Sykes would be a good pick up for a team that is already established and had time to develop him, unfortunately that is not the case in Ann Arbor. We need an impact player.

And that impact player is Mr. Trey Zeigler. That is great news that CMU will be keeping his dad. Trey – you don’t want to go to UCLA, you will be away from your family and friends. Join us in Ann Arbor.

I wonder if Trey reads this blog. If so, I’ll echo the sentiments of Wayman Britt:

TREY, I BEG YOU…PLEASE COME HERE!

Quick question: if Manny really does leave, do we offer Sykes right away?

For those starting to prefer Sykes over Zeigler, I suggest you watch this video and rethink that opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnaRyY7Btg

Trey’s game is completely effortless looking. That’s why he doesn’t appear as dominant. He reminds me a lot of Dwayne Wade in that way. The game just comes naturally to him. Zeigler is a very special player. Plus, the hops in that video are pretty sick.

For those keeping track – Amir Williams and Ray McCallum won their Class B state semi-finals game yesterday. Amir had 11 pts, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks. Ray had 22 pts, 6 assists and 8 rebounds

Watching Suttons Bay Dwaun Anderson looks like a player.

Ferrell has 13 points midway through the third quarter. Park Tudor trails 24-22. They are struggling to get much going offensively but Yogi is damn fun to watch.

Not really related to this post but wanted to get it in while I can – as entertaining as the NCAA Tournament has been this year, it’s sickening that the Elite 8 includes the likes of Calipari, Huggins, Bruce Pearl, and Frank Martin. No wonder my bracket is shot – I hate seeing guys like this succeed. All this does is encourage others out there to follow suit and bend the rules, exacerbating everything that is wrong with college basketball.

Giddings, I couldn’t agree with you more. Those coaches are slim. NCAA knows they don’t follow the rules, but won’t do anything.

Trey Zeigler article in the Free Press with his reaction to Manny’s leaving and Horford’s commitment. Link is below. I’d copy and paste it if I wasn’t using my phone.

http://m.freep.com/news.jsp?key=623792&rc=sp

Here’s what Zeigler says from Brian W’s cited article: “I did not hear that,” Zeigler told the Free Press Friday at the Breslin Center when informed of the report that Harris was leaving U-M. “Manny going pro? I’m glad he is. I haven’t talked to him in a couple weeks but he’s a great player. It’s not going to really affect my decision at all. I would love to play with him. But with the opportunity (at Michigan), if he’s not there, it’s not going to affect it.”

‘Zeigler – who averaged 24 points, 10.5 rebounds, four assists, and two steals per game this season and shot 51% from the field and 30% from three-point land – arrived at the Breslin Center to see the state semifinals after Beilein had already left, but said they chatted on the phone. “He’s really excited about (new recruit Jon) Horford,” Zeigler said. “Coach Beilein’s a great guy, a great coach and they had a rough year this year but are definitely on the rise.”‘

Are you sure Pearl’s dirty, Giddings? I know he was involved w. that scandal at UI, but that featured him accusing someone else, no? Much as I tend to dislike Tenn. on general principle. . .

Yogi ended up with 20 points on 7 of 21 shooting (1-8 3PT and 5-8 FT). He also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 turn overs.

I think it does affect treys decision he sounded a little too happy when they said manny was going

I WANT YOGI IN ANN ARBOR!

Evan, are saying Trey is happy that Manny is leaving?

That article also mentioned on page two that Trey may make the call on his decision a few days AFTER April 14. That could complicate things if Sykes gets an offer from some other school by then (if Sykes is plan B).

He also said Horford is a great kid.

If there is one thing to be sure of in Trey’s recruitment… It’s that he will tell the media the right thing. He obviously knows how the game works and tends to be very politically correct. That being said, he’s not going to decide where he goes to school because of Manny staying or going.

Yogi had a solid game but missed 2 threes in the last 12 seconds to tie. They still had a great season and were pretty much out matched, almost the definition of a one man team.

Also… Tennessee’s police blotter alone is damning evidence of Pearl. Would be tough to be proud of a team that had that many arrests and whatever else.

Since we’re talking about Tennessee and what happened with Tyler Smith, let’s not forget that stuff like this forced Steve Alford out of Iowa. One can’t help but wonder if they miss him right now.

I for one have never heard anything bad about Frank Martin.

