Novak and Douglass look to have had solid games yesterday in the Indiana North/South game. I was not able to watch but Douglass was 3-9 (2-6) in the game for 8 points and Novak was 5-9 (3-6) for 13 points (Box score). Contrary reports also say Novak had closer to 17 or 18 points and this box score is a little off.
I was not able to watch (or listen to) the game but the best report I have seen was on the Rivals free board from poster blue_in_chicago who attended the game.
On Douglass:
First, Douglass. In the first half, he actually looked kind of bored out there. Had better energy in second half and played quite of bit of the lead guard in the second half. He clearly has EXCELLENT vision and can pass real well, particularly off the pick-and-roll. He actually made a couple of passes that surprised his teammates and they went the wrong way or dropped them. I would say Douglass is a definite 1/2 type of guard.
On Novak:
Much bigger and has big, strong shoulders. More of a 2/3 type of guy and much more physically ready to play in the Big Ten. It would not shock me if he was a starter next year if things go well with LLP and Manny moves to the 3 like the coaches plan to. He is great shooter and had some nice drives down the lane for a lay-up. Like Douglass, he capable of shooting it as soon as the ball crosses mid-court and that is just going to be big help to Manny, Grady and LLP. I think he will be an effective scorer all over the court and is capable of finishing inside b/c of his strength. BTW, I think both Novak and Douglass are about the same height (6-4″?) so they will fit in with Beilein’s desire for bigger guards.
There is a lot more there so check out the whole post, it seems pretty clear that at least one of Novak and Douglass will play a good amount of minutes this year because of how deficient this team is at shooting the three.
I also received a scouting report (thanks to Nick) from a coach in Jake Cohen’s high school conference on his game. Cohen looks like a plan B/backup type kid right now but certainly one to watch.
Cohen would not wow you right now some people are having a hard time thinking he is D1 vs the Lions he went for 11pts and 7 board but you need to get passed that and think what will this kid look like as a 20 year old man and that is why Jake has a chance. He is very skilled but I will say not as skilled as the kid Dan Geriot from Springfield who is at Richmond right now. So I am not sold on him, if I was at St. Joes he would be on my list as a back up.
I had the pleasure of attending the regional action at Ford Field this weekend and thanks to Stephen Curry it was worth it. The kid simply put on a show this entire tournament and rightfully was named the region MVP.
I was not that impressed with the setup at Ford Field and was somewhat disappointed. I had sub-par seats in the endzone and they were FAR away as expected. However I had the chance to sit in the risers behind the basket for the Kansas/Villanova game and those seats were far worse even though they were in the 10th row. It will be interesting to see how the set up works for the Final Four next year but frankly I just don’t think basketball is meant to be played in a dome. It allows the NCAA to sell more tickets but it just doesn’t have the atmosphere that we all love in college basketball.
I have to admire the Davidson program though, a school of 1,700 students was the best crowd at Ford Field by far. Of course they had the neutral fans on their side but they were passionate and dwarfed the Kansas fans in terms of noise and numbers.
One argument that I don’t want to see is that because Davidson created an exceptional team with a spectacular under the radar player we should expect the same from Michigan’s “under the radar” players. There are hundreds of under the radar players and only one Stephen Curry. One note, Novak had around 18 and Stu had 8 points in the Indiana North/South game, more on that tomorrow.
Thanks to Curry and Davidson for giving us an underdog to believe in this tournament that has given us the first final four of #1 seeds. This Final Four will be special with some great games though, I don’t think there are many holes in these four teams and they are all at the top of their game.
Stuart Douglass and Zack Novak will join an elite group of Indiana senior basketball players at the 2008 North/South Indiana All-Star Classic on March 30 at Vincennes University. The doubleheader will feature the girls’ game at 2 p.m. and the boys’ game at 4 p.m. at VU’s P.E. Complex.
Tickets cost $8 each and are available by calling the VU Alumni Office, (812) 888-4354 or (800) 945-2586. Tickets may also be purchased by email at events@vinu.edu.
The games will be broadcast by WVUT-TV 22 and WVUB 91.1 FM, and streamed on VU’s Web site: www.vinu.edu
The North/South Indiana All-Star Classic is sponsored by Vincennes University, Hoosier Basketball Magazine and Pacesetter Sports of Terre Haute. The games are directed by Harry Meeks, women’s basketball coach at VU. Information is available at www.hoosierbasketballmagazine.com.
If anyone is planning on attending or if anyone gets WVUT-TVÂ shoot me an email here. Thanks and good luck to both Stu Douglass and Zack Novak.
Thomas McCanna is going to be helping out around the site in various ways and he agreed to write a review of the season. I figured that you have heard what I have to say on the season every game so it would be good to get an outside perspective. After this I am going to work on putting together a report card/review of each players season and what they need to work on. But here’s Thomas’ recap:
Going into the 2007-2008 season, there was a sense of rebirth in the Michigan Basketball program. Tommy Amaker had done an admirable job of putting some respectability back into the Michigan Basketball program after the Ed Martin scandal and the failure of his predecessor Brian Ellerbe. Unfortunately, restoring a clean image was the best Amaker could do in his 6 year run at Michigan. Amaker seemed to always be on the fringe of getting the program back to national relevance, but whether it was injuries, poor performance on the floor at the worst possible times, or some tough luck in recruiting, Amaker just could not get the program over the hump.
John Beilein was hired in April of 2007 and he came to the Michigan program with a reputation as a rebuilder of ailing programs. His track record at Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia suggested that given time, Beilein could get Michigan back to national relevance. In his early days after his hire, Beilein made it clear that he was no miracle worker and getting Michigan back to the NCAA’s would be a process. Beilein also said in no uncertain terms that he came to Michigan because he thought he could recruit the kind of talent that could bring UM back to an elite level.
Continue reading ‘Guest Blogging: The 2007-2008 Season’
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