tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67553120340181535842024-03-13T08:27:57.577-04:00Holdin' The RopeFouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.comBlogger559125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-4864551167829637142018-03-23T02:04:00.002-04:002018-03-23T02:05:02.091-04:00Michigan 99, Texas A&M 72: Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening When Michigan raced out to a 9-4 lead, things seemed different — but it was still early.<br />
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When that lead ballooned to 27-10, the corners of mouths lifted slowly, buoyed by cautious optimism.<br />
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When the Wolverines led 52-28 at the half — oh yeah, that's a paddlin'.<br />
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There are almost too many great moments to call out from this game — above all else, the sheer ferocity with which it happened was remarkable.<br />
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For a team that is supposedly not a vintage sharpshooting, defense-somewhat-optional Beilein outfit, this one has now on several occasions brandished a palette of ominous hues to paint grandiose pictures of woe and despair. These images were splashed onto canvases left behind at Maryland and Penn State, in New York City, and, now, in Los Angeles, as tokens of great feats, like a contemporary basketball Bayeux tapestry.<br />
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One shot falls, then another, then the other team loses its mind in an apocalyptic din, Michigan defenders swatting and swarming and racing. Another shot falls, then another, and in the cruelest zero-sum game, air is duly siphoned from opponents' lungs and deposited into Michigan's own — a physiological transfer of metaphysical wealth.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ESPN shot chart says it all. Michigan picked apart the zone, rained in threes and TAMU failed to respond from beyond the arc.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The opponent is quickly left gasping for air. West Virginia has its press; Michigan has its ability to execute (and now, get in your shirt on defense, whether in transition or the half court). Seven different Wolverines hit a three in the first half; it's not just one guy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">From the outset, Michigan had no intention on purveying any such air. When you've got a monopoly, it's a brutal supply-demand market for a buyer. The rest of the way, Texas A&M had to give everything it had, living every moment on a knife's edge — comebacks are tiring and costly. That's why they're so remarkable when they happen; so many can chip away and get close, even pulling ahead for a time (for example, Kentucky led Kansas State by one point after trailing for a long time). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Comebacks are costly, which is in part why so many can look so promising before ultimately dissipating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Aggies, however, never had a chance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Their version of a comeback journey saw them cut the deficit to 18 points, but that was with just over six minutes remaining. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman hit a triple on the ensuing possession, and Charles Matthews, the best iteration of Charles Matthews (8-for-11, 18 points, 5 rebounds), added a jumper to push the lead back up to 23. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Did Jordan Poole's buzzer-beating shot against Houston create a break in space and time, granting the Wolverines supernatural powers of precision, speed and strength in the process? Probably not, but there has to be some explanation for how the Wolverines were able to look like a bottom-of-the-barrel offense for two games only to then put up 1.41 points per possession tonight at the Staples Center. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On defense, Zavier Simpson tallied six steals, two more than the entire Aggies team. Calling Simpson a defensive pest doesn't do him justice; he is a walking harbinger of doom. A&M freshman guard TJ Starks, who will probably be a pretty good player when all is said and done (and was thrust into a much bigger role than he was probably ready for this year) struggled to the tune of 2-for-11 shooting and as many turnovers as points (5). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's hard to play when you can't breathe, when mistakes mount up faster than successes and a mulligan is only an option on the golf course when the season is over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">---</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Had Michigan lost against Houston, there's no doubt it would have been a disappointment. Michigan had surged to a conference tournament title and a No. 3 seed — by definition, anything less than a Sweet 16 would have been disappointment. Such is the way of expectations, which rise and fall with performance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Even so, it would have been a disappointment that could have been overcome. Michigan had a great season and with the next class of recruits, the future is exceedingly bright. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But Poole's miracle shot stopped all of that talk, as he buried one at the buzzer before juking Michigan teammates like Denard Robinson on his fumbled-snap touchdown against Western Michigan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It's on to the Elite 8, where the Wolverines will face yet another team fresh off of an upset in Florida State. Michigan will be expected to win, and justifiably so. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If this tournament has proven anything, though, it's that expectations can be shattered in the span of a 40-minute game. But if this Michigan shows up again Saturday night, it's hard to see this team not making it to San Antonio. </span></div>
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Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-49549654553555621782018-03-05T04:12:00.000-05:002018-03-05T04:12:01.590-05:00Enter the horizonWe watch sports for a lot of reasons.<br />
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Some people do it because it's passed down like a family heirloom. Others watch it to see tremendous feats of athleticism well beyond the realm of the average person — a LeBron James chase-down block, for example, a one-handed catch by Odell Beckham Jr., an effortless Lionel Messi jaunt through a pack of hapless defenders stuck in quicksand. Some people watch to pass the time or fill it, like any other hobby, with Super Tuesday representing the arrival of a new set of pages to fill one's scrapbook with minutiae of all sorts.<br />
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When it comes to Michigan basketball these days, I watch for one big reason: what comes at the end is usually unrecognizably different than it was at the beginning.<br />
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I write this as I look back 11 years, to my freshman year in Ann Arbor, as the Lloyd Carr era came to an end at Michigan Stadium and the John Beilein era began next door at what was then called Crisler Arena. Excited to watch college sports of any kind, I made use of my student season tickets that 2007-08 season, watching a Michigan team short on talent limp to a 10-22 record — including a season-ending 51-34 loss against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals — before punching a ticket to the Big Dance the very next year.<br />
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Sports programs don't always work that way. In that sense, Michigan basketball fans have been very lucky for the past decade.<br />
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Michigan started this season with promise, but an ugly loss against LSU in November took a bit of wind out of its sails. In that game, Zavier Simpson played just 10 minutes, tallying two assists, two turnovers, four fouls and goose eggs across the rest of his stat line.<br />
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You could say things have changed just a little bit since then.<br />
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While Moritz Wagner won most outstanding player honors yesterday, Simpson has often been one of Michigan's most important players. After being stuck to the bench early in the season, Simpson's play jolted ahead via the patented Beilein Leap. The 6-foot guard tallied double-digit point totals in Michigan's last five games and, more importantly, left a trail of destruction in his wake on the defensive end, stymying some of the Big Ten's best guards during Michigan's four-day run to its second straight conference tournament title.<br />
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Iowa's Jordan Bohannon? He went 3-for-14 for 11 points and three turnovers.<br />
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How about Nebraska's Glynn Watson Jr.? 4-for-12, 10 points.<br />
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Even the highly touted Cassius Winston couldn't escape Simpson's defensive grasp. Winston went 3-for-10 and 10 points.<br />
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Purdue's Carsen Edwards, too, went just 4-for-16 en route to 12 points.<br />
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That's a total of 14-for-49 shooting, good for 29 percent.<br />
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Some players talk tough. Some players act tough. Some players just do it.<br />
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Filling Derrick Walton's shoes would prove to be a tall task for anyone — to Simpson's credit, I don't think he's tried to do that (and nor should he have).<br />
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Despite a three-point stroke akin to a Medieval mortar shot and a free-throw percentage that has boggled the mind — it should be noted he did go a combined 10-for-12 in the Michigan State and Nebraska games — the sophomore Simpson has become a true engine of prosperity for Michigan.<br />
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As confounding as his shot can be, his ability to finish at the rim despite typically being the smallest player on the floor is equally confounding. On top of that, his confidence has grown in the pick-and-roll game; on several occasions, I let out exclamations of wonder as Simpson delivered perfect feeds down low for easy buckets.<br />
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At one point, rumblings that he might have been a rare Beilein recruiting miss were hard to ignore, that he was a MAC-level point guard who happened to get a Big Ten scholarship.<br />
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Like many things with Beilein's Michigan, it's foolish to be too hasty in assessment. One month, a player can't do much of anything. The next month, he's worked his way back to the floor.<br />
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And, a couple of months later, he's leading Michigan to another banner, visibly frustrating players like Carsen Edwards and strutting like someone who knew it would be this way all along if only you would have just had some <i>patience. </i><br />
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big mood, part two <a href="https://t.co/Z0Xv4uCIra">pic.twitter.com/Z0Xv4uCIra</a></div>
— Ace Anbender (@AceAnbender) <a href="https://twitter.com/AceAnbender/status/970547061430026241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The aforementioned leap can even be seen within individual games, too.<br />
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Look at Wagner's performance by half in the Michigan State and Purdue games; whatever was said at halftime worked, because each second half saw a different player take the floor.<br />
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Then you have the interesting cases of Charles Matthews and Duncan Robinson. Matthews led Michigan with 28 points in that aforementioned LSU game, and seemed poised to be Michigan's second-most effective offensive option. However, as he got scouted, things got tougher for the Kentucky transfer from Chicago. Nonetheless, while Matthews hasn't been the offensive player he was in November, he has settled into his role on the team, providing athleticism and defensive tenacity.<br />
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Speaking of defense, Robinson is not a player who has been associated with that side of the floor save for negative connotations ... that is, until this season's conference slate, when an unseen switch flipped and Robinson became not only a reliable post defender, but an outright good one.<br />
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As others have noted, Michigan's meteoric rise up the team defensive ratings isn't just smoke and mirrors: it's the result of a team of individuals each maximizing their strengths, deployed to advantageous roles. Like Simpson, there was a point when Robinson seemed to be unplayable, with a combination of poor defense and a three-point shot that was uncharacteristically off the mark.<br />
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But, like seemingly all things Michigan basketball these days, recalibration after recalibration yielded upward movement, a steady ascent toward the heavens that, in superficially technical terms is called development, but in even simpler terms is called improvement.<br />
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You would probably be lying if you said you saw Michigan's shiny defensive ranking coming this season (let alone any other season under John Beilein). But even after decades in the coaching world, Beilein knew a new emphasis was needed, and so each of the last two offseasons he found talented assistants to improve this thing that had otherwise already been functioning pretty well.<br />
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The exhilarating thing about Michigan basketball is that this team is unlike any other Beilein has had at Michigan (and maybe even his whole coaching career). That's not to say that previous teams weren't "tough" — in either the true sense of the word or the meathead's sense — but this team ramped it up a notch or two. Things don't come easy for opponents like they used to against Michigan, even in the net-scorching Burke and Stauskas years.<br />
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Even Jon Teske, a relatively anonymous big man seemingly unfit for minutes in the Beilein universe, has become Michigan's own version of the types of rim protectors we've watched terrorize college basketball over the years. That's not to say that Teske is equivalent to those guys just yet, but you can't have watched this season unfold and not be excited for what's to come.<br />
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On top of all that, a red-faced Teske "popped off" — as teammate Wagner called it postgame — for 14 points against Purdue on Sunday (after scoring a combined 13 points in six February games), including a monstrous dunk that Purdue center Isaac Haas could do nothing to stop.<br />
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When it all comes together, it's a thing to behold.<br />
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This isn't the Burke-led title game team, or the Stauskas-led Elite 8 team. It's different, and quirkier, and perhaps, in its own way, even more fun. Sure, these words might hit a different note had Michigan lost Sunday, but I think the general melody would still ring through.<br />
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This team has a chance to go far in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, in a single-elimination format, all it takes is one off night for the ride to come to an end.<br />
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So, if there's anything positive to be said about the conference's scheduling this season it's that, with a new banner in hand, Michigan fans have another week or so to take it all in and appreciate what this team accomplished.<br />
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This iteration of the team will exist only once. Next year, there will be new faces, and the train will once again chug along from its starting point toward an unfurling, bright, blue-skied horizon.<br />
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The view is beautiful.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-20052480445539462872018-01-03T09:54:00.001-05:002018-01-03T09:54:31.965-05:00It'll end or it won'tThe season came to an end Monday, not with a bang or a self-propelling jolt but a sad, timid whimper.<br />
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I watched the game from the U.K., and the figurative distance between myself and the game eventually matched my literal distance from it — that is, a feeling of increasing detachment built with each second-half mistake.<br />
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As the mistakes snowballed — no need to recount them here, nor is it really necessary to talk about the game itself much at all — it became obvious that something had broken. Whether it was the cosmic good will brought to South Carolina via #FryinNanni or something else, Michigan's will withered like an unwatered plant.<br />
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At first, I was irritated. The Wolverines blew a big lead and a game they were about five yards away from sealing for good before a Michigan fumble gave the Gamecocks, who trailed 19-3 at that point, new life.<br />
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The game ended, and I wasn't mad, really, but annoyed. First, at the result itself. Then, at the fact that I, like many other Michigan fans, considered the bowl game a slam dunk — South Carolina wasn't very good, after all. Unfortunately, they still aren't very good; Michigan was just bad, too.<br />
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While my expectations for this season weren't very high — I figured 8-4 or 9-3, and that was assuming Wilton Speight played the whole year — but concluding on such a note is undeniably disappointing.<br />
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With that said, life is about nuance, even if nuance is being increasingly whittled out of existence. The sky isn't falling, but 2018 doesn't necessarily offer the prospect of a significantly improved Michigan team, either.<br />
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Many, many words could be devoted to a Big Picture assessment of where the Michigan football program is at, but I don't think too many are required to get at the heart of the thing. There are two camps — those expecting Alabama/OSU results right away and all the time versus those who don't. There is no doubt that you could argue Michigan should want better results given Harbaugh's salary (and Michigan's resources, in general), but it's funny how quickly we forget where Michigan was not too long ago.<br />
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As a student from 2007-2011, I had a four-year ticket to the beginning of Michigan's descent, when it broke through the floor of mediocrity on its way to a state of being simply bad. I was there for Appalachian State, for Toledo, for every frustrating loss against supposedly lower-level conference foes (not to mention against the upper echelon of the conference).<br />
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Things were bad. Jim Harbaugh took a 5-7 team and won 10 games with it the following year, and quite nearly took Michigan to the playoffs in Year 2. Sure, an 8-4 regular-season mark in Year 3 is frustrating, but look at Dabo Swinney's track record (etc. etc.). Things could be much worse than two 10-win seasons and an 8-win year during which just about everything went wrong.<br />
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If you weren't expecting a step back this year, that's on you.<br />
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It's also on you if you think the bowl game matters in any way (it doesn't, honestly). A 2017 Michigan season that concludes with a bowl win over a not-very-good South Carolina isn't much different than the one that actually happened.<br />
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Criticism, however, is justified.<br />
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While Michigan's offense was hampered by injuries, offensive line shuffling and inexperience, it would have been nice to see more improvement throughout the year. The power-running game had its stretches, but, overall, Michigan's offensive attack was once again lacking oomph. The coaches should be given credit for a fairly brilliant game plan against Ohio State, especially in light of Michigan's severe limitations, but that sort of schematic advantage was decidedly not with Michigan for most of the year, it seemed.<br />
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One would think a wide receiver coach would be a targeted addition. As for the offensive braintrust? Well, it's hard to look at 2017 and not think that some sort of change is needed there. Then again, who knows — maybe an offensive line that couldn't be dubbed "patchwork," a quarterback that can make plays (Patterson?) and more seasoned receivers could make the same guys look smart next season.<br />
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As always, every decision has its pros and cons. Just in case you didn't read this sentiment 1,000 times already, but the 2018 offseason will be the most important one for the program in quite some time. Michigan now enters an uncertain void; who knows what will emerge when the Wolverines hit the field in South Bend.<br />
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---<br />
This year has been a busy one for me. From getting married to work to a host of other things, I've had less time for this here blog. I didn't even get to write a recap for every game, which I've enjoyed doing for a while now, whether these things are read or not.<br />
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As I've said before, I know the traffic numbers here aren't blowing anyone away, nor is anyone coming here first for Michigan analysis. As such, the venture had better at least be enjoyable to me, or there would be no point.<br />
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The exercise of writing is still a joy to me, like watching a Denard Robinson keeper unfold or Don Brown's defense in pursuit, blitzers flashing across the screen like mischievous electrons.<br />
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The overall experience of fandom, however, is growing more and more tiresome. The sheer amount of bile from fans, the lack of nuance, the negativity — all with respect to a game played by college kids — is wearying.<br />
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I don't care about jokes from rival fanbases — I mean, who cares? That is easily ignored. It's more difficult, however, when it is Michigan fans themselves making the fan experience less pleasant. Sure, the losing doesn't help; at a certain point, though, you've got to just grow up.<br />
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Of course, the internet has an overwhelmingly negative role to play in all of this. I have no idea how large-scale fan negativity manifested itself in pre-internet days, and if it was as intense but simply unrevealed. I don't know.<br />
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What I do know, though, is a lot of people need to seriously think about what this game means to them, and why it means that, and how those answers inform their reactions to the results on the field. It's a futile hope, I think, but that's what needs to happen.<br />
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In 2018, everyone has to be better. Jim Harbaugh, the players ... and you. We all have to be better.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-48468415594917013292017-11-21T02:30:00.001-05:002017-11-21T02:30:18.069-05:00Michigan 75, LSU 77: Going for twoWelcome to this odd part of the year, when the intensity of a waning college football season, haggard from the sleepless intensity of unrelenting expectation, overlaps with the low-burning flame of early-season college basketball — a brooding bonfire next to a candle smelling sweetly of Maui.<br />
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At the very least, college basketball is a welcomed reprieve from what has been a fairly unexciting football season. On the gridiron, each win has been a stultifying drudge. The losses? Well, you know. Don't gaze too long into the maw of the Michigan internet, where you're likely to hear the crescendoing drumbeat of southeast Michigan's passionate cohort of sports talk radio callers.<br />
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Look away, instead, in the direction of this nice, low-stakes, Thanksgiving week basketball.<br />
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So, naturally, as you settled in for some stress-free sports and aesthetically pleasing B-roll of Hawaiian scenery, Michigan went on to blow a 9-point lead with just over 5 minutes to play en route to a 77-75 loss against LSU.<br />
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I hadn't had the chance to catch the Wolverines this season before tonight, but from everything that has happened to date, this is clearly a team that will spend much of this season incubating. A lot of new faces, plus a year in which Moritz Wagner is <i>the</i> guy instead of a guy, and growing pains are expected.<br />
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At this point in the year, you're mostly looking for competitiveness and incremental improvements, sometimes so minute they might be represented by individual moments or plays. Add those up, especially for the young guys, and you eventually accrue enough to reach a eureka moment or two later — the light switch, on.<br />