I have not heard anything bad about Frank Martin either AG2, but whenever a coach comes from the AAU ranks you gotta wonder. You know he knows all about the sleeze at that level and also all the backdoor deals that were going down. Im sure he learned a lot about how to circumvent the rules. I am not going to say he is dirty, but I would worry if he was my school’s coach.

Bill’s comment was overlooked I think…Wow can Dwaun Anderson play…after watching him for Suttons Bay, I checked youtube for him…some pretty impressive stuff…hopefully Johnny B has his eye on him…

I like Sykes because he brings something different to the table. We do not have a player on the team who has a similar game. Smotrycz may be somewhat similar IDK. Sykes isn’t a point guard(point forward maybe), can’t shoot well(yet), and needs to work on his D.

Sykes can rebound, has very good court vision(even from the back-court}, passes well and most of all makes his teammates better. Sykes is one of those guys in pick up games whose team keeps winning in large part to the unselfish attitude he brings to the court.

Z is of course option 1, but I would be very happy if M landed Sykes. Much like Novak, I think the kid is all about winning.

Dwaun Anderson is smooth and he made some top shelf moves. Tallys team beat them pretty good but he looked like the best guy on the court. Tally looks good but he seemed to have some issues finishing but he looks like his dad, good but maybe not big ten but Duquesne got a good player.

I agree with Gordie Sykes looks like he has good vision and passing he will be an asset whoever he goes with.

Go Butler

With so much dirt left in the tournament, I’m almost forced to root for Izzo. Hopefully Butler can hang on though. It would be awesome if they won the NC. They’ve always been one of my favorite teams to root for in March.

Thanks for that video, YpsiTucky Boy. Ziegler really does look smooth. Playing much tighter in that tourney vid we saw.

I watched Yogi Ferrell (2012, PG) in the Indiana State Finals.
20 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast

He’s only 5’10 or 5’11 but as only a sophomore, I heard his Dad is a little bigger than him so they think he could easily grow another couple inches. He’s very well built.

VERY quick. VERY strong.

Amazing ball handling – both in consistency and in moves. He can beat any press easily and in the halfcourt was blowing by his defender before anyone knew he was moving.

Great passer. Being so strong, quick, and great at ballhandling he was getting many open looks for his teammates (they just couldnt finish)

Scoring: He attacks the hoop well – can finish or dish and has a nice pullup move. Solid FT shooter. He was going 1-on-1 vs an athletic 6’4″ kid and was shooting pullups over him with ease.
His shot isnt bad, but definitely isnt known as a “shooter” or anything like that.

Defense: his team was playing zone but Yogi does get aggressive rebounding around the perimeter. He was really going after the ball.

Coaching: His HS coach is Ed Schilling – former Wright State Head Coach and an assistant under John Calipari at UMass and Memphis. Also coached as an assistant for the NJ Nets.

Matt Painter and Bruce Weber were in attendance.

Go Butler

Sounds great Ziegler and Yogi running the show.

I would love to see a Butler – Kentucky final. Talk about having two completely contrasting programs on the floor. It would be awesome, even though I think Kentucky would destroy them.

Zeller’s Washington team leads 31-28 at the half. Zeller hit a three to at the end of the half to put Washington in the lead. So far, he has 8 points and 11 rebounds.

I’m imagining a MSU/Kentucky national title game. It would be like last year’s final all over again.

Is there something about West Virginia and elite 8′s that make them ON FIRE from 3?

Looks like Beileins’ teachings are still resonating with the Mountaineers.

Detroit News has an article about Trey Zeigler. It’s dated this afternoon…

“Trey Zeigler, a 6-foot-5 forward from Mt. Pleasant who finished runner-up in the voting for Mr. Basketball, said Manny Harris’ reported decision to leave Michigan to enter the NBA draft will not have a bearing on whether he chooses U-M.
Zeigler, the son of Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler, said he has narrowed his choices down to five schools: Arizona State, Central Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA.

“I would rather have him stay but it won’t influence me one way or another. Not at all,” Zeigler said of Harris. “Michigan still has a good nucleus and coach (John) Beilein has a good team coming back.”

Zeigler said he won’t sign a letter-of-intent or make a commitment until he returns from the Wazoo Sports Derby Festival Basketball Classic, an event held in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby Festival, on April 11 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.”

