mgoblog - pick and roll en The Wizardry of Nik Stauskas <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 560px; height: 379px;" /><em>Swish. [Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog]</em></p> <p>In the last three games, Michigan earned their status as the team to beat in the Big Ten by sandwiching road wins at Wisconsin and Michigan State around a home victory over Iowa; all three teams ranked in the AP top ten when they played the Wolverines and sit at #6 (Iowa), #8 (MSU), and #14 (Wisconsin) in the <a href="" target="_blank">latest KenPom rankings</a>. Michigan ranks #7 on KemPom themselves after entering the Kohl Center at #19.</p> <p>This brilliant three-game stretch also vaulted Nik Stauskas up the NBA Draft boards (from unranked to #14 <a href="" target="_blank">in Chad Ford&#39;s latest rankings</a>[$]), gave him the inside track for Big Ten MVP, and landed him the #8 spot in the KenPom POY standings. Before I get to the video breakdown, here are Stauskas&#39; numbers from the last three games:</p> <ul> <li> 68 total points (22.7/game) on 10/19 2-pt, 12/24 3-pt, 12/13 FT shooting</li> <li> 13 assists to five turnovers, 11 rebounds (one off.), three blocks, three steals</li> <li> 28 points generated by assists (includes FTM)</li> <li> 96 points generated on 74 possessions used* for a mark of 1.30 points per possession</li> <li> Let me state that again: 1.30 POINTS PER POSSESSION</li> </ul> <p>Keep in mind that, while Wisconsin is struggling defensively (#10 in B1G defensive efficiency), Michigan State and Iowa rank first and third in the Big Ten in defensive efficiency. Those numbers are patently ridiculous; just as impressive is the variety of ways Stauskas generated those points. I compiled a video of every point Stauskas produced in the last three games, broken down by how the shot originated. It is highly recommended viewing:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//" width="560"></iframe><br /> <em>Apologies for the slight audio issues in the Iowa clips.</em></p> <p>Stauskas scored in just about every fashion imaginable, regardless of how opponents tried to defend him, and created most of his points himself&mdash;only six of his points and two of his assists came off non-transition spot-up opportunities. The &quot;Not Just A Shooter&trade;&quot; meme is a tired one at this point; that doesn&#39;t mean it&#39;s not fitting.</p> <p>For further examination of how Stauskas is this outrageously productive, hit the jump.</p> <p><em><strong>[JUMP, AS IS TRADITION.]</strong></em></p> <a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3> Transition</h3> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 500px; height: 282px;" /></p> <p><em>Some of the clips filed under &quot;transition&quot; in the video could also be filed under ball screens or handoffs, but I wanted to stay consistent with how hoop-math and other advanced stat sites track transition baskets&mdash;any shot occurring within the first ten seconds of the shot clock after a steal, defensive rebound, or opponent score.</em></p> <p>This is how Stauskas most reliably got good looks from the outside, a credit to his knack for finding the open spot and his teammates&#39; ability to get him the ball at the right time. Four of his 12 three-pointers came in transition, right about in line with his season numbers&mdash;on the year, 38.8% of his made threes have occurred in transition, <a href="" target="_blank">per hoop-math</a>.</p> <p>Stauskas also got a generous portion of his assists on the fast break&mdash;five of his 13&mdash;and a couple of them were simply magnificent: namely, the jump-pass to Jon Horford in the second clip and the perfect lead outlet to Derrick Walton that led to an and-one. His court vision and passing ability are nearly on par with his shooting acumen, which also shows up in the next category...</p> <h3> On-Ball Screens</h3> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 500px; height: 282px;" /></p> <p>We&#39;ve known since last year that Stauskas is extremely effective working the pick-and-roll; regardless of how Wisconsin/Iowa/MSU attempted to defend it, Stauskas found a way to produce points in these situations. A full rundown of this section:</p> <p>1. After Stauskas takes a handoff from Horford on elbow, Horford flips the pick, Frank Kaminski is forced to help on Stauskas, who hits Horford with a running jump-pass for an open dunk.</p> <p>2. Stauskas fakes left, spins back right into a high middle screen from Max Bielfeldt, spins back left into the paint, and hits a fadaway from just inside the free-throw line over Josh Gasser.</p> <p>3. Stauskas resets offense, gets a high middle screen from Jordan Morgan, takes advantage of a soft hedge by Kaminski with a quick pull-up jumper from 18 feet.</p> <p>4. Stauskas works around a high middle screen from Morgan, backs out when Kaminski switches onto him, then blows by Kaminski&mdash;drawing in Gasser&mdash;and deftly avoids a charge with a quick shovel pass to Morgan for a layup.