Wolverine Wednesday: Basketball Issues

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Michigan's Basketball team is ranked #5 in the nation and is struggling right now.   Nobody was upset by the loss to Wisconsin, playing on the road in cold conditions is difficult to do.    Last night's win, looked more like a loss.   Let's take out the Matthews buzzer beater for a second and really look at what is troubling the Wolverines.

• Lack of offense - Michigan is completely stagnant without Teske in the game.  Poole is struggling with his shot, Iggy started the game 0-7 before getting hot, Simpson is not an outside shooter, and Matthews has been finding the lane very crowded.   All this leads to some ugly offense and isolation 3's.   Michigan shot 3-22 at the 3 point line last night.  

• Can't find a backup to Teske - Michigan is struggling to find a replacement a center.   Austin Davis is too slow, Livers and Johns are really forwards, and Castleton is no where close to being ready.   When Teske leaves the game, Michigan is way worse on both sides of the ball.   

• Plenty of Tape Available - Nobody is surprised at what Michigan is running now.  So the Big 10 teams are putting together defensive formations to stop Coach B's offense.   

• Teams are getting better - Michigan got out fast this season but other teams are starting to catch up with better play. 

• Too Streaky - It seems Matthews, Poole, and Iggy have to hit a layup before they can shoot the ball effectively.   Lately those 3 have been ice cold to start the game.  Poole scored 3 points last night and had 4 foul shots.  

Michigan won't be able to beat any Big 10 team on the road the way they played last night.  The Wolverines should have beaten Minnesota by 20 points.  They travel to IU on Friday and Coach B has plenty of things to work on before then.  The good news is this team has been through this exact same thing this season already.   Let's hope they can find their way out of this slump on the road like they did to start the season.  

Michigan Tuesday: 4 Former Wolverines Played in All Star Games This Weekend

JBB and Tyree Kinnel played in the East - West Shrine Game is St. Pete, Florida.  Brandon Watson and Lawrence Marshall played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Pasadena, California.

JBB played 20 snaps and got a grade from PFF at 67.8  
Tyree played CB had a fumble return and played 42 snaps
Marshall also had a fumble recovery and graded out at 74.4
Brandon Watson played 55 snaps and graded out at a low 60.1

PFF Average Grade is 64 (couldn't find Tyree's grade)

• Michigan Basketball is down to #5

• Michigan vs. Minnesota tonight at Crisler 7:00 BTN

• Congrats to for former Wolverine Blake Countess on making the Super Bowl with the Rams.  Blake had a 15 yard Chop Block penalty on a punt this past weekend. 

• Here is an ESPN article on Gary starting his own agency.

Michigan Monday: Tom In the Super Bowl Again

Raise your hand, if you knew Tom Brady would be the greatest QB in NFL history when he was at Michigan?  I assume many of you (like myself), had no idea.   He was always a smart QB and seemed to make the right reads at Michigan, but I was concerned about the next level.  I thought maybe he would have a Todd Collins type of career, being a solid back-up.  

I sure was wrong, Tom is the greatest QB and again proved it last night for anyone that might have forgotten.   A fun fact, Tom was on Michigan's 1997 National Championship team as a freshman.  He passed 15 times, completed 12, for 103 yards that season.

Congrats to the GOAT!

• Michigan Basketball suffered its first loss of the season.  It was only a matter of time as winning Big Ten games on the road is no easy task.  11:00 AM local start, a slippery surface, and Iggy/Mathews combine for 5 points is recipe for an L. 

• I wonder if that guy that missed that call in the Saints/Rams game ever was a referee in the Big Ten? Because it sure did look like it.  

• If you think the news regarding Michigan closing the 2019 class has been quiet, you are exactly right.  Michigan had two 2019 visitors his weekend:  Collin Duncan is a 3 star WR without an offer and FL CB Josh Sanguinetti a 4 Star CB with a ton of offers.    The WOTS is that Michigan is trying to set up a big recruiting weekend for this weekend.    As the focus has clearly turned to 2020 and future classes.  For the 2019 class, I think the Wolverines would love to close with a DT, RB, and either a WR or CB.  

• Speaking of DT's, Jimmy and new DT coach Shaun Tua were in Houston this weekend to recruit, Rice Graduate Transfer Zach Abercrumbia. Pretty much every school is trying to recruit Zach to their program as a rent-a-DT for next season. 

Michigan Friday: What About Pep?

Maizenbrew

The strangest situation hovering around Michigan's program right now is the status of Pep Hamilton.  His replacement has been hired (Josh Gattis) but he still remains on staff and is owed some pretty big money.   Pep is still under contract and is owed $1M this year and $1.25 next.  I don't know about you, but I'm not walking away from $2.25M anytime soon.

This situation also effects "coach in waiting" Ben McDaniels (brother of Josh OC of the Patriots).  His twitter profile says he is the WR Coach but officially he isn't.   With the hiring of Shaun Nua yesterday, Michigan is full at 10 coaches.   Ben has been out recruiting and now has to come home to get some rest.   As the Wolverines can only have assistant coaches out on the road recruiting.

We know Pep has been interviewing for other jobs but hasn't found anything yet.  The NFL jobs are filling up fast and time is ticking away.   So what happens if Pep doesn't find another job?  Two things could happen:

1) Michigan might have the highest paid WR/QB coach in the nation
2) Pep would resign and walk away from the $2.25

Drevno walked away in late February last season, so there is a precedent here, but as I mentioned before that is a ton of cash to walk away from.

• Speaking of NFL assistant coaching jobs Larry Foote is the new LB coach at Tampa Bay. 

• Michigan is carpet bombing the 2020 and 2021 class right now with offers. 

• Mel Kiper's latest Mock has Gary at 9 (Bills) and Bush at 20 (Steelers).

• Michigan might have its toughest road game of the year on Saturday at noon against Wisconsin.  I watched MSU for the first time last night and they are for real.  Michigan and MSU should have some great match-ups later this season. 

• Enjoy Sunday to see if the 🐐 can make another Super Bowl.

• Does this photo from Thursday make anyone else stomach feel sick? That is Ron Bellamy HC at West Bloomfield and former Michigan WR in the middle.