Dylan covered most of my sentiments on Pearl, but you also can’t forget his attempts to poach Manny (who had already signed his LOI) from us when Beilein came in. Tennessee was calling off the hook trying to convince him that Beilein would never get him to the NBA and he should follow Ramar Smith and head south.

In Martin’s case, he may be a step below the others but he’s kind of guilty by association as Huggie’s top recruiter at KSU. And like Tweeter said, the guy was hired strictly because of his AAU connections (and because he was so close to certain recruits… Beasley, Edwards…).

If the national title game was Butler and WVU it would totally validate Beilein’s coaching style.

We all know Trey Zeigler is a great basketball player, but based on his comments he seems very smart and mature for a 18 year old. He says all the right things and seems to handle the press.

Boy! would he be a great representative of the University of Michigan.

Sorta unrelated but I was checking that mock draft on harris and did any one else see a familiar name at number 9 in the second round
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2010/

I had no idea he was doing so well to be a draft pick at this point in his career.

With Manny, Epke, and Robin the team would have been a lot different. Also looking forward to watching country day tonight on the replay.

shoulda coulda wouldas but this year coulda been morris, harris, benzing, sims and udoh in the starting line up…well i guess beilein probably would have wanted a true SG in there..but still…

Was Da’Sean Butler a Beilein recruit? If so, props to him.

Also, kind of random but does anyone think Douglass has the potential to be an Andy Rautins -quality player? I think he will be a legitimate threat next year from distance. Consistency from him could really benefit the offense if we have slashers like Sykes and or Ziegler in the lineup.

One last thing, Gordon Hayward is a baller. I’m new to the recruiting scene but did Michigan even go after him? That kid can ball. Great looking stroke, he’s got great handles and oh yeah, he’s 6’9. Wish he played for UM.

In his comments about tomorrow’s game, Tom Izzo said that Wayne Chism from Tennessee remind him of “the kid Sims in our league.”

Yes Butler was a Beilein recruit.

Beilein also recruited Hayward but he committed about a month after Beilein was hired I believe.

AG2, I saw that…I didn’t know Chism had the midrange game Deshawn had. I’m going to miss Peedis fall away baseline jumpers…

I wouldnt mind manny leaving all that much. He wasn’t a great leader and he was part of the reason u of m didn’t play as a team. Zeigler may be the same way. I like passers and teammates like sykes and novak a little bit better. Look at Northern Iowa for example. They have no one on their team that will ever go pro, but the have a few good shooters and they play as a team. I may be wrong but tell me what you think.

Chism is very good. I would say better than Deshawn, and I’m a big Simms fan.

Need a show of hands here. How many are rooting against Sparty today?
I find Izzo and MSU particularly insufferable this year (see “How MSU Toughness Was Born” at sportsline right now if you would like to feel particularly annoyed). But I continue to admire Izzo through clenched teeth and–hate to admit it–sorta buy into the beleaguered school in dying state meme(after all Sparty is suffering tens of millions in budget cuts while M grows and grows). Plus, I would like the world to generally believe that hoops in the SEC suck. What kinda clinches it for me is this idea that Tenn. is really tough, too. If the B10 doesn’t have its toughness–much as I hate the style of play–what’s left to hold onto?

I’ll root against MSU today. Another MSU Final Four appearance doesn’t help U-M’s basketball program… We don’t need another reason for them to put up more billboards. Saw one while driving through Flint yesterday.

I hope MSU loses big. I’m an Izzo fan, and love the style of play he coaches. On the flip side, I hate MSU generally. I have found their attitude toward UM to be atrociously arrogant over the past three years. That is why I hope they get embarrassed today.

root against MSU, no doubt about it, anytime, against anybody.

i’m rooting against msu. there’s no great team in the tourney this year, so I think all of their remaining games are winnable to some degree. i hope they lose asap.

jk – i think you’re jumping to conclusions by saying zeigler may not be a good leader/teammate but sykes will be.

“Also, kind of random but does anyone think Douglass has the potential to be an Andy Rautins -quality player? ”

No, Rautins is a much more versatile player than Douglass. Douglass right now is pretty much a one dimensional player who has the ability hit 3 point shots but doesn’t possess the overall skill set of Rautins. Rautins value is that he can do a little bit of everything — can create his own shot, decent passer and rebounder. His length and athleticism also gives him an advantage over Douglass to be able to do these things.

