Wolverheel, we were a very mediocre team before the injuries. We are not recruiting well enough to compensate for JB’s style of basketball. I want to be proven wrong but my gut tells me the remainder of JB’s tenure at Michigan will be underwhelming.
I’ve said it time and time again, JB has re-set the expectations for Michigan basketball. He deserves all the credit in the world for that. With that being said, he’s not immune from criticism when he doesn’t live up to those expectations.
I’m not saying he’s immune from criticism, but that does not make it correct to unfairly criticize anyone. In fact, you’re doing far more than just criticizing him, you’re practically calling for his firing. You keep saying how under Beilein we’ll be a perennial Bubble team, but out of our last 4 tourney appearances we’ve been on the bubble once, in a season where Levert and Spike got injured for the year. It’s not even questionable that with Spike and Levert kicking Dakich and maybe Chatman out of the lineup that we’d likely not be on the bubble. Now we have a top 65 PG coming in to be infinitely better than Dakich plus a year of experience for literally everyone. Wagner looked like if he added 20 lbs. he could be a legit starting center in the Big Ten, and I think we’ll see that next year.
Obviously Beilein has faults. The autobench is Satan and I have no clue why Wagner didn’t play more during the year based off of his post season play. It’s fair to criticize him for those faults, but if you look at his entire body of work, who could Michigan get that would be a surefire improvement without risk?
I have no clue who Michigan could get. What I do know is Michigan has resources to go get just about anyone they want outside blue blood coaches. My first phone call would be Bennett at Virginia. My 2nd would be Marshall. My third Mack.
Nothing in JB’s 30+ year coaching career outside of a 2 year run at Michigan suggests he’s anything other than a Middle of the pack coach.
At Michigan, that’s unacceptable. Next year will tell a lot and I believe a good chunk of our fan base will change their tone towards the program under JB’s watch. I’m afraid he peaked 2 years ago and we will never get back.
Again, here we go with the chronic negativity. How in the world do you not realize how pessimistic you sound saying that you can see into the future and predict what the team will be like? Have you never heard of improvement? Most people say that this year’s iteration of our team was just missing another shot creater and a center. Who’s to say Mo Wagner and Xavier Simpson aren’t going to fill those roles? Obviously I don’t know that they will, but it’s far too early to say that they for sure won’t. You often complain about the people who defend Beilein no matter what, but you’re in the exact same boat on the other side of the spectrum.
Having a scholarship backup point-guard will be a massive boost to next year. It could well be worth a game or two.
Those who are calling for Donnal to be canned are absolutely nuts. A 10 second look at the roster makes it very clear that JB realizes his teams’ post play has to improve and that his solution – given his recruiting constraints (some university imposed and some personally imposed) – will be to have upperclassmen play post and to throw #s at the issue. Neither of which is insane.
In fact, i would go so far as to say that, for the first time I remember (without working to hard at it) in the JB era, wing talent/depth is more concerning than post play. This is true for next year and especially for the year’s beyond. Irvin drives me absolutely nuts, but the kid has courage and fight. Hard to see that in the future.
My hope for the wings, unfortunately, is another guy people are trying to run out of town. I thought Aubrey showed NBA genetics and shot last year, and that the D would improve this year. That hasn’t happened, but D is a lot about habits, and habits are hard to form when you play 6 minutes a game. Yeah, yeah practice, but truly game-time matters, and he just didn’t get it this year. It’s no surprise he pressed and/or freaked out when he did. Quick hook does that to you – even when it’s deserved.
Those who think we should be on bubble each year are wussies – that implies we are roughly the 48th best program in the USA. A lower half BCS team. No way. But those who think we should be top 3 in the league every year and never not make a Sweet 16 are equally insane. We are a 6 seed, and we’re marginally cleaner than many. And that’s just the way it is. Given that, I’d way, way, way rather be a 6 seed that shoots the 3 (JB has played the Golden State way for 15 years) and looks great when shots are falling than a Painter-led mug-you into a 56-48 win. That’s wretched.
Maybe because Wagner was getting torched in practice? That’s what Beilein (“You are what you can guard”) said. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. Neither were you.
Supposedly Wagner did not play much this year because he talked back to coaches.
I’ll quote myself in the comment you RESPONDED TO.
And also
That was last year. Next year will not be last year. Next year is in the future. We don’t know what next year will be like. All we know is what we’ve seen. From what I’ve seen, Wagner has the skill necessary to be a plus big man. Just needs muscle and technique.
That’s interesting. B did say they were trying to take the drama out of his game.
I can definitely see him doing that. Still, it’s part of his personality with all the emotion and in my opinion his passion helps on the court.
He talks back sit your ass on the bench! There is one guy in charge and that’s JB. So if the above statement is true you lose those battles(games) by sitting him but ultimately you will win the war one way or another.
Yeah. It’s not surprising (although I’m surprised it got him benched as much as it did). I think I mentioned this here early in the season, but I watched a practice pre-season and Wagner got really upset at one point during a team vs team drill when he thought Dakich messed something up. He started freaking out and yelling at Dakich and the coaches sent him off to the side to run. Dakich came up to him after he was done running and apologized/consoled him and Wagner started to try and plead his complaint to Dakich again. Dakich responded “I know man, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” kind of thing to get him to relax.
But yeah, a lot of passion. Just needs to outlet it in the correct way. He already seemed to stop complaining about calls by the last couple games.
That isn’t talking back! That’s demanding things fro your teammates. I’ll take that all day!!
Ha yeah, I’m just saying it’s not surprising if he had a blowup or two at Beilein or another coach about something similar.
That’s to me? Apropo of nothing.
I have no clue why Wagner didn’t play more during the year based off of his post season play. It’s fair to criticize him for those faults
You’re speculating when you say that it is Beilein’s “fault” that Wagner didn’t get more game time and you have no rational basis for this assertion. You don’t see them practice. Per Beilein Wagner starting getting game time after he started performing up to par in practice. If he sucked balls in practice and can’t carry out his assigned responsibilities then he doesn’t deserve game time. I’m totally ok with that. Coaches want to win now, and they don’t generally want to throw in the towel just to develop guys. The big ten is the deepest most competitive league in the country. For all you know Wagner would have cost them games. Your assertion that they would have been better off playing him from a W-L perspective is non-falsifiable and in the realm of pure speculation.
I can imagine Reegs but man give me a kid like that all day long
If true, the idea that Wagner would get in trouble for putting Dakich in his place is a pretty serious indictment of the culture and an indication of why a certain caliber of recruit would not want to come here. Depressing actually.
You’ve posted a lot of silly stuff here in your time, Windsor, but this is the pinnacle.
No rational basis for that assertion? How about the fact that Wagner was far and away our best center from the start of the Big Ten tournament onward. That seems “rational” enough for me. In fact, that’s far more rational than you saying there may be some off the court issue that went on for the entire year.
My assertion? Kindly show me where I asserted that playing Wagner more would help in the win/loss column. What a bullshit straw man argument you’re trying to pull here.
Wow, no reference to belly-aching, gum-flapping, tail wagging, or eye teeth in your post Mattman. You’re making progress… no bodily function based cliches this time!