Miscellaneous Minutiae, 4/4/2012

Back from a bit of a break. That noise you hear? Oh, that's just FOOTBALL. Adieu, hockey and basketball...it's time for football. Sort of. 
Self-Promotion, Still Shameless: Check out Maize n Brew later today for some basketball talk from me re: how the offense will look decidedly un-Beilein-like going forward. Basically, I suggest that Michigan basketball will look a lot like this:

Let's hope Michigan can bring a little more defensive intensity than that. "THE BALL'S IN HIS SHIRT NOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING."-Person that takes AND1 basketball way too seriously

Footbaw Talk Is Positively Gorgeous: Al Borges sat down with Howard Griffith and talked real, live footbaw. If this sentence excited you the same way that it did me, then: a) you have a problem and b) it's probably early April.

The two issues to address in the passing game re: Denard are footwork and "second decision making." Al makes even relatively simple concepts like, say, making decisions, sound really cool. He then goes on to break down two plays, the first being that interception against Purdue, an intermediate dig route to Roundtree against Iowa, and the long completion to Gallon on Michigan's late game drive against Notre Dame. You would think that these are relatively simple plays, but I was hoping there'd be more at the end of the video. Alas, it's only five minutes long, but it does give you just enough to ward off the pangs of football withdrawal for a little while.

In any case, the Purdue interception, in particular, is the sort of play that Denard simply cannot make going forward. Given that this will be year 2 in the system, I feel pretty good about not only this sort of play being eliminated from Denard's game, but turnovers in general. Footwork is doubly difficult for mobile QBs like Denard; happy feet leads to interceptions, missed receivers, and other unfortunate happenings. Denard's feet vis-a-vis the passing game (i.e. getting the appropriate depth in his drops, not getting happy feet, not throwing off the back foot, etc.) are arguably more important than the role, in, well, running the ball. Al was not perfect in 2011, but it's hard to feel anything but comfort going forward. Now if we could only just get him to officially become enamored with the concept of continuing to recruit mobile types (of course, very few will be as fast as Denard, if any even exist) for the QB position, things would be just perfect.

Terms to add to your Michigan football lexicon: "steal his eyes" (defender reading the QB's eyes) and "gettin' in the fight" (in reference stepping up in the pocket through the lanes created by the outside rushers).

Diamond in the Rough: Nick Baumgardner's article on GRIII's skyrocketing recruiting hype is another thing to file under "Beilein is a ridiculous talent evaluator" file. According to GRIII himself:

"Those guys believed in me before anyone else really did, and that means a lot," Robinson said.

And also:

"I believe some schools look too much into what a player is right now, and not what their potential could be. Michigan did a great job with that, though, and that's what I really liked about them."

 So, there you go. GRIII has seen his stock rise from "fringe high-major" level to the #28 player in the country according to Scout, making him a just-about-5-star prospect. That is an incredible jump, but if anybody would've been able to predict that sort of spike, it's John Beilein. As much hype as Mitch McGary has gotten (and as much under-the-radar indie hype as Stauskas has gotten), GRIII is the guy from this class that I'm most excited about. He's the athletic dynamo of a winger that elite teams usually have at least a couple of...I imagine his outside game will need a little work, but he will contribute significantly no matter what.

Outside of the article's recruiting slant and GRIII's using not making the McDonald's All-American team as motivation to get better, the article references the fact GRIII was told by the staff that he'd play both the 2 and the 3, and not the 3/4 as was previously expected. I don't normally get too caught up in the numerical designations, but I though it was interesting. Then again, it's entirely possible that this quote was based on information that preceded the news of Smotrycz's departure; in light of that, it's possible that GRIII will still see some time at the 4, although I really sort of hope not. This of course leaves the conundrum of having both GRIII and THJ at the 3, and you'd really like to have both on the court at the same time. If THJ can seriously refine his handle and outside shooting this offseason, then you can pencil GRIII in for a starting spot. Otherwise, I think we're probably looking at Burke-Stauskas-THJ-Morgan-McGary, which is just fine.

Losing Smotrycz, Novak, and Douglass is unfortunate, but I think the future is still bright.

Meanwhile, in Alabama: [Insert Shutdown Fullback's "pig running across a football field" animation]

On a serious note, 2012 signee Dalvin Tomlinson sustained what is termed a "serious" knee injury. Tomlinson is 6'3'' 270. Care to guess how he hurt his knee? If you guessed "soccer," well, you must actually live in the Yellowhammer State, otherwise you'd be inclined to believe that soccer has long since been banned by the Alabama State Legislature.

