Plenty of strong quotes in this article.
A perception existed that given graduate senior Jordan Morgan's exit and McGary's possible entry to the NBA draft, Horford was aligned for major playing time in his final season in Ann Arbor.
That, according to Horford, carried little weight.
“It wasn’t a factor at all,” he said. “I’m not at liberty to speak about it now, but I already know what Mitch is going to do. Mitch has already told me. (His decision), though, wasn’t a factor in my decision.”
“(Transferring) is something that my family has been trying to persuade me to do for four years,” Horford said. “So I guess naturally it’s always been inevitable – when people are telling you something all the time.”
“They just felt that it’s a system that’s difficult for big men to have success, especially when compared to the guards,” Jon Horford said. “It’s a great offense that’s difficult to (defend) and it’s a paradise for guards, it really is. If you’re a guard and you can shoot and dribble and pass, that’s the offense for you, but there is very little emphasis on getting bigs post touches.”
I don’t have a problem with him transferring. He’s completely allowed to do it and look for a great opportunity for himself. That’s great.
But the quotes I’m hearing sound rough. Certainly they’re going to be buttered up because he has friends in the UM program and has to present himself worthy of another team to offer him a scholarship. Reading between the lines makes me think he’s whining and there are plenty of opportunities for bigs to get post touches if they can do something with the ball.
I don’t like that his quotes were this blatant about the offense and how that could leave doubt in other recruits minds.
I will say this though - I do wish we would run a little more offense through the post.
I’d like to see us attract more 6’10"+ guys that can do more damage inside on offense & defense.
The real issue is that Jon thinks he is better than the coaches do, and I respect his choice to transfer based on that. When the coaches have a post they think can produce as efficiently as the guards/wings, they try to get them touches. That’s evident when McGary is in there. Indeed, when Jon played, they tried to get him more post touches than for Morgan. On the whole, though, the coaches have felt much better about the guards and wings, other than Mitch at times, and have also felt that JMo’s defense and rebounding trumped any of Jon’s offensive advantages. I bet you’ll see Donnal get more post touches next year than JMo did this year. Peedi got plenty of touches in the post or high post when he was here. There’s probably a bit of truth to “the offense” thing, but there’s more truth to the part about Jon wanting a coach who really believes that he’s a guy to play through. And I hope for him that he finds that coach and wish him the absolute best, I’ll be rooting for his success.
I agree…while this is unquestionably a guard-oriented offense, Horford had plenty of opportunity to show more than he did, and he just didn’t come through. He was an OK backup center, nagged by injury problems, but he had poor hands, he missed lots of easy shots, and he was somewhat foul prone. I wish him well wherever he goes, but I don’t expect him to do much better anywhere else unless he takes a significant step down in the level of competition.
Great read and I appreciate Jon’s honesty and introspection regarding his decision to leave. He certainly gave a ton of effort to Michigan basketball in his time there.
The only criticism I will give him is in regards to a big’s role in Beilein’s offense. While it is true that the system is guard-centric, he is mistaken in his opinion that he should have been given more opportunities or “touches” and that bigs aren’t given opportunities. If he could make a shot outside of five feet, if he had any real post moves, or if he could consistently catch passes and finish he would have been given more playing time and touches. He had his opportunities and started games, he just was routinely outplayed by Mitch and JMo, and lost minutes as a result. It’s fine if he wants to try playing in a different system, I wish him luck, but I don’t think he will be much different of a player elsewhere.