I think we’re just all sensitive because of both the fanbase’s perception of Coach B’s recruiting prowess or lack thereof and the external perception of our ability to recruit. Do the slight variations really matter? No. But there is a sense that it would be nice to put a marker in the sand with this class, get the national notice of pulling a highly ranked class, and maybe give some higher ranked kids a further idea that yes, you too can come to Michigan and get your NBA on. I don’t think we’d care as much if there weren’t a similar feeling of the need/benefit of making a statement with this class.
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Basically everything that you outline there is why I think rankings (and the way people think about them) are over the top and not very realistic. Would much rather more effort be spent on trying to analyze how good players are, how they fit in different places, etc.
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In a perfect world, where there’s no element of perception = reality, I’d certainly agree. But this isn’t, at least to some extent, that world. I’m sure other factors are way more important to a recruit’s final decision than perception, but getting a real look from some of these guys, I suspect a little boost in perception may help.
For my part, I’d much rather read a really solid, lengthy analysis of a guy’s game, but I confess to being emotionally invested in this class’ overall ranking. At least a little.
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When our own fanbase builds a shitty narrative on the best coach we’ve had based solely on star gazing, I like to see our guys get their due.
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Who in this thread make any narrative about Beilein? Hell, what poster on this forum that is still active did?
I think he’s referring to the fanbase at large, which, if you participate in any of the other big Michigan message boards and have ever had to try to defend Coach B… I mean, yes.
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At various points in his tenure, sure. At various points in his tenure his performance was somewhat questionable so it makes sense. Go on MGoBlog now and the commenters generally love him. They’re certainly not very knowledgeable on basketball, but I think the “hate Beilein” stereotype hasn’t been true in awhile.
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Not going to name names, but I recall reading plenty of recruiting anti-Beilein comments here.
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Interesting, I don’t recall any of that from the current core of posters here.
Regardless, it certainly didn’t happen in this thread so it seems kinda irrelevant to bring up.
Sadly, I think it can turn on a dime. Everything is good now, but lose a few games to the middle of the Big Ten or worse, and I’d expect some prairie dogs to pop their heads up… it’s been really bad, for example, at the (now former) Scout site at a lot of points during Coach B’s tenure. And on the recruiting aspect, specifically, this is the first time I’ve seen things really calm down. In fairness, though, the Battle recruitment really tested my own faith in humanity.
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Yeah, saying it can change on a dime is an understatement. I just tend to think that this board has been reasonable on the matter for a solid year at this point.
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You guys aren’t convincing me that rankings are any more valuable than I thought they were. Let’s pivot this back to Igans Brazdeikis rather than defenses of Beilein or vice versa.
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But the initial comment hasn’t nothing to do with how valuable they are lol. It was a simple statement of “hey, this system is broken.” If anything that would imply it’s not very valuable.
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Go Iggy. Can’t wait to see you in Blue.
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It’s going to be really interesting to see how Iggy is used in his first year next season. I would think the most natural spot would be the 3 but Matthews is probably getting 35 minutes there. Him vs Livers could be quite the battle for the 4 spot. If Iggy is capable of positional versatility right off the bat (I think he will be) he could basically be our cheat code every game filling in anywhere from the 2-4 as needed.
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Can’t wait to see the puzzle pieces fall into place next year.
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If Matthews plays some to the 2, it opens up more minutes at the 3 for Iggy (or others).
Remember that offensively the 3 and 4 spots are the “same.” Iggy, Livers, Johns, and Matthews have 80 minutes to split between them. Let’s assume Matthews plays 30 minutes at the 3(5 at the 2), so that leaves 50 minutes for the young guys. I expect whoever rises out of those 3 to be very good.
Of course if Mo leaves, which isn’t certain, that opens up some small ball 5 lineups.
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Yeah it will be very interesting I think we totally will see some small ball 5 lineups if Moe leaves. I’m a little nervous that JB a will pigeon hole the young guys to one spot each even though the 3 and the 4 are interchangeable. Johns backs up Livers, Iggy backs up Matthews.
I think there’s a very good chance that Matthews, Poole, Iggy, and Livers are our 4 best players next year in some order. I hope there’s some way to get all 4 on the floor together at once, but it would most likely take Livers playing the 5 to get it done.
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