I'm not completely sure where he fits in the Bama 2-deep at this point in time, but odds are he would have at least been a contributor, even with Australian manbearpig Jessie Williams officially moving to defensive tackle after spending last year as a RVB-esque DT/DE. In any case, it seems a little fishy that he says he'll be "over it" by the time the season starts. Assuming it's an ACL injury, the common wisdom is that that sort of thing takes about six months, which would see the last month of his recovery begin in September. Of course, this last sentence was rampant speculation, so who knows.

Of course, since people are horrible, I must state the obvious: all injuries, suffered by anybody and no matter for what team, are unfortunate. Anyone that roots for an opponent to get injured should be forced to watch the 2008 Northwestern game on loop in a dark room with their eyelids taped open. With that said, this is something to monitor as we get closer to September 1st, as Alabama has already lost a significant amount of defensive talent to the NFL.

More? Andy Katz has Michigan at #8 in his early top 25...yeah, try not to think about 2009 (you can't). Excellent recruiting stuff from UMHoops, as always. Spring practice notes from Tuscaloosa; nothing too exciting. Dudes are nursing injuries, the O-linemen are getting used to lining up next to new faces. Spring football, yeah!

Illinois Preview: Near the End of the Road

General Outlook 
The Wolverines took on the Illini in Crisler less than 3 weeks ago, a game that played out much like the one played on the gridiron this past fall. Michigan mostly outplayed the Illini in the first half and yet was only up by a somewhat unsatisfying 6-point margin. For a variety of reasons, Meyers Leonard was a complete non-factor after the opening minutes of the game, and Michigan went on to lead by as much as 14 in the second half before sealing up a comfortable 9-point win.

I've already had the chance to preview the Illini, and not much has changed since I last took a look at this sinking ship. So, this preview will probably be somewhat shorter.

"No, DO NOT give it to the 7'1''
guy WARGHBARGHLL!"

Since we last met, the Illini have continued their losing ways; they've gone 1-3 since the meeting in Ann Arbor. The Illini dropped a close home contest to the Boilers, but the next two losses pretty much representing the dousing with kerosene of Weber's chances to still be the head coach in Champaign next season. Illinois went to Lincoln and got destroyed, losing by 23 and at one point allowing the Huskers to go on a 43-7 run, something so catastrophic that it can't be called a "run" so much as a systematic, unimpeded bludgeoning. Yes, you read that correctly: 43-7. This is the same Nebraska team that often looks like a glorified high school team (no offense, Doc...you still have the raddest name of all the B1G coaches).

After that, the Illini went on to look completely outclassed against the Buckeyes on the road, the very same Buckeye team that they were able to pick off at home back right before the jukebox eternally set to play Yakety Sax began to follow the team everywhere. The good news is the Illini did pick up a home win against Iowa on Monday that ended that brutal 6-game losing streak. In further efforts to motivate his flailing team, Weber benched Leonard and Paul after a few "practices determines who starts" practices. It's safe to say that Paul and Leonard will be back in the starting lineup, as this ain't no time for motivational ploys. Weber claims otherwise, but I find it hard to believe that either will come off the bench. It's stand up or go home for the Illini, and they will be playing in accordance with this fact.

The Offense
In conference play, the Illini are 7th in ppg given up at 67.6 per. Needless to say, it has not been smooth sailing; Illinois's long depressing month of failure is filled with crooked numbers given up defensively (i.e. 70+). Thankfully for the Illini, they have a guy like Leonard to mitigate some of their defensive lapses, so one can only wonder how bad this defense might be if they didn't have an above average shot-blocker patrolling the paint.

MOAR

Additionally, Brandon Paul is a relatively active defender on the ball (1.5 spg), as is DJ Richardson to a lesser extent (0.9 spg). So, Michigan will have to be leery in the paint--since getting two fouls on Leonard relatively early in the game might be difficult to accomplish a second time, especially on the road--and the defensive pressure will there on the perimeter. It is senior night, and the Illini need to win this game to slowly push away that match that is currently behind held inches away from the kerosene soaked 2011-12 Illinois campaign. I haven't really kept up with the shifting nuances of the bubble, but if the Illini win out and win 2 games in the BTT, that puts them at 21 wins. I'm saying there's a chance, but I'm also decidedly not a member of the selection committee.

Michigan had very good success against the Illini at home; most notably, inconsistent x-factory types THJ and Smotrycz both pitched in double digit points (15 and 13, respectively). Hardaway attacked the basket, going 3/6 from 2 and making a pair of trips to the free throw line. Alas, Tim has decided that not giving turning real human beings into rageface comics is not his calling in life. Tim will need to replicate his effort the first time around if Michigan wants to escape with the victory, otherwise things could get very dicey, as they often do when you're attempting to get yourself a win on the road by gunning from long range.


The Defense 
Outside of the disheartening performance last Saturday, Michigan has been incredibly stingy (which has to in some part be attributed to Greg Mattison's presence at games). The Wolverines are third in defensive ppg in conference play, spearheaded by some gritastic efforts from Jordan Morgan down low and the consistently solid to very good defense from Trey and Stu on the perimeter.

