Reminds me of Jamal Crawford’s story. I would love to get this kid.
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Can’t read the article 'cause I’m not on The Athletic but I know the story of this remarkable kid. When you think of the Austin Hatch tragedy and his recovery along with the support he got from Coach B, and when you think of the near tragedy, yet miracle, of the plane crash a few years ago with our team and their come back from that near tragedy, this really sounds like a MICHIGAN story. We’ll see…
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Based on what Webb said this morning, it sounds like there’s some grade issues here from the time he missed after the tragedy.
Ugh. We may be scrambling to fill the roster. Pierce to UNC, Franz may stay in Germany, Hyland may not make the grades… It’s already May. Guys are committing places and the options are becoming more limited. Cumberland is looking like a must get at this point.
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I agree, have to get Cumberland at this point
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Worst case scenario is starting to play out. This is why we can’t lose guys at the rate we do, just not able to replace them.
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To be honest, sure, I would like to grab one or two more guys.
Pierce seemed the most ready to contribute. Who knows on Hyland or Wagner? Why do we assume they would be any more ready to contribute than Wilson or Bajema?
The roster has plenty of talent. Guys like Castelton, Johns, DDJ, Wilson and Bajema were all top recruits. We just need a few of those guys to be solid contributors this year.
Last year at this time, we were heading into a season where three of our five starters (Iggy, Poole, and Teske) had very little experience. It turned out fine.
Historically, when we have needed freshmen to assume important roles on the team, they have - Hardaway, Nik, Robinson, Derrick, Iggy, Livers, etc. Even a guy like Duncan Robinson - a Division III transfer - played a big role in his first year. If we add no one, I see this as a 24-25 win team that is dangerous come March. The only Big Ten roster better than our current one is MSU, and I’m confident our coaching is very good too.
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Another fwiw, but Luke yaklich has unfollowed Hyland on twitter. Pretty good sign this kid is no longer an option. Yaklich did the same thing with pierce and his family recently and we see where that one is headed.
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Yak is a savage
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Ideally, Wagner decides to cross the pond, and Cumberland to stay in the Great Lakes state. If neither of those happen, it’s looking rather gloomy.
we’re gonna be alright either way. we werent’ winning a natty next year anyway. i like the future prospects of the team and 2020 kids we are on
I just wish we could just get Iggy back.
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I think the urgency from fans stems from it being the last year of Teske/Simpson. Would be awesome to surround them with some serious weapons for a possible Final 4 push
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This team’s roster is a lot more talented and deep than the team which won a share of a Big Ten title in 2012. Things will be fine. Aside from MSU, tell me a Big Ten team which you believe has a better combination of talent/coaching heading into next year than Michigan? There probably isn’t one.
Nationally, other than the usual suspects (Duke, UK, maybe UNC), which teams do you see that are clearly in a better position than we are?
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ESPN pegging Michigan 5th in the country post-Matthews and Poole departures. Mentions Iggy leaving too
Seems optimistic?
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I assume this isn’t how everyone evaluates a season but when did Michigan basketball become “natty or bust”? Seems a bit dramatic.
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it hasn’t been, but when people were talking down hyland vs alternatives or comparing potential roster additions in context of “we need to maximize next years ceiling vs longer term”, i took issue that next years team is always worth more than than 2-4 year teams when evaluating which players you add
So the one season where we get ranked high is this one?
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But this year’s team doesn’t have Blake McLimans to come in and dominate off the bench. 
I should qualify my ‘gloomy’ statement: I was referring to the recruiting issue, the filling of at least one (and preferably both) of those two open spots on next year’s roster, not the overall prospects for the team in 2019/20. Barring a nightmare scenario of losing two starters to injury (like Walton and LeVert in 2014/15), I think we’ll be alright.
As far as the Big Ten is concerned, I think the Buckeyes are the only out-of-state team in the conversation. Iowa has significant talent, but McCaffery is no Holtmann.
Nationally, I’d say Louisville, and possibly, dare I say it, Texas Tech. Yes, they lose four of five starters, and five of their top eight. However, no one outside of Durham or Lexington, Chapel Hill or Lawrence has shown as much ability as Beard of late to seamlessly reload.
Bottom line: as long as injuries do not expose depth problems, key players (Castleton, DeJulius, Brooks, Johns) make the leap of which I believe they are capable, and Wilson is ready to contribute, I think Michigan will be alright.