</p> <p>5. Stauskas resets offense, gets a high middle screen from Glenn Robinson III, nails a three over Zach McCabe after Iowa switched.</p> <p>6. Iowa hedges hard against a high middle screen from Morgan, Adam Woodbury gets back to Morgan while Stauskas is still matched up on Aaron White; Stauskas creates a Morgan and-one after a filthy crossover gets him by White and draws in Woodbury.<em> (GIF&#39;d above.)</em></p> <p>7. Stauskas gets pass on wing, dribbles around a high screen from Morgan; Iowa is playing zone(!), Mike Gesell gets caught on the pick, leaving Stauskas open for a pull-up 18-footer.</p> <p>8. Same action as #7 except on the other end of the court. Iowa still playing zone. This time Gesell gets over the pick and Roy Devyn Marble helps aggressively, so Stauskas immediately passes off to Spike Albrecht, who&#39;s wide open for a triple.</p> <p>9. Stauskas starts in the left corner (aka Stauskas Corner), gets a dribble handoff from Albrecht, crosses over and declines the pick just as Gesell is working over Morgan&#39;s high screen&mdash;blowing past Gesell in the process&mdash;and flies in for the and-one finish between Jarred Uthoff and Melsahn Basabe.</p> <p>10. Stauskas resets offense as shot clock starts to wind down, Gary Harris runs smack into the high screen from Morgan, Matt Costello (Morgan&#39;s defender) inexplicably sags into the paint, Stauskas pulls up for a three-pointer.</p> <p>11. Stauskas is well-defended by Harris, who gets over Horford&#39;s screen, and Alex Gauna, who cuts off the drive while also taking away the interior passing lane, so Stauskas just stops on a dime and drills a pull-up from just inside the arc.</p> <p>Stauskas burned Wisconsin&#39;s soft hedging with pull-up jumpers, worked off the dribble against hard hedges by Iowa and MSU, obliterated Iowa&#39;s zone with his three-point shooting and quick passing, and punished State with a three when they screwed up their defense. Even when MSU played both the drive and the rolling big perfectly in the last clip, Stauskas simply pulled up and shot right over them. There&#39;s no consistently correct answer for how to defend Stauskas off the high screen; his combination of shooting, passing, and ball-handling is near-impossible to slow down at this level.</p> <h3> Handoffs</h3> <p>John Beilein&#39;s offense contains a lot of built-in handoffs for players cutting off the ball; not only are these a good way to get Stauskas the ball with a full head of steam (and hopefully a step on his defender), they also often double as a screen by the player handing the ball off&mdash;and sometimes Beilein builds in a screen after the handoff, which just seems unfair.</p> <p>Two of Stauskas&#39; second-half threes against State <a href="">came on near-identical handoffs</a> on the left elbow; the third came on a little flip from LeVert in transition. One thing I noticed about Stauskas while going through the film that makes these plays work so well: when he&#39;s spotting up in the corner, he goes from a complete standstill to jetting around the corner in such a short period of time that it&#39;s very difficult for his defender to react quickly enough to keep up with him. That usually provides the one-step advantage Stauskas needs to get off a shot.</p> <h3> Off-Ball Screens</h3> <p>I ended up filing just one play under this category, in which Stauskas gets a side off-ball screen from Morgan, who flips the pick to force Woodbury to defend the baseline&mdash;Stauskas threads a pass between Woodbury and a recovering White (his initial defender) and Morgan rattles home a 15-foot jumper(!).</p> <h3> Isolation</h3> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 501px; height: 307px;" /></p> <p>Only three makes fell under this category; all showed off Stauskas&#39; impeccable shooting form when he pulls up, especially the above dagger against Wisconsin&mdash;being able to stop on a dime, cross over against his body&#39;s momentum, and rise up with the same form as his normal spot-up shot is just ridiculous.</p> <h3> Spot Up</h3> <p>Now that he&#39;s the number one offensive option, Stauskas gets far fewer spot-up opportunities than he did with Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. drawing much of the defensive attention last season. He only had two catch-and-shoot makes in these three games; one came when Iowa rotated late while playing their ill-advised zone, the other occurred right after a chaotic sequence featuring a Spike Albrecht offensive rebound. The brevity of this section makes his numbers even more remarkable.</p> <h3> Free Throws</h3> <p>He made them. The &quot;Stauskas/Michigan can&#39;t hit free throws in the clutch&quot; belief is officially dead, yes?