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Michigan got off to a rough start. Wagner (24 points) and Charles Matthews (28 points) carried the Wolverines, contributing 9 points apiece in the first half. However, Michigan got only got 4 points from the other three starters in the opening 20 minutes (Duncan Robinson and Zavier Simpson went a combined 0-for-1 in the first half).<br />
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Despite shooting just 3-for-11 from beyond the arc as a team (and an eFG% of 46.6 percent) and allowing LSU to rebound 50 percent of its first-half misses, the Wolverines found themselves down just 31-29 at the break.<br />
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Wagner found some success in the two-man game with Matthews, popping for some nice mid-range jumpers. Matthews himself flashed his athleticism, including a nice spin in the post for two and other strong takes to the basket. It's still not clear what Matthews will ultimately be, but it's obvious the talent and athleticism is there; it was on display in grand fashion tonight.<br />
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Is Matthews a legitimate No. 2 option on a good team throughout an entire season? I don't know, but it's apparent he will have to be until some other players get a little more Beilein coaching. (And with a team-high 28 points, he was No. 1 tonight.)<br />
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It's a long season, but the offense is a work in progress. Now, it's basically a combination of Wagner making NBA-level moves and Matthews leveraging his athleticism and hard work into offense.<br />
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Otherwise, Michigan got very little (or nothing at all) from most everyone else (save Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and his 12 points on 13 shots).<br />
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Robinson's scoreless stretch ended with 9 minutes to play, swishing a triple in transition for a 55-53 lead, its first of the game.<br />
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Not long after, freshman Eli Brooks dropped a nifty bounce pass back to a trailing Wagner in transition, who buried a three to extend the lead to 58-53. While Brooks didn't show up much in the points category (4 points), his confidence was obvious. Some freshmen dribble the ball like they're carrying a hot plate they desperately want to put down — Brooks doesn't appear to be one of those freshmen. The turnover late? Freshman stuff, unfortunately, but better now than later.<br />
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Now, the usual "this is November college basketball" caveats apply, but after 40 minutes of basketball tonight, it seems like Michigan this season will rely on...the mid-range game?<br />
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Mid-range?<br />
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Mid-range.<br />
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Beilein's Michigan program has been reinvented a couple of times in the last decade, and it appears as if this team will adapt to add another iteration to that history. While Michigan gave up 77 points on 1.24 points per possession, the defense had stretches of solid play.<br />
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After Michigan battled back from a 7-point deficit, the Wolverines coughed up a hairball late, as freshman guard Tremont Waters went off for LSU and Matthews couldn't bury both of his free throws for the tie with 9 seconds to play.<br />
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The loss isn't a big deal. You'd like a win, sure, but it's more about seeing signs of potential. Wagner is Wagner. Matthews might be something real, too. Abdur-Rahkman will once again be the desperation creator, the wheeling late-shot-clock freelancer. Brooks had some nice moments, including a nice assist in the second half and a confident three in the first; he also looked like a freshman in other moments (e.g. the crucial late turnover).<br />
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Michigan didn't get much from anyone else. Ibi Watson was ineffective, while Simpson and Simmons were non-factors. Robinson hit one three, but the bigger concern is the fact that he put up just four shots. While LSU's Brandon Sampson played admirably tenacious defense, Michigan has to find more than four shot attempts for a shooter of Robinson's caliber.<br />
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As is usually the case at this point in the season, there are many questions wanting answers. The answers for this Beilein team might be different from those for any other team Beilein has had in Ann Arbor.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-63475599697304530952017-10-17T02:34:00.002-04:002017-10-17T02:34:54.816-04:00Michigan 27, Indiana 20 (OT): Deja vuAs I watched Saturday's game in Bloomington, I felt as if I was transported to a time in the not-too-distant past.<br />
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No, not the 2015 Indiana game, which also ended with a Michigan overtime win (and a touchdown on the first play of the winning overtime drive).<br />
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Saturday's game felt like the bizarro version of another game, another win that left residual dread in its wake in spite of the outcome.<br />
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That game, of course, is the 2010 Illinois game, a 67-65 win of Pyrrhic proportions for Michigan — despite coming ahead in the box score, the result reflected a deeper rot. A sharp poke and the whole structure wobbled on the verge of collapse. The program's wooden support beams were hollowed with insatiable termites — that much became clear once the euphoria subsided and fans collectively exhaled a whoosh of air indistinguishable from a sigh of relief.<br />
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This past Saturday's game reminded me of that, but the other way around.<br />
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Instead of the ceaseless offense of that 2010 Illinois game — an experience akin to an afternoon spent eating sleeve after sleeve of Oreos — Michigan and Indiana drudged through your standard Big Ten noon slugfest. Offensive ineptitude and defensive dominance converged, repulsed by each other like the like poles of two magnets.<br />
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At the end of it, John O'Korn finished 10-for-20 for 58 yards.<br />
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As an undergrad, that Illinois game was fun to watch in the stadium (after all, my graduating class didn't have many signature wins to celebrate, so we had to take what we could get). Michigan couldn't stop Illinois and Illinois couldn't stop Michigan. It was instant gratification taken to the extreme.<br />
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When it was over, though, reality set in. Michigan had won, but it was not a confidence-inspiring thing. Michigan moved to 6-3, but games against Wisconsin and Ohio State remained on the schedule.<br />
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If anything, the outcome only further affirmed that Michigan was not a serious football program. A win is a win, but giving up 65 points at home is not something good teams do.<br />
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With that said, I'm not saying Michigan is in the same situation now. Jim Harbaugh is a better coach than Rich Rodriguez, and the overall direction of the program is still generally trending upward, even if this season is shaping up to be a step back (albeit not an unexpected one).<br />
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Still, it was hard to watch Saturday's game and not draw parallels to that Illinois game. In the context of this singular season, at least, Saturday's win was not a great thing, insofar as a road win against a team with a decent defense can be considered as such.<br />
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Just like that Rodriguez team — and every Rodriguez team — lacked a semblance of a defense, this one lacks on the other side of the ball. Receivers are not getting open consistently, the offensive line has struggled and the quarterback (whether O'Korn or Wilton Speight) has killed drives with botched reads and general skittishness, at times understandable, in the pocket.<br />
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This year, it doesn't appear that a fix is coming. Harbaugh has done some great things in his coaching career, but this seems unsalvageable, even by him.<br />
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I won't pretend to guess at why Brandon Peters hasn't inserted himself into the discussion. I was at the spring game this year and saw him sling beautiful passes all over the field with confidence (I know, it's the spring game, but still).<br />
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Assuming O'Korn struggles again at Penn State, the logical thing to do would be giving Peters a shot against Rutgers, because even a quarterback sitting below O'Korn on the depth chat can't mess things up enough to lose that game — right?<br />
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That's the thing. Consider O'Korn's stat line: 10-for-20, 58 yards. It is bad.<br />
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But it can get worse.<br />
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As bad as O'Korn was against Michigan State, he didn't turn it over against Indiana. A small victory, to be sure, but imagine that game with one or two O'Korn turnovers sprinkled in.<br />
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What it comes down to is trust. If you trust Harbaugh, and you should, O'Korn will continue to start, even if he is generally ineffective again this Saturday, because Harbaugh sees these guys every day and has no reason not to play the guy he thinks gives them the best chance to win. That's not to say that great coaches don't make mistakes, but this would be a colossal mistake; I think Harbaugh has earned the benefit of the doubt.<br />
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At the same time, you could argue you won't truly know what Peters is until he enters a game for meaningful snaps.<br />
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Harbaugh has a decision to make. For all of the hand-wringing, Michigan's season is not over yet. The Wolverines are 5-1, even if it's a rickety 5-1, like Michigan's 5-0 (then 6-3, after Illinois) start in 2010. Find a way to win at Penn State and Wisconsin, take care of the rest, and, ostensibly, anything can happen in a rivalry game against Ohio State (even if recent history dictates that not to be true).<br />
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Sure, the above is likely not going to happen. Penn State and Wisconsin are pretty good, and expecting Michigan's defense to safeguard the razor-thin margin of error the offense affords it is probably asking too much.<br />
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Unlike 2010, however, the formula is much simpler.<br />
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Michigan's defense will most likely give it some sort of chance in every remaining game. Aside from some second-half slippage in Bloomington, Michigan mostly shut down the top receiver in the conference in Simmie Cobbs (4 receptions, 39 yards). If there's anything to wax poetic about, it's Michigan's young corners. Lavert Hill and David Long have exceeded what were already lofty expectations. Even Brandon Watson, deemed somewhat of "a guy," has contributed with some emphatic pass breakups and generally dependable play.<br />
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Offensively, as limited as the Wolverines are, there have been bright spots. Karan Higdon dashed for 200 yards on 25 carries, which, as you probably know by now, makes him the first Michigan running back to run for 200 yards in a game since Mike Hart. That probably speaks to the level of offensive line play over the last decade as much as anything else, but 200 yards rushing against a solid Indiana defense is something on which to build.<br />
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Harbaugh's offense has always worked by virtue of multiple formations — confusing the defense and then bludgeoning it.<br />
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Unfortunately, with the injury to Speight — who, yes, was the starter for a reason, as we are now seeing — and Tarik Black earlier in the season, in addition to the line's struggles, Michigan doesn't have the ability to make that work. The first half of the season has been a long struggle to find what is often called an "identity." What do you do well?<br />
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For this limited Michigan offense, we have some indication that power running is its identity — or, at least, the closest thing to one.<br />
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The formula isn't exciting, but it's clear. Michigan has to win with defense, running the ball, field position, and non-traditional scoring (either via the defense or special teams). Other programs have made a living out of that strategy; Virginia Tech, of course, comes to mind. While no disrespect is meant to those Virginia Tech teams, many of which were very good, in the long-term Michigan hopes to be more potent, especially on the offensive side of the ball.<br />
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For now, though, Michigan has to squeeze every bit of positive play that it can out of what it's got. It might not end up being enough, but it's the only way.<br />
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Another thing is clear: 58 yards isn't enough. Against Penn State, O'Korn will need to make some plays, in addition to protecting the ball. Even if O'Korn somehow quadruples his Indiana yardage total in Beaver Stadium, it might not be enough if he turns it over two or three times.<br />
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The margin for error is thin. Next year might be different with another year of seasoning for the linemen and receivers, in addition to, possibly, a new quarterback.<br />
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For now, though, this is what Michigan's got. This is where coaches make their money.<br />
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It's also where players either shine ... or wilt.<br />
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If Michigan puts up a fight against Penn State, and the outcome is still in question heading into the fourth quarter, I don't think anyone can be too upset. A 2008-esque blowout, on the other hand, would be somewhat of a confidence killer.<br />
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On Saturday, we'll find out which way the wind blows.<br />
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<b>Miscellaneous Minutiae</b></div>
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<li><b>I'm glad Karan Higdon took things into his own hands and scored on the first play of the overtime period. </b>If he doesn't score there, I wonder how things would have turned out. </li>
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<li><b>Penalties? </b>Yeah, I don't know either. When Michigan picked up that delay of game penalty on the beautifully designed shovel pass, Harbaugh yelling "come on, John!" was all of us. To be sure, it was a horribly officiated game (for both teams). Add in the team's youth and it's easy to chalk this one up as a particularly aberrant showing. </li>
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<li><b>Donovan Peoples-Jones didn't light the world on fire</b> (4 receptions, 34 yards), but he did lead the Wolverines in that department ... which is not saying much, but still a positive for him, as it was his best game of the season. The learning curve was always going to be steep for him given the nature of his high school offense. Michigan can only hope that, in the absence of Black, DPJ can continue to grow each week. </li>
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<li><b>Yes, the Michigan defense did the thing where they throttle an opponent all game only to give up points late when said opponent is in desperation mode and the team's own offense is just trying to scrape by.</b> Hey, it happens. Nonetheless, it was another solid day for the trusty defense. "Only" two sacks, but the defense notched seven tackles for loss, including 2.5 from Rashan Gary. </li>
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<li><b>This Michigan team is particularly fortunate to have a darn-near-automatic kicker like Quinn Nordin</b>. The whole defense and special teams thing doesn't work so much if the offense can't turn what drives it puts together into points, particularly long field goals. If Michigan is going to have a chance in Happy Valley, I'm willing to bet Nordin will have to bury one, if not two kicks of 50-plus yards. Making those in a neutral environment or at home is one thing — making them at night in Happy Valley is another. </li>
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Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-89750778800966985112017-09-18T18:55:00.002-04:002018-01-11T00:46:04.803-05:00Michigan 29, Air Force 13: September daze<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From Section 37</i></td></tr>
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In a vacuum, this game went about exactly as expected. </div>
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I saw the spread heading into Saturday and thought "Michigan won't cover that." Given the Michigan fanbase's ability to furrow away bad memories only to be pulled out and revisited like a manila folder from a storage cabinet, it's no surprise that the 2012 game bubbled near the top of a lot of fans' consciousness. </div>
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Michigan didn't cover, which in and of itself doesn't really matter — but the route to that outcome included some bumpy roads. </div>
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Like the Cincinnati game, the outcome was never truly in doubt. This wasn't the 2012 Air Force game, when the outcome hung in the balance until the very end. </div>
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Still, Michigan will face much better teams than Air Force, teams more equipped to make it pay for the type of sloppiness it has showed so far. </div>
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Even so, things often don't seem so bad after you've thought on them for a while. </div>
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As I sat through an oppressively hot — for Michigan in mid-September, that is — game on Saturday in Michigan Stadium, it was hard not to feel antsy. I tried to find seats as close to the student section as possible, but even enthusiasm by proximity didn't work — a listless non-student section for a frustrating nonconference game will be what it always is. </div>
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Add heat and you've got a crowd of grumblers, murmuring about missed cuts or an inability to move the Air Force defensive front. </div>
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To an extent, I can't blame people for feeling the way that they did (whether or not watching a game with such a crowd is a fun experience is another issue entirely). </div>
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When all was said and done, Michigan notched another close-but-not-really-but-still-frustrating win, its second in a row, and ran the ball for north of 5 yards per carry (removing Speight's sack yardage). </div>
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I was in the stadium, and thus missed Matt Millen's commentary live. Upon rewatching, he prefaced Michigan's opening drive by saying this about Speight: "He just needs to calm down." </div>
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As easy as it is to poke fun at Millen, maybe there's something to that. Yes, Speight was prone to mistakes last year, particularly later in the season, but you could attribute those to injuries or simply being a first-year starter. Frustrating, yes, but understandable. </div>
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This year? Speight's numbers still seem okay, in a vacuum and in the context of each game, but as I wrote last week, the eye test reveals isolated bouts of questionable moments. For example, the strange play on which Speight scrambled and attempted to gently loft a touch pass, like a tear drop in the lane, over a defender in his face to Kekoa Crawford. </div>
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It didn't work out — fortunately for Speight, it didn't result in a turnover. (Naturally, if it had worked out it would have been a moment of genius and creative flair from Speight.) It marked another one of those in-between moments for the second-year starter, moments in which he seems caught between two options, A and B, and somehow melds the two in favor of a 27th letter of the alphabet that does not exist except in his perspective at the moment of decision. </div>
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In short, uncertainty has crept into his play. Whether that's a product of the offensive line, the play calling, or Speight simply backsliding to a baseline much lower than the one we saw for much of last year remains to be seen. </div>
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So far, early returns haven't been particularly encouraging. He currently <a href="http://www.espn.com/ncf/qbr/_/page/3">ranks 105th in Total QBR</a>, has just three touchdowns to two interceptions and has struggled to move the offense once in the red zone. In 10 trips to the red zone this season, Michigan has just one touchdown — thanks to Quinn Nordin, Michigan has come away with points on eight of those 10 trips, with the one field goal miss against Florida making the lone points-less (pointless?) red zone foray. </div>
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Could this just be a September daze? A confluence of an offensive line still trying to come together, a receiving corps made up of players born within a year of Michael Jordan's second retirement, a running game that has missed opportunities while facing aggressive, boom-or-bust defenses? </div>
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It could be all of those things. But it could also be much simpler: Speight maxed out last year and is coming back down to a much humbler, terrestrial plane of performance. </div>
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Speight found a nice groove early in the second quarter, hitting Donovan Peoples-Jones on a screen, Tarik Black for 8 and Zach Gentry for 30 on the type of play he's made numerous times — standing in and delivering: </div>
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He's shown flashes of the guy he was last year, but hasn't put it back together just yet. </div>
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I'm not going to say what we've seen so far is how it's going to be. I will say, though, if things don't change, win projections will have to be recalibrated. General youth and inexperience at a number of positions have prevented yours truly from recalibrating just yet. Even at current levels, Michigan could roll to 6-0 with a combination of strong defense and special teams before the trip to Penn State. </div>
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But from that point forward, Michigan needs Speight — and, really, the rest of the offense — to find itself, or this September haze could yield fall frustrations that exceed those of the past two weeks by several orders of magnitude. </div>
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Otherwise? Things are pretty good. </div>
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The defense faced the frustrating option attack and, for the most part, crushed it, giving up 13 points, seven on a secondary coverage error that was going to happen eventually. Given Air Force's offensive style, it's not surprising that they hit the Michigan defense for one of those. </div>
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Michigan gave up just 232 total yards and Air Force went 3-for-13 on third down. In addition, the visitors managed just 3.4 yards per carry on the afternoon. </div>
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For as much attention as Speight and the offense is getting, I'm not sure enough attention is being given to the wholesale reload of the defense. Sure, the competition hasn't been top-notch — Florida's offensive issues exceed even Michigan's, Cincinnati didn't have the talent and Air Force is tricky but limited. </div>
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Still, you defend what is put in front of you, and Michigan has done a great job of that thus far. </div>
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According to NCAA.com statistics, Michigan is ranked 11th in third-down conversion defense, 7th in pass efficiency defense, and is tied for 6th in tackles for loss with 27 (behind four teams with 28). At this point in the season, level of competition obviously renders much of this meaningless, but comparing similar data is still worth mentioning. </div>
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So far so good, basically. Several players have exceeded expectations, including guys who already had lofty expectations. The secondary has had a few wobbles, but nothing to be concerned about — nobody has gotten massively beaten — minus the Air Force touchdown — or looked physically overmatched. Lavert Hill and David Long, in addition to generally looking like they belong in pass coverage, have stuck their nose in well in the run game, too. Long had a nice play on Air Force's first drive, getting to Arion Worthman first on a third-down stop, and Hill added a nice stick on the pitch man on an Air Force first and goal (the drive after the Chris Evans fumble). </div>
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Watching the defenders fly around while sitting in the stadium was a treat, as well. Devin Bush on this play, for example: </div>
