick Winston commitment, my gut is that Bridges leans UK, and the nightmare MSU Winston, Langford, Bridges trio is avoided
Some may consider Bridges an out of state guy but for all intents and purposes he’s a local guy. Unfortunately in Beilein’s tenure at Michigan he doesn’t have a lot of juice in state to sell these kids. The most high profile guy he’s gotten to Michigan is Walton or Manny Harris depending on how you view his recruitment. After Walton it’s Morgan, Horford, now Davis. Izzo still has the juice to get the top guys in the state like Valentine, Appling, Davis, Lucas, Summers and many more. If MSU adds Bridges and Winston along with Langford it’s curtains for Beilein in the state.
Most of the guys you listed for MSU were being recruited early in Beilein’s tenure. And Valentine’s dad played for MSU. Davis was not a head to had battle. Izzo offered him before he was a highly ranked recruit. Morgan turned out to be better than Nix and without the off the court issues. Costello and Valentine are the last two top 100 recruits from Michigan landed by Izzo before Davis. Instead of Costello, we ended up with Mitch McGary. Instead of Valentine, we ended up with Stauskas. The Battle/Langford situation has skewed some people’s view of recruiting.
I am not sure Battle/Langford has skewed things. I would say the Battle situation period has disappointed people. We can be honest and say recruiting hasn’t been going that well the past couple of years it’s up to the coaching staff to fix that.
Miles bridges tweeted at Jamal Crawford and asked him who best develops players in college. Looks like Crawford is just answering questions from anyone. Hopefully he tweets back and says michigan
The pessimist in me says the perfect storm hit…Meaning we had a subpar year while Sparty made another Final 4 run, and therefore all momentum of us becoming an equally attractive landing spot in the state came to an abrupt end.
The optimist, meanwhile, says “Hey, at least we’re still making top 5 lists for these kids…all it takes is one commit to get back on track.”
Finally, the realist in me says its time to start focusing hard on the 4 star guys at the beginning of Beilein’s recruiting cycle, while still performing our due-diligence with the 5 star players that show legitimate interest.