</p> <p>-----------------<br /> <em>*Based on play-by-play data</em></p> 2013-14 iowa #1 2013-14 michigan state #1 2013-14 wisconsin #1 nik stauskas nik stauskas is not human nik stauskas is probably darius morris pick and roll Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:01:41 +0000 Ace 84918 at Picture Pages: Beating The Rail <p>After Michigan's first outing against Ohio State Zack Novak gave an interesting interview to UMHoops in which he described how the Buckeyes <a href="">shut down Michigan's pick and roll game</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Well for the first 10 minutes of the game, it seemed like everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. Coach has referred to “locking the rails” in describing what OSU does to guard sideline ball screens, a huge staple of the offense. They do this better than anyone else. Many teams will take away a ball screen by having the defender on the ball play with his butt to the other sideline and bringing a big man in front of the ball handler. They take it to another level. They pretty much play the ball handler not to go to the opposite corner of mid court, essentially taking away any chance for the ball handler to still use the screen. This takes away all uncertainty a big man would have in playing in front of the ball handler.</p> <p>In other words, big men usually hedge after a ball handler uses a ball screen. Even if the plan is to deny the ball handler from using it, the big still must be ready to hedge in the event the defender does not prevent the screen from being used. This uncertainty can cause big men to be just a fraction late, which in basketball is enough time for a good offensive player to exploit it.</p> <p>In my eyes, it seemed like their big men were in position every time because they knew there was no chance the guard could use the screen.</p> </blockquote> <p>Michigan sputtered to an 0.88 PPP outing, one of their worst of the season. In the offense-heavy rematch that moved up to 1.19, thanks in no small part to 58% shooting from three. But Burke also got free on a number of P&amp;R possessions in the first half, with a rolling Mitch McGary the frequent beneficiary. Here's an example from early in the game; this is actually McGary's first offensive possession. </p> <p>Michigan initiates the offense with a pass from GRIII to Burke and then flashes McGary to the top of the key. </p> <p><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-1" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-1" src="" width="279" height="159" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-2" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-2" src="" width="279" height="159" /></a></p> <p>By the time he gets there, Craft has set up shop such that there's no way for McGary to screen him.</p> <p><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-3" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-3" src="" width="279" height="159" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-4" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-4" src="" width="279" height="160" /></a></p> <p>This is &quot;locking the rail.&quot; If Burke goes anywhere, it is right, and the big no longer has any hesitation. </p> <p>McGary backs off, taking Williams with him, and then Burke attacks the basket, getting Craft outside of him with a crossover.</p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-5" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-5" src="" width="249" height="234" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-6" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-6" src="" width="298" height="234" /></a></p> <p align="left">If Michigan acts quickly now, they can get the screen. McGary is waiting for this and Michigan successfully breaks the rail and gets the P&amp;R. </p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-7" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-7" src="" width="209" height="214" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-8" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-8" src="" width="153" height="214" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-9" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-9" src="" width="185" height="214" /></a></p> <p align="left">Williams hedges hard as McGary rolls; Burke finds him. </p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-10" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-10" src="" width="255" height="204" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-11" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-11" src="" width="299" height="204" /></a> </p> <p>Lenzelle Smith comes over in an attempt to pick up a charge. He may or may not get there in time, but we don't end up finding out because McGary's agility allows him to pull up short and avoid the contact as the arena is bathed in a mysterious rush of light. </p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-12" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-12" src="" width="171" height="274" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-13" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-13" src="" width="182" height="274" /></a><a href=""><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="rail-pnr-14" border="0" alt="rail-pnr-14" src="" width="194" height="274" /></a></p> <p>A quick two for McGary enroute to 5/8 from the floor in the first half.