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The way he subtly stutter steps there for a second around the 13-yard line then explodes to close in on Worthman is truly remarkable. I speculated about <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2017/09/michigan-wolverines-florida-gators-college-football-jim-harbaugh.html">Michigan player comparables after the Florida game</a>, and the closest I could come up with for Bush was Ian Gold — but even that isn't accurate. Gold was a great player, a guy who went on to play in the NFL for seven years, but Bush is in a different class in terms of speed and general burst. </div>
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A lot is made of team speed, but it isn't a panacea. Speed means nothing when players are flying around to the wrong spots on the field, not breaking down to tackle or generally move about with a giant neon question mark floating above their helmets. </div>
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Speed does, however, make up for a lot of deficiencies. While I don't think it's fair to say this defense has real deficiencies beyond youth — if that can be called a "deficiency" — it's obvious that this defense is fast. Florida, after all the trash talk, found that out, as did Cincinnati, as did Air Force, leading head coach Troy Calhoun to praise the Michigan defense in the aftermath. </div>
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Those who are hoping for a course correction from the offense can reasonably expect similar improvement from the defense. Michigan fans are already taking guys like Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich and Devi Bush for granted, and rightfully so, it seems. But think about their run as full-time guys, and remember that improvement for them is not an unreasonable proposition. Add in the young guys in the secondary and the cumulative improvement grows. </div>
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Ask the average fan whether they'd rather have a dominant defense or a dominant offense, and their heart would likely say offense — but the head will say otherwise. </div>
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Simply put, there are much worse situations in which to be. </div>
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Michigan is 3-0 and life is imperfection. Check back when the opponents are more skilled and Michigan takes its show to a true road environment. </div>
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The spread for this Saturday's trip to West Lafayette is a product of Purdue's surprising competence and Michigan's offensive issues to date. Jim Harbaugh and Co. will have to prove that the Wolverines have only shown a sliver of what they can do so far. </div>
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<b>Miscellaneous Minutiae</b></div>
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<li><b>At this point, I can basically only swing one, maybe two games a year.</b> Unfortunately, if I'm not sitting in the student section, it's becoming more and more difficult for me to justify going to these September nonconference tilts, when the atmosphere is akin to that of a particularly rowdy night in the basement of the Ugli. I've mostly tried to move on from criticizing atmosphere, particularly for games against lesser foes — but Saturday's game was mostly close throughout. I don't even mind if people want to sit all game (minus the big plays where everyone stands). Whatever, fine. But games frankly aren't very fun when you look around and nobody around you participates in anything — cheers, chants, even just making a little noise on third down. I know I'm just shouting into the ether about a thing that will likely never change, but there you go. </li>
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<ul>
<li><b>The idea of a player so good he appears not to be trying relative to his peers is not a new one, but for Donovan Peoples-Jones, it's true.</b> I'm not saying he's Jabrill Peppers, but he has the same quality of simply operating in a different plane of being from everyone else when he has the ball in his hands. Peppers eluded poor punt defenders with ease, deploying an arsenal of spins, stutters and stiffarms. On DPJ's punt return score, he exuded a similar quality — at no point during that return did he look like he was in top gear. With Tarik Black's unfortunate injury, Michigan can only hope that increased wide receiver snaps for DPJ will accelerate his development in that department. His two receptions for 52 yards (including a screen pass he turned into a 37-yard gain) against Air Force were a nice start. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Speaking of wide receivers, Eddie McDoom seemed to get a little more run in this one.</b> In addition to his usual jet sweep action (2 carries, 6 yards), he was targeted in the passing game (2 receptions, 14 yards), making things happen on a couple of screens for some easy perimeter yardage. He was even targeted in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, but Speight's pass after the play action was off the mark. Either way, it would be a great thing for the Michigan offense if McDoom can begin assimilation into the general offense, as opposed to just being a jet sweep/screen specialist. This team is full of athletic wideouts, including the aforementioned DPJ, but McDoom is right up there with the rest of them. (Also, more "DOOOOOM" chants would be a good thing.)</li>
</ul>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-41320582305798355672017-09-12T02:25:00.005-04:002017-09-12T03:51:56.538-04:00Michigan 36, Cincinnati 14: What you see and what you knowWilton Speight is cognitive dissonance. He's a walking fist fight between the eye test and cold, hard numbers — the two modes of thought rage against one another around his 6-foot-6 frame every week, every series, every play.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, the box score sang a cheery tune. Speight went 17 for 29 for 212 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He only took one sack.<br />
<br />
But, like Week 1, there were Speight Moments.<br />
<br />
In these moments, a battle wages in the brain between the side that wears glasses and pores through advanced stats and the part that grunts "THAT GUY IS A FACTORBACK"<i> </i>unironically. Speight tests both sides — not equally, necessarily, but test them he does.<br />
<br />
Like last year, Speight's intent and desire can't be questioned. He's clearly a smart quarterback, capable of doing all the things a quarterback has to do in order to put his offense in a winning situation, pre-execution.<br />
<br />
As easy as that might be to discount, it's important. Some quarterbacks never even get that far.<br />
<br />
Sure, you might want to fill your quarterback grocery shopping cart with meats and fancy cheeses, but you also need the mundane — the broccoli, the celery, the Brussels sprouts.<br />
<br />
Of course, intention and desire only go so far, and celery's virtues can only be extolled for so long before one wonders if the whole thing is not a cover for something else.<br />
<br />
Spright's hiccups are concerning. He has a year-plus in starts under his belt, but there are times when he still seems to get rattled, in a way that reminds me of that version of <i>NCAA </i>in which crowd noise would make your controller rattle. At times, Speight's controller seems to rattle him into a funk, dissolve his ability to do simple things like hit a wide open Kekoa Crawford for an easy touchdown against Florida or execute a handoff. Things happen, yeah, but Speight's things seem to gain steam in isolated spurts throughout a game.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, Michigan has overcome those spurts, like in last week's Florida game. Other times, it hasn't (2016 Ohio State).<br />
<br />
Overall, though, the standard being built is high. Speight is making mistakes that merit criticism (and not the always unrealistic desire for 100 percent deep ball accuracy). If he's still making those mistakes in October and November, no amount of defensive destruction will power Michigan to a shot at a title.<br />
<br />
With each additional set of data, Speight is looking more and more like the John Navarre of this decade — at times prolific, at times frustrating. The funny thing is, that comparison means different things to different people.<br />
<br />
Navarre had a Big Ten championship under his belt by the time he left Ann Arbor. Will Speight? I don't think we're any closer to feeling more comfortable about that possibility after two weeks.<br />
<br />
That's not to say that Michigan can't go on to win something with him. With Speight last season, Michigan bested Penn State (albeit not necessarily because of his play) and was right there against Ohio State, in spite of his mistakes. (Iowa? We don't talk about Iowa.)<br />
<br />
There's no reason to think Michigan cannot reach the precipice of something meaningful — a Big Ten title, even a division title — with Speight.<br />
<br />
But there are times when, armed with a quarterback like Speight, that gap between almost and <i>there</i> can seem impossibly vast, like the last half-mile in a marathon. A quarterback like Speight can make that leap a paradoxical oddity — at once tantalizingly close yet unbearably far away.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
Michigan didn't play particularly well, a week after playing Florida in a stadium underneath a jumbotron so jumbo it would probably be called a megatron if not for the existence of the "Transformers" franchise.<br />
<br />
This is not surprising.<br />
<br />
Michigan is bursting at the seams with youth. Much more seasoned teams have suffered the head-scratching hiccup (it's almost involuntary invocation at this point, but 2006 Ball State, for example).<br />
<br />
This team is, and will continue to be, subject to wild swings in the on-field product by virtue of said youth. But through raw talent and coaching, Michigan will overcome that en route to eight, nine ... 10 wins? More?<br />
<br />
Maybe.<br />
<br />
For now, it's important to simply acknowledge that while Michigan did not cover the spread or play a great game, it still won by 22 points on Saturday. Perhaps it's no real consolation, but there was a time when Michigan would look far worse — or even lose — that kind of game.<br />
<br />
The hope is the wide receivers continue to learn the intricacies of the game. For all of their collective talent, there are too many plays when Speight is staring down the field at receivers with an upright phonebook's worth of separation between them and a defensive back.<br />
<br />
The hope is Speight nixes the occasional yips — if not 100 percent, then to some degree.<br />
<br />
The hope is the right side of the line can continue to improve, becoming less of a liability as the season progresses.<br />
<br />
The hope is that the young corners continue to learn with each deep shot attempted against them — there have been close calls, but so far, so good.<br />
<br />
The hope is Michigan can avoid injuries to any of its marquee defensive starters — check that, any of them at all, really. <br />
<br />
The hope is that special teams can start to gravitate back toward reliable competence – crawl, walk, run — particularly at punter and punt returner.<br />
<br />
These are all hopes. Unfortunately, with a game against an outlier of a team like Air Force, Michigan won't learn anything real about itself this coming Saturday, except for its ability to deal with something that is schematically (and, sometimes, physically) uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
As strange as it is to say, the trip to West Lafayette in less than two weeks will say a lot about this team and where it will go this season. Purdue isn't the tomato can it has been in recent years — that offense will test Michigan's defense and its depth, of which there notably isn't a ton.<br />
<br />
But that's getting ahead of things a bit.<br />
<br />
Air Force, as Michigan fans know, will be annoying. Michigan fans should not be surprised if the game produces another ugly, unsatisfying result (I hope not, because I'll be in the stadium for it).<br />
<br />
But a win makes Michigan 3-0 heading into conference play. That's when the fun begins.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Miscellaneous Minutiae</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Ty Isaac eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game. </b>It's taken some time, but if the light has officially gone on for him, Michigan will have a really nice, versatile 1a/b running back. Carries will continue to be split, of course, but it would be nice to see somebody notch 1,000-plus yards. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Special teams are back to not being so fun. </b>Getting ready to watch Jabrill Peppers return a punt was like being enveloped in an aura of warmth and ultimate safety. Nothing bad could ever happen, and it never did. While Donovan Peoples-Jones flashed some ability to make some things happen against Florida, fielding much less booming Cincinnati punts proved to be a more harrowing affair. Switching him out for Grant Perry was the correct (and obvious) move. It sounds like DPJ will be back out there returning punts, though, <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronMcMann/status/907383886568738817">per Harbaugh</a>. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Say what you will about Speight's accuracy</b>, but he's been dealing about as well as you could ask for on the deep shots. That touchdown pass to Crawford on the first drive was a parabolic beauty. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>If you looked closely,</b> you could see cartoon smoke rushing from Rashan Gary's helmet earholes after that roughing the passer penalty against him. He was, indeed, mad. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Tyree Kinnel has exceeded expectations thus far</b>. I think a lot of people sort of automatically assumed he'd be competent, as a factor of his relative experience and general offseason chatter. But he's been more than competent — so far, he's been a legitimate playmaker. Guys like Josh Metellus and Khaleke Hudson get all the hype when it comes to athleticism and ability to close and bring the noise, but Kinnel is right there with them in those departments. Kinnel's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week nod was well-earned. </li>
</ul>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-55892825008662581122017-09-04T03:43:00.001-04:002017-09-04T13:11:27.172-04:00Michigan 33, Florida 17: Sticking to the plan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy of my parents</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is something transcendent in a plan stuck to over time, a plan executed with precision and capable of weathering the vagaries of real-time action.<br />
<br />
No, not the NFL's run-of-the-mill, hamfisted plan, where offenses are all the same as a matter of course. In the NFL, you're a pocket passer, whether you like it or not, and 3-4 defenses are exotic.<br />
<br />
For Michigan, Saturday was not just a win — it was an assertion of its plan, its very way of doing things.<br />
<br />
By the end of the offseason, national media folks' invocation of Michigan's personnel losses became somewhat of a tired joke. Sure, Maurice Hurst and Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich were not starters last year; Michigan fans suspected that that fact would prove to be a semantic point.<br />
<br />
After four quarters of football, Michigan fans appear to be right.<br />
<br />
The Michigan defense gave up just three points en route to a 33-17 drubbing, a game that was not as close as it looked in the box score.<br />
<br />
At halftime, Michigan trailed 17-13, despite a 203-91 advantage in total yards and holding the Gators to 1.2 yards per carry on 13 attempts. The offense moved, but early struggles by the young wide receivers — including the first interception — and Wilton Speight's miscue on the second pick 6 found Michigan in the lone scenario in which they could lose that game.<br />
<br />
Save for a 34-yard completion from Feleipe Franks to Josh Hammond on a perfect ball to beat Lavert Hill — 37 percent of UF's first-half offense — the Michigan defense contained the UF attack like lightning bugs in a bottle.<br />
<br />
Even so, Michigan entered the danger zone after handing the Gators touchdowns on consecutive possessions, then had a punt blocked on the next.<br />
<br />
Then, Michigan did this:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Florida might not have known it at the time, but its chances at victory evaporated in the Dallas air, obliterated like a power play by precisely timed blitz.<br />
<br />
There's still a long season to go, and Michigan is not without problem spots. The offensive line, which most agreed, like the team in general, wouldn't be appreciably affected by personnel losses, gave up five sacks and a total of 11 tackles for loss. Of course, Florida's offensive problems notwithstanding, the Gators still have serious talent in the front seven — the Wolverines won't see that kind of talent again for a while.<br />
<br />
As for Speight? Well, there's no doubt people will (and have) hit the internet to proclaim how they're DONE with him as the starter. But in the light of day, Speight was fine until the interceptions, and was just fine after. He wasn't excellent, and had some downfield misses ranging from "didn't give his guy a shot" to surrender-cobra-inducing (completely overshooting a wide open Kekoa Crawford for a sure touchdown). Unfortunately, that's a familiar song, but on the whole Speight did more than enough to win (the deep shot to Nick Eubanks, who is allegedly a tight end, was a nice one).<br />
<br />
The first interception wasn't his fault, really, and the angst the second interception yielded was simply compounded by the first one — which, again, wasn't his fault.<br />
<br />
With an offensive line still finding its way and a running game that did its job but wasn't exactly consistent (until the Gators wore down late), Speight finished 11 for 25 for 181 yards, two interceptions and a beautiful 46-yard score to freshman Tarik Black.<br />
<br />
Perfect? Far from it. But consider the circumstances.<br />
<br />
Speight started every game but one last year, only to get the John Beilein two-foul hook from Harbaugh. (John O'Korn would have played regardless, supposedly, but still.)<br />
<br />
He could have wilted — no pun intended — but instead found his groove, hitting Sean McKeon and Grant Perry on key completions to open the second half.<br />
<br />
I know it's a cliche, but if anything can't be questioned, it's Speight's toughness.<br />
<br />
This is the same guy who threw an interception on his first pass in last year's season opener against Hawaii and went on to finish 10 for 13 for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He bounced back after getting clobbered early in the Colorado game. He played hurt late in the season.<br />
<br />
Bouncing back from getting pulled by Harbaugh stands out as the biggest display of resilience in his career to date. Players of lesser stuff might have caved, checked out, sulked.<br />
<br />
While he had help from his friends, Speight didn't do any of those things. That's a good sign for a Michigan team that will continue to go through growing pains this year.<br />
<br />
As Florida's two-headed quarterback attack struggled in the face of the Michigan defense, I thought to myself: I'm glad Michigan isn't dealing with a freshman quarterback this year.<br />
<br />
That counts for something. It will count for something, once the air chills and the leaves change color.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
Michigan marched 75 yards in 10 plays to open the second half, a drive capped by a pair of runs from Karan Higdon, who had carried it just once in the first half (on a third and long, the play before the blocked punt).<br />
<br />
When Chris Evans (22 carries, 78 yards) wasn't working, Michigan went to Ty Isaac (11 carries, 114 yards). Then, they went to Higdon.<br />
<br />
Say what you will about the offensive line and Nolan Ulizio's struggles at right tackle, but Michigan appears to have a group of skill position players that by the end of the year will rank among the program's best in recent memory.<br />
<br />
If I'm left with anything from this game, it's how remarkably accurate the hype and general perception of the team throughout the offseason showed through in this game.<br />
<br />
Michigan has a diverse group of pass catchers and ball carriers? Check.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The future is here. (Source: Parents!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The defense will once again be a TFL machine, hounding quarterbacks and offensive linemen into considering retiring into the woods and living out a Walden-esque existences for the rest of their days? Check.<br />
<br />
The young secondary will now and then give up a big play or two? Check.<br />
<br />
The right side of the offensive line will struggle? Unfortunately, check, although Michigan eventually found ways to lessen that deficiency's impact, either by running left or giving Ulizio help.<br />
<br />
The game, surprisingly, offered no real surprises. The only way Florida could win was via Michigan mistakes. Those happened, but it didn't even matter.<br />
<br />
---<br />
Let us take a moment to acknowledge the defense. Did it look any worse than last year's?<br />
<br />
The scary thing is, the answer might be "not really."<br />
<br />
Yes, things will get hairy if injuries happen. And if we're nitpicking, the secondary could be an issue...but against whom?<br />
<br />
I never thought I'd say this, but Purdue's passing attack looked surprisingly competent (albeit against Louisville's less-than-enthusiastic defense, but still). Michigan gets them in West Lafayette to open the conference slate. Indiana's passing attack features some fearsome targets, but will it matter if Richard Lagow is continually snacking on the Memorial Stadium field turf?<br />
<br />
Penn State? Well, I suppose Michigan can worry about that when it gets there.<br />
<br />
But as we saw all of last season and against Florida on Saturday, a voracious front seven cures a lot of ills.<br />
<br />
Linebackers who see in heat maps and defensive linemen who sustain themselves on tackles for loss like they're plates of chicken broccoli bake are a young defensive back's best friend. The thread below is a nice summary of the afternoon's defensive destruction.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Suppose Fred Johnson doesn't step on Franks's foot here. It's still a loss because who's blocking Rashan Gary (No. 3)? No one. <a href="https://t.co/k0Tu09y66n">pic.twitter.com/k0Tu09y66n</a></div>
— David Wunderlich (@Year2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Year2/status/904334350380142592">September 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
When it became evident that Florida's running game posed no threat, the scent of blood lingered in the water. Michigan's defense transformed into 11 sharks, looking for revenge.<br />
<br />
Most expect Michigan's defensive stats to drop this year. They probably will.<br />
<br />
The plan, however, remains in place. All the usual buzzwords, which sound ugly in regular conversation but make for great defense — violence, aggression, etc. — apply here.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kr0MGdP5OFw?start=3870" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
You can solve a lot with that.<br />
<br />
Forget about the breathlessly uttered words of praise, the encomiums following this defense like Link's Navi saying "Listen! This defense is still elite despite significant losses to the NFL!"<br />
<br />
Look at the cold, hard numbers.<br />
<br />
Michigan tallied 11 tackles for loss and six sacks, forced four fumbles (recovering three, including one by Noah Furbush for a touchdown) and held Florida to 0.4 yards per carry.<br />
<br />
Zero point four. Based on that average, Florida would have needed to run the ball 25 times to gain the yardage needed for a first down.<br />
<br />
