So while I am still learning a lot about the little intricacies about football, I think I have a pretty good understanding of basketball (being the son of a legendary Gobles basketball coach and wanting to eventually be a high school/ college coach one day). That being said, basketball is my favorite sport to play and college/ high school basketball is one of my favorites to watch and analyze. Luckily for me the Michigan's basketball team is in the middle of turning around a program that has been hit with major sanctions, a few inept coaches, and a in-state rival becoming a national powerhouse.
I will begin with a little look at last year before jumping into the current men's team. Before the year began last year I predicted the team would win 12-15 games. They lost the two biggest scoring options (also the two biggest attitude problems), they were still breaking in a sophomore point guard, and had questions at every positon. I totally underestimated the affect of getting rid of most of the negative attitudes in the program. The team was led by two junior Indiana guards who were in the 3rd year of the rebuilding program, and who would probably not be starters or even in the 12 man rotation at most other B1G schools. The held the very young inexperienced team together after beginning conference play near last place. After losing 6 games in a row and starting 1-6 in the B1G they rallied around Zak Novak and Tim Hardaway Jr and finished playing some of the best basketball in the conference and nation. They finished 8-3 to close out the regular season, swept MSU for the first time in what seemed like forever, and clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament with a first round win over Illinois. Most everyone knows the story after that....
Bring on the 2011-2012 basketball season, where the arguably the most valuable player to his team in the conference left early for the NBA and again we are breaking in a young talented point guard. The heart of the team is still alive and kicking though with everyone else returning from last year's surprise 2nd round appearance in the big tourney. There has been a lot of offseason hype around Michigan basketball for the first time in most people's memories. The recruiting class coming in next year is an across the board top 5 pull, student ticket demand has soared, and the team is rated in the top 20 to begin the season. Things are looking up. I have had a chance to go to 2 games this year already and I have honestly been pretty underwhelmed with the level of play so far. In the exhibition game against Wayne St it seemed more like practice time for Coach Beilein who tried to mix and match different line ups to feel comfortable with one. Only 4 players scored in the game, and won by single digits. Fast forward to game number 3 where we played Western Illinois, and at times the offense looked more in-sync but defensively the team looked sluggish and lazy at times. We let a bad team that starts 3 freshman hang around all game, and we never will pulled away like I was expecting. I want to just think that the players were looking forward to their trip to Hawaii, or if Western Illinois played their best game of the season. But some things really upset me about the team's performance.
Today we play a top 10 team in Memphis, a team that might be the most athletic in the nation, a team that we do not match up well against at all. I think at this point it will be hard to expect a victory later today, but I am expecting Coach Beilein to outcoach the youngster sitting at the other bench, and that advantage I am hoping is enough to keep the game close throughout. If you can keep the game in reach for 35 minutes, anything can happen in the last 5.
Later today I hope to write up a quick game preview before the 3pm tip..
Raising the speed limit on Michigan sports, I am Justin Koehn, Go Blue.
***Thank you again Phil for the sign off recommendations, I will try some of them out and see how they feel***
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