In Ann Arbor, the Illini showed why they had been having so much trouble on the offensive end despite having talents like Paul and Leonard on the roster. Illinois turned the ball over with alacrity, as they've done throughout most of conference play. The Illini are tied with Minnesota in turnovers per game (14.1), turning the ball over on 21.6% of their offensive possessions. That is awful. Even Brandon Paul, who managed to score 21 while mostly being defended by Stu, turned it over a whopping 7 times.

Conventional wisdom says that if you play solid defense the Illini will self-destruct like so:

Michigan held Leonard to a measly 5 points, which, to be honest, was a product of a puzzling lack of usage and a few attempts around the basket that he just flat out missed. Morgan played good, gritty defense, and I don't want to sell Michigan's team defense short. However, for Leonard to get only 5 attempts from the field in any given game, you'd have to think that Weber is perhaps not a very good basketball coach and entirely deserving of his imminent firing. I rarely go out of the way to call coaches out like that, but come on...five attempts? The only way a player like Leonard gets five attempts on a team like that--with only one other legitimate headliner of a scoring threat--is if the head coach doesn't, as he should, tell his team to "GET THE TALL GUY THE BALL, HE'S 7'1'' FERGODSAKES." Clearly, Weber does not do that (or he doesn't emphasize it...if the guards don't work to feed Leonard the ball, it is ultimately Weber's fault).

I think that it's probably safe to say that Tyler Griffey won't explode for another 18-point effort while Leonard likely won't get only 5 points. Home cooking alone will see him get to the line enough times to get him into the double digits; with a free throw rate of 45.6 in conference play, he gets to the line often.

Who/What To Watch

• Michigan's 3-point attempts...yes, attempts, but not for the reason you may think. In the process of trying to assimilate advanced stats into my basketball worldview, I've learned that a team's ability to limit 3-point attempts is just as important as the percentage that opponents shoot, if not moreso...which does make sense. In this sense, the Illini are actually pretty good; only the Badgers are allowing less 3-point attempts than Illinois. Michigan averages 23 attempts per game in conference play, and they only put up 16 in the first meeting. Luckily for Michigan, they made 7 of those 16, but I'm not sure that expecting a similar percentage on the road is wise. Even if Michigan wants to throw up 30+ treys--like they have the last two games--I'm not sure that Illinois will even let that happen. This is a little disconcerting, as this means those frenzied chicken-with-its-head-cut-off possessions seem destined for shot clock violations and many other sorts of turnovers. 

• It's simple enough, but Leonard vs. fouls. If Michigan can coax him into a bad foul early--Vogrich's aggressive baseline drive to draw a foul on him comes to mind--then this is going to be another win; period, end of story, Guaransheed it. 

• Good THJ vs. Evil Handlebar Mustache-Wearing 3-Point Attempting THJ. Which one will it be? The rims get a little tighter and less forgiving on the road, so if he wants to be a factor he will need to attack early when it is there. Michigan hitting some early threes will go a long way toward opening up the middle of the floor for some of those horizontal "slice" cuts that he has made a living on (when he's decided to operate in 2-point land). 

Meaningless Prediction 
If not for an 18-point effort from Tyler Griffey off the bench, the Illini would've lost in embarrassing fashion in Ann Arbor. However, as mentioned, I find it hard to believe that Leonard will not get to double digit points this time via FT shooting alone. Weber and his players are in desperation mode, which can turn out to be either really good or really bad for an opponent.

Michigan's disappointing loss against Purdue was like the reopening of a scab covering the old wound known as toomanythreesitis. I know that we shoot threes because this is Ann Arbor and THIS IS WHAT WE DO, but shooting 30+ threes is not a tenable strategy in the short term or in tournament play. When you adjust for home court and a few players' points going way up (Leonard) or way down (Griffey), I think this one shakes out to a nail-biter. As bad as Illinois has been, a close win would be nothing to be ashamed of. For some reason, I'm feeling a Trey Burke shot to put Michigan ahead on Michigan's last possession after a 39+ minutes of back and forth generic Big Ten ball. Michigan 62, Illinois 60. 

Michigan-Illinois: Alive

Michigan 70, Illinois 61

Don't call it a comeback. (AP/Carlos Osorio)

In 2007, my freshman year and John Beilein's first season in Ann Arbor, I attended every home game of a season in which Michigan won 10 games. Unlike the Pearl Jam album, this aforementioned ten was not so great. That season, Michigan lost to: Central Michigan, Western Kentucky (who, at the team, was just Western Kentucky and not a team that would eventually make it to the Sweet 16), Harvard, and a majority of the Big Ten. We, the students, stormed the court after beating a Buckeye squad that would go on to miss the tournament a month later. 