A plane ride back to Gainesville doesn't seem so long when the first-down markers look like they're a mile away.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Miscellaneous Minutiae </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Notwithstanding the brief targeting scare on the first play, Devin Bush looked exactly as advertised. </b>Michigan has had shifty, undersized linebackers of varying quality before (Ian Gold, for example). But I don't know that Michigan has ever had a laser-guided missile of a linebacker like Bush. The targeting thing will continue to be an issue — more because of the ongoing confusion about what targeting actually is than it is about Bush's playing style in and of itself. The hope is that Michigan doesn't lose him in a game that matters because of it. Setting that aside, Bush had himself a day, tallying three tackles for loss, including two sacks. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Running back roulette. </b>Chris Evans is slippery, but Michigan fans knew that. He also goes down a little too easily at times, but that's a tradeoff you take. With that said, Evans did show a little bit of seemingly newfound power on a few runs, including <a href="https://youtu.be/Iw07ailh3ds?t=10m3s">a relatively nondescript 4-yard carry</a> early in the third quarter on which he drove for an extra yard or so after contact. Throw in Ty Isaac, who flashed the total package of speed, power and vision, and Karan Higdon's all-around toolkit, and it's safe to say the days of giving Chris Perry 51 carries in a game are in the rear view mirror. Sometimes, the committee approach is by virtue of a lack of skill — this is not an instance of that. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Wild Thing for Heisman. </b>For years, Ohio State has seemingly trotted out kickers ranging from competent to excellent, while Michigan has, at best, topped out at decent. There's no need to revisit Michigan's dark kicking history, but it's safe to say Michigan finally has a legitimate weapon in Quinn Nordin. The leg is real. Yes, the two late misses were a bit of a bummer, but they only took a A+ performance down to an A-. It should also be noted that a college kicker missing a 52-yarder and having that classified as a "bummer" is something in and of itself. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>As for the rest of the special teams</b>, check back later on punter Will Hart, who punted twice and got one blocked. At punt returner, one still remembers Jabrill Peppers, expecting to see him out there but finding nothing, like a phantom limb. Donovan Peoples-Jones looks like he could be an asset there, however. He had a nice 18-yarder, displayed some quicks and agility, and didn't cough it up. In short: success. Also, Ambry Thomas forced a fumble on a UF kickoff return early after Michigan's touchdown opening the second half. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Although DPJ didn't get on the receiving stat sheet</b>, the wideouts were about as expected, flashing tantalizing skill. There were a couple drops, but young guys plus a hypercharged environment against an SEC foe and the dropsies are easy to forgive. Tarik Black did his best Jehu Chesson impression on that deep ball. With Black taking the top off of defenses, Grant Perry picking up where he left off in his role, guys like McKeon and Nick Eubanks giving Speight big targets...covering this group is going to be a problem. As for Kekoa Crawford, you'd like to see him come down with that ball that became the first interception, but there's no real reason to think he won't be a plus contributor. He did draw a pass interference penalty on that deep ball during the first drive. The competition for catches will be fierce this season. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>As mentioned above, the inexperienced secondary will have some issues. </b>Fortunately for Michigan, Franks and Malik Zaire didn't exactly have much time to find receivers downfield. Hill looked the part, athletically, and that first big play completed on him was simply a perfectly thrown ball by Franks. Unsurprisingly, turning to look for the ball was a problem on one occasion (e.g. the 31-yard completion to Tyrie Cleveland in the second quarter). That can be corrected, and, in fact, was corrected, as Hill <a href="https://youtu.be/Iw07ailh3ds?t=13m31s">made a nice play later</a> on a downfield shot. Aside from coverage, Hill had a fairly authoritative fill on the edge to bring down Lamical Perine to close the first quarter — a nice thing to see given Channing Stribling's issues in run support. It was just one play, but still nice to see. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Injuries, stay away. </b>Mike McCray not getting the start was a bit of a surprise, but he seemed fine once he got in. David Long went down with a leg injury late in the first quarter, but did come back in shortly thereafter, contributing solid coverage on a deepish shot by Franks to start the second quarter. I'm not entirely sure if he played much after that — I don't remember seeing him on the field again after that aforementioned pass defense. Brandon Watson, meanwhile, did a good job of mostly not getting noticed. When he did get noticed, he made a textbook pass breakup on a throw downfield. There was the one shot completed over him late in the third, but that was a tremendous catch by Cleveland (and scramble by Zaire to find him downfield). All in all, the secondary didn't give up any huge plays. Tyree Kinnel and Josh Metellus, as far as I could tell, were excellent, both in run support and in coverage. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Young guys and old. </b>While briefly filling in for McCray, Devin Gil assisted for a nice tackle early on. Carlo Kemp also had a nice shed and tackle near the sidelines late in the first quarter. Meanwhile, a substantially larger Lawrence Marshall recovered a Florida fumble — a nice thing to see for a guy who was highly touted but hasn't made much of an impact to date. Cincinnati will hopefully provide an opportunity for these guys to get some extended action. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>When Maurice Hurst is busting up your tunnel screens</b>, you're going to have a bad time. In a big game against a big-name foe, Hurst only further cemented his first-round draft status. </li>
</ul>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-6685574155019622432017-08-29T00:48:00.003-04:002017-08-29T00:57:05.643-04:00Look at the timeMost offseasons move glacially, in no hurry to get to the place where you mutually agreed you would meet.<br />
<br />
This offseason, I got married, friends got married, I worked harder than I ever have and I inched ever closer to 30, further and further away from the version of me who started this blog seven years ago.<br />
<br />
I've had my mind on other things, is what I'm saying.<br />
<br />
But Michigan football has always been there. I went to the spring game in April and enjoyed a perfect Saturday afternoon in the old house.<br />
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In other years, the Michigan football offseason marked a submergence into a great unknown, particularly during the Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke years. During the former, Michigan had Denard and his flapping shoelaces, blowing against unmanageable headwinds. Fun, sometimes, but futile.<br />
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The Hoke years were like taking a sip of crisp, cold Vernors for the first time in years, leaving it outside in the hot sun, uncapped, then taking sips of it later — increasingly stale, not what it once was, constantly depreciating. A lost cause.<br />
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The only solution? A new Vernors.<br />
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Michigan got just that two years ago. Since then, things have been pretty good.<br />
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Remember in 2010, when Wisconsin ran the ball 748 times in a row like a high school football powerhouse running out the clock against a bad local rival? Back then, 10 wins seemed like a distant dream — like a Vernors outside of Vernors' distribution map. (I would like a Vernors.)<br />
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Yes, last season ended with a thud. But Michigan was in the national championship picture in November, something that had not happened since 2006. It's easy to feel like last season was the one that got away. It would be easy for the Michigan fan, in recent years battered and bruised by strokes of misfortune and sheer ineptitude, to look on the dark side of life.<br />
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In those moments, I like to say "it's just a game" over and over again, in the hope of incrementally reaching belief of that notion. It isn't just a game, though — it's something that chooses you, whether you like it or not. That's not to say that this game we watch is in any way important or impactful in a greater sense. For the most part, it really isn't.<br />
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But as those of us who have become entangled in the regularly scheduled nonsense that is college football know, the disconnect between importance and meaning is wide. In that sense, college football is like a book of memories, without value but full of meaning.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
I keep a scrapbook, filled mostly with tickets to sporting events and other miscellaneous items — a Chicago Marathon bib; the magnetic strip CTA card used before the City of Chicago switched to the new, thicker Ventra cards; newspaper covers for Stanley Cup titles. They're just things, taped to paper, in a book I only open now and then.<br />
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When I do, I remember things I would not have even thought to remember. The brain takes cues from these relics. A piece of paper recalls the time when a group of Indiana fans uprooted a row of stadium bleachers at the end of the 2010 game in Bloomington, carrying it with them like an old couch left on the curb for anyone to take. I wonder what happened to that row of seats.<br />
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I remember it was there. And then it was gone.<br />
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---<br />
This offseason has come and gone in an instant, even more remarkably so given that none of my professional rooting interests gave me much to root for in their respective postseasons. Usually that would buy me some time — distract me, prevent me from spending idle time trying to memorize from which town every single player on the roster hails. You know, useful things.<br />
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This time, the offseason got up and walked out in the middle of a Florida night. It disappeared for a short time in that strange land.<br />
<br />
But then it returned, and got into woodworking, and started reading "War and Peace," and volunteered for no fewer than three charities at any one time. It paid its bills early — because early is on time, on time is late and late is a grievous sin. It called its parents almost every night.<br />
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Seconds became minutes became hours became days. The Michigan-Ohio State game, No. 3 on ESPNU's offseason replay series of the top 25 games of the 2016 season, plays for the 349th time, and you watch it like it's the first time. It isn't, though, and each time its effect lessens, so that the result is nothing more than anodyne eventuality. When you know what happens, you don't even need to close your eyes. Horror movies lose their power with frequency of exposure.<br />
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Fortunately for Michigan, 2016 was less horror thriller than it was triumphant Bildungsroman. In Year 2 of Young Michigan's story, it nearly reached expectations, lofty ones, but was foiled by the usual hangups of youth: bum shoulders, somersaulting punters, nefarious Ohioan referees twirling dastardly mustaches and Peppers-less preparations.<br />
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It happens, you know?<br />
<br />
In Year 3, the outlook is a little different. Expectations are a function of loss, and Michigan lost quite a bit, sending more players to the NFL than any other team.<br />
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Of course, Michigan returns quite a bit of talent, too — some of it tested, some of it not.<br />
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Therein lies the horror: the unknown. The shark patrolling the waters around your boat, the whirring chainsaw of third-down inefficiency, the terrifying clownishness of inexperience.<br />
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Each brush with horror, though, renders it slightly weaker. What's dark in September lights up in November.<br />
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Sometimes, however, it's the demons out in the open, the ones who make no effort to hide, that are the scariest.<br />
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Eventually, the door must be opened. On the other side, a scarlet and gray thing will emerge.<br />
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---<br />
<br />
In a way, this season sets up perfectly for the Michigan fan.<br />
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Not only does Ohio State travel to Ann Arbor, but expectations seem to be reasonably assigned. Is anyone expecting a playoff berth? Not really (I'm not). Would anyone necessarily be shocked if it happens? Maybe a little, but not incredibly so.<br />
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It's like a Year 1 in a Year 3, which sounds bad when you say it aloud but works out just fine as a factor of roster turnover and understanding of what the future probably holds in store.<br />
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Supposedly, 2016 was The Year, until it wasn't. This year is not The Year — 2002, as far as I can remember, wasn't The Year for Ohio State. Even 2016 wasn't The Year, and the Buckeyes still made the playoffs. Point being, sometimes The Year happens when you don't think it will.<br />
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The gravity of The Year will pull expectations back into its orbit next year. A Harbaugh outfit is surprisingly predictable — they can be tracked like Johannes Kepler and his orbits. It doesn't take long before a Harbaugh team approaches the top of the heap.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johannes Kepler prepares to watch the 1594 Purdue game on ESPN+ with some lo mein takeout. </td></tr>
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Michigan was almost there last year, whizzing past the sun audaciously — a little too close, maybe. The moment passed, and the orbit continues on, further away from the glorious light. For now.<br />
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If Kepler were alive today, and happened to be a college football fan, he would probably tell you that orbit is taking Michigan farther away from the College Football Playoff this year than they were last year. After all, it's just simple observation (and a little mathematical ingenuity).<br />
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Kepler would probably tell you that college football moves in predictable ways, that programs move in a mathematically verifiable pattern and can be expected to return to a certain place in a certain time.<br />
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But Kepler, who was born in the 16th century, knew about a lot of things, but probably not college football. College football isn't cyclical (or elliptical), in the sense that programs simply return to greatness by virtue of their former greatness.<br />
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Michigan is back, but not because it is Michigan and thus must be back, like a planet traversing its elliptical orbit. It is back because it got a generational coach, the one guy who was the best possible fit for the job, in addition to being one of the best in the game. There is nothing ordained about that. Someone made it happen. A series of events converged to create the wormhole through which all of this could acquire safe, hyperspeed travel.<br />
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Sometimes, amid the hard numbers, the scientists of old saw divinity in the natural order, even when their notepads showed evidence of reproducible knowledge earned.<br />
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In an obviously hyperbolic sense, that's Harbaugh coming to Michigan — a brilliant flash of light. It can probably be explained by humble, empirical means — there was a job opening, the allure of coming home, the financial draw from the Michigan athletic department, etc. etc. — but even the most analytical among us sometimes look to the light in awe.<br />
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Whatever happens, Michigan football fans are lucky. After years traversing the vast darkness of the universe, careening through belts of wayward space rocks, there is now a hand correcting course.<br />
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---<br />
One last note about the horror behind the door.<br />
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Fear is a function of the unknown. What is unknown is partially a function of inherent unpredictability of circumstances and environment. Under Harbaugh, there is certainly much less unpredictability, in terms of the big picture.<br />
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Whatever impression of last season lingers in you, there is no doubt that Michigan has improved by leaps and bounds in a very short time. Sure, every once in a while a cosmically bewildering Iowa Event happens, but scientists agree that those are rare in the cosmic calendar.<br />
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Michigan was embarrassed against Ohio State, that horror behind the door, at home two years ago. Last season, the Wolverines had them on the ropes— should've, would've, didn't. You know that tune, the one that turns from major to minor only in the final dreary movement.<br />
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If there's one thing I still keep with me from Rich Rodriguez's time at Michigan, it's his invocation of "The Lion King."<br />
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"It doesn't matter, it's in the past."<br />
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It's true: 42-13, 30-27, are in the past.<br />
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Michigan has seen the horror twice. This year, the call will be coming from inside the house.<br />
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And there should be no fear.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-17010147396653472302017-07-24T19:26:00.001-04:002017-07-24T19:26:13.494-04:00Walton Watch: Walton signs two-way contract with Miami HeatBig Ten Media Days kicked off today in Chicago, an annual tradition full of sound and fury, signifying nothing (okay, maybe I just recently reread Macbeth). Commissioner Jim Delany <a href="http://www.mlive.com/sports/2017/07/jim_delany_addresses_tv_deals.html#incart_river_index">talked about the the conference's newest TV deal</a> and offered not much else of substance ... that is, unless you love FCS teams on your team's schedule.<br />
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But, when it comes to Big Ten Media Days, that's to be expected. It's a nothing event creating nothing stories, with no tough questions or illuminating answers. In short, it's a glorified small-talk chamber.<br />
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In actual news that you might care about today, Derrick Walton <a href="http://www.nba.com/heat/news/heat-signs-derrick-walton-jr">signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat</a>. He will join the Heat's G League (the artist formerly known as the D League) team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.<br />
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Walton impressed during his stint on the Orlando Magic summer roster, which he shared with former Michigan State Spartan Kalin Lucas. Despite his play, the Magic's signing of Shelvin Mack seemed to have closed a door there, as the team already had starter Elfrid Payton and highly paid backup D.J. Augustin on the roster.<br />
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Walton clearly did enough to get a chance elsewhere.<br />
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The Heat appear to only be carrying two point guards right now (Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson). As NBA fans know, the Heat nearly made the playoffs despite a dreadful first half, only to finish 30-11 in their last 41 games.<br />
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Dragic is a veteran and the 25-year-old Johnson had a strong third season in 2016-17, averaging 13.7 ppg and shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.<br />
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Obviously, Walton will have to put in work in the G League, but if he plays like he did during the summer league, he'll get his shot on the big stage. As mentioned before, you only need look to Yogi Farrell this past season to see a player like Walton, overlooked in the draft process, who managed to burst onto the NBA scene in-season.<br />
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Meanwhile, fellow Wolverine <a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2017/07/michigans_zak_irvin_lands_pro_1.html#incart_river_index">Zak Irvin also inked a deal</a>, only his will take him to Italy's VL Pesaro. If his life is anything like Aziz Ansari's in the second season of "Master of None," a life of pasta-making, vespa-riding, on top of playing basketball, sounds pretty, pretty good.<br />
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Also in the column of "pretty good" -- as new MLive beat reporter Aaron McMann notes in the aforementioned link -- is V LPesaro's description of Irvin as an "excellent technical schoolman." If we do anything in this life, we must strive to be excellent technical schoolmen/women.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-62435067951096526832017-07-06T00:35:00.000-04:002017-07-06T00:35:06.786-04:00Walton Watch: Solid day for Derrick Walton, but challenger Kalin Lucas shines in Magic win against KnicksDerrick Walton's quest for a spot to prove himself further in the Orlando Magic's training camp continued Wednesday against the New York Knicks.<br />
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Unfortunately for Walton, fellow point guard and former Michigan State Spartan Kalin Lucas stole the show Wednesday.<br />
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I <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2017/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-NBA-derrick-walton-michigan-wolverines.html">recapped Walton's first three games on Monday</a> -- thus far, Walton has turned heads with his ability to direct the action on the floor while also hitting his own shots, both at the rim and from outside.<br />
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Through two games, he led the Orlando summer squad in points. On Monday, Walton dropped five assists, but finished just 4-for-12 from the field after playing an excellent first half. The announcers posited fatigue was the cause -- maybe, maybe not.<br />
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On Wednesday, Walton's Magic took on the New York Knicks. As I've mentioned here previously, Walton is in a pretty good situation with a Magic squad that is not exactly set in its point guard rotation.<br />
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However, Walton does have some competition within the summer league squad from Lucas, a player familiar to Michigan fans.<br />
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Lucas didn't play Monday (Walton got the start), but he stole the show in Wednesday's 84-73 Magic (2-2) win.<br />
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In 31 minutes, Lucas scored 20 points while tallying seven assists and three steals -- an impressive performance for Lucas, who is already a member of the Erie BayHawks. He was <a href="http://erie.gleague.nba.com/news/bayhawks-acquire-kalin-lucas/">acquired by the team in December</a>, and has bounced around quite a bit since his days in East Lansing, first playing overseas before bouncing around NBA and developmental league rosters.<br />
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I didn't get to watch today's game, but clearly Lucas brought his A-game with Walton charging hard for a camp spot. Walton, meanwhile, in 20 minutes scored nine points on 3-for-7 shooting (2-for-3 from beyond the arc) with four assists, two rebounds and zero turnovers (Lucas had two).<br />
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Through four games, Walton's stat line is pretty good: 10 points per game, 3.5 assists per game, 15-for-32 from the field (46.9 percent) and 6-for-12 from three (50 percent).<br />
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Scan Magic Twitter or other Magic social media pages and you'll find Magic fans raving about Walton. Lucas, however, has acquitted himself well -- having bounced around as much as he has, he's looking to leave his mark during the Summer League.<br />
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But has it been enough?<br />
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We'll find out soon. Either way, Walton has made Magic followers take notice. From <a href="http://orlandomagicdaily.com/2017/07/05/orlando-magic-give-shot-new-players-summer-league-closes/">Orlando Magic Daily</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But the attention, as it sometimes does in Summer League, went elsewhere. To the shiny new toy. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Derrick Walton Jr., a rookie from Lucas’ college’s in-state rival, quickly stole the spotlight. Fans began salivating over Walton’s passing and driving ability. He took over a lot of the scoring load. The buzz around Summer League quickly became about Walton and his chances to make the Magic’s training camp roster. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Walton supplanted Lucas as the starting point guard for the team’s third game against the <a href="http://thesmokingcuban.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> with Lucas sitting out the entire game.</blockquote>
Internet buzz is just that, buzz, but the chatter about Walton has been mostly glowing.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Lots of buzz around around the gym that Derrick Walton Jr. may have earned himself a training camp deal this week. He's been solid all week.</div>
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/882715219239325697">July 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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</blockquote>
The Magic close Summer League play at 10 a.m. Thursday against Charlotte.<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-22803913253249709862017-07-03T17:09:00.003-04:002017-07-03T17:09:37.562-04:00Walton Watch: Solid first half for Michigan's Walton in Magic's third Summer League gameDerrick Walton continued to make his case for a shot at a roster spot during Summer League play Monday.<br />
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As mentioned last week, the undrafted Walton finds himself in a solid situation on the Orlando summer squad. The Magic point guard depth chart is particularly inviting for an undrafted player looking to make an NBA team.<br />
<br />
The Magic return starter Elfrid Payton, who closed the 2016-17 well but still struggles as a shooter. Backup point guard D.J. Augustin is entering the second year of a four-year deal, but he wasn't exactly impressive this past season. C.J. Watson's contract for next season <a href="http://www.nba.com/magic/news/jeff-weltman-john-hammond-now-turn-attention-free-agency">is only partially guaranteed</a>.<br />
<br />
