Once again as we look forward to the fall everyone is raving about Michigan State, Maryland and gag…Indiana. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. It seems like everyone forgout about who we had to play without last year and all of the freshman that got significant experience. If we have at least one forward emerge as a solid starter and rebounder I don’t see why we can’t be in the mix for the top three. I can’t wait to see Derek, Zak, Caris and Aubrey on the court at the same time.
Because they are foolish. Rebound decent and we will win the big ten
Because even though we look like we are gonna majorly improve, we were still a sub .500 team last year who suffered two highly publicized embarrassing losses while the team was fully healthy.
Because even though we look like we are gonna majorly improve, we were still a sub .500 team last year who suffered two highly publicized embarrassing losses while the team was fully healthy.
Walton played in those games, but he surely wasn’t healthy. He was the cog that the roster could not afford to lose, or play gimpy.
They follow the trails…Michigan lost to EMU and NJIT last year…not many writers want to stick their neck out there for that one. Rather, write about MSU and their magical run last year or Maryland with their loaded team, or Indiana because it’s Indiana and they return a nice group.
Because even though we look like we are gonna majorly improve, we were still a sub .500 team last year who suffered two highly publicized embarrassing losses while the team was fully healthy.Walton played in those games, but he surely wasn’t healthy. He was the cog that the roster could not afford to lose, or play gimpy.
Yeah true. Still not really an acceptable excuse for losing those games though.
The team for the large part is an unknown at this point. Walton, Irvin, Spike, and Levert are a solid core to begin. Dawkins, Doyle, and Rak have potential. Kam, Robinson, Donnal and Wagner are unknown factors. I think they are one of the most intriguing teams out there.
A couple early season wins should move them into the top 25 (if they don’t start the season there, they could be tail end to begin possibly). If they perform early and the pieces come together you will start hearing them in the conversation.
I think it’s two parts:
-
This team wasn’t in the postseason at all for the 2014-2015 season. Granted there are a lot of pieces coming back (all of them but Max), but there will have to be some good rehab and development from players.
-
Michigan for 2015-2016 doesn’t fit the nice storyline for the media where there is a top tier recruit coming in that had a lot of scouting from the scouting sites.
I’m pretty optimistic about the team, but I understand 100% why it’s not getting a lot of hype right now.
I think those losses were because our forwards were still utterly piss poor at that point in the year, even though they only slightly upgraded. At least Ricky played more physical later in the year. And yes, Derek was a shade of his normal self. Certainly there are still some reasons to doubt us over those loses. On the other hand, we pushed some good teams to the limit with half a team. Either way, I think Maryland is overrated. Diamond Stone is a chubby cupcake with no elevation and I’m just not that impressed with Trimble. Smot is gone for them also. MSU certainly will be very tough especially with Eron Harris sliding in for trice.
In a nutshell, the team has too many ‘ifs’ in order to be completely sold on…need to let the season progress and guage if the ‘ifs’ work out or not. If so, we can be a good team, if not, most likely average/above average.
I think those losses were because our forwards were still utterly piss poor at that point in the year, even though they only slightly upgraded. At least Ricky played more physical later in the year. And yes, Derek was a shade of his normal self. Certainly there are still some reasons to doubt us over those loses. On the other hand, we pushed some good teams to the limit with half a team. Either way, I think Maryland is overrated. Diamond Stone is a chubby cupcake with no elevation and I'm just not that impressed with Trimble. Smot is gone for them also. MSU certainly will be very tough especially with Eron Harris sliding in for trice.Smot graduating is a positive for them. He was brutal last year.
I agree that people are underestimating Michigan, some is laziness, easiest stories, and the last thing that happened is always the next thing that will happen. But Michigan did have quite and down year, for obvious reasons, and those other teams are pretty well situated: MD brings back everyone but Wells (and Smotrycz!) from a 4-seed, had some freshmen themselves who could take the next step, and add Sulaimon and Diamond Stone. IU brings back everybody, had a some very good freshmen too, and add Thomas Bryant at C to a team with little inside presence. How much he can step in right away could determine a lot for them. I’m a little skeptical of MSU – I think they’ll really miss Trice and Dawson, and Valentine will have to have a really good year for them, but they should have enough to be at least near the top of the B1G. I fully expect Michigan to be competing near the top of the B1G, but the national perception is pretty predictable and even understandable.
My guess would be the frontcourt. Heck, even Michigan fans will no doubt downplay the chance of winning versus teams with a lot of size up front, just like we do every year. If Purdue gets Swanigan, add them to your list of teams people will rank ahead of Michigan. Just keep the faith, I guess. Thankfully, preseason rankings and hype don’t matter. I do want to beat Indiana this year and since Michigan only plays them in Ann Arbor, it should be very doable.
Frontcourt has to be the reason. But I’m ok with it. Let’s play our way in and not start out with too much of a target on our backs.
Truth is that preseason top 25 rankings in college basketball are stupid and meaningless, whereas they have true meaning in college football because it inherently determines mobility to the college football playoff.
Truth is that preseason top 25 rankings in college basketball are stupid and meaningless, whereas they have true meaning in college football because it inherently determines mobility to the college football playoff.
If we were to look at past top 15’s in college basketball I bet we would find a good portion of them finding their way deep into the NCAA Tournament. Just for example in 2014 CBS top 16 9 of them made the sweet sixteen. I would say that’s a pretty good hit rate. I am busy so I can’t look at prior years but I think you get my point. Michigan was preseason top 15 in 2012 and 2013 when they had big runs in the tournament. Is it possible that preseason top 15-16 is a better indicator of success in basketball?
KenPom has written about this… But generally the preseason top 25 is a better indicator of tournament success than the top 25 at the end of the regular season.
http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/weblog/entry/a_look_back_on_preseason_ratings
Now that’s not to say there aren’t some exceptions to the rule obviously, but it is an interesting point.
I’ve generally seen Michigan in the 18-25 range and I think that is probably fair as a preseason baseline. Do people disagree?
Major question marks at the 4 and 5 spots… Can we defend those positions??? Can we get any real offensive production on a consistent basis from those positions - more so the 5 spot??? Will we be able to rebound??? The rest of the team is pretty darn solid IMO but those are major factors that will ultimately determine the teams success.
Major question marks at the 4 and 5 spots.... Can we defend those positions????? Can we get any real offensive production on a consistent basis from those positions - more so the 5 spot????? Will we be able to rebound????? The rest of the team is pretty darn solid IMO but those are major factors that will ultimately determine the teams success.
The good news is that Michigan adds 6-9, 6-9 and 6-8 to the active roster from last season. Should at least help at the four.
Because even though we look like we are gonna majorly improve, we were still a sub .500 team last year who suffered two highly publicized embarrassing losses while the team was fully healthy.
True but the losses were very early in the season. The team improved steadily over the season and played very close against some of the best teams in the conference.