Michigan won nine pre-Big Ten tournament games that season. Right now, on February 13th, Michigan has nine conference wins after beating the Illini, with five games left to play. People aren't talking about whether or not Michigan will make the tournament. People aren't talking about whether or not this "system" can work in the gritty Big Ten, where the only offense is stingy defense and offensive sets can best be described as: measured, deliberate, dignified, decorous acquiescence to the notion that scoring points is somehow like drinking hemlock. 

People are talking about seeding. A four, a five? There are distinct loci on the map of college basketball that Michigan now firmly occupies instead of the Purgatorial listlessness that once loomed over the program for over a decade. People are talking about Michigan's chances to win the conference title, regular season and tournament. That's not to say that Michigan will win either (the former hinges upon whether or not Michigan can beat the Buckeyes at home on Saturday), but people are talking about it. Think about how insane that is, as a concept and as a potential reality. A little over four years ago, Michigan was busy losing to an Amaker-coached Harvard squad, a moment in history that typifies the Universe's mischievous sense of humor. 

Now, Michigan is winning road games, defending its home court as if it were Helm's Deep, and doing it all while leaning on a freshman point guard and a limited bench. John Beilein has assembled a spaceship out of aluminum foil, duct tape, and unadulterated tactics, a craft that I would say is bound for the Moon if it wasn't clearly destined for far more ambitious locales. 

Brady Hoke led a similarly deficient squad to an 11-2 season, and yet, the question I have is shockingly rhetorical: has John Beilein's coaching job this season been any less impressive than what Hoke and the football team were able to accomplish? I would posit that the answer is a resounding no. 

-----------------------------------------------------

As for the game itself, the formula for success was very much understood coming in. Getting Leonard into foul trouble was essentially the golden path to victory. Leonard picked up two within the first eight minutes and ended up playing only 27 when all was said and done. This also helped to mitigate the loss of JMo to early fouls; he had done a pretty job of avoiding that of late, but it happens. Michigan can't have that happen if they want to beat the Buckeyes, though. 

With that said, Leonard was pretty much invisible after his two early buckets. He finished with 5 points, a testament to some solid defense on Michigan's and a little bit of luck. As I detailed in the preview, Leonard had been tearing teams up of late, so to hold him to five points was a significant achievement. 

Otherwise, the Illini's offensive attack was as expected: frenetic, in a bad way. Michigan turned turnovers into points with regularity as if the Illini offense was a Coinstar machine. If it wasn't for a surprising 18-point effort from former starter Tyler "Don't Call Me Ken" Griffey, this game would have been a blowout. 

Offensively, Michigan scored 70 on a decent defense despite seemingly leaving quite a few points on the floor in the form of some missed bunnies. However, the most important development was the return form of THJ and Smotrycz, both scoring in the double digits and displaying an esprit de corps that had been absent for quite some time. In addition, Vogrich had himself a game, building upon his shooting performance in Lincoln. If THJ and Smotrycz continue to pick themselves back out of their respective confidence sinkholes and Vogrich can continue to shoot the lights out and provide the underrated gritty exploits that he so consistently does, this team will be a terrifying matchup for a lot of folks come tournament time. 

Player Bullets, Also Known As "Trey Burke and Those Who Are Not Trey Burke":

• Burke--Continues to be awesome. Had another one of his high-volume poor shooting days but it's obviously not a big deal under the circumstances. Fourteen points on 5/11 shooting from 2 (0/4 from 3), 3 assists, and a pair of steals make for another decidedly un-freshman-like performance. The rest of the schedule is relatively manageable; Burke-Craft Redux this Saturday will be one to watch vis-a-vis the progression of this supposed "freshman" playing basketball for us. 

• THJ--Let me just get this out first: WOOOOOOOOOO. Yes. This is how we do it, indeed. THJ paced the Wolverines with 15 points on 5/9 shooting (2/3 from 3), 3 boards, and 3 assists. He's getting better and better with the ball in his hands in transition...he's been dropping dimes like Patriots wideouts drop passes (I'll show myself the door now). There's nothing else to say but DO MORE OF THAT OKAY THANKS. The only negative is that his minutes were chopped up awkwardly by foul trouble, so I wonder how much better his stat line would have looked like if he was able to avoid that. 

• Morgan--A quiet day offensively but a large part of that is obviously the result of foul trouble. Also, went 0/3 from the line, not exactly helping his percentage, which is hovering close to 50% at this point. That's not good...hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us at some point. We have zero chance against the Buckeyes if JMo only logs 12 minutes again. 