In short, Summer League is Walton's chance to make an impact, get a camp invite and potentially get a shot to make the roster.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Derrick Walton Jr. out here dropping dimes... 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash">#NBASummer</a> <a href="https://t.co/98j1FQLoO1">pic.twitter.com/98j1FQLoO1</a></div>
— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/881957954907496448">July 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
While it wasn't his best day from the field, Walton did just that in Orlando's third Summer League game of the season.<br />
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"When Walton's out there, they just seem to get good looks," commentator Greg Anthony said during the third quarter of the Magic's matchup Monday against Dallas.<br />
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Although the Magic squandered a big first-half lead, Walton made an impact throughout the first half, flashing his ability as a floor general. At no point did he looked rushed or overwhelmed.<br />
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Heading into today, Walton led the squad with 11.5 points per game (in two games), just ahead of former Michigan State Spartan Kalin Lucas' 11.0 ppg.<br />
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In the Magic's third game of the summer, Walton wasn't incredibly efficient with his own shot (8 points, 4-for-12 shooting), but he finished with five assists (his best assist total in three SL games to date). Unfortunately for Walton, he went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. The NBA TV announcers said it seemed like he might have run out of gas in the second half -- hard to tell, but he certainly wasn't as impressive in the second.<br />
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I can't say I watch too much Summer League basketball, but the announcers spent quite a bit of time throughout the game -- and especially in the first half -- praising Walton, even going so far as to predict he'll not only make the Magic's roster, but figure into the rotation.<br />
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On Saturday, Walton scored 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting, with three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.<br />
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On Sunday, Walton dropped 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, with three rebounds and three assists in just under 22 minutes.<br />
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While you can't read too much into SL play, it is an important time for players like Walton, who want to put additional data out there to convince teams to give them a shot.<br />
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So far, Walton looks like he belongs in the conversation. Plus, as mentioned, Orlando needs reserve point guard help.<br />
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Walton and the Magic will next take the floor Wednesday against the Knicks. The Knicks roster includes former Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes, who, like Walton, also went undrafted.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-9468268240263790532017-06-30T01:33:00.000-04:002017-06-30T01:33:02.488-04:00What writing does -- and how it does itWhen I <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2010/05/raison-detre.html">started this blog seven years ago</a>, not knowing where it would go, I expressed a fear that many writers -- the real ones, the dilettantes, everything in between -- think about at one point or another.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">I have many things to say about the sport, and my team, but, then again, so do many other people. I fear that it is perhaps possible that I have nothing new to say; I hope that is not the case. </span></blockquote>
A fear of being ordinary, of being derivative, of shouting platitudes into the howling winds of the sum of rhetoric -- what is more terrifying for a writer than that?<br />
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Seven years later, I don't know if I have written anything novel here. I like to think that I have, but I don't really know.<br />
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What I do know, though, is that I love words, and writing them, and trying to piece together a cohesive narrative about something that I love, as incomprehensible as that love is. Whether it's a standard gamer -- a good gamer is like a perfectly pruned word plant, the Shakespearean sonnet of sports -- or a feature or a generic news roundup, words give the writer a chance to approach an idea from infinite angles and perspectives.<br />
<br />
As someone who has worked in journalism and done a lot of copy editing, writing is like the process of copy editing, in a sense. Copy editors exist because a second reader almost always catches errors the primary reader (the writer) doesn't see. A third reader, even, catches things the second did not.<br />
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It's a matter of perspective and experience. One copy editor has a better command of a certain subset of grammar, another is more solid in AP Style rules. Each pair of eyes brings a new set of experiences, knowledge and hyperspecific understandings of what works well.<br />
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The same, of course, is true for writing and writers.<br />
<br />
My writing has evolved quite a bit over the years. The writing on this blog, for example, began with free-flowing, flowery, meandering prose and paragraphs like Thwomps (I was an English major, after all. Eventually, that writing was hardened by journalism school.<br />
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Get to the point. Simple is better. Be accurate, first, then worry about the rest. Bring the reader in, grab them and do not let them go -- this is not just an idea, it's an idea that carries with it an actual blueprint for its execution. Whatever you do, do not give them the chance to let go. Hook them in the lede, give them a taste of the conflict then go back to the conflict's genesis.<br />
<br />
My writing about Michigan, too, has evolved, if I am being frank in my assessment of it. While I still write from the perspective of an invested fan, these days I try to do so as dispassionately and objectively as I can. I've moved away from some of the hagiography of the early days of this blog to something more grounded. I don't know the players, and don't want to project things on them just because there are things I want to believe -- so, it's best just to write about the games as they are.<br />
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Take, for example, this past season's Ohio State game. <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2016/11/michigan-wolverines-ohio-state-buckeyes-big-ten-college-football-jim-harbaugh-urban-meyer.html">I wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Never underestimate the rivalry's ability to find that spot, the one that hurts the most. A well-placed nudge to the unsuspecting elicits a yowl, a yelp, a cringing collapse on the floor.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Just when you thought the rivalry couldn't yield a more painful outcome, it did on Saturday, when No. 2 Ohio State bested No. 3 Michigan, 30-27, in double overtime. It was the first overtime game in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and thus presented Michigan with a chance to lose in a new way.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">When the game ended, I quietly checked my phone for 10 minutes, taking in reactions from around the internet, positive and negative. But, eventually, I wondered if this game was even worth the consternation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">After so many losses of all kinds -- unmitigated blowouts, near-upsets of better Ohio State teams, upsets of better Michigan teams, close-but-not-really-close games, and so on -- is it possible that one more piece of kindling on the losing fire burn makes it burn any more horrifically?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">How you deal with the loss is up to you. But one fact remains: In its infinite cruelty, the rivalry game in Columbus sought maximum pain, going to not one but two overtimes.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Sixty minutes was not enough -- the newest iteration of disappointment needed a little more time to cook.</span></blockquote>
The hurt is there -- it's obvious (even more so in this one, since it's The Game). But there was once a point when I might have written about my stunned silence, my disappointment, my inability to cope with yet another loss to the Buckeyes. <i>But why, how could this happen, how unfair and cruel and unfortunate?</i><br />
<br />
Instead, it's about the <i>type </i>of loss. Overtime, a rivalry first, a new way to lose -- those are the headliners. Those ideas, through my personal prism, make my writing what it is. (By the way, this is not to say that I think my writing is great or to toot my own horn. This is all just a survey of how it has changed and what makes it mine alone.)<br />
<br />
Instead of bile, words offer a tool to express gradations of hurt or joy. <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2015/11/michigan-wolverines-penn-state-nittany-lions-big-ten-college-football-jim-harbaugh.html">On the 2015 Penn State game</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Even when things don't seem to be going so well, Michigan flexes, you look up and the opponent is done. Like that, disintegrated.</span></blockquote>
Run a video package over and over again, as many times as you like -- video can do a lot of things, but it can't define a feeling or give structure to an experience like the written word can. Words can tell you how to feel or perceive. Zoom in further: Words show you what one way to feel or perceive might be like.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
Video will give you words to hear and visuals to process. In some ways, video is more effective than the written word. When I go down the YouTube rabbit hole of old Michigan games, and, for example, watch Chris Perry's touchdown scamper on Michigan's second play against Washington in 2002 -- no words can serve as substitutes for the roar of the crowd.<br />
<br />
With that said, video is not a total substitute for words. As you've probably heard (or read), FoxSports.com has decided to ditch its editorial team, essentially, in favor of a monomaniacal focus on videos.<br />
<br />
Funny enough, this screenshot of the new-look site is actually a pretty good summation of the state of things there:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssKRSYqlqQE/WVXOitBey9I/AAAAAAAACG0/6jBjEpvXJDobEHziA5kXGaqg-jnNZI-tQCLcBGAs/s1600/FS.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1574" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssKRSYqlqQE/WVXOitBey9I/AAAAAAAACG0/6jBjEpvXJDobEHziA5kXGaqg-jnNZI-tQCLcBGAs/s640/FS.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't we all paralyzed by one fear or another? Like, for example, not having enough video content to watch?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm not going to spend too much time here on why this is a particularly silly business decision, partially because I <a href="http://holdintherope.blogspot.com/2017/06/michigan-wolverines-orlando-magic-florida-gators-derrick-walton-nba-derrick-walton.html">touched on it a little bit the other day</a>, but also because there is <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/06/news-apps-are-making-a-comeback-more-young-americans-are-paying-for-news-2017-is-weird/">hard data on the subject</a>. It's also not worth analyzing extensively because Jamie Horowitz doesn't seem to know what he's doing and is not a rational actor. I want to say this decision was about aiming for the lowest common denominator, but I don't even know if that's true, because it seems to be aimed at ... a denominator that doesn't exist, i.e. people who only want videos. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Video is an invaluable component of any media operations, whether it covers sports or politics or Chilean sea bass cooking techniques. When done right, video <i>can </i>be more impactful and appealing to media consumers than writing. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But video can never be a substitute for the written word. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">---</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The fragmentation and balkanization of media these days means many things can be true simultaneously. Writing is good, but stories are best kept at fewer than 1,000 words or so to keep a reader's attention. Also, longform articles are good, too. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Videos can be good, but are more effective at extremes: the social media world of Vine-length (RIP) items, short highlight packages or interviews, and even some of the documentary-style pieces ESPN does. Videos of network personalities talking? I'm not sure who wants that. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A wholesale elimination of an editorial operation in the name of this video revolution is like throwing out an entire refrigerator's worth of good food because you like cheese sticks and want to fill your refrigerator with said cheese sticks. No matter how much you like cheese sticks, eventually you'll get sick of them and will be left wanting something else (probably as a result of the vitamin and mineral deficiencies developed while only eating cheese sticks). </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The good news is that the written word will persevere, no matter what the delivery mechanism is. Moreover, we're in an era with an all-time high level of access to writers of varying styles, perspectives and expertise. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Even though isn't a great time for journalism, it's a great time to be a writer and, in turn, to be a reader. </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-65227621360496454902017-06-28T03:23:00.003-04:002017-06-28T14:33:20.156-04:00Miscellaneous Minutiae: MAAR goes to Spain, Taco Tuesday and Walton in the City Beautiful<div class="tr_bq">
<i>It's June, nothing is happening -- so, Miscellaneous Minutiae is back. </i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<b>Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman took a trip to Spain, and it sounded delightful.</b> <a href="http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062617aaa.html">From MGoBlue</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
"I went to Barceloneta Beach, which is the main beach there," said Abdur-Rahkman. "I'd take the subway to the beach right after classes, and it was a great way to relax. I'm pretty sure it's better than any beach I've been to. I went swimming a little bit, but mainly just soaked up the sun.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
"Putting your feet in the sand, letting the water hit your feet and watching the sunsets. I had such a great time there. Now it's back to the grind."</div>
</blockquote>
Abdur-Rahkman was there taking a class on how sports and society intertwine. I wonder what an America-centric class on that subject would be like...<br />
<br />
"Now, class, in this module we'll discuss the inverse relationship between tweeting at high school recruits and said recruits coming to the tweeter's preferred school. Next slide, please. As you'll see, the data show a whopping 93 percent block rate..."<br />
<br />
On the basketball side, for a guy who has gotten as much run as him (albeit to varying degrees), his production as a senior will be key for a team that is replacing a lot of offensive firepower. As the article notes, he shot 48.9 percent from three during Big Ten play -- pretty good. That, combined with his ability to make things happen off the dribble make him a pivotal piece for the 2017-18 team.<br />
<br />
<b>Speaking of basketball</b>, Derrick Walton went undrafted but <a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2017/06/derrick_walton_jr_nba.html">signed a free-agent deal with the Orlando Magic</a>.<br />
<br />
As Michigan fans know, Walton lit the college basketball landscape on fire during the last couple of months of the 2016-17 season, carrying Michigan to a conference tournament title and a Sweet 16 appearance. As for the next step? It's always hard to predict which NBA hopefuls will wade through the swamp of Summer League play with a shot at a roster spot, but I can't help but think of a guy like Yogi Ferrell when I consider Walton's chances.<br />
<br />
I know, it's a pretty facile comparison -- both sturdy, yet undersized Big Ten point guards; dynamic from outside; engines of their college offenses. For all of Ferrell's exploits in Bloomington, he also went undrafted.<br />
<br />
Ferrell eventually signed a 10-day deal with the Dallas Mavericks and impressed so much that he <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nba/dallas-mavericks/article131226734.html">signed a two-year deal</a> with the team in February. He also made the All-Rookie Second Team.<br />
<br />
Every year that passes, I'm certain that a lot of NBA scouts are not good at their jobs. As a Bulls fan, I know this all too well.<br />
<br />
Teams missed on Ferrell, likely wary of his lack of size. But, like him, Walton plays bigger than his size, especially with respect to his rebounding numbers (something Michigan will miss in a big way).<br />
<br />
It also helps that Orlando isn't very good. Looking at their roster, Elfrid Payton is a flawed, albeit capable NBA point guard. After that, it's <a href="https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2017/06/26/2017-orlando-magic-free-agency-preview-the-point-guards/">less than ideal</a>.<br />
<br />
Perennial Bench Spark Plug Guy D.J. Augustin just finished the first year of a four-year deal, but his play was less than inspiring this past season. There's also the 33-year-old C.J. Watson, who is entering the final year of a three-year deal and is a candidate to be waived or dealt.<br />
<br />
In short, there's clearly opportunity here for Walton.<br />
<br />
A footnote: former Michigan State Spartans point guard Kalin Lucas, of the G-League's Erie BayHawks, <a href="https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2017/06/27/jonathan-isaac-headlines-orlando-magic-summer-league-team/">is also on the Magic's Summer League roster</a>. There may be some Spartan-Wolverine competition during the coming Summer League action.<br />
<br />
All in all, I think Walton is in a good spot. He might not make the team to start the season (or even get a preseason camp invite) -- but as Ferrell showed, all it takes is a shot to impress.<br />
<br />
The Orlando Pro Summer League runs from July 1-6.<br />
<br />
<b>It was a joyous Taco Tuesday, indeed. </b><a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2017/06/fittingly_taco_charlton_now_ha.html#incart_river_index">Only a matter of time</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Charlton already had a deal with Big Red soda in place, but on Tuesday it was announced that Charlton also would be endorsing Taco Bueno.</blockquote>
I look forward to future deals: Rashan Gary professing his love for Gary, Ind. in a tourism ad; John O'Korn popping <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmelkorn">Karmelkorn</a> and Ian Bunting in the new, modernized Tom Emanski instructional baseball videos focusing specifically on the dark art of bunting.<br />
<br />
<b>Gators with familiar concerns.</b> Looking ahead to Michigan's season opener, Gator Country has been highlighting question marks in each position group for Florida. The offensive line <a href="http://www.gatorcountry.com/feature/biggest-question-marks-for-florida-gators-football-in-2017-rbol/">is one such group with question marks</a> -- a familiar song for Michigan fans.<br />
<br />
Also in familiar songs:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: LatoRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
He takes over an offensive line that returns four starters in Martez Ivey, T.J. McCoy, Tyler Jordan and Jawaan Taylor. There is talent and experience, he just has to bring it out. When Davis took over, he made an interesting analogy, telling his players that it is pointless to have a Lamborghini with a bad transmission.<br />
“We have a bunch of tough, physical, athletic football players that really haven’t maximized their football potential,” said Davis. “My job and why I’m here is to get the best out of them every day.”</div>
</blockquote>
If Michigan's defensive line takes a step down -- and, let's be serious, it will by virtue of relative depth compared to 2016 -- it won't be much of a step down at all, barring injuries. If Florida's offensive line is still figuring things out, it could be a good day for the Michigan defense, especially given the question mark at quarterback for UF.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What are words but mere distractions from tantalizing video content?</b> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-26/fox-sports-cuts-web-writing-staff-to-invest-more-in-online-video">FoxSports.com is ditching the whole written word thing</a> in favor of, yes, wait for it -- videos!<br />
<br />
The website is laying off 20 writers and editors in favor of video production staff and, of course, hyping up the on-air "personalities" (I prefer the term "useless caricatures of caricatures," but that's just me). The layoffs include Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel -- the pair discussed their writing/podcasting futures in their most recent -- and possibly last -- <a href="https://soundcloud.com/the-audible/627-addressing-the-future-of-the-audible-fox-sports-dave-wannstedt">episode of The Audible</a> (which also features Dave Wannstedt talking about 2007).<br />
<br />
I cannot fathom this decision, but I also can't wrap my head around just about anything Fox Sports is doing. Yes, I understand, they are trying to differentiate themselves from ESPN while, oddly, siphoning off the worst aspects of ESPN (e.g. Skip Bayless).<br />
<br />
But now you're coming after the written word, Fox Sports? Word?<br />
<br />
It might be intuitive to see all the social media being used by young folks and assume they want video content, not things to read. It's an easy logical leap to make. And, safely in my own media consumption bubble, perhaps more people want that sort of thing than I am estimating. That might be the case for some people -- I know it's not the case for me (it's also why I tend to avoid TV news, except for local broadcasts and major breaking news events).<br />
<br />
In a sense, this will be somewhat of a referendum on the aforementioned: Do people actually want short videos explaining the news of the day? Will that drive eyeballs to the site? Maybe. If anything, it will be an interesting media experiment, not unlike seeing what happens when you take two curiously unmarked bottles of liquids in a chemistry lab and mix them together.<br />
<br />
Even if the radical shift away from words and toward video proves successful, it is stupid.<br />
<br />
Awful Announcing <a href="http://awfulannouncing.com/fox/jamie-horowitz-fox-sports-digital.html">has an interesting longform rundown</a> -- words, beautiful words! -- of the leadup to the decision to put the kibosh on the website's original, written content. During a meeting held in January, Jamie Horowitz, president of Fox Sports National Networks (and formerly of ESPN), laid out the new path to staff:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: , serif;">"What really does work is when you take things are good like ’11 Coaches Oregon Might Hire’, that might be something someone is interested in the day Helfrich gets fired, and we change to ‘Colin Cowherd’s 11 Coaches.’ We’ve seen this be very successful. You look at Fox News right now, O’Reilly and his take. That’s all it is. And there are many different ways. “Colin, some of our guys and girls want to write stuff.” Sometimes you might ghost-write it for them. Sometimes you might just hear them say things on shows and that can lead you to write a story about stuff they have said. And here’s a good example of something like that. Bradshaw says something interesting about Greg Hardy on a pre-game show, and immediately writing a story about what TB said. Taking our existing content and making that into news.”</span></blockquote>
Who are these people who want more of Bayless, Shannon Sharpe and Terry Bradshaw? Do they really exist?<br />
<br />
Maybe I could find the answer somewhere on the internet -- perhaps an article with graphs, charts and words?<br />
<br />
Probably not in a video, though.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-27116903089573664262017-06-15T01:34:00.001-04:002017-06-15T18:48:38.252-04:00Are you really a Michigan fan? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" id="id_2071_b518_7395_bd7d"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyPYJv3N8kA/UmLsMrDd54I/AAAAAAAABeE/yKzVA_hKfy43ZU_J26_RtuvlRueSROPvQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/block%2BM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyPYJv3N8kA/UmLsMrDd54I/AAAAAAAABeE/yKzVA_hKfy43ZU_J26_RtuvlRueSROPvQCPcBGAYYCw/s640/block%2BM.JPG" width="640" id="id_f822_2bba_254c_9411" style="width: 640px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">File photo</td></tr>
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For those from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, for journalists, for Chicago-area journalists, and everything in between, Mike Royko is a name that bounces off the page, rattles and rolls like a one-two punch.<br>
<br>
One second, just minding your own business while walking through a gangway, you're blindsided by words -- simple, powerful and cutting. Pow, pow.<br>
<br>
For the uninitiated, Royko was a legendary columnist in Chicago, most known for his work for the Chicago Daily News. He <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-mike-royko-20-years-death-perspec-0416-20170414-story.html">died 20 years ago</a>, leaving behind thousands of columns. <br>
<br>
Although his work came well before my time, I dove into his writing this week through a collection of his columns, "Slats Grobnik and Some Other Friends."<br>
<br>