</p> <h3>Video</h3> <p><iframe height="315" src="" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <h3>Things And Stuff</h3> <p><strong>Burke shakes free.</strong> Burke needs help, but even if that drive doesn't get past Craft it necessarily puts him out of position when McGary re-establishes the pick and roll. It takes a little more work to set it up, is all. Burke was also able to shake Craft from the rail at times, like this late-clock move that puts Craft out of the picture and gets Ravenel on his heels, opening up the three:</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>With everyone on the floor staring down Burke this would be an opportune time for someone to dive to the rim, but oh well. </p> <p><strong>Planning ahead</strong>. Michigan executes a similar set with Hardaway on the next possession, but actually runs it too fast. Hardaway ends up trapped as Williams is much closer to the ball*, but the idea is the same. Next possession: same. Hardaway makes a token drive to the right and then comes back to a McGary screen; McGary gets a roll pass and misjudges how much room he has to attack, throwing up an awkward elbow jumper. After getting very little from the pick and roll in the first game, Michigan adapted, with moderate success inside the arc and Great Success outside. </p> <p>*[Hardaway gets it to GRIII, who makes an excellent shot for himself against Thomas; Williams throws it back, whereupon Stauskas does his stepback swag in the corner that gets him gif'd.]</p> <p><strong>McGary skill level</strong>. Ohio State gets a defender over in position to take a charge; McGary pulls up short of him and puts up a lane floater that sneaks over the front of the rim. McGary has a high skill level for a 6'10&quot; guy.</p> <p><strong>Almost inevitable offensive rebound</strong>. McGary also pounds Smith under the basket after the shot goes up; Amir Williams is hanging out with Burke well outside your picture, and GRIII has gotten good position on Thomas here. Note also that by the time Burke's three goes down, Craft is trying to box out Horford. That's one vs four, but a relatively high chance of an OREB anyway. </p> <p>One of the problems against Wisconsin was a relative paucity of shots where offensive rebounds are on the table in the event of a miss. </p> <a name="more"></a> basketball mitch mcgary ohio state pick and roll picture pages trey burke Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:31:07 +0000 Brian 76131 at Unverified Voracity Identifies Weak Spot <p><strong>Crimson and Crodcast</strong>. I <a href=";utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">appear on CrimsonCast</a> talking about the game. I'm not very audible early, unfortunately. </p> <p><strong>FRAN!</strong> <a href="" target="_blank">I ALREADY TOLD YOU</a> THE MORTGAGE RATE WILL ADJUST IN FIVE YEARS HOW HARD IS THIS TO UNDERSTAND </p> <p><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="BB_OlS2CQAAGOli[1]" border="0" alt="BB_OlS2CQAAGOli[1]" src="" width="564" height="400" /></a></p> <p>GET OUT OF MY BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK</p> <p>(Iowa beat Penn State too narrowly for McCaffery's taste.)</p> <p><strong>Glory grasped.</strong> Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl champs, man.</p> <p><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="2013-January-31-20-12-4[1]" border="0" alt="2013-January-31-20-12-4[1]" src="" width="564" height="319" /></a></p> <p>It doesn't get any better than this you guys. </p> <p><strong>Statistical indications</strong>. Dylan's <a href="" target="_blank">hookup with Synergy Sports</a> makes me all jealous and stuff, because he can tell you that Indiana's not real good at defending the pick and roll: </p> <blockquote><p>The Hoosiers rank in just the16th percentile nationally while defending pick and roll ball handlers. Michigan happens to have one of the best ball screen offenses in the country including the two best ball screen scorers in the league. …</p> <p>For comparison, Ohio State – who stifled Michigan’s ball screen offense – surrenders just .56 PPP to screen and roll ball handlers (89th percentile) and .82 PPP to roll men (77th percentile).