• Novak--What can be said about the Mayor of the glorious berg of Gritville that hasn't already been said? Twelve points on only four FGA, but he did go 5/5 from the line. Also, nine rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. The Maize Rage needs to invent some sort of Goalie/Sieve chant for Novak involving grit and whatever the opposite of that may be...Blackhawks? /self-deprecating Hawks fan

• Douglass--Like JMo, a quiet day from the field, but did just enough to prevent Paul from giving us a legitimate scare. You would think that a senior would have displayed very little real improvement from his first 3 years to his 4th; Douglass has not only done that, but he has shown significant improvement between a month or so ago and now. Solid defense, less facepalm-inducing turnovers and long 3s=very solid plus player. 

• Smotrycz--After predicting a double digit points performance for Evan in Lincoln, it appears that I jumped the gun by a game. Evan put in a confident 13 points on 3/6 shooting (2/3 from 3, 5/6 from the line). Thirteen off of the bench is probably not a reasonable thing to expect on the reg, but if he can keep this sort of play up then that takes Michigan from an outside shot for a conference title of either variety to a real, legitimate threat to win one. The definitive X-factor, if you will. Amateur sports psychology can often border on the absurd, but if you couldn't tell the difference in his overall demeanor in this game then I don't know what to tell you. Whatever Phil Jackson zen Beilein is using is clearly starting to work. 
• Vogrich--For a second game in a row, Vogrich does his best Korver impression. Eight points from him in any game is just gravy. Perfect from 3 again (2/2) and a nice backdoor cut for a layup and a drive that led to a crucial foul on Leonard were impressive plays for a guy who seemingly has no game outside of shooting the trey. As usual, he continues to show a level of underrated grit, picking up 2 boards, a steal, and one possession arrow by tying up Meyers Leonard (of all people). 
• McLimans--Only four minutes. Didn't really do anything except elicit mocking words from Raftery about him not wanting to post up and whatnot. I know that I've been somewhat irrationally hoping for him to get more minutes, but for some reason I think that he's going to hit a big shot at some point before this season is over. 

Michigan-Bradley: Onward and Upward

Michigan 77, Bradley 66

Michigan looked to finished out the non-conference schedule in as drama-free a manner as possible. They came away with the win and the game was actually fairly exciting, which, considering the opponent, is sort of the problem. The Wolverines took on a 5-6 Bradley team--Bradley, an entity doubling as a university as well as, potentially, an anonymous generic dude living down the hall from you in West Quad--in one last contest before the Big Ten schedule began. Michigan pulled away with about 8 minutes left in the game, but everything till that point was essentially an outline of the strengths and weaknesses of this time in one overt archetypic package. 

Michigan got killed on the boards as we trotted out positively Lilliputian lineups (even more so than usual). I think this team misses Horford in the interior I little more than we know. Additionally, the fact that most of Bradley's points were unassisted indicates a some lacking on-the-ball defense, which, given our general lack of athleticism, is understandable but not encouraging. At the same time, Bradley players were often reckless or out of control in their 1-on-1 game, so I guess it evens out. 

The first half didn't exactly go as planned. Michigan shot the ball well early on, but eventually cooled off, especially after Bradley went to the zone with 6 or so minutes left in the half. Michigan was quite simply dominated on the boards, giving Bradley a number of second chances that negated the Braves' pedestrian shooting percentages. As such, Bradley was able to keep pace despite not assisting for field goals nearly as much as the Wolverines, and a very deep three from Brown sent the two teams tied at the half, 33-33. Michigan was 12/34 from the field and 7/18 from 3, with very little inside game to speak of. Jordan Morgan had two points at the half. 

Thankfully, the Wolverines began to involve Morgan, leading to several high-percentage shots that started to blow the game open. Morgan's 13 second half points were essentially what allowed the Wolverines to leave the pesky Braves in the dust. A pair of dunks by Morgan and Hardaway (the latter on a nice lob from Stu) got the crowd going and put the game away. Michigan shot well from outside, but it seemed that Michigan's best option--as Beilein et al asserted during BTN's halftime peek into the Michigan locker room--was the fast break/pushing the ball. That's not to say that Michigan's half court game is Memphis-esque or anything, but with a guy like Burke running the show, not running is like putting Denard under center with regularity. 

Aside from the game, listening to Gus Johnson and the two live looks into the locker room were pretty great (if you were at the game or unable to watch, it's definitely worth watching for these two things alone). Watching Bacari Alexander motivate the team before the game by wrapping tape around them as part of a teamwork talking point was priceless. Also, hearing Beilein talk about actual basketball stuff and using actual basketball verbiage was interesting and I wish this sort of thing was shown more often. 

As for the Gus-isms...they were flowing indeed: 

• "Shayok Shayok!" This was said maybe 50 times. 
• The always classic "Ha haaaa!" after Shayok gets an "and 1" opportunity.
• Lastly, this, upon Michigan going up by 15: "Wolverines poppin' their collars now!" GAME BLOUSES, BRADLEY. 