From penny-lagging competitions to his travels around Europe to skewering of Chicago politicians to his wry depictions of his pal Slats Grobnik, Royko paints a picture of life in Chicago -- the corruption, the characters, the cacophony of it all.<br>
<br>
In his column April 11, 1968, titled "Are you really a Cubs fan?", he writes about the North Side club, which at that point in the early season was considered a contender. (In 1968, the Cubs finished 84-78, 13 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals eventually lost to the Detroit Tigers in a seven-game World Series.)<br>
<br>
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<br>
Royko began the column: <br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The bookies say the Cubs are contenders for the pennant, so it must be true. And now the city is crawling with Cub fans.<br>
But are they really Cubs fans? Were they around, were they loyal, when everything the Cubs did was disgusting? Were they out there cheering when the only thing to cheer about was when the ball came off the screen and hit the batboy in the head?<br>
There is one way to find out: If you are suspicious of someone, make him take the Cub quiz. It is guaranteed to weed out imposters.</blockquote>
Royko then delivered a set of 15 questions: some genuine, others not so much. Every sports personality mentioned in the series of questions was dubbed "immortal."<br>
<br>
Q: What did the immortal Wayne K. Otto hit?<br>
A: Nothing. But Hack Wilson once hit him. He was a sportswriter, so he probably deserved it.<br>
<br>
Royko jokes that, "Five correct answers qualifies you as a true-blue Cub fan and permits you to paste this column to the front of your face."<br>
<br>
The column, written 49 years ago, reminded me of Michigan -- as many things do.<br>
<br>
The natural follow-up, then, was simple: Are you really a Michigan fan?<br>
<br>
Now that Michigan has reached the pinnacle of human achievement with back-to-back 10-win seasons, including a 78-0 defeat of Rutgers, it's easy to be a Michigan fan these days.<br>
<br>
Of course, more trying times still linger in recent memory.<br>
<br>
Were you there when Michigan couldn't do anything right, save for beating Notre Dame? When the team fell flat on its face to start the 2007 season, when the Wolverines looked to beat a supposedly inferior team with a then-still-funny offense -- and also Appalachian State?<br>
<br>
Well, were you?<br>
<br>
What about when Michigan faced the indignity of playing at Minnesota on a Friday night in 2003? (Back then, that was a radical thing to do.) What about the 2002 Citrus Bowl, when Tennessee's Jason Witten and Donte Stallworth embarked on leisurely strolls through Michigan's secondary, like its component parts were trees in the Arb? Did you use the Saturday the week before the Game of the Year of the Decade of the Century to do yardwork, thinking Brady Hoke's Ball State squad wouldn't make too much of a fuss?<br>
<br>
To prove your worth as a human being -- and also because it's mid-June and what else is there to do ... watch baseball? -- see how many of these 16 questions you can get right. (Because of yours truly's age, these questions will focus on the last 20 years or so.)<br>
<br>
These questions were painstakingly considered and certainly not picked at random or on whims. Good luck.<br>
<br>
Answer too many incorrectly and you might have an existential crisis on your hands.<br>
<br>
Should that happen, just know you have until the fall to make things right.<br>
<br>
<b>QUESTIONS</b><br>
1. The immortal Jacob Stewart recorded one career interception -- what was the name of the stadium in which he accomplished the momentous feat?<br>
<br>
2. In 2002, Michigan defeated Washington to open the season on a last-second field goal by Philip Brabbs. On the final drive, Braylon Edwards fumbled a fourth-down reception (well, Washington fans might say "fumbled" a fourth-down "reception.") Who recovered the fumble?<br>
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3. "In the Big House" made its debut in 2011, brought to, naturally, the Big House by the band Pop Evil. From which Michigan town do the band members hail?<br>
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4. Yours truly once saw Calvin Magee, Michigan's former offensive coordinator, picking up food at a no-longer-existing Ann Arbor eatery. Which eatery was it?<br>
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5. Before John Navarre attained immortality and won a Big Ten championship at Michigan, he was at one point committed to another school. Which school was it?<br>
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6. Follow-up to question No. 5: the immortal John Navarre, after decommitting from the answer to question No. 5, attempted to get a scholarship spot at another school that was not Michigan. He didn't get it because the school had already taken two quarterbacks in the class. One of those quarterbacks became a future longtime NFL backup. Who was he?<br>
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7. The immortal Drew Dileo came to Ann Arbor by way of Louisiana, a state Michigan historically hasn't had much success recruiting. But Dileo, in fact, carried the torch from a fellow Pelican Stater who was on the roster the year prior to Dileo's arrival. Who was Dileo's Louisianan predecessor?<br>
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8. The immortal Chad Henne got the surprise start as a true freshman for the 2004 season opener when Matt Gutierrez was sidelined by an injury sustained in pregame warm-ups. Of course, Michigan won and the rest is history. Michigan's opponent that day started a new quarterback, too -- who was that team's starter the year before?<br>
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9. "The last time Brian Griese ran that far, his daddy was chasing him with a stick." Who said it, and when?<br>
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10. Rich Rodriguez had a tough time at Michigan, but especially against Ohio State. In his first season as head coach, the Wolverines lost at Ohio State, 42-7. What was the score at halftime?<br>
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11. How many times did Wisconsin pass during the second half of the 2010 game in Ann Arbor?<br>
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12. Without looking, how do you spell the name of the immortal running back who galloped for 313 yards against Ohio State in 1995?<br>
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13. Carl Grapentine's voice has filled the Big House for a long time. He's been the PA man full-time since 2006 (he filled in a few games for Howard King in 2005). But Mr. Grapentine isn't just about football -- in fact, he's hosted a radio show for far longer than he's welcomed the band to the field. On which Chicago radio station does he lend his voice on weekday mornings?<br>
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14. Who was the immortal -- wink wink -- Michigan defensive lineman who started 12 games in each of the 2001 and 2002 seasons and whose last name matches that of a Biblical figure?<br>
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15. Who were the four "metallic" defenders of the 1990s (think names)?<br>
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16. The reverse/end around is a beautiful play. As far as trick plays go for Old Michigan, they were decidedly subversive. You think it's going here, friend, but no! Who was Michigan's unofficial Designated Reverse/End Around Man of the early 2000s?<br>
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For the answers to these pointed, important questions, hit the jump. Answer at least five correctly and you have earned the right to print your answers, laminate the page and wear it pinned to your shirt at Michigan's season opener in Texas later this year.<br>
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That way, people will know you are true blue.<br>
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<b>ANSWERS</b><br>
1. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome -- a kind place it was.<br>
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2. Tyrece Butler, of course. (With today's replay system, there's no doubt a hypothetical review process for that particular play would have taken at least 10 minutes. And, who knows, maybe that hypothetical delay would've changed the flow of the game, its result and, thus, the course of history.<br>
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3. Muskegon. I have nothing else to add here.<br>
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4. Bell's Pizza (RIP). I don't know what he ordered. Calzone, maybe.<br>
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5. Northwestern, before Gary Barnett ultimately left Evanston for the Colorado job.<br>
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6. Navarre sought to play for Barry Alvarez, but the Badgers coach had promised his two quarterback commits he would not take any additional quarterbacks in the class. The future NFL backup in that Wisconsin class? Jim Sorgi. (Bonus fact: Alvarez asked Navarre to play defense. Check out this <a href="http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/s/navarre.html">article from the ancient internet</a>.)<br>
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7. Why, that would be fellow wide receiver and the eminently-Louisianan-sounding LaTerryal Savoy, of Mamou, Louisiana. He only made one career start (2008 Illinois) but he came up with two big catches during the game-winning drive of the 2009 Notre Dame game.<br>
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8. The opponent, Miami (OH) -- coached by the late Terry Hoeppner -- had to replace Ben Roethlisberger. In case you are curious, Josh Betts started that 2004 game for the RedHawks. The more you know.<br>
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9. Keith Jackson said it during Michigan's 1997 drubbing of Penn State in Happy Valley.<br>
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10. 14-7. I, then a college sophomore, was there. There could not have been more than a couple hundred Michigan fans in Ohio Stadium that day. Brandon Minor scored near the end of the first half. There wasn't much else to cheer about that day; that is, other than the season's merciful end.<br>
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11. Once. I was also there for that one. It was my last home game as a student. Montee Ball and future should've-been-Super-Bowl-MVP James White ran for a combined 354 yards (6.8 YPC). Calling it grim doesn't do it justice. Imagine a schoolyard bully holding a younger kid's head away at an arm's length as the youngster flails and shouts. Actually, it was more like the older kid just pummeling the younger kid. As for Wisconsin's lone pass of the second half? It resulted in a fumble, recovered by Michigan.<br>
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12. Tshimanga Biakabutuka. Most people around campus, I imagine, just called him Tim.<br>
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13. <a href="http://www.wfmt.com/programs/mornings-with-carl-grapentine/">98.7 WFMT in Chicago</a> -- classical music on weekday mornings for Carl, the Michigan Marching Band on Saturdays.<br>
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14. The immortal Shawn Lazarus. The very idea of him is reborn in your mind, now.<br>
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15. Sam Sword, Ian Gold, Jarrett Irons and Glen Steele. The 1990s were truly a golden age for many things, but especially Michigan football names.<br>
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16. The immortal Calvin Bell. In 2001, <a href="http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/calvin-bell-1.html">Bell carried the ball</a> 14 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns, good for a transcendent 21.4 percent touchdown rate. That, of course, put Bell among the greats of the game. They didn't call him Calvin "A Touchdown Every Five Carries" Bell in 2001 for nothing.<br>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FAutYiVSAxE?start=300" width="560" id="id_66fc_16a_d4ec_bff9"></iframe>Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-66266404314113475132017-03-23T22:45:00.002-04:002017-03-23T22:45:40.741-04:00Michigan 68, Oregon 69: End of the lineAfter 20 minutes, Michigan trailed by two -- but it felt like it should have been much more. <div>
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After 40 minutes, Michigan lost by one -- but it felt like it should have been much less, another outcome, a different narrative track. </div>
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Michigan led 68-65 with 2:04 left in the game when Oregon's Dylan Ennis stepped up to the line for the front end of a one-and-one. He missed, but Jordan Bell (16 points, 13 rebounds), who helped Oregon dominate the interior all game, grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to cut Michigan's lead to one. </div>
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If Michigan grabs the rebound there, maybe the game selects a different path down the Plinko-esque road to the finish. </div>
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Tyler Dorsey (7-for-15, 20 points) scored what proved to be the winning bucket with 1:09 to play. DJ Wilson's three-point attempt fell off the mark on the next possession, and, on the final play, senior Derrick Walton took the last shot of his Michigan career, one he's taken, and made, many times before. </div>
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Between the legs, hesitation, stepback. Start, stop, <i>go go go. </i>The Walton waltz is a familiar dance, one that lulls defenders to sleep with its suddenness and precision, both horizontally and vertically. </div>
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His final shot looked like so many others in his Michigan career, which was four years long but felt like 10. The seconds ticked off, one by one. He made his move and fired, the same way he had so many times before. </div>
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Only this time, it fell just short, hitting the front of the rim and falling toward the floor as the final tenths of a second of his Michigan career ticked away. His hands went up around his temples, up to the source of quickly rushing memories, estuaries feeding into a sea of emotion. </div>
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Michigan's run had come to an end. </div>
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The seniors, Walton and Zak Irvin, came to play in their final game. Walton finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, a remarkably unsurprising stat line from him during his two-month run through opposing defenses. Irvin scored 19 points, 14 of them in the second half. </div>
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The first 20 minutes were mostly notable for how poorly Michigan played without getting blown out. </div>
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Despite a typically strong do-it-all half from Walton -- who scored eight points and assisted seven of his teammates' nine field goals in the opening 20 minutes -- the Wolverines shot just 39.3 percent from the field. Luckily for them, Oregon wasn't much better (41.4 percent), and struggles from the free-throw line also hurt the Ducks. </div>
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While the seniors stood tall, Michigan's sophomores showed their inexperience. </div>
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Days after notching a career high in points against Louisville, Moritz Wagner (3-for-10, seven points) seemed lost. He struggled on the block defensively, and never found his rhythm on the offensive end in a half that featured several bad misses from beyond the arc. Similarly, although Wilson hit back-to-back treys in the opening three minutes, he scored just six more points the rest of the way. He attempted just two shots inside the arc all game (he missed both, including a crucial one late on a bunny that probably should have been a dunk). </div>
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Add an underwhelming performance from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman to the mix (1-for-6, two points, three turnovers), and it's a wonder Michigan was able to keep it so close. </div>
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Despite scoring at a measly rate of 0.89 points per possession in the first half, Michigan trailed by just two at the break, 35-33. On top of that, the Wolverines limited the Ducks' transition game and strong defense from Zak Irvin helped keep Oregon's Dillon Brooks mostly in check (2-for-6, four points in the first half). </div>
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The second half didn't go much better, but given the nature of the game, Oregon's 50-44 lead with 12 minutes left felt insurmountable. Of course, it wasn't. </div>
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Michigan answered with a 7-0 run, but Oregon scored the next five to lead 56-51. A bucket from Irvin cut the deficit to three. Not long after, Walton followed a fadeaway two with a triple to give Michigan a 61-60 lead with 4:15 left in the game. </div>
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Seemingly everything was going wrong for Michigan, but Walton and Irvin kept their team afloat. Even in defeat, the senior from Fishers, Ind., and his teammate from Detroit gave their careers a worthy coda. </div>
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A Michigan free-throw boxout could have been the difference in this one. Or, it could have been Wilson's biffed layup. Or, it could have been any number of other things, big and small. </div>
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In reality, it's not all that complicated. In a close game, Oregon made one more play at the end than did Michigan. End of story. </div>
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The story of this team, however, is so much more than this game. It started with a roar in New York with blowouts against Marquette and SMU, then took a shaky turn at the start of conference play. At one point, making the NCAA Tournament was no certainty. Many fans expressed disappointment in the team's, especially that of Irvin and Walton, whose play was not matching their recruiting rankings or seniority. </div>
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Gradually, Irvin found his level, and Walton picked his up, fast. Michigan went screaming through the home stretch, only bested twice, both in difficult circumstances at Northwestern (miracle buzzer-beater) and at Minnesota (overtime). </div>
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Then, the airplane, the run in Indianapolis, the Sweet 16. You know the story. You'll never forget it. </div>
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While any loss is disappointing, know this: this team took what was becoming a disastrous season and turned into a major success. Four wins in four days gave the Wolverines their first Big Ten Tournament title since 1998. On the petty side, Michigan somewhat avenged its 2013 national title game loss against Rick Pitino's Louisville to advance to tonight's matchup against Oregon. </div>
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All in all, the memories, not to mention the championship banner that will go up in Crisler Center, greatly outweigh the disappointment of tonight's loss. </div>
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Oregon won, by the slimmest of margins, but Michigan had its shot at the very end. For all its struggles throughout the game, Michigan went out on a note of self-determination: its best player with the ball in his hands and a chance to stay on the ride. </div>
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Exactly the way it should be. </div>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-12940126575520533502017-03-19T18:42:00.001-04:002017-03-19T18:42:25.159-04:00Michigan 73, Louisville 69: The rematchAlmost half the time Louisville missed a shot today, a Louisville player grabbed an offensive rebound for a second-chance opportunity. Against most teams, that kind of an overwhelming advantage on the boards would have been enough to win.<br />
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But it was not enough today against No. 7 seed Michigan, which marches on after a 73-69 victory Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis.<br />
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In almost every respect, Michigan played the quintessential John Beilein game today against No. 2 seed Louisville, all the way from the precision of its tactics to the Super Soaker-wielding coach in the locker room after the game. Say hello to my little friend, he says, waving to opposing defenders who know not whether to help on shooters, double down or posts or, in a fit of frustration, find themselves lost on the vast, floor-spaced plains, covering no one, doing nothing.<br />
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Michigan shot "just" 35 percent from three today and was out-attempted from beyond the arc by the Cardinals (17 attempts to Louisville's 20). But, outside of that, Michigan's victory this afternoon in Indianapolis came from a familiar storybook.<br />
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The Wolverines out-executed the larger, more physically imposing Cardinals, who trotted out a 7-foot Cairene from its bench when a member of its starting forest of frontcourters was felled by fouls. Also, see if this sounds familiar: Michigan turned it over just six times against an aggressive Louisville defense (see also: VCU, 2013).<br />
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Michigan also did something Beilein has done numerous times now in his Ann Arbor tenure (both in games and long term): adjusted.<br />
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Long known as a perimeter-oriented roster, Michigan has seen its focus shift subtly in the other direction this season. Yes, Derrick Walton is still the heart and soul of this team, and was every bit of that Friday afternoon against Oklahoma State. But just like Beilein's offenses shifted away from being relatively ball screen-averse, the offense has evolved far beyond what Michigan was doing, even as of January. With two skilled bigs, capable of hitting the outside shot and flummoxing bigs with above-average handles, Michigan can play position-less basketball.<br />
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Want to leave them open? They'll bury a three in your eye. Want to play tight man-to-man? They'll cut and find ways to finish at the rim. Want to guard them in the post one-one-one? Well, Moritz Wagner showed what he does to that defense today.<br />
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The versatility of Michigan's frontcourt options paid off again, just like it did twice against Purdue. Wagner tallied a career-high 26 points (11-for-14 from the field), many of them coming on easy spins against Deng Adel et al in the post or blow-bys from the perimeter.<br />
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<i>Wagner's shot chart is ... good. </i></div>
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With the win, Michigan moves on to its third Sweet 16 in five seasons. Either Oregon or Rhode Island awaits.<br />
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But there were moments when the game appeared ready to escape Michigan in predictable fashion, snowed under by a barrage of Louisville offensive rebounds and a disjointed offense at the other end.<br />
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Michigan tied things up late in the first half, but an 8-0 Louisville run in the final minute sent it into the half not feeling great about itself. It was a first-half finish reminiscent of the 2013 title game, in which Luke Hancock erased Spike Albrecht's transcendent performance with several big shots of his own.<br />
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Louisville's Mangok Mathiang put his team up nine with 16:10 to play. Not long after, Quentin Snider lined up a triple for a chance to give Louisville a 12-point lead -- it wouldn't have been insurmountable, but there are points in games where things either keep going in one direction, or, they reverse course.<br />
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Luckily for Michigan, Snider was off all afternoon, finishing 0-for-9 from the field (0-for-7 from beyond the arc).<br />
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The Wolverines slowly chipped away, tying the game at 51-51 after a pair of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman free throws with just over nine minutes remaining. Abdur-Rahkman put Michigan ahead with a layup not long after, and Michigan never trailed again the rest of the way.<br />
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D.J. Wilson added a jumper, Wagner buried a triple and Walton, who struggled with his shot all game, buried his second triple of the contest to put Michigan up 61-57 with 5:55 left.<br />
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Although Walton struggled from the field, he contributed when it counted, first with the aforementioned three and again with 30 seconds remaining on a layup to put the Wolverines up 69-65. As has typically been the case with the senior point guard, even when his shot isn't falling, he's found ways to leave his mark on a game -- in addition to 11 points, he tallied seven rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers.<br />
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Louisville grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, good for a 45 percent offensive rebounding percentage. Despite that, and the fact that the Cardinals out-attempted the Wolverines from three, Michigan punched back with the Wilson-Wagner one-two, for which Pitino had no answer. Seemingly content to afford the skilled Michigan bigs one-on-one opportunities and trade two-point baskets, that strategy burned the Cardinals.<br />
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After scoring 28 points in the first half, Michigan dropped 45 in the second. The Wolverines adjusted and proceeded to exploit the mismatches they were provided.<br />
