MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL- '23 -'24 Season.

[hack]

Yeah, they are horrible. Quite depressing that all it would have taken is shooting in the low 20%s from 3 to take that game from Sparty. Sparty is horrible too. We'll see if they can get off the effort-issues roller coaster for good here; I tend to doubt it. Juwan learning lessons here, and hopefully learning them fast. I don't want his entire time here to be spent figuring out how it works, because if he can get the right mix he'll contend. I don't know he knows exactly how to get the right mix.

[lineygoblue]

I don't think M Mens Basketball has a problem at the HC spot. I think Howard is doing about as well as he can with what he's got. To me the biggest problem seems to be continuity. Having Dickinson back is huge, but it sure would have been nice to have at least 2-3 of the team mates he's had over the last couple years along with him. But the last two seasons have both been rebuilding years due to one and dones. Howard is having to build a new team each year. Even the Great Izzo has problems doing that.

OTOH, M Women's basketball is doing pretty well. Not a NC challenger, but not bad.

[hack]

These aren't rebuilding years IMO; they are years in which Juwan learns some hard lessons while severely underperforming the level of talent on the roster. I'm disappointed, but still believe Juwan can build some great teams. A lot of this is the risk you run bringing in an NBA guy and a first-time headcoach. You could maybe expect some adjustments required especially in terms of roster construction -- learning some hard lessons about who you can get to come and who you SHOULD get to come. Biggest issue right now though is that player development has been disappointing. Dickinson is clearly regressing; Williams not progressing. They're getting nothing from his bench because the projects he's taken aren't developing, especially on the wings.

IMO a lot is riding on Dug. If Dug busts, that's going to be a serious challege for Juwan. If Dug blossoms, he and Reed could be foundational pieces for the next 2/3 years. I'm very excited about Reed.

[Whitley]

These aren't rebuilding years IMO; they are years in which Juwan learns some hard lessons while severely underperforming the level of talent on the roster. I'm disappointed, but still believe Juwan can build some great teams. A lot of this is the risk you run bringing in an NBA guy and a first-time headcoach. You could maybe expect some adjustments required especially in terms of roster construction -- learning some hard lessons about who you can get to come and who you SHOULD get to come. Biggest issue right now though is that player development has been disappointing. Dickinson is clearly regressing; Williams not progressing. They're getting nothing from his bench because the projects he's taken aren't developing, especially on the wings.

IMO a lot is riding on Dug. If Dug busts, that's going to be a serious challege for Juwan. If Dug blossoms, he and Reed could be foundational pieces for the next 2/3 years. I'm very excited about Reed.

An Elite Eight (along with a Big Ten reg. season championship) in his first postseason and a Sweet 16 berth last year is severely underperforming the talent on their respective rosters?

[lineygoblue]

They're going to have to grind to get into the show this season. I'm not sure this team has what it takes.

[Mike]

They let it slip away last night. Really entertaining game but couldn't close it out.

[hack]

Last year was a severe underperformance compared to the talent available. Not the year before, obviously. E8 and missing the FF by 2 points on your worst shooting day and without your best player is a fine, fine outcome.

Last night was a ref show. Michigan should have been up by 1 with the ball and 20 seconds left, or maybe even up by 1 and about to shoot a technical after a flop violation. But the way they folded was entirely predictable, and I fully agree with Linesman. They didn't want to do what it takes until they'd destroyed their margin of error. And that leaves you in a situtation where you can't get fucked by the refs, even though you know you will be fucked by the refs.

The good news is that Dug will be much better next year for having gone through this year, that Kobe is blossoming but not quite to the level that the NBA takes him away from us, and that Tarris Reed is looking like a very valuable player. I'm ready to move on from the Dickinson era and into the Dug/Reed era. Dug/Reed/Kobe is a great start. Time to do more with less rather than doing less with more.

[lineygoblue]

I didn't see the game last night, so I can't comment on the officiating. But the point I've been trying to make for the longest time is that officials, and their decisions, can cause game change. Many times the TIMING of a call can change a game.

If something happened last night that changed the flow or outcome of the game, then I'm not surprised.

[THE_WIZARD_]

WWCAW

[lineygoblue]

But you know I'm right. I'm never wrong. Ever.

[THE_WIZARD_]

False.

[iam416]

Well, Ohio State lost to Minnesota when they were called for a foul on as clean a block as you will ever see -- I mean, it's actually indisputable because there was zero body contact -- just hand to ball. That was with 1 second left in a tie game. Ohio State may have lost in OT, but that was a terrible call.

All that said, they were close with Minnesota because some jackwagon was having a career night. Bad calls happen. If you're tied with Minnesota at the buzzer you deserve exactly what you get.

[hack]

Yeah. OSU got equally screwed last night too. Reffing is broken. If it's true that there's a coming reffing shortage due to younger people not wanting to do it, it's going to be more broken. Maybe they need to move these folks out of the gig economy and into full-time roles.

[froot loops]

Who would want to be a ref? If you get to the top level, the pay is nice but you have had to endure crap at the lower levels. I've been at AAU games where I was one of 10 people in the stands in a game where the result didn't matter and a couple jackwagons hooting and hollering at any call.

My daughter blocks a lot of shots and cleanly. I tell her no matter how clean it is, if your arm is coming down, you are in danger of getting a foul. So it's an argument that is never resolved, she blows off this piece of advice and the next game the cycle repeats itself.

[Da Geezer]

Reed played really well last night. Starting him in place of Williams is coming, and the sooner the better.

I'd like to have Dickenson back for another year, and I don't think that is a stretch. I've never seen a mock draft is which he was even a second-round pick. If he goes, they had better be recruiting the center position in 2023.

I thought the announcers last night were terrible. How many times did they say that UM should slow down the pace of play? Twenty? And Jett Howard was outperforming Murray, but you would never know from the announcing.