*Official UM Hoops Thread*

[beez]

WHAT MCGARY LIKES ABOUT UM/ LOVES BACARRI ALEXANDER

The biggest Michigan basketball recruiting chase in more than 15 years is scheduled to end on Thursday.

Brewster Academy (N.H.) big man Mitch McGary, ESPN's top-ranked power forward in the class of 2012, is down to Michigan, Duke and Florida and will announce on ESPNU's Recruiting Nation show Thursday at 5.

He has been writing an occasional blog about the process on ESPN.com and posted his final pre-decision analysis this morning, breaking down the three schools.

Here is what he said about the Wolverines...

http://www.freep.com/article/20111102/SP....ll?o dyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

 

[deathroh]

Somewhere ABCD is smiling...

 

[deathroh]

Tom "Leave it to the" Beaver on Scout is calling it, McGary to UM.

 

[beez]

I'll wait.

 

[Monster]

has anyone figured out what ESPN channel he is supposed to announce on? my guide still doesn't show recruiting nation.

 

[deathroh]

ESPNU - Straight from the horse's mouth. No confirmation on the time.

 

[deathroh]

More talk of 5pm on ESPNU from Scout mods.

And more affirmative winks and nods.

 

[deathroh]

Notes from yesterday's open practice......

=============================================

1. A lot of Burke at the point. When they played 5 on 5 he ran the 1 with the first team. He can work on his shot a little but he does seem to find guys pretty well. Doesn't have near the size or presence of morris though.

2. On the whole shooting seems rusty. We didn't knock very many down today when defense was being played. The D looked pretty good but a few too many open looks didn't fall. Needs to be improved upon by Maui.

3 Big improvement from Horford. He was playing with a presence and should be a factor this year.

4. Max B is VERY raw. He has size but needs a ton of coaching to become a legitimate contributor for this team. He was consistently out of place defensively and didn't make a couple open lay ups in the paint.

5. Coach B is optimistic about the year. He really seemed to expect a good season, but he did say "we're not ready yet, but hopefully neither is anyone else." He liked the hustle and work ethic of this team and you can tell he has high expectations.

Btw Crisler looks very nice. It was just one practice but it is definitely very interesting to get an early look at the team this year.

 

[beez]

Honestly I'm not EXPECTING much out of Biefeldt during his time at UM..if he improves and produces later, I will look at it as a bonus but he has seemed like a guy to me (from articles read and things like that) that will be fighting for minutes most of his time.

 

[deathroh]

Yeah, if the program is where it should be, he'll be a minor role player. Of course three years ago he'd probably start right out of the gate.

No link or direct quote, but supposedly Burke played very well in a scrimmage they had, 6 ast 0 to, but the veterans will start in the exhibition tomorrow.

 

[beez]

Everything is coming together so well, I feel like it's too good to be true. Like something terrible has to happen soon. Hope it's just how everyone feels when they're fav program is on the brink of major relevance. I'm not used to this. Sims n Manny were about the extent of my UM basketball glory years.

 

[michiganmania]

I would still like to see some bigger guys to add a physical low presence on the team but it is all about dropping 3's in this system. Hope we can still play scrappy and snag some rebounds.

 

[hungry]

I would still like to see some bigger guys to add a physical low presence on the team but it is all about dropping 3's in this system. Hope we can still play scrappy and snag some rebounds.

Here we go again

You do know that Horford is over 250, right? That puts him and Morgan in that category. How 'big' do they need to be?

 

[michiganmania]

I would still like to see some bigger guys to add a physical low presence on the team but it is all about dropping 3's in this system. Hope we can still play scrappy and snag some rebounds.

Here we go again

You do know that Horford is over 250, right? That puts him and Morgan in that category. How 'big' do they need to be?

Horford tacked on some pounds then during the offseason? By size I am also talking height by our starters. Seems like we have a lot of shorter guys. Novak was surprisingly scrappy last year and finds ways to get in there for rebounds for a guard. Pretty impressive. Rebounding is my main concern though. I still have high hopes for this team though. They are too talented and young to not have a legit shot at a deep push within the next couple of years. We will see though. You never know what is going to happen in March. PG play will be crucial this year as everybody has already stated. Good to hear that Burke has been looking good!

 

[deathroh]

.... Further reason for optimism has shown up in the 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes. Both classes are almost totally full, with only an opening for a bigtime talent if one decides to join (Mitch McGary, please). Here are the 2012 commits...

I expected to get laughed at for even bringing his name up. Crazy

 

[beez]

Yessssssssssssssssss

 

[deathroh]

Ok, enough McGary, scrimmage tonight!

Some random comments and Q&A from Scout posters who apparently have some access to practices.

"My expected starting five tonight... Stu, Zack, Tim, Evan, and Jon" - sam webb

Q "wow so no trey?" -A "I don't think so... not yet. Soon though."

A "Morgan the early guy in the doghouse?" -A "Nope. Horford has just made some giant gains"

Q "Any word on how much Carlton is expected to contribute this year and how he's performed early on in practice?" -A "Has been surprisingly good defensively. Offensively, we haven't heard much....as expected. Not sure where Carlton fits in.....yet" A "he's perhaps their best defender on the perimeter"

 

[dannydiggler]

Stu is painful to watch handling the ball against legit competition.. I hope Trey can contribute from day one.

 

[deathroh]

I'm hoping for this breakdown at pg... burke - 25 minutes, brundidge - 10, stu - 5.

Who the hell knows if Brundidge can cut it, but hey, that's why it's a hope.

 

[beez]

Danny Diggler[/color]]Stu is painful to watch handling the ball against legit competition.. I hope Trey can contribute from day one.

My thoughts as well...all white jokes aside he reminds me a lot of Kirk Heinrich...dribble the clock out and set someone up for a bad shot or heave one himself. Much better spot up player than PG.

As for brundidge, if this team can carry it'self offensively, putting him in for large minutes may be great strategy if he could truely be a lockdown defender on some of the Big 10's elite players. Lock down may be much too strong of a word but a defensive force I guess. With his strength I could see Brundidge contributing to the offense as well if his teammates can get him some space and he moves well without the ball. I do remember them saying he has been running some point though so maybe he'll be a back up 1 and stu will play a combo 1/2 with more sg than pg. That would be ideal.