Player Notes, Also Known As "Trey Burke And Those Who Are Not Trey Burke": 

• Burke--Trey struggled a bit from the field (5/13 overall, 1/7 from 3), but he still managed to score 12 and drop 8 assists to one turnover. Of course he is not him, but, as a Bulls fan, watching Burke accelerate down the court continues to remind me of Derrick Rose. The sequence in the first half--after Bradley had briefly taken the lead 26-25--comes to mind. Trey blocked a shot and accelerated to get the ball and take it the other way for a layup. It truly is a treat to watch. 

• Hardaway--It was clear that Tim was trying to find his shot early, taking 3 threes and a 2 within the first 5 minutes or so. He, like Burke, also struggled from three, going 2/9. However, 16 points and an 5 assists to zero turnovers is a solid game, outside shooting notwithstanding. Nine threes is a few too many, but I'd rather he shoot than not. Showed a nice aggressive "euro move" in the first half. 

• Smotrycz--Simply on fire from outside. The Smoshtrycz came into the game shooting a torrid 55% from 3-point land, and he only upped that percentage by going 5/7 in this one. He tied his career high of 20 points, and also broke the string of almost double-doubles by snatching 10 boards. He has to cool off eventually, but we can only hope that he can continue to shoot the lights out at this pace. 

• Novak--A gritty 11 points for True Grit tonight. Also continues to drop dimes at a surprisingly high rate, with 4 more in this one (although 2 turnovers make the ratio not as sterling as the past 3 games). Again showed off his newfound handles with a nice take that saw him power through a defender into a jump stop and an 8-9 foot bank shot. 

• Morgan--Two different players from the 1st half to the 2nd. After getting blocked twice on the opening possession, he was essentially invisible the rest of the first half. In the second, missed missed a few shots against the zone and then decided to get Morgan involved. He was aggressive, and although many of his points come as the result of being the benefactor of top notch point play (whether from Morris last year or Burke this year), the majority of his baskets in this game were the result of hard work. 

• Douglass--A quiet game, yet somehow played 33 minutes. Only three points, but again, scoring is not a huge issue as long as he's playing defense and doing other things, like notching a 6:1 assist to turnover ratio.

• Vogrich--Took a charge (the GRIT, it's spreading), 0/2 from the field. 

• McLimans-Only three minutes...despite being insanely tall, got shot blocked once from what I remember. 

• Brundidge--A few nondescript minutes halfway through the first half; drove for a mid-range shot that got blocked from behind. We're going to need a little more from somebody if Trey's going to keep playing 37+ minutes, but that somebody doesn't appear to be Brundidge right now.

Consider the Smoshtrycz, 12/12/2011

Unseen Things: So, due to the lameness of not living in Michigan/ESPN3, I was not able to actually watch the Oakland game. I did listen to it via MGoBlue audio, which brings me to why I'm giving a game that I wasn't able to actually watch its own section. From the very beginning until the very end, the guy doing the audio kept referring to an "Evan Smoshtrycz," and based on the box score and the flow of the game, this guy is pretty good. Whoever recruited this fellow/allowed him to play basketball with human beings...

...is awesome. Evan Smoshtrycz is seen above, running the floor/savannah and exceeding expectations. Yes, the mispronunciation was a flimsy excuse to post the above but it's there and what's done is done. 

I'm not going to attempt to dissect a game I didn't watch, but a few things: 

• This was Hardaway's second sluggish start in the past three games. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend.

• When Stu Douglass dunks a basketball, flawless victory is assured. Interesting that Vogrich came off the bench before Stu, but with the latter dropping 13 and just being capable of doing more things than Vogrich, I don't think that's significant. 

• On a serious note, it's nice to see Smotrycz starting to put it together. I've talked about how I think he could be a real good player for us once he learns what he can and can't do and slows down a little bit when he's trying to make something happen with the ball in his hands. Twenty points, nine rebounds, and not fouling out is not a bad day for a 90% ostrich, 10% man (okay I'm done). As Rod Beard notes, Smotrycz is the definitive X-factor. If he can continue to chip in at least 8-10 points, an appropriate number of boards, and not kill his game via excessive fouling, then that is a fine player we've got there complementing Burke and Hardaway. 

• Looks like Akunne missed his first shot of the year...UNACCEPTABLE. 

• Burke, awesome once again; 38 minutes played in this one, though, is not so awesome. 

• Another quiet outing offensively for Zach "True Grit" Novak but in place of scoring points he was all like "hey guys, how about an 8:1 assist to turnover ratio?" and everyone was like "yeah, that sounds cool." So, he did that.

• The Wolverines absolutely shot the lights out in the second half, edging the Golden Grizzlies by 10 in the second half; if it wasn't for a ridiculous run by Oakland in the first half, Michigan probably would've won by 15-20. Regardless, this was a solid win (or non-loss, I guess) and Michigan has the fortune of playing a few cupcakes before the Big Ten schedule begins. Michigan takes on Arkansas Pine-Bluff tomorrow at 7 ET on ESPNU. 

