Gopher Pre-View and The Mailbag...

Saturday Was SOOOO BAD….

How Bad Was It?

From Maize and Brew:

https://www.maizenbrew.com/basketball/2019/1/22/18190584/stat-watch-games-like-wisconsin-happen-even-with-beileins-best-offenses-michigan-basketball

The statistical carnage from Saturday in Wisconsin is admittedly startling.

The offense scuffled mightily in Michigan’s 64-54 road loss to the Badgers. In particular:

• The Wolverines scored .82 points per possession, which is .32 lower than their season average.
• They shot 47.2 percent on twos (nearly six percentage points lower than their average) and 27.8 percent on threes (nearly nine percentage points lower).
• 16 turnovers, which occurred on 24.2 percent of possessions. This is nearly 10(!) percentage points higher than normal.

If you click the link, Dodge pulls out additional games over the past seasons where Michigan turned in a clunker of a game, against some very unworthy competition.  And then they would come out the following game and destroy their next opponent…

These guys aren’t pros (even though I’ve seen pro teams do the EXACT SAME THING!)

They’re 18-22 young adults that again, had an off day.  And now Beilein gets a couple of days to coach them up. 

So, again, I’m not terribly worried.  The Beilein System has produced a dud like this JUST ABOUT EACH AND EVERY Season. Frustrating, absolutely.  Am I glad it happened on the road at the Troll Center?  You betch- well, no.  I’m not GLAD about it but I can LIVE with it.  And finally, what is the prognostication for tonight for the Gophers?

PAIN!

I pity the fools!

MAILBAG

SuperFan complained that I didn’t address his main issues.  So, here goes:

WE DID NOT NEED TO LOSE THIS GAME. 

Agreed – but Michigan did.  And they’ll learn from it.  Right now, all I care about are 6 games at the end of March and the beginning of April…

For the first time this season we played STUPID; and I mean from the coaches down to the players.  We passed up MANY open 3s early in the clock while attempting many reluctant and challenged ones.  We gave up MANY open 3 looks (many which were missed, but not enough) due the compulsion to double team, and committed several stupid fouls, 2 feet from the basket. 

See the 18-22 year old comment above.  Also, I do believe the early start was some of what you saw on the floor at the Troll Center.  And that place is the screwiest place on Earth when it comes to getting calls, etc. 

Simpson just went into super-stupid mode at the end of the game, getting fed the ball by wisky when he had Poole ALL ALONE for a 3 when we really needed a 3.

ALSO, is Matthews really traveling, or is he just so fast they think he is?  If he really is traveling, can't we get that fixed!!!  If not, he needs more bench time.  He is not having a great year thus far, and he seems to be getting worse as the season goes on.

Matthews and Simpson have had games like that before.  I wouldn’t sweat it yet, but I will say this:  Michigan is in DESPERATE NEED of an offensive “Take Charge” guy right now.  Last year it seemed like MAAR was the “Guy” and could take you home.  Poole, Matthews or Simpson need to figure out how to win a game on their own. 

AND WHAT IS WITH EVERYBODY, and I mean everybody, missing short......consistently.  Nearly every bad miss is short, almost never long.  When everybody is missing short over many games this must be some sort of coaching problem???  Free throws too

I’m guessing that will be corrected.  Michigan always improves on offense going through the season.  I haven’t seen anything to indicate that is changing this year. 

From Special K:

Is Brady the GOAT of all GOATS?  As a Michigan Fan I say YES.  However, I think strong consideration would be another Boston athlete – Bill Russell.  In my book, he may slightly win the competition.  In 13 seasons:

Russell and the Celtics won 11 NBA Championships.

He was also the Coach/Player after Auerbach retired when he won his 10^th and 11^th Championship with the Celtics

He went to 12 All-Star Games. 

He was also named MVP of the league 5 times. 

He had countless awards for top rebounder, top defender and made several Second Team All-NBA.

On top of that he won 2 NCAA Titles.

It’s always fun to compare, and impossible to win the argument 

Bill Russell and the Celtics have ALWAYS been part of the dynasty teams I bring up during this discussion.  The argument is certainly understandable, but the longevity of Brady’s accomplishments puts him ever so slightly ahead of Russell in my book.  Let’s call them 1 A & B.