Where Things Stand
After a painful non-conference slate, Michigan is looking to rebound in Big Ten play. Michigan has a 4-8 record which is the worst in the Big Ten at this point but the question is where do they go from here.
In this preview I look at the conference and break down how the conference looks after the non-conference slate. Then I conclude with looking over Michigan’s team position by position after the abundance of departures. Read the rest after the break.
Read more
Holiday Hoops Recruiting Updates
Ben Cronin continued his stellar play in the Mayor’s Roundball Tournament and helped lead his team to their second straight championship and his second straight MVP. Watch video here (click ‘Watch the story’), boxscore, .
Henninger retained the Mayor’s Roundball Tournament trophy thanks to a triple-double from “Big” Ben Cronin.
Cronin had 18 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks to lead the Black Knights to a 69-40 win over Fowler. He wins the tournament MVP for the second-straight season.
Here is a good report on Justin Watts from ‘alum_at_acc’ from the Rivals Message Boards:
Very impressed with his attitude and game. He plays on a good HS team and there are very few plays drawn up just for him. He plays within the system, making good passes, defending, rebounding, and getting back to stop fast breaks. He also showed some good leadership, making sure they were organized for inbound passes, etc. He was also the first player to run over to a fallen teammate.
He is 6′ 5″ and looks like Legion or Shepperd. He is strong and physically mature. He is a great athlete and plays like Harris, trying to get to the rim and finish there. He converted at least 2 ali-op baskets. He can make his own shot but he shoots from a relatively low position. Excellent free-throw shooter and he draws alot of fouls like Manny.
In the game I watched, they beat Durham Southern, a good team by about 10, something like 72 to 62. He had 26 points, about 8 rebounds, and maybe 3 assists. He is the 2nd tallest guy in their lineup and he mostly played the 3 postion.
Jordan Morgan’s U-D Jesuit team took a loss to Henry Ford 76-56. Morgan pulled down a game high seven rebounds.
Another Departure
Jerret Smith is officially off the team. As I have said all along there is more to this than just bad grades. Nobody seems to know the whole situation (as evidenced by Lacy’s blog yesterday). Here is the statement from Beilein
“We have certain expectations of the student-athletes in our basketball program,” said Beilein. “After over a month of evaluation and discussion, our coaching staff has decided that Jerret has not made sufficient effort to meet these expectations. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the future of our basketball program that we move in a different direction.”
This is different than being considered academically ineligible in my opinion. It more so seems to be not meeting expectations of the team and his position. There has also been friction between Jerret and Beilein in practice it seems (i.e. blowup in practice) and the combination of this led to Jerret’s departure. It does not come as much surprise because Jerret has not even been around the team for the last couple weeks since the suspension began and it seemed like only a matter of time. This kind of thing has happened everywhere Beilein has been and by this point it should not be a surprise and we have yet another scholarship.
Also, an update on Justin Watts, he plans to visit at some point this season.
Recruit Updates
Ben Cronin looks to be keeping up his solid play (video in link) in another Henninger win.
If Ben Cronin wants to repeat as MVP of the Mayor’s Roundball Tournament, he’s off to a good start. Cronin had 18 points, 21 rebounds and 8 blocks in Henninger’s 66-44 win over Corcoran in the semifinals.
More on Watts, Smith
Justin Watts’ name has serviced recently of late, and Michigan has seen him play. Rivals posted this article
($) about his recruitment and it seems like he would be a good fit for UM. A wing that can score and score a lot seems like a definite fit. WRAL had this report on Watts from his loss to Taft and UNC commit Larry Drew earlier today:
Jordan’s Justin Watts wanted to remind everyone that he is still capable of playing. In addition to hammering home several slam dunks, Watts put up 24 points – the only Falcon to score in double digits.
Eric Lacy also has the latest on Jerret Smith, an interview with his father who claims to know of no glaring academic problems. Beilein would not have suspended Smith for academics if there were no problems, however it seems pretty clear that there is more to this than the grades. Bottom line is Beilein wants his point guard to be a leader on the court, in the classroom and on the practice floor. Just my opinion but I think there is going to have to be some major compromise to get Jerret back on the team. (Lacy also wrote a good piece on Michigan’s struggles and where they go from here).
Jordan Morgan Dunk of the Day
Random Updates
- Check out JC Mathis’ stat line, a once in a lifetime type game for him.
- Jerret Smith update on MLive. I think Jerret leaving is probably a done deal, but we’ll let it play out.
- FOXSports on Beilein’s offense and the early struggles.
Back with more tomorrow when I am back in the swing of things. Been busy for the holidays.
Commitment Updates 12-25-2007
Ben Cronin looks to have had a good game in another win for Henniger (7-0) and continues to keep up his solid play.
” The Orientals (6-1) rallied to take a one-point lead in the third quarter before Henninger’s Quantae Elijah connected on two key 3-pointers to give the Black Knights the lead for good. Henninger was led by Cronin’s 15 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Blue tallied seven of his nine points in the final quarter, including going 5-for-6 from the foul line, to seal the victory.”
Enjoying its status as one of the last three unbeaten boys basketball teams in Central New York, Henninger (7-0) will seek to win the annual Mayor’s Roundball Classic title later this week at Le Moyne College. This tourney features the four city schools, with Henninger the defending tourney champion.
The Black Knights, led by the scoring of 7-foot Ben Cronin (18.7 ave.) and junior point guard Kihary Blue (13.3), will meet Corcoran (3-3) at 3 p.m. in one first round game, with Nottingham (3-3) playing Fowler (4-1) at 7 p.m. in the other tourney opener.
Stuart Douglass also looks to have been pretty steady for a very good Carmel team in an easy win over Ben Davis
Stuart Douglass also had a strong game for Carmel, with 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and one steal. (Box Score - Douglass 5-16 FG, 14 pts, 2fouls, 4-12 3fg, 4 reb)
Merry Christmas
Hope you all have a great holiday. We are going to take the next couple days off. Back on Tuesday.
Test
Test advertisement on category page.
-
Subscribe