</p> </blockquote> <p>There's still something that seems strange with those number since it seems impossible that allowing 0.84 points a possession on anything is, like, bad, but the percentiles are the percentiles. When it comes to the pick and roll, Indiana finds themselves squarely between Northwestern and Penn State:</p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image_thumb3[1]" border="0" alt="image_thumb3[1]" src="" width="302" height="181" /></a></p> <p>Not where you want to be. Also note that Michigan's the best team in the league at defending the pick and roll what with their hard hedging. </p> <p>Anyway, Burke and Stauskas's proficiency with the P&amp;R will hopefully force Indiana to do things they don't want to—like play zone—or lead to lots of that scoring stuff. </p> <p>Dylan also brings up a salient point from last year: Crean put Christian Watford on Burke, like, a lot. Given the relative success Illinois had at holding Burke's numbers down by switching Nnanna Egwu onto him in the pick and roll we might see something similar, at least until Mitch McGary rebounding against Yogi Ferrell becomes a bit of an issue.</p> <p><strong>More indications of how this is probably going to go.</strong> Barry Alvarez is on record that <a href=";utm_medium=twitter&amp;" target="_blank">he would like to see Wisconsin play Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska yearly</a> in the Rhombus of Hate. Add that to the pile of evidence suggesting the Big Ten will tear up the<em> Where Is Wisconsin</em> and <em>Why Is Wisconsin Here</em> divisions for the conference's brief stop at 14 teams.</p> <p>Speaking of The <em>Big Ten, Too</em> <a href="" target="_blank">model</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>“Based on the last three years I’ve been in this business, you’d be crazy not to think about it,&quot; Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said. &quot;But it’s hard to model anything because you don’t know what to model. The minute you get yourself convinced that you’re going to go from 14 to 16, for all you know you’re going to 18, and a lot of people think the ultimate landing place is 20. Who knows?&quot;</p> </blockquote> <p>I guess it's a better ideal than this bit. </p> <p>Gene Smith's still <a href="" target="_blank">pushing for ten conference games</a>, BTW. </p> <p><strong>Frieder: still mad</strong>. Bill Frieder's been making the rounds this week and seems to have <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">a little bit of bitterness left over</a> from his matchups at Assembly Hall back in the day: </p> <blockquote><p>&quot;The hostility of that crowd and everything else you have to go against at Indiana (is tough),&quot; he said. &quot;You usually won't get good officiating at Indiana, you usually get a bad call or something bad with the administration along the sideline. There's something to do with the shot clock or the clock not starting on time.</p> <p>&quot;You'll have everything going against you, so you'll have to play extremely well to win the game. ... When you play Indiana at Indiana and they're a top five team, you're going to be the underdog, no matter where you're ranked.&quot;</p> </blockquote> <p>If the second half goes anything like Illinois's against MSU last night I won't stop twitching for weeks. </p> <p><strong>Etc.:</strong> MSU guard Travis Trice <a href="" target="_blank">apparently fine</a> after nasty hit to head last night. <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">More on the &quot;catfishing&quot; story</a>, which I stopped caring about a lot faster than everyone else. Everyone's in a tizzy about <a href="" target="_blank">whether in fact the term was used</a>. Indiana-Michigan previews from <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+insidethehall+%28Inside+the+Hall+%7C+An+Indiana+Hoosiers+basketball+blog%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">Inside the Hall</a> and the <a href="" target="_blank">Crimson Quarry</a>. Also <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">UMHoops</a>. </p> <a name="more"></a> basketball big ten expansion Big Ten referees all own Snuggies bill frieder fran mccaffery indiana lolsparty pick and roll unverified voracity Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:44:17 +0000 Brian 75840 at Unverified Voracity Wants Craig James Back <p align="center"><a href=""><em><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="craig-james[1]" border="0" alt="craig-james[1]" src="" width="424" height="284" /></em></a></p> <p align="center"><em>come back so I can mute you</em></p> <p><strong>WANT.</strong> Ace points out that <a href=";utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">this is a thing that exists</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>The technology exists to remove commentary from live sporting events via your home sound system.</p> <p>There's only one downside.</p> <p>You may have to move to England to get the sound system as the <a href="">Sony BDV-N7100W hits UK stores in May</a> and contains technology initially developed by NASA.&#160; The new state of the art home system is able to differentiate commentary from background noise and remove the announcers' voices to allow you to <a href=";ir=Technology">enjoy the ambient atmosphere</a> of the stadium with its &quot;football mode&quot;...</p> <p><em>&quot;Sony says that its speakers are able to recognise what is the natural ambient sound of a sporting event, and what is somebody nattering on top. …</em><em>&#160; </em></p> <p><em>The benefit is that fans can watch sport as if they're at the game, and not sitting next to a relentlessly unimpressive summariser with a booklet of cliches.&quot;</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Goodbye, Craig James. Dick Vitale. Etc. </p> <p>Meanwhile, I am off to patent a system that turns all color commentary into Dan Dakich hitting on Doris Burke. I'll see you from my space palace on Moon II. </p> <p><strong>Erp?</strong> As I type this Miami is housing Duke and Michigan is ticketed for #1 in the polls as long as they hold serve against Purdue. That's one thing. But <a href="" target="_blank">being the odds-on favorite in Vegas</a>? </p> <blockquote><p><a href=""></a> moved Michigan to a 5-1 favorite to win the NCAA tournament on Tuesday, the best odds of anyone in America at the moment.</p> </blockquote> <p>I feel that this is irrational exuberance. Surely, like, Florida or something. </p> <p><strong>Derrick Walton: pretty pretty good.</strong> Via <a href="" target="_blank">UMHoops</a>: </p> <p><iframe height="315" src="" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>He seems a lot like a guy named Trey Burke, except he never misses shots. </p> <p><strong>You did what? </strong>The NCAA just announced they were going to investigate their investigation of Miami because of… stuff. This bit I didn't understand: </p> <blockquote><p>Former NCAA enforcement staff members worked with the criminal defense attorney for Nevin Shapiro to improperly obtain information for the purposes of the NCAA investigation through a bankruptcy proceeding that did not involve the NCAA.</p> <p>As it does not have subpoena power, the NCAA does not have the authority to compel testimony through procedures outside of its enforcement program. Through bankruptcy proceedings, enforcement staff gained information for the investigation that would not have been accessible otherwise.</p> </blockquote> <p>If this seems like whatever, as it did to me, the problem is that people not named Nevin Shapiro who have not signed off on this are suddenly <a href="" target="_blank">getting asked questions under oath about things that are not laws</a>. </p> <p>This has served as another opportunity for people to shout that <a href=";_ylt=Algphvi9F5UPBA0TejKNmIQLcykA;_ylu=X3oDMTFoZnA0Y2I3BG1pdANCbG9nIEluZGV4IGJ5IEF1dGhvcgRwb3MDMQRzZWMDTWVkaWFCbG9nSW5kZXg-;_ylg=X3oDMTFrODdzYXZuBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANhdXRob3IEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3" target="_blank">there's little reason for the rules the NCAA is enforcing here to exist</a>. They just push activity under the table and hurt organizations who try to stop it. Wetzel:</p> <blockquote><p>Whatever. At the end of the day it's a rich person sending money to a young – often poor – person. We are supposed to be outraged by this? This is how the country works, this is how the force of a capitalistic economy will always make it work. Only the NCAA thinks it can stop it.</p> <p>The goal of the NCAA is to create the illusion of amateurism because it allows the NCAA to avoid paying taxes – billions and billions of dollars in taxes. Which means billions and billion in taxes have to come from somewhere else – like the rest of us.</p> </blockquote> <p>I'm down with this. I'm not down with crapping on Mark Emmert constantly, since he inherited this crap and is understandably focused on bigger things than any individual investigation. He just hacked out 25 pages from the rulebook, he added multi-year scholarships, he tried to get the cost-of-living increase through before being shot down by Indiana State, and next year they're going to have a knock-down, drag-out fight about agents and transfer rules and whatnot. All of that is due in no small part to the fact that anyone under 60 with a platform is tearing the NCAA apart on amateurism issues, and this is good. </p> <p><a href="" target="_blank">Crapping on Emmert himself</a> seems counterproductive. The guy is ramming reform down a thousand-headed-hydra throat collective as fast as he can. The root of all NCAA evil is the precious idea that the playing field can be level—and Emmert's working group just inserted language into the bylaws specifically repudiating that. Yeah, enforcement's screwed up. Emmert's busy with more important things. </p> <p><strong>Pretty good.</strong> From Luke Winn's <a href="" target="_blank">latest power rankings</a>:</p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="130123.06[1]" border="0" alt="130123.06[1]" src="" width="340" height="164" /></a></p> <p>Winn also mentions that Michigan's leap in offensive efficiency is ninth in the country, which is all the more impