Michigan will play at Maryland on December 3rd in the Big Ten/ACC challenge this year. Definitely a tough draw for Michigan but should be a fun game I would say. Some other matchups of note: MSU plays UNC at Ford Field, Duke at Purdue, and Wisconsin at Virginia Tech. Click here for full list of games, by my calculations is looks like another loss for the Big Ten in the Challenge. This is going to be a tough stretch for Michigan because from what I hear (unconfirmed) we are playing Duke at home the Saturday after (December 6th). These pre-conference games are presumably without Laval Lucas-Perry who pending appeal will not be eligible to play until late December.
The confirmed games so far this year that I can think of: Maryland, Duke, UCLA, Oakland, Harvard and one of the pre-season tournaments. I would presume most of the other non-conference slots would be filled with cupcakes.
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A few tidbits on Pledger. His current height and weight is 6-4 190lbs, not the 6-2 that the Rivals articles had him listed at. One other note, Pledger plans to attend the Michigan Elite camp this summer (June 27th). I am trying to get more information on Pledger but thought I would pass along this quick nugget. For some more background on Pledger here is a good profile from last summer. If you missed our first post introducing Pledger after his play this weekend at Boo Williams you can read it here.
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Kelvin Grady was one of the most inconsistent players on the Michigan team this year. Of course this is normal for freshman who are not the Kalin Lucas, Manny Harris and Robbie Hummels of the world. It was still gut wrenching to see Kelvin wow you with his good play against teams like Georgetown, Duke, or Iowa and then turn around and make you sick by disappearing or turning the ball over. After the break I’ll look at the positives and negatives of Kelvin’s season and what he needs to do to improve. Continue reading ‘Report Card: Kelvin Grady’
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Zack Novak put on a show at the Top 60 Workout this weekend and is showing people that he is the real deal. The game featured the Top 60 players in Indiana and Zack definetely proved that he belonged. The NWI Times has a whole article about Zack in the game and Zack’s hard work to improve. It’s certainly an encouraging article and hopefully Zack keeps working hard this summer once he gets to Ann Arbor.
“We’re looking for guys who are motivated, energy guys. I like what I saw in Novak. He is an energy guy.”
Novak was very clear about his goal, which was to show enough to make the Indiana All-Star team. On my clipboard, he was a Top 5 player out of the Top 60. He had a dunk over Crown Point’s Stephen Albrecht that almost tore the roof of the place. Two handed. Rim bending. Crowd pleasing.
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Steven Pledger is a new name that is firmly on the national recruiting radar after a big time performance at Boo Williams this weekend. Pledger exploded for 24 points in his biggest game and apparently shot the ball very well. The good news is that Michigan seemingly has been on Pledger for a while as he is already listing Michigan. The bad news is that Steven is firmly in the national spotlight now with his big performance at Boo Williams. Pledger is described as a lights out shooter but also seems to play mostly off the ball. When looking at Michigan’s roster composition I think we need a point guard. Regardless Pledger is one to watch over the summer.
Saturday Night:
Pledger has been the biggest guard surprise in the entire 17 and under field and had his big moment on the big stage. The 6-foot-4* guard scored 24 points and hit big three-pointer after big three-pointer.
School List:
Pledger, the night’s star in the Boo Williams-NY Gaucho game, said Oklahoma, Michigan, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Hampton, Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason comprise of his early school list.
Pledger’s hometown Boo Williams team rolled on to win the tournament. Rivals on Pledger in the finals:
Continuing his great play was emerging guard Steven Pledger, who scored 15 points in the game. The 6-foot-4* guard did a great job in the spotlight and should see his recruitment blow up this week.
*Note: Steven is 6-4 190 pounds contrary to what Rivals listed.
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Detroit hired Ray McCallum today, which means Mike Jackson should be staying in the Maize and Blue for now. This is good news on many fronts. Jackson has instate ties, is a great recruiter, and is well liked by many players on the team. I would think he is still getting adjusted to Beilein’s system but it’s great to retain him. This is also very good news with respect to the Ekpe Udoh situation. Mike Jackson and Ekpe are very close and this could help get Ekpe fully back on board.
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No one can deny that the game day atmosphere at Crisler is awful. Weak crowds, few students, poor promotion, bad song choice by the bands, cheesey PA announcer. There are plenty of valid criticisms of the game day atmosphere. Luckily Beilein and his staff are doing things to try to improve the game day atmosphere. Here is a basic list of what is being done:
- A new sounds system is being installed in Crisler this off-season.
- Free Student Tickets have been proposed and are a possibility for next year.
- Re-arranging the band and student sections has also been proposed. A side note, I hear there are some sticking points here such as Crisler infrastructure such as heating and cooling may be a higher priority.
- Beilein wants students input! He has organized a meeting 6pm on April 16th at Crisler to meet with students. There will be a brainstorm session with Beilein for ideas followed by training table with the team after their workout.
- If you can make it, please attend the meeting. Anyone that is planning on attending the meeting send Steve Wolters an email (wolters@umich.edu). A bigger turn out will be encouraging for the basketball staff and make things like free tickets and other improvements more likely. If students won’t show up for free food why would people think they would show up for free basketball tickets.
- Anyone that has suggestions for game day changes leave them in the comments and I can pass them a long to people who will listen.
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