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The result? A career day for Wagner, a 17-point day for Wilson and another Beilein team advancing past the opening weekend of the tournament.<br />
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At this point, forget about the seeds: Michigan is a good team that picked it up at the right time. Whether you want to credit Maverick Morgan, a pair of sophomores progressing rapidly or a senior igniting a team, the Wolverines have hit their stride over the last two months.<br />
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Whichever team Michigan has to face next will have its hands full. It doesn't seem like this Michigan team has any intention of seeing its season end anytime soon.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-48318510318292715282017-03-12T17:30:00.002-04:002017-03-12T17:30:35.406-04:00Michigan 71, Wisconsin 56: From January to championsNo matter what happened today, few would have envisioned this Wolverines run just five weeks ago.<br />
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The plane incident and the wearing of the practice jerseys are inseparable parts of this team's lore, and rightly so. Today's Big Ten Tournament championship game, however, was not necessarily about resilience or moxie, but a Michigan team culminating a spree of splendid basketball -- one that began several weeks ago -- with one more top-notch showing.<br />
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This team isn't a plucky underdog getting by on grit, some luck and hot shooting. This team is just good.<br />
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In case any doubt remained as to the growth and quality of this team, Michigan did well to quash it with a convincing 71-56 win against the Badgers Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C., good for Michigan's fourth win in four days and its first Big Ten Tournament title since 1998, the tournament's inaugural year (a title that was later vacated).<br />
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Led by another shining performance from senior Derrick Walton (22 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and just one turnover), Michigan led for 39 minutes, 42 seconds (the Badgers led briefly, 6-5, early in the game).<br />
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This won't go down as the best or most talented Michigan basketball team, but they did something even those stacked teams of a few years ago -- rosters with Tim Hardaway Jr., Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary, Trey Burke, Caris LeVert, Glenn Robinson III, Jordan Morgan, and so on -- failed to do.<br />
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This one won the Big Ten Tournament. Four wins in four days -- a new banner will soon rise.<br />
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The shaky Michigan of January, one for which a tournament berth seemed a dubious proposition, was ushered out the door long ago. In that January apparition's stead, a reforged Walton, increasingly confident Moritz Wagner and D.J. Wilson, and Zak Irvin, once lost but then refound, led the way on the road to March.<br />
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Since Michigan's listless Feb. 4 home loss against Ohio State, they've been one of the best teams in the country, winning nine of 11 coming into today (with losses coming in overtime at Minnesota and on a last-second shot for the ages at Northwestern).<br />
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After defeating Illinois, top-seeded Purdue and Minnesota, only No. 2 seed Wisconsin -- against whom they split the regular-season series -- stood between the Wolverines and a conference tournament title.<br />
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For all of Irvin's well-documented struggles in late January and into February, the senior notched solid regular-season performances against the Badgers, scoring a combined 38 points on 15-for-28 shooting. He tallied a quick six points early today en route to nine first-half points, but fellow senior was the star of the first 20 minutes, putting up his first 12 points by making four of his first five three-point attempts.<br />
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Michigan extended its lead to 10 at 30-20 with five minutes left in the half. However, a 12-3 Wisconsin run, capped by a Bronson Koenig triple just before the buzzer, cut it to one at the break. Koenig, who did not play in the matchup at Crisler Center, tallied 13 first-half points on 5-for-7 shooting.<br />
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Michigan came out of the second half with a 6-0 run, with Wisconsin tallying its first points 5 minutes, 19 seconds into the half on a pair of Nigel Hayes free throws (the Badgers didn't convert their first field goal until more than eight minutes had elapsed in the half).<br />
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Almost two minutes later, Irvin extended Michigan's lead back to 10 with a strong and-1 take at the rim, putting him in double figures for each of Michigan's four tournament games.<br />
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With Wisconsin's offense scuffling, struggling with turnovers and, quite frankly, failing to convert some good looks, Michigan looked to keep its foot on the gas and avoid a fate similar to its regular-season collapse against Virginia Tech.<br />
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With just over eight minutes to play, a Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman triple hit the rim, bounced up approximately five feet, contemplated the meaning of life before swishing in and giving Michigan an 11-point lead -- it was just that kind of day. The Badgers quickly cut the deficit to six, however, with six minutes to play.<br />
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On the ensuing possession, Irvin again answered the call, this time curling around a screen for a catch-and-shoot at the arc over Jordan Hill to beat the shot clock and push the lead back to nine. Not long after, Duncan Robinson buried a triple from essentially the same spot on the same curl. After a stretch featuring several dribble-heavy possessions, Michigan was, as they say, "running its stuff" with precision.<br />
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And just to cement the fact that this was Michigan's day, a frantic loose ball situation after Wisconsin pressured on an inbound pass led to a Wilson outlet pass to Abdur-Rahkman for a breakaway dunk. Then it was Wilson's turn for a breakaway dunk, then Walton's for a breakaway layup.<br />
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Up 13 with 1:08 left, chants of "Let's Go Blue" rang out, presaging the celebration of Michigan's tournament title.<br />
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It's hard to believe that, after all of this, there's still basketball to be played. Michigan will learn its NCAA Tournament seeding later today (but indications are it might be a 6-seed).<br />
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Whatever happens, the last four days gave Michigan fans a ride they won't soon forget.<br />
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And with few teams playing better basketball than the Wolverines right now, another ride could be on its way.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-70273108331999651882017-02-25T18:23:00.002-05:002017-02-25T18:31:40.327-05:00Michigan 82, Purdue 70: Senior send-offOn Senior Day, it was a sophomore star who shined the brightest overall for the Wolverines, but a senior who made the biggest play.<br />
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Sophomore Moritz Wagner kickstarted Michigan's effort against No. 14 Purdue, scoring 12 of Michigan's first 23 points. Purdue's Caleb Swanigan was completely out of his element against the mobile Wagner, who tallied 22 first-half points, doing it both inside and outside (4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first half). Michigan went into the half up 45-30 and led by as many as 22 in the second.<br />
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Purdue, however, stormed back and cut Michigan's lead to six with just over two minutes to play. Memories of earlier defeats (e.g. Virginia Tech) resurfaced.<br />
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Derrick Walton (17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) then made the play Michigan needed most, burying an off-balance 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and push Michigan's lead back to nine late, a crucial shot in the face of Purdue's surge. Michigan held on for an 82-70 victory, moving to 19-10 (9-7) on the season and most likely locking up an NCAA Tournament berth.<br />
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Michigan showcased its diametrical brand of basketball when, late in the first half, DJ Wilson and Wagner collaborated on a pick-and-roll, with Wilson finding Wagner on the dive for an easy two. Yes, Purdue had the size and physicality advantage, but in space its frontline players looked like Chris Graham trying to stay with Anthony Gonzalez in the 2006 iteration of The Game.<br />
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There is another version of this game in which the Boilermakers' size overwhelms Michigan with a barrage of putbacks, dunks and baby hooks. Today's game did not offer that version. Instead, Michigan used its speed and offensive precision to outmaneuver Purdue's frontline advantage.<br />
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After a 66 percent mark in the first half, it was unlikely the Wolverines could continue hitting at that clip. Wagner picked up his third foul, too, with 15:48 to play. And even though Michigan missed its first seven 3-pointers of the second half, Purdue couldn't get closer than 11 (until late). Michigan's defensive shape, paired with a number of missed bunnies by Haas et al, kept the Boilers at bay for most of the second half.<br />
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Even when Purdue wasn't missing relatively easy looks in the paint, Michigan's defense forced turnovers via well-executed double teams and traps. Michigan is not an elite defensive team by any stretch, but they've improved significantly since the early part of the Big Ten schedule, when several opponents shelled the U-M D (Illinois, 85 points; Iowa, 86 points; Maryland, 77 points; Nebraska, 85 points).<br />
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Michigan created some breathing room for itself when Xavier Simpson swished an open corner three, then Wilson and Duncan Robinson followed suit with triples of their own to make it 66-44 just before the penultimate media timeout. The Wolverines appeared ready to cruise to an easy victory, another statement win at home.<br />
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Purdue, however, wouldn't go away so easily. A 13-2 run cut Michigan's lead to 11 with just over five minutes to play. Fittingly, with Michigan needing an answer, Wagner scored his first (and only) points of the second half to push the lead back to 13.<br />
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Purdue kept charging, eventually cutting the deficit to six points with 2:13 left. Walton's shot-clock-beating three took the wind out of Purdue's sails, and Michigan was afforded the opportunity of giving its seniors a standing ovation from the Crisler crowd.<br />
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Ignoring the clunker of a win at Rutgers and the overtime loss at Minnesota, Michigan has hit its stride at the right time. For even the most paranoid, this victory probably gets Michigan into the tournament field. Now, Michigan can focus on improving its seeding with road victories at Northwestern and Nebraska, then a strong showing in the conference tournament.<br />
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As for the seniors, it's almost hard to believe that the careers of Walton and Irvin are near their end. Both have enjoyed great highs and experienced lows. Walton has turned it up of late, while Irvin has, for the most part, struggled mightily this season.<br />
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Whatever happens, if Irvin can find himself the rest of the way, no one will remember the rest of it. Hit a big shot, make a big play, keep the season going -- do any of those things, and history smiles fondly.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-17816846629942207312017-02-16T21:19:00.002-05:002017-02-16T21:19:07.861-05:00Michigan 64, Wisconsin 58: Groove backIt was only a matter of time.<br />
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Senior Zak Irvin came into tonight having averaged 3.25 ppg in his last four outings, with a macabre 4-for-31 mark from the field during that stretch. Luckily for Michigan, fellow senior Derrick Walton has carried the load, but Irvin was relegated to the shadows in the process, seemingly set to play out his college career beset by a particularly aggressive case of the yips (or some variation of that).<br />
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The thing about the yips is that it often makes a dramatic exit once its clawing embrace is shed. Irvin made several big second-half shots -- including what must have been a cathartic breakaway dunk to put Michigan up eight with under three minutes to play -- en route to 18 points and a 64-58 victory against No. 11 Wisconsin Thursday night in Ann Arbor.<br />
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Although Wisconsin was without guard Bronson Koenig, this will still go down as a resume-building win for the Wolverines, who looked to avenge the loss in Madison. Michigan played with fire in that first meeting Jan. 17 at the Kohl Center, choosing to avoid double-teaming Badgers big man Ethan Happ. That strategy paid off, as Happ finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, a mediocre night for him.<br />
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Eventually, though, the fire burns you. In tonight's matchup at the Crisler Center, Happ hit the Wolverines for 18 first-half points (8-for-9 from the field). More importantly, however, Happ managed just four second-half points before fouling out in the final minute.<br />
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Luckily for the Wolverines, Moritz Wagner brought his A game, too, tallying 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first half to keep Michigan afloat in the face of Happ's prolific first half. While Irvin's line was encouraging, Wagner (21 points) was the undisputed star of the show. Perhaps the most impressive of his buckets was a take from the left wing, when Wagner started right then went left behind his back en route to a nifty finish at the rim.<br />
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Not much else went well for the Wolverines in the first half. Michigan struggled most when reserve center Jon Teske drew into the lineup -- Happ went to work on Teske. Compounding the frontcourt issues, DJ Wilson put up zero points in the opening frame (he went scoreless in the matchup at Kohl). On top of all that Derrick Walton went 1-for-6 in the first half for three points, despite coming off of a string of superb play that had pushed him into the All-Big Ten First Team discussion. It was also an uncharacteristically sloppy half for the Wolverines (seven turnovers).<br />
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Nonetheless, UW went just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, which ended with the visitors up just 31-30.<br />
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Michigan's turnover issues continued to start the second half, when a Dmitrik Trice steal turned into two points the other way. Then, Zak Showalter buried a three and Happ backed Wagner down for an easy two (after which Michigan started doubling him) to open a 38-30 lead.<br />
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Michigan did not allow the game to get away, embarking on a crucial 8-2 run that included Wilson's first -- and only -- points on a dunk assisted by Irvin.<br />
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In a key sequence to follow, Irvin banked in a shot-clock-beating triple and Happ picked up his third foul with about 12:34 to play. Not long after, Irvin buried a long two to get him to 12 points on the night, his first strong showing since he scored 12 in the home blowout of Indiana.<br />
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With the score knotted at 47, Walton (five points, five rebounds, eight assists) found a way to make a non-scoring contribution, driving into the lane and dishing to Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman who knocked in a triple while being fouled, putting Michigan up 51-47 after his free throw with just under eight minutes to play. Michigan kept rolling when Mark Donnal blocked a Happ shot that led to an Irvin three at the other end.<br />
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Irvin's aforementioned dunk put Michigan up eight with just under three minutes to play, and the Wolverines held on for the win to move to 7-6 in Big Ten play.<br />
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Although Walton's streak of prolific scoring came to an end, he found other ways to contribute. Wagner produced a masterful performance to neutralize Happ's big first half and the Wolverines made adjustments at halftime to limit Happ in the final 20 minutes.<br />
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Sure, UW was without Koenig, but this will still look like a good win. More importantly, if Irvin's performance is indicative of how the rest of his season will play out, the Wolverines might just finally be rounding into a stabilized, dangerous form as postseason play approaches.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-70596749866540020072017-02-12T15:38:00.002-05:002017-02-14T01:46:51.315-05:00Michigan 75, Indiana 63: ExorcisedIndiana's Assembly Hall, Michigan's "house of horrors": it's become a cliche, but one with teeth. After all, things become clichéd with a reason, not by rhetorical whims.<br />
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The reason? Coming into today's matchup, the Wolverines had gone 1-17 in Bloomington in their last 18 meetings, the last win coming in 2008-09.<br />
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So, naturally, in continuation of Michigan's season of wild unpredictability, the Wolverines notched their first Big Ten road victory on Sunday, racing out to a 10-point halftime lead and holding on in the second to win 75-63 and move to .500 in conference play (6-6).<br />
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Once again, the senior Derrick Walton led the way. Whether it was the Illinois "white collar" comment or the realization that his college career's end draws near, or a combination of the two, Walton has played the best basketball of his four-year career over the last month.<br />
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With 2:40 to play, Walton converted a step-back mid-range jumper from the elbow, the kind that confident players make when they're feeling it, getting a friendly shooter's roll on the typically unkind Assembly Hill rim. Luckily for Michigan, Walton has been feeling it in a big way.<br />
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After scoring 20-plus points in his previous four outings (IU, MSU, OSU and MSU again) he tallied 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting, plus five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He capped his day with a steal at midcourt, taking it the other way for an uncontested layup and the cherry on top of the Assembly Hall victory sundae.<br />
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Michigan got off to a hot start, going 6-for-10 from three in the first half, whereas the Hoosiers went 0-for-6 while also committing 10 turnovers. Walton again led the way for the Wolverines with 10 first-half points.<br />
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Even so, Indiana hung around, particularly early in the second half when Michigan failed to turn offensive rebounds (sometimes two in a single possession) into points. Michigan eventually snapped a scoring drought lasting more than eight minutes when Moritz Wagner buried a pick-and-pop triple just over four minutes into the second half.<br />
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Indiana cut the lead to six, but none other Walton converted an and-one bucket, and a few minutes later Duncan Robinson buried a DJ Wilson-assisted three. Wilson added a sweeping take to the rim for two shortly thereafter.<br />
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Michigan pushed its lead back up to 13 with five minutes left and Indiana looking incapable of mounting a run, despite Michigan's earlier drought. James Blackmon Jr. appeared as if he wasn't 100 percent in just his second game back from injury, going just 2-for-7 from the field for six points (he didn't attempt a shot in the first half).<br />
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This isn't a particularly good Indiana team, but a road win is a good win every time, especially at the place that has handed much better Michigan teams losses in recent memory. Michigan did what it had to do to make the officiating irrelevant, building a lead and keeping it watered and well-maintained throughout.<br />
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Now, Michigan turns to the final third if its conference schedule. A tournament berth is certainly not assured yet, but today's win went a long way toward mitigating the disappointment caused by the home loss against the Buckeyes.<br />
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Michigan will have an opportunity to score a marquee win when the Badgers visit the Crisler Center on Thursday.<br />
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<b>Bullets</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Michigan turned it over just eight times to Indiana's 15. </b>That's one way to keep the refs out of it. </li>
<li><b>Xavier Simpson had another encouraging outing. </b>He's beginning to stack up some solid performances as a reserve spelling Walton, and also while sharing the floor with the senior. Two assists, two rebounds, a steal and, most importantly, zero turnovers for the freshman point guard today. </li>
<li><b>While shooting just 4-for-11 from the field</b>, Wagner tallied a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). </li>
<li><b>Since his zero-point effort in Madison</b>, DJ Wilson has averaged 11.3 ppg over the last six games. While he's still putting it all together, there are points in the game when you can see the future NBA player he can be. </li>
</ul>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-6430506449386955902017-02-07T23:13:00.003-05:002017-02-07T23:13:56.590-05:00Michigan 86, Michigan State 57: When it all comes togetherMichigan has had two chances to avenge earlier conference road losses so far this season. First, they did it against Illinois in the motion picture "Back in Blue," the biting, redemptive sequel to "The White Collar Boys." <div>
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They also did it tonight against Michigan State, handing the Spartans their worst loss against Michigan in 21 years. <div>
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If you needed any indication which iteration of Michigan had showed up, the Wolverines forced four MSU shot-clock violations by the game's second TV timeout. </div>
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Michigan's outside shooting soon followed its defensive energy, reprising the lights-out performance against Indiana. That 30-point win against the Hoosiers was Michigan's most lopsided victory against Indiana since 1998. With a 86-57 victory tonight, Michigan notched its most lopsided win against the Spartans since Feb. 27, 1996 (also a 29-point victory, 75-46) and broke a five-game skid in the rivalry series. </div>
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The Wolverines shot 75 percent from the first half (8-for-11 from three), staking claim to a 55-29 lead, Michigan's most prolific first half of the season. On top of that, they forced 12 first-half turnovers, many directly yielding points.<br /><div>
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The in-state rivals last met not long ago, Jan. 29 in East Lansing, a 70-62 loss for the Wolverines in which Derrick Walton seemed to be the only guy ready to play. Making matters worse, a flu-ridden Zak Irvin scored as many points as the Atlanta Falcons made smart offensive playcalls late in the Super Bowl on the doorstep of the New England red zone (that would be zero). </div>
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This time, Irvin made his mark on the scoresheet early with a triple (although he was again quiet in this game overall, not scoring again after that triple). The three was the first of many for Michigan, which raced out to a 32-19 lead on 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. </div>
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The Wolverines rode a balanced attack in the half, getting contributions from just about everyone, including Xavier Simpson, who put in some of his best minutes of the season spelling Walton. In the first half, Walton had 12, Moritz Wagner had 13, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 10, and Simpson and Duncan Robinson chipped in five apiece (including a Robinson buzzer-beating three to close the half). </div>
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Naturally, the game got chippy. DJ Wilson picked up a technical foul after dunking on Kenny Goins. Not long after, Nick Ward picked up a tech of his own by tripping Wagner while the teams headed to their respective benches for a timeout. </div>
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But, when you're up by 26 at the half, an unnecessary technical will probably be allowed to slide. </div>
