- Len Elmore knows how to stay busy. After his NBA career he headed to Harvard Law School and has dabbled as an agent and lawyer while announcing college basketball games on ESPN and CBS on the side. Not a bad gig. In an interview with BitterLawyer.com, Elmore predicted a Final Four of “Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and a surprise team—say Michigan”. I think you would have to be crazy to pencil Michigan into your Final Four at this point, but who am I to doubt an ex-NBA player and Harvard Law graduate?
- Timed nicely with my versatility post from yesterday, Rivals names Manny Harris one of the top 10 triple digit threats in the country.
- Mike Rothstein has a piece on Beilein’s track workouts building chemistry.
- Some more preseason All-American lists… Gary Parrish has Manny Harris on his third team, Kalin Lucas is also on the third team. Blogging the Bracket also named Harris a third team All-American but placed Evan Turner on their first team.
- Andy Katz critiques some recently proposed or approved NCAA rules.
- Finally, a quick Darius Morris video from Hoopmixtape.com, Morris is my sleeper pick to take down the dunk contest at Michigan Madness:
UM Hoops.com
University of Michigan Basketball News, Analysis, and Recruiting
Very encouraging news about Ben Cronin doing well in the track workout.
Great DMo video. I’m excited. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a PG that can do those kinds of things. I hope he can grasp the offense quickly because he will be the key as to how high this team can go this year.
Man, this team is gonna be goooooood. If DMo can improve throughout the year at the point, Ben Cronin stays healthy, and LLP gets more comfortable in the system, I have no doubt we can challenge for the Big Ten title.I predict a third place finish, but I could see us winning it if we at least get a split with MSU and Purdue. A tall order, but it can be done.
Tough to split with Purdue when we only play them once
If Cronin can get us 10-15 minutes in the post, he will have a tremendous effect on the game. As the biggest player on the roster, he will demand attention in the post, and if he can get 2-3 touches per game I think he will start to draw some double teams, which can free up another shooter in the corner or on the wing. There’s no doubt the man will get his points if he can seal his man in the post and receive a quick feed from the wing.
I haven’t seen a ton of his post moves, but from what I’ve heard he has a nice little drop step towards the middle. Once again, I think he has a chance of having the second-most effective post game on this team (whereas Zack Gibson will get more points from Manny/Darius slashing and finding him open, or on putbacks).
That’s really what’s so exciting about this team. We know they will be good, even when we just consider only known components. We know DeShawn and Manny will be be dominate and we know that LLP, Stu, and Novak, will provide lights out shooting and consistency. When we factor in the unknowns being major contributors, then we could be looking at a team that can score at will. Let’s say Cronin is impossible to move down low and hits over 50% of his shots. Let’s say that DMo is the third best scorer and feeds our slashers with passing we have not seen before. Added depth. Hell, we really have no idea how good this team can be. I could see us anywhere from 5th or 6th in the Big Ten to running away with the crown. Either way, I’m juiced to see first hand at the Old Spice Classic. Get your tickets and join me.
I’m excited for this season, but with high expectations it is easier to be dissappointed. The conference is tough and as good as this team played last season the were on the bubble until the end.
That being said, when you only lose Grady and walk ons (even good ones likes ours were) and you bring in Morris, Cronin, Morgan, Eso, McLimans, and Vogrich to replace them you have to feel good.
can we get ben cronin some of that “get ripped in 4 weeks” stuff you advertise for on the website?
Well, the Maize Rage has unanimously predicted Novak will win the dunk contest. Not sure how you could bet against him at this point.
El Capitain, that may be true about Cronin on the offensive end, but I think he’s a defensive liability due to his slow speed. I know he had a hip injury last year when he was S-L-O-W down the court, but I don’t think he’s exactly a gazelle. If he can’t get back on D I worry how much we may actually see him on O.
what’s so interesting about Ben Cronin is that he can be a few feet away from guarding or defending his opponent, that his “height and reach” will still be effective to the shot attempt by the other team near the basket. I think we all agree that if Ben can give this team 10-15 minutes of court time, to give Deshawn a break from the center position or just even give him resttime on the bench, that would be tremendous for 5pts/5rbs/3blks if he could do that for this years team.
I think we should all remember Ben’s last game was probably in March of 2008. We all saw how rusty LLP was last year and he was only off for a year.
man people are going nuts over cronin and all he has shown to this point is that he needed surgery… i think people are overlooking the fact that at 7 feet + you need to be a hell of a physical specimen to even run up and down the court. i think he very well could never play significant minutes at the college level.once again i think the post will be our biggest liability. but here’s to a great looking incoming pg and sg + the talent we already have in the starting line up.
I think Nick means we will split with Purdue similar to last year in West Lafayette. Michigan will play great in the first half until Manny is ejected and then we will fall apart in the second half. Therefore, it is a quasi-split. FWIW, I was at that game and it turned nasty in there after that call. Very few teams would have been able to handle it.
What Ben can bring is a thought that if you drive into the lane you just might have to dish out or change your shot. I think Ben’s impact will be far greater on the defensive side of the ball then the offense. At least here in his first full season.
Hopefully D-mo will be good…but there was nothing he did in that video that was anything special
The status of Ben Cronin continues to be mystery. There are conflicting reports coming from rivals message board. Not sure which one to believe but guess we will all know soon. There are more than one person saw Ben still limping which I have no reason not to believe that, but others claim that he always walk that way.
what I have heard on Ben is that he has been participating in everything. I haven’t heard anything to the contrary besides the lone Rivals post. I don’t know how big of a contributor he will be, but he’s participating.
Kenny, this is true. I’m a student and I saw him limping around a couple weeks ago, but I almost suspect that he is never really going to get rid of this and may be very close to as healthy as he will ever be. Being tall definitely has its pros and cons.