Okay bud, enjoy your super-nuanced approach to life and love of losing while trying hard. Have a good one!
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I don’t enjoy the team losing at all. I think what you’re failing to appreciate is that the lack of quality play has a correlation, if not causal link, to effort.
Bottom line is that teams that go all out are going to be much more successful in general, regardless of talent level.
The 04 Pistons were an above average team in terms of talent but historically elite in terms of effort. The 01 Sixers were flat out poor in terms of talent but historically elite in terms of effort.
The Sacremento Kings were one of the most talented teams in the NBA for a 5-7 year stretch, but never could get over the hump because they were bitches (excuse my French).
Golden State last year - far more talented team from top to bottom in relation to Cleveland but they’re punks…and you see the results.
We need a frosted cupcake game. Oh wait, we’re playing Penn State tonight. That’ll do. Go Bue!!
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I neither recall you saying that, or recall being “confused” about it. Sorry. 
I do recall you downplaying that team’s co-Big Ten title as being rather meaningless. Do you feel differently now?
For me, I’d say my favorite team (other than 2013 - how can anyone argue about a trip to the title game?) was 2010-11, when we got off to that terrible start in conference play, won at Breslin, and then began a remarkable turnaround which culminated in crushing TN in the tourney and barely losing to #1 seed Duke. That team was playing good basketball by the end of the year.
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I don’t know, I feel like effort has a minimal impact on this team’s fortunes. On offense, with any team, you need a guy capable of creating a mismatch. You need a guy who can get a step or two on a defender, and then can either score, or draw other defenders so passing lanes and open shots become possible.
We just don’t have that guy. It’s painfully obvious whenever Irvin or Walton drives the baseline - half the time they can’t even get off a clean pass because they haven’t beaten their guy. Wagner can possibly do that, with some more touches and experience, but he’s like the only guy.
I do agree we get complacent at times on offense. Maybe it would make a slight difference. But this isn’t the 1996-97 squad in terms of weak effort. We just don’t have the talent. At least that’s what I’m seeing.
Yup, I do.
Pretty mediocre team. Any thing that resembled a decent defense has regressed.
Unfathomably soft in every facet of the game. There really is no light at the end of the tunnel with this awful (so far) freshman class either. It’s just sad.
The regression of MAAR is unreal. I am not even sure what purpose he serves to be out on the floor other than you need to play 5 on 5. Walton, Irvin? Just not great players. Who would have thought the strength of a Beilein team is the starters at the 4 and 5 spot?
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Wilson’s 28/14/6 today as a sophomore is certainly a small light at the end of the tunnel. Him and Wagner for two more years has me really excited.
As far as this team goes, it will always be incredibly difficult to win when Walton and Irvin shoot the ball poorly. More often than not, the team will win when they make shots and lose when they dont.
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I still hate how down the stretch Wilson resorted to 25 foot threes instead of using the threat of the three to get anything going at the rim. I do agree that they are a good duo though.
Well, today’s game certainly bodes in favor of your prediction. That said, Maryland and Indiana suddenly look a lot more beatable at home for us. I’ll go 10-8.
They blew the game but no need to go. doom and gloom yet. As fans it’s easy to get very high and then very low from game to game. This team wil rebound. How much? It’s hard to say but they will be fine.
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Wilson was exhausted, playing with guys that were exhausted and not moving off the ball at all.
He totally earned those shots–and that is assuming he even wanted to take those shots. No offensive movement whatsoever. Pick a guy in maize and blue to chuck a three at that point. (Why not Wilson?) Without Wilson we would have been down 10 points at the end of the game, maybe more.
I was much more disturbed by the sequences with approximately 5 minutes to go, when we had a lead, and an exhausted Irvin decided to started to play “pretend” basketball…
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No… you don’t “earn” bad shots for shooting good shots well. That doesn’t mean you can start heroballing. Use your “hot streak” to draw the defender out and get stuff inside, don’t go even further out.
I was sick to my stomach watching Tyler Cook dominate for stretches in the 2nd half…I was REALLY high on that kid. Don’t understand why we didn’t put the full court press on him and instead ended up with Davis. Those are the type of evaluation errors that are simply unacceptable in my opinion.
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Shooting is the paramount skill JB values. Hard to believe they started 4 Frosh ( zero 5 stars ) and beat us.
Probably because they knew we couldnt land him
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MattD can’t agree more. In fact, JB passed on a heck of a '16 class. Remember we didn’t offer Kyle Guy (believe he camped) because we were for sure getting Battle OR Langford?
Even if you give JB a pass for the Battle drama, he had a ton of chances to get a higher quality wing and ended up with a developmental prospect in Watson. Seth Towns is averaging 12 ppg and shooting 48% (!!!) from 3. He is a perfect fit for JB and we stopped pursuing. Huerter clearly is off to a good start at Maryland, and even Jarron Cumberland from Cinci is off to a better start than Ibi.
I can also list a good handful of PGs we recruited playing much better than X including obviously Cassius and surprisingly Bryce Aiken over at Harvard is averaging 15 ppg.
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Don’t get me started on Seth Towns, I was probably higher on him than anyone here. I remember going back and forth with Dylan about whether he could play the 3 spot (I said he could).