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As for Michigan State, things were going so poorly that Tom Izzo was forced to call a timeout 1:09 into the second half after a Wilson dunk (assisted by Wagner). </div>
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Speaking of Wagner (19 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals), he continued to do work in the second half. Unlike the first matchup, in which Wagner was hamstrung by foul trouble, he had no such trouble tonight, using his athleticism to get easy buckets on smart cuts and simply by taking the ball to the rim with strength. </div>
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Aside from Miles Bridges (15 points, five rebounds) and his spectacular dunk, MSU had no answers on either end of the floor, and never cut the deficit to fewer than 22 points. </div>
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Michigan's home loss to the Buckeyes could come back to haunt it later. But if there's a palate cleanser better than a 29-point victory against Michigan State, I don't know what that is. </div>
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<b>Bullets</b></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>You might roll your eyes</b> when players talk about negative chatter and how they'll be motivated to prove the doubters wrong -- Derrick Walton has been saying such things of late. In this case, though, he's followed through on his words. Walton is in the midst of his most inspired stretch of basketball in a while. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds. </li>
<li><b>Xavier Simpson had his best game to date.</b> Defense will always be an issue for him, based on his size (or lack thereof) alone, but he flashed some playmaking ability and simply looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands. Simpson tallied seven points on 3-for-4 shooting with two assists to one turnover. </li>
<li><b>Michigan lost to a bad Ohio State team at home</b> and followed that up with a blowout of Michigan State. Attempting to find any reason or use any kind of predictive model to assess this team is futile. </li>
<li><b>Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman put up a season-high with 16 points.</b> He started conference play scoring zero points in eight minutes at Iowa. He's quietly put together very strong games in three of his last four outings. If Michigan can get peak MAAR down the stretch, that would be a huge boost. </li>
</ul>
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Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-84247424703059280482017-01-29T15:37:00.001-05:002017-01-29T15:39:37.653-05:00Michigan 62, Michigan State 70: A tale of two seniorsMichigan's offense hummed Thursday night against Indiana, zooming like a brand-new sports car.<br />
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On Sunday in East Lansing, the car hit pothole after pothole and broke down, a helpless wreck sending tendrils of smoke snaking to the rafters.<br />
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After a stretch during which Michigan defeated Michigan State in six of eight tries, the Wolverines came into today's matchup having lost the last four meetings. That losing streak became five straight on Sunday afternoon, as the Wolverines fell, 70-62, despite a motivated effort from senior Derrick Walton (24 points, nine rebounds, five assists).<br />
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Zak Irvin, however, finished 0-for-8 from the field, with zero points and three turnovers, his worst outing of the season and worst since a 1-for-8 performance against Texas on Dec. 6.<br />
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Meanwhile, Walton did his usual work on the glass, while also attacking the rim -- he didn't always finish, but went to the line more often than not.<br />
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Despite some rough first-half offense from the Wolverines -- seniors Irvin and Walton combined to shoot 2-for-13 for five points, all from Walton -- they found themselves down just 32-28 at the half.<br />
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The Wolverines shot 32.4 percent from the field, while the Spartans managed to shoot 50 percent. On top of that, Michigan was well off its torrid points-per-possession pace from the Indiana game, putting up just 0.88 points per possession in the first half today.<br />
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A team can survive that for a half, but two? The Wolverines would need to find the offensive rhythm they had Thursday against the Hoosiers in Ann Arbor if they were going to come away with a key conference road win.<br />
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Things started auspiciously enough in the second half when Walton buried Irvin-assisted triples on consecutive possessions. The good vibes didn't last long, though, as the Spartans were able to enter the bonus with more than 11 minutes remaining in the half and build a 51-42 lead.<br />
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Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman stemmed the tide with a triple for a scuffling Michigan, but MSU's Matt McQuaid buried his third trey in three tries to put the home team's lead back at nine with 10 minutes to play.<br />
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Unfortunately for Michigan, that second-half offensive renaissance never came. With around seven minutes to play, Michigan had more second-half turnovers than second-half made field goals.<br />
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Michigan was within striking distance late, but in the sort of way that a football game is a two-score game when a team is down 16. Walton didn't have a great day from the field himself (4-for-12), but he was the only one who proved determined enough to make something happen.<br />
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While Irvin will get most of the flak, DJ Wilson was also just 4-for-12 from the field (0-for-3 from beyond the arc), Moritz Wagner scored 10 but was limited at times by the usual foul trouble and Michigan's bench was mostly irrelevant.<br />
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A win against a Michigan State team that had lost three straight would not have been an upset or a huge surprise, like it might have been in the past. The Wolverines, however, just didn't have the answers for Michigan State's defense, the latest chapter in a season's worth of shapeshifting. Unstoppable one moment, eminently stoppable the next.<br />
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Which Michigan will turn up down the stretch? Your guess is as good as mine.<br />
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UPDATE: Per Beilein, Irvin has been battling the flu, which would certainly explain today's performance.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
John Beilein says Zak Irvin missed practice on Thursday and Friday with the flu.</div>
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) <a href="https://twitter.com/BFQuinn/status/825803674949652480">January 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<b>Bullets</b><br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Xavier Simpson </b>had a nice dish in the first half, wheeling around the right side before dropping a nifty pass to Mark Donnal in the paint. </li>
<li><b>Moritz Wagner </b>continues to be plagued by foul issues, picking up an early one that saw him yanked for Mark Donnal. This goes without saying, but Michigan's best lineup includes both Wagner and DJ Wilson on the floor. </li>
<li><b>Speaking of Wilson, </b>his first-half block from behind was a thing of beauty. </li>
<li><b>Zak Irvin </b>finished scoreless for the first time all season. While Wagner and Wilson are/should be the heart of this offense, Michigan can't beat anyone when Irvin is playing like that. </li>
<li><b>MSU's Miles Bridges </b>is quite good (15 points, 13 rebounds). Sometimes, there's just not much you can do when a future NBA player is feeling it, as he was in the second half. </li>
<li><b>Cassius Winston</b> flashed creativity and speed toward the basket, scoring a Spartans team-high 16 points, mostly from the line, where he went 10-for-11. </li>
</ul>
Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-74881604877020607822017-01-04T00:28:00.002-05:002017-01-04T00:28:46.466-05:00Michigan 32, Florida State 33: The (third) one that got awaySome games are close, others "close," others somewhere in between.<br />
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Michigan's Orange Bowl matchup against Florida State Friday night fell somewhere in that in-between No Man's Land. After all, Michigan lost by one on a last-minute Seminoles field goal. They made some big plays in the second half, namely Mike McCray's pick six and, later, Chris Evans juked a Florida defender out of this dimension to put Michigan ahead with 1:57 to play.<br />
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That juke was the future in motion, an example of what can't be taught and what Michigan desperately needs more of: raw, unmitigated explosion. The ability to make people not just miss, but miss so badly that they fall to the ground, questioning what is up and what is down. It's the type of play elite talents make in big moments. Grinding opponents into dust on 10-play drives is fun, but Michigan has usually done that because it had no other option. But when you have the ability to take a shortcut, you take it, and that's what a player like Evans brings to the table.<br />
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In Evans, and some other promising players on offense (and, hopefully, some on defense, to be unleashed next season), Michigan has a game-changing talent. Unfortunately for Michigan, it didn't quite have enough of it this season when it counted, especially on offense. A close loss at an offensively challenged Iowa team, a brutal loss at Ohio State featuring five fourth-quarter yards and a bowl game with just 252 yards of offense, 4.3 yards per attempt through the air and this on the ground ...<br />
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... and it's safe to say Michigan's fall from possible eliteness to a degree or two below that starts here.<br />
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Even so, Michigan had a chance to pull out a 2012 Sugar Bowl-esque victory (I was at that game in New Orleans, and it was the kind of game that almost left you feeling compelled to apologize to the opposing fans for winning). Alas, 65 yards of Keith Gavin kick return yardage later and the Noles were in position to comfortably drive for a score, which they got ... by throwing at Jourdan Lewis in the corner of the end zone.<br />
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Go figure. Sometimes there's not much to say. Things happen. When Dalvin Cook runs around and past your defense a few times like they're painfully limited pawns on a chess board, that's one thing. When a team gets your All-American corner for a touchdown in a key situation?<br />
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Well, that's football.<br />
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When a season concludes, especially one like this one, there's always an urge to categorize it, to tag it, to fit it into a neat, little box.<br />
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Was it a "successful" season or was it a "disappointment"?<br />
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In truth, it's a little bit of both.<br />
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Michigan's three losses came by a total of five points. It's disappointing that with this collection of talent, Michigan wasn't able to find the one or two plays it needed to join the playoff field.<br />
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But, only four teams go, and only one team wins. If we're categorizing all seasons that don't end in a playoff berth or a national title as failures, just about every fan should be disappointed. That's no way to live.<br />
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What <i>is </i>disappointing is the still lingering conference title drought. As a high school sophomore in 2004, I never thought that would be Michigan's last conference crown for a long, long time.<br />
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Here we are, though. Next year, Michigan probably won't be a playoff-caliber squad, simply by virtue of what they need to replace on defense -- I do think, however, that competing for the division crown and a trip to Indianapolis are within reach, once the early-season growing pains are sorted out.<br />
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While the 2016 season ended with a thud, it can't be said enough: Michigan has won 10-games in consecutive seasons, just two years after going 5-7 and getting a coach fired. Yes, Hoke recruited fine in parts, but a failure to identify offensive talent, namely on the line, hamstrung Michigan this year.<br />
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Right now, for all of Michigan's defensive talent, that's the difference between them and the cream of the crop: Michigan's line just couldn't stand up. For further example of what that looks like, watch the tape of the Ohio State-Clemson game.<br />
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Until Michigan upgrades its line and fields upper-echelon skill position talent, its defense can never be good enough to carry it to a title, where it is at this point a pretty solid bet they'd have to beat Alabama.<br />
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One day. It didn't come together this year, and likely won't in 2017 by virtue of roster turnover.<br />
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After that? Anything is possible.<br />
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Of course, no season finale is complete without fond reminiscences over the players taking their abilities elsewhere, whether into the real world or the NFL.<br />
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This year is especially heavy on the heart, as Michigan loses a cast of likeable, not to mention very good, football players. Jourdan Lewis, Jabrill Peppers, Chris Wormley, Ryan Glasgow, Ben Gedeon, Taco Charlton, Channing Stribling, Delano Hill, Dymonte Thomas -- and that's just defense.<br />
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The odds are good Michigan will never have another Taco -- both in name and in his particular combination of size, speed and agility. While Michigan lacked game-changing ability on offense, there was no shortage of it on defense, thanks to players like Charlton. He was a bringer of doom, a destroyer of poor, unprepared tackles.<br />
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Lewis? Despite his size, he blanketed receivers, with such grace and ease -- even when a receiver seemed open, that was never the case.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwZwFfsr8YA" width="560"></iframe><br />
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As far as interceptions go, that play falls in the same category as Charles Woodson's in the 1997 Michigan State game. That's something. No one will remember the particulars of this year's defensive slugfest against Wisconsin, but they'll remember that play -- it's hard to forget something like that.<br />
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As for the defensive linemen, it will be some time before a Michigan defensive line is so unflinchingly dominant again. Wormley is a guy who has seemingly been around for eight years -- like Mike Martin, he's an example of a human being who is impossibly agile for his size. Watching him play, it's still hard to believe that Wormley weighs more than 300 pounds. Losing an agile, versatile planetoid on the defensive line will be a major loss, to say the least.<br />
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As for Glasgow, his journey -- and his brother's before him -- is all you need to know when considering why some think Jordan Glasgow could be something far more than a special teamer. Whatever it is, that family has it. Michigan missed Ryan Glasgow's presence late last season when he was knocked out with an injury -- they'll certainly miss it next year when he's beginning what should be a long and productive NFL career.<br />
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Peppers hasn't officially announced his departure, but it's safe to assume he's probably gone (rather, it would be a surprise if he returned, simply based on his draft projections). All in all, it feels like only yesterday when he committed to Brady Hoke's Michigan: a different time, a different world. Fans were robbed of a full 2014 season when he went down with an injury, but he entered the fray in 2015 and truly began to shine brightly this season. Few Michigan players, if any at all, have ever brought his overall speed, instincts and playmaking ability on defense and special teams. I only wonder if Michigan couldn't have done more with him; but that's over and done now.<br />
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For our purposes now, I'll say this: it might cause some whiplash when opposing teams run successful screens next season, or Michigan's punt returner, whoever it is, doesn't make the first few would-be tackles miss like they're not even there.<br />
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All of the above is not to discredit the offense, of course. Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson, for example, had some big moments in their career. While Darboh had some unfortunate drops and lacked big-play speed, he was a mostly reliable option and a guy who could usually churn out some tough yards after contact. With Chesson, we'll always have the Florida game.<br />
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Then, of course, there's Jake Butt, whose Michigan career unfortunately ended on a sour note. (An aside, but for what it's worth, my personal opinion is that if the player wants to sit out a non-playoff bowl game to get ready for the draft, I have no problem with it. Would it be disappointing, from a selfish fan's point of view? Sure. But, the truth hurts: any bowl game not involving Alabama, Washington, Ohio State and Clemson this bowl season meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.) Like Wormley, Butt offered a unique combination of size, speed and technical ability. When Butt dropped an easy pass in a game this season, I was shocked, because it happened so infrequently. When Jake Rudock to Wilton Speight needed a play, they could throw it up to him and count on him coming down with the ball more often than not. Michigan has some promising tight ends waiting to step up, but none will be Butt right away, if ever -- after all, most would probably agree he's the best tight end in program history.<br />
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The worst part is that none of these guys will play for Michigan again. They were all fun to watch, in good times and bad. It's a shame their times as Wolverines has to come to an end, but all things do.<br />
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And while 2016 ended on a down note, the season brought far more good than bad. And, eventually, Michigan will find itself on the winning side of the sort of games it lost this season, when a play or two flipped things.<br />
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It'll all come together, in due time. For now, fans will just have to be patient, and remember how things were not too long ago.<br />
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Until then, enjoy the ride.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755312034018153584.post-90446490235528309022016-11-30T21:48:00.003-05:002016-11-30T21:48:29.635-05:00Michigan 70, Virginia Tech 73: Highs and lows For the second time in less than a week, a Michigan team let one get away.<br />
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After a macabre showing at South Carolina and a game against Mount St. Mary's we know took place because there is a box score as evidence, Michigan looked to regain the confident step it found in New York City not long ago.<br />
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The Wolverines found that step early, a confident strut, against visiting Virginia Tech, staking claim to a 15-point lead at one point. That strut gave way to a nagging limp, however, as the Hokies would claw back to within two early in the second half, then again erased a 10-point deficit in the final 8 minutes to score a 73-70 win in Ann Arbor.<br />
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Zak Irvin led the way for Michigan with 23 points, 15 of them in the first half. But, unfortunately, he saved the worst for last, airballing a three late and then, given a chance to put Michigan in the lead with the shot clock off, dribbled and dribbled and dribbled before missing an ill-advised, stepback two just inside the arc.<br />
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Michigan, paced by an 8-for-12 start from the field (4-for-6 from three), raced out to a 23-8 lead. Unsurprisingly, Michigan found the rims much kinder at home than it did in Columbia, where they scored 46 points in what was easily one of the poorest, if not the poorest, offensive efforts in the John Beilein era.<br />
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With that said, defense has easily been the most notable facet of this Michigan team thus far. It has by no means been perfect, but the errors of the past don't seem to be taking place as frequently thus far this season. A fairly experienced roster certainly helps, but there's no doubt the coaching of Billy Donlon has helped sharpen the defense at every level, from perimeter defense to rotations; an uptick in rim protection has also helped. Michigan forced nine first-half turnovers and allowed just one offensive rebound in the first half.<br />
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But just like everything else about this game, Michigan's defense was good to start, then it was bad, then it was good, then it was bad again. <br />
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Michigan found itself up 39-30 at the half, a somewhat unsatisfying lead considering its domination of the better part of the opening 20 minutes. Part of that strong effort came from a bounceback performance from Irvin, who tallied 15 first-half points after scoring just 5 points on 2-for-13 shooting against the Gamecocks.<br />
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Virginia Tech's surge coincided with a quiet stretch from Irvin early in the second half. Irvin scored just over 6 minutes into the second half to extend Michigan's lead to three, though, a key moment in the game. Then, Duncan Robinson took a charge on the defensive end and buried a three on Michigan's next offensive possession, upping the lead to 50-44 with 13:04 to play.<br />
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In the frontcourt, instead of DJ Wilson or Mark Donnal, Mortiz Wagner led the way with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Meanwhile, freshman center Jon Teske made an impact, too, entering the game and immediately altering a VT shot attempt, plus grabbing a pair of rebounds (one of the offensive variety).<br />
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By the 8-minute TV timeout in the second half, Michigan led by 10, aided by a banked-in triple from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. The worst seemed to be behind them.<br />
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However, foul trouble reared its ugly head.<br />
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Wilson drew his fourth on a Derrick Walton free throw attempt with 7:44 to play, putting VT in the bonus. He later picked up his fifth foul with 3:03 left. Despite playing at home, the Wolverines trailed in free throw attempts, with VT going 15-for-17 and Michigan just 4-for-7 at the final TV timeout.<br />
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The Hokies took their first lead at 68-67 with 1:44 to play, and a triple extended it to 71-67. Robinson canned a three after an airballed Irvin attempt to cut it back to one with 42 seconds left.<br />
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Michigan received a bit of luck on the ensuing possession, when VT's Seth Allen was called for an offensive foul, giving Michigan a chance to win it with the shot clock off.<br />
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Unfortunately, Irvin put up another clunker, missing a long, stepback 2-point jumper after having the ball stick to his hands for most of the possession. VT then buried two free throws to push the lead back to three. Michigan lucked into a half-court inbound opportunity after the full-court pass was deflected out of bounds, but Robinson's three-point attempt at the buzzer fell off the mark, capping the collapse for the Wolverines.<br />
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The wind in Michigan's sails after the blowout wins against Marquette and SMU has faded, drifting elsewhere across the vast ocean of the college basketball seascape. The Wolverines looked listless against South Carolina and collapsed against Virginia Tech -- while the squad is sure to continue to improve, there's no doubt a home nonconference loss of this variety will sting, and could even come back to haunt Michigan come tournament time, if things get that bad.<br />
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Michigan hits the court Saturday for a tilt against Kennesaw State before facing major-conference competition again, with Texas and a trip to UCLA next up on the schedule. Especially given the fact that Northwestern recently beat the Longhorns convincingly, the Wolverines cannot afford another nonconference home loss.<br />
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Michigan is 5-2, a collapse away from 6-1. But, as Michigan fans have been twice reminded in the past several days, the final score is the only fact that matters. Everything else is just exposition: intriguing, but irrelevant.Fouad Egbariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00646678266652106016noreply@blogger.com0