Can they both lose? As a teacher, I can’t support the academic ‘standards’ or conduct of the Tennessee program and Izzo’s demeanor in press conferences and interviews has a very god-like quality that really pisses me off. I’m really torn… both are dispicable in their own seperate ways.

jk i do believe you’re talking out your butt. what reason do you have to believe trey is some ‘me-first’ ballhogging kid? i think his assist numbers are pretty similar to sykes.

if you’d watched them play, and had some reasons for thinking that way, let me know. also, there are a few people who share your opinion, but, in my opinion, you couldn’t be much further off.

i’ve gotten into this defending manny argument before. he has always had a solid assist rate. i think the problem (this year) was that manny is a pass-first guy on a team of 29% shooters. sure, he jacked up a few contested threes a game. do you seriously blame him for that?

consider:

zack novak took mostly open 3s this year. his 3pt% .306
manny took mostly ‘difficult’ 3s this year. his 3pt% .308

manny would go through a game dishing and dishing and dishing, only to watch most of his teammates throw up badly missed jumpers. so, suddenly, with 5 minutes to go, we’re down 10 or more. we need somebody to step up and create something from nothing. so manny tries to shoot a few more difficult shots, and pass a little less. i hope no one here blames hm for that. i’d rather have manny taking a difficult shot then everyone’s favorite gritty-grit novak standing still, uncovered, taking a shot.

to prove the point: manny’s assist rate was pretty insane in 2009: 32.2 that is number 43 out of all D1 players in America. as a small forward, manny had a better Arate than almost all guards.

in 2010, he still had by far the top on our team, but fell to 27.7 #143 in the country.

Did Manny become ball hog? No, anyone who says so is just forgetting how many shots manny’s teammates missed this year. Manny is an unselfish team player on a team that can’t shoot. And for that fans are calling him out for his selfishness, lack of leadership, and attitude. It makes me a little sick to be honest.

Just thought of this, but would it be possible for Hardaway to give up his scholarship for 2011 in order for Beilein to sign another highly rated big? (assuming Hardaway agrees to this). He certainly doesn’t need the money.

I hate both teams, but I’ll grit my teeth and root for UT. It’s not in our interests to see MSU in the Final Four. Simple as that.

Always rooting against MSU! I also believe that Butler has a better chance of beating TN than MSU. All in all, I get tired of Spaty fans and rarely wish for them to have success…only if it helps UM, and it doesn’t help in this situation! Go Vols! On a side note, Pearl was the coach at USI when I attended, so tend to root for him.

I for one wouldn’t mind seeing MSU win today, mainly because I want to see those punks who live in Cedar Village burn down the place, always great entertainment around here. Besides, can’t let those SEC fans heads get any bigger now can we?

In any case I think Tennessee’s got this. They’re playing some really good ball right now and MSU looks tired and wounded. I’m going to say Tennessee 65 MSU 59.

Good point ZRL, I haven’t seen that addressed on here…

Something’s wrong. I turned my TV to CBS and the Warriors/Clippers game is on.

And the Clippers are wearing Green and White, while the Warriors are wearing less shiny Orange.

Haha. I was wondering what you were talking about

GPsimms you are my guy…I cannot have said it any better, thank you for bringing some game knowledge to your post. Truly appreciate that!

I actually wouldnt mind seeing MSU win. I like Izzo, just something about him and the way he prepares his squad each and every year which is unmatched. They have a lot of really good players, but not great…he gets it done though!

ZRL, I believe there is some sort of NCAA rule against that. Meaning that once a kid is brought in as a scholarship player, that player continues to count against the scholarship lmit regardless of whether they remain on the scholarship or pay for school on their own, as long as they continue to be a part of the team, they count. The Cronin situation is different because his injury effectively makes him no longer part of the team.

If it was otherwise, then teams could abuse the scholarship limit at will. There are plenty of athletes out there that can afford to pay for school on their own. Just think about the Duke team for instance. Probably 3/4s of their scholarship players could pay on their own.

Gpsimms, I agree that Manny was not a ball hog or a selfish player on the court. But I think you can separate that aspect from the lack of leadership or attitude aspect. There were plenty of times this year, where he played unselfishly but he lacked a team building attitude.

Oh definitely you can’t say Manny was a ball hog. If anything he was too mild mannered sometimes.

I can’t believe Lucious missed that front end, but it is funny though.

Who wants to see Tennessee “Evan Turner” MSU right now?