Familiar Territory: On the heels of a shaky performance against Braxton Miller, the secondary looks to bounce back against Logan Thomas and the Hokies. Coach Hoke speaks to the aforementioned performance: 

"That’s alarming," Hoke said. "(Virginia Tech's) quarterback has ... (29) touchdowns this year. They’re very good at what they do, and we have to be tighter in coverage. We have to be better in zone. All those things are part of it.”

I'm in the process of watching the Clemson game again (due to it being on at the same time as the B1G Title Game, I wasn't able to the first time around), but for now I'll say that although VT has played a pretty weak schedule, Logan Thomas is the real deal. I've referred to him as the Dollar Tree version of Cam Newton before, and I still think that to be the case. In addition to the dynamic David Wilson, VT skill's players at these two positions are at least as good as Ohio State's, and at quarterback Thomas is certainly more dangerous at this point in his career. I'll have to watch some of the game footage that MGoVideo has so conveniently put it to get a feel for the quality of the OL and wideouts; I would guess that the overall talent of these position groups lags behind that of Ohio State's respective groups, but I'll have to see for myself. 

On the flip side, I don't think Michigan/Mattison will be as susceptible to being surprised by the opposing offense's capabilities like they were against Ohio State and Bollman's surprisingly aggressive game plan. So, there's that. 

Norm Parker Retires: As you probably already know by now, long time Iowa DC Norm Parker is retiring; this is a big deal for the Iowa program, and I'm not really sure that they can replace a guy like that. Although Iowa's defense was fairly average in most statistical categories this year (42nd in scoring defense, 68th in total defense), Iowa has thrived for years on that side of the ball with seemingly very little talent and an ability to turn people like "Tyler Sash" into above average college safeties. Every year when you sit down to read a preview of the Iowa game, you'd be liable to find the same widely distributed sentiments vis-a-vis Iowa's defense. You know what they're going to do. They do what they do. They don't blitz. They do what they do regardless of the circumstances. Seriously, they don't blitz. 

You always think these things will end up being in your favor, but, much of the time that has not been the case. There's something to be said for picking one thing and doing it very well. It gives a program a certain identity that allows it to say "this is what we do" and have recruits know it. With Parker's departure, I have a hard time seeing Iowa not continuing to decline as that 2009 Orange Bowl-capping season continues to get smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. Ferentz is locked in at Iowa through 2015, but that won't quiet the Ferentz to the NFL chatter. I doubt he goes anywhere; he's getting paid a ridiculous amount of money at a place where he won't get fired after a couple of bad years like he would in the NFL. As much as his coaching persona fits in the NFL, he'll stay IME. 

You're Hurt, I'm Hurt, Everybody's Hurt!: Rothstein on Woolfolk and JT bonding while injured. It is oh so fluffy but that's not always a bad thing: 

His parents bought him a recliner, one he sat in on Nov. 6, 2010 -- the day after surgery -- watching the Wolverines play Illinois in Michigan Stadium and was close to tears.

Floyd watched the rest of Michigan's regular season games in 2010 from that recliner, fighting his emotions each Saturday and often texting Woolfolk because the players who were likely to comprise half of the Wolverines' starting defensive backfield last season couldn't drive the 20 minutes they lived from each other to watch games together.

One of my first memories of Woolfolk on the field was against Eastern Michigan; it was late in the game and I think he got burned for a touchdown (it didn't matter because the game was already put away). I was a freshman and so was he. I don't think either of us expected what would happen the next few years. I'm glad that I'm going to be able to watch his last game as a Wolverine in NOLA this January; it's been a bumpy ride but I think he'd tell you that it was all worth it in the end. 

Mo' Money Mo' Problems: As a result of Michigan's Sugar Bowl berth, Brady Hoke is getting some extra money. This is all well and good, but given who Brady Hoke is and the bowl that we are going to be playing in, I feel that a pile of sugar would've been a much more appropriate bonus: 

No, this will absolutely not be the last time this appears before the bowl game. 

More? Couple of Michigan honorable mentions in Pro Football Weekly's All-American Team. Jim McElwain, Alabama OC, gets the Colorado State coaching job...man, when was the last time they were relevant? By the way, thanks for Caleb Hanie, Colorado State. Thanks. Auburn tailback/only good thing about 2011 Auburn football Michael Dyer is suspended for the bowl game against UVA; adjust your bowl challenge pick 'ems accordingly. 

This Is A Tribute, 11/16/11

Hoke Exhorts You To Do Something: In addition to the card stunt that is going down this Saturday, Coach Hoke wants YOU to get to your seat fifteen minutes early for a tribute to Lloyd Carr.

