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

[Hannibal]

The team is ominously reminiscent of some of the recent Calipari Kentucky teams that have been long on talent and short on chemistry. I do think that they'll get there, but this might be a bubble team this season.

[lineygoblue]

Its early. Half of the guys who M is depending on were playing HS ball last year at this time. Arizona and Seton are two good teams from good programs. They're not tomato cans. But I do think we'll find out what these kids are made of. Will they go into a season long funk because of this past week, or will they use it to motivate themselves to be better?

[Hannibal]

Also -- is Zeb Jackson going to play this year? What is his status? The guy that we got to be the new Mike Smith is not good.

[Cody_Russell]

Zeb Jackson is coming back from a minor injury. Think we'll see him soon.

I think M will be fine come February and March. Too much talent on this roster to stress it.
Unfortunately, there are some unexpected early growing pains. It's on the young players to develop and the chemistry to improve.
My expectation is M to come out of the remaining non-conference games at least 5-1 in those 6 games. Win at Nebraska, vs Minnesota. Then M is 11-3 heading into the lengthy conference stretch starting in January.

[Da Geezer]

Also -- is Zeb Jackson going to play this year? What is his status? The guy that we got to be the new Mike Smith is not good.

Correct on Jones. Slow and foul-prone. He picks up a lot of fouls because he is not quick enough to be a point guard.

When you are looking to Nunez to provide outside shooting, that says it all.

[JRB]

Michigan 65, Tarleton State 54. This was a three-point game with less than four minutes remaining. Michigan shot the ball relatively well this time-- they just couldn't hold onto it, committing 21 turnovers. Juwan Howard has a considerable amount of work to do with this team.

[Hannibal]

I'm getting really strong '14-'15 vibes from this team and that's seriously not good. They basically suck.

[Whitley]

Michigan 65, Tarleton State 54. This was a three-point game with less than four minutes remaining. Michigan shot the ball relatively well this time-- they just couldn't hold onto it, committing 21 turnovers. Juwan Howard has a considerable amount of work to do with this team.

The early struggles Michigan reminds me of like an Izzo team most years. They tend to struggle early and things come to get right before or early in the Big Ten season and they kicked it up 2-3 notches. I wonder if we are going to see the same thing here.

[WM Wolverine]

The incoming talent isn't near what's just left. Houstan can't keep a an offensive player in front of him, major liability on defense. Jones is no Mike Smith or even close.

[Cody_Russell]

I might be so wrong about Jones because it couldn’t be a worse start for him, but let me see a few more games.
IF Jones is a bust, start Collins!

The turnovers on this team is out of control. Beilein wouldn’t accept that.

[WM Wolverine]

Johns isn't a starter either, I've been hoping he might take a big step forward but it's not happening. He can play a lil but he's not a starter in the B1G. Houstan might be able to defend power forwards, or what I mean, he'll be less of a liability defending them. I don't want to see him attempting to defend anyone too athletic.

I'm ready for Collins to play more too, he was a favorite of mine as a recruit. He can penetrate and create for others, his shot isn't ready though.

[Da Geezer]

I might be so wrong about Jones because it couldn’t be a worse start for him, but let me see a few more games.
IF Jones is a bust, start Collins!

The turnovers on this team are out of control. Beilein wouldn’t accept that.

Indeed. UM had 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game last night. Then Jones got in foul trouble and they put Frankie Collins in and he did much better than Jones. Collins did not play in the second half.

I'm confident that J. Howard will get this straightened out, but the press clippings about Jones were simply not true. We actually have a large enough sample size to say that Jones is not a point guard. Thank heaven for Eli Brooks, their only outside threat, but Brooks is not a point guard either.

Very disappointing.

[JRB]

Four minutes played in Chapel Hill so far, five Michigan turnovers.

[Mike]

Went from up 5 late in the first half to down 11.

No bueno. #footballschool

[JRB]

I was hoping the Arizona game was just a bad night at the office. No such luck. Michigan is not very good right now.