No Tweeter, you can pay your way and open up a scholarship but idk if that decision has to be made before you sign your LOI or whatever. Duke did it years back when Shavolik Randolph decided to pay his way, so they could take another player.

Durrell Summers is very underated!! THis kid has some serious game, so smooth. I would kill for a Summers/ Green.

Oh come on, Prince didn’t even try to make that shot! I feel cheated!

And this just in…

Iowa has announced they have reached an agreement to hire Siena’s coach Fran McCaffery as their new coach.

Jay, Summers was a 5-star coming out of HS (same class as Manny). He’s been a contributor but overall a disappointment, not living up to his lofty ratings in HS (and apparently not seeing eye-to-eye with Izzo)… that is, until this Tournament, when he’s all the sudden become a deadly 3-point shooter and has actually started to become aggressive when he needs to be. The announcers kept mentioning his “2-hour chat with Izzo” before the Tournament, maybe there’s something to it.

I’m trying to look at the positives after this game… at least Bruce Pearl is going home. And good for the Big Ten, I guess. But now I’m even more on the Butler bandwagon…

Hope Belien took notes on how to defend a last second inbound play…

If Prince was given the extra 0.6 sec (plus the extra 0.3 or so due to timekeeper) he would have taken almost an identical shot as Turner.

Prince had a pretty good look… It was just one of the worst attempts I’ve ever seen of a last second half court shot.. Barely reached the key.

I thought about watching the game down by my office near campus, but I feared for my car’s safety.

Mixed emotions on Sparty back in the Final Four: on the one hand, the Big Ten and Pac-10 are the only majors to exceed their seed expectations in the tourney; you’d hope that people would notice and stop putting random lousy Big East teams into the tourney. On the other hand, TREY! TURN OFF THE TV! Come to Ann Arbor and carry the whole team on your back instead…

By the way, just found this piece about Gordon Hayward committing to Butler. Hayward, of course, is a perfect example of star ratings not telling the whole story… (2 star Scout, 3 star Rivals)

Gordon Hayward, a 6-foot-7 small forward, picked Butler over a handful of programs. “I visited them the end of April/early May,” Hayward said. “In talking with them this past month I felt like it was the best for me. I also visited Purdue (offer), IUPIU (offer) and Michigan. I felt like Butler was the best for me.”

Harris presser tomorrow at 11am. He is fully expected to declare for the draft. Also sounds like he will sign with an agent.

Giddings thanks for that clip on Gordon, but can you find one on Mack too? how the heck did he fall into Butler’s lap, that kid has heart. I know he said he felt like home, but we would have gave him the keys to Crisler!

It sure does sting watchin Ekpe..man blue could of used him in a serious way. Peedi playing the 4 another player not out of position…ahh ok i’ll stop thinking about “what could of been”

Jay, looks like you are right regarding scholarship players giving up their scholarship and paying their own way. I guess they dont count, as both Jarvis Varnado and Taylor Rochestie of WSU did this. I’m honestly surprised that the NCAA allows this to happen and also just as surprised that it is not abused more often. But I cannot find anything in the NCAA manual that would prohibit it.

However, schools are not allowed to give aid in other forms (academic, grants or otherwise) to recruited athletes in basketball, and not count them toward the limit. Once they start competing at the varsity level they count. I know this question was raised by some Sparty’s who were trying to find a way for Herzog to stay on the team but use his countable scholarship on Zeigler.

dylan how do you know he is going to sign an agent?

To answer an earlier question, I actually have said this before, but I think that Stu has the potential to develop into an Andy Rautins type player. He has worked on creating his own shot, he can be a dead-eye shooter, and he has a similar build. Give him one year, I think he’ll be very good.

Wow we really need to get Zeigler now. I guess Sykes would be alright, but watching Denby play made me kind of cautious around him. He plays absolutely no defense and when he doesn’t have the ball on offense he just sits around. I guess it wouldn’t be bad if Beilein could fix that stuff because although Sykes is pretty raw, he is an absolutely phenomenal athlete.

For those of you that thought Anderson looked good Saturday what game were you watching. He basically was gunning and has no right hand. He is a great athelete and is probably 6-3. His outside shooting didn’t impress me and he isn’t a playmaker. I guessing he looks good against the comp he is usually playing but ABT made him look average. A freshman guarded him and didn’t even force him to his right most of the time. Tally was by far the best player on the court.

There was a lot of talk this summer about Anderson being the best player in the state and I don’t see it.