So that's happening and it won't be slightly awkward for everyone that has read Three and Out. Nope, not at all.

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Regression is Progression: In actual football-related news, Hoke gives Denard the ol' vote of confidence:

"I think he’s gotten better every week, within the offense," Hoke said Tuesday during his weekly conference call with reporters. "I think the way he goes out every day, and his work ethic every day, his leadership and his real attention to detail, whether it be in the pro-game or carrying it, (helps him adjust)."

Wait, he's getting better? If following Michigan football the past several years has taught me anything, it's that every individual mistake or bad game is reason to sound the OMG REGRESSION alarms.  Coach Hoke, are you saying that there are certain things we can't necessarily see, and that the world isn't a black and white caricature of regression and progression? My God, this changes everything. I guess we can all breathe easy and stop presaging the fall of empires every time Denard throws an incomplete pass.

Opponents, They Watchin' Us: The straightforwardly named Corn Nation takes a look at the Wolverines. Most of it actually seems to be a pre-season preview, but I only mention it to include this part:

Throughout Rich Rodriguez's three year run at Michigan, we've repeatedly noted the similarities between Rodriguez and Bill Callahan's career at Nebraska. Granted, they were mirror images, taking teams in opposite directions philosophically, but the result was the same: square peg, round hole.

/weeps

Job Huntin': Rich Rodriguez talks to Tim Brando about his job prospects. The only noteworthy parts--other than RR's declaration of still having the "hunger to coach"--are: a) Houston Nutt said something sort of intelligent and b) RR's legal issues with both WVU and Michigan are over and should not present a problem for future employers (per RR, at least).

To the first point, Nutt, the SEC's Zook, explained who I thought would be a good fit at a place like Ole Miss, mentioning Mike Leach in the process. Basically, Ole Miss needs somebody with a "different" (see: "spread") approach in order to mitigate the talent, facilities, and tradition gaps. Despite recruiting enough people per class to fill CHEM 1800, things haven't worked out for Coach Nutt, but that doesn't mean that nobody can do it. Nutt is just a bad coach; RR is not. However, as long as Miles and Saban are chilling in the SEC West (and even Petrino, I guess), it'll be hard for anybody to really be successful*.

He says we'll see what happens in the next three or four weeks, so whether or not that is an actual timetable...you've got to think that things should start to move in the near future once certain guys get fired and ADs fire up the university jets.

*Dan Mullen says "Hey, remember me!"

Early Season Hoops: Michigan defeated Towson on Monday, 64-47 (UMHoops, as always, has it covered with a phenomenal recap). This means very little in the grand scheme of things. The fact that Michigan got outscored after a 21-0 run to start the game? Not really too worrisome given the protean nature of the lineups at this point, not to mention the fact that the team is still fairly young.

The only thing that really matter is that Michigan got the win, which teams like UCLA and Vandy can't say. I'm pretty sure nobody is going to remember Duke's one point win against Belmont come tourney time. That said, winning each and every one of these games is critical because you don't want to see a cupcake under the 'Bad Losses' line of the ESPN bubble team graphic. In any case, a few meaningless observations:

• Horford looks pretty solid so far. The added weight is definitely a plus...where as he was sort of useless on the offensive end and was just sort of a tall noodly guy on the defensive end last year, he could be a contributor this year, especially if Morgan continues to suffer from the departure of his benefactor Darius Morris. 
• Smotrycz also looks like a guy who will see the added weight pay off once the conference schedule begins. He caught a lot of flak from some people last year but I'm pretty excited to see him develop. 
• Burke will be a good one. It's refreshing to see the outside shooting coming from that spot on the floor (one of Morris's few flaws as a player), but it's hard to gather much else given the limited serious pressure he got in this game against a severely overmatched opponent. Let's see how he does against an athletic Memphis team, Duke/Tennessee, and even UVA on the road in Charlottesville. 
• 3-point shooting was pretty terrible, which should generally be pretty scary but especially for a Beilein-coached team. But, like I said, it's early in the season and everything will come in time. These games are basically practice, man. 

Michigan looks to go 3-0 on Thursday against Western Illinois (8:30 ET, ESPN3). I won't be coming in for the Nebraska game until the following morning so I won't be able to make it but, Ann Arborites: can we sort of try to fill up Crisler this year? This team is exciting and for the first time in a while we have a guy that can evaluate talent and get his players to confidently execute a system. I know these early season games aren't the most exciting but it's pretty sad to see Crisler look so empty outside of the Maize Rage. 

More? As much as I made fun of Zook...reporters, they are annoying. Lot's of guys that run the ball well in the Big House this Saturday...that's BIG TEN FOOTBAW right there. Butch Davis is like "hey guys that wasn't my fault." Urban Meyer's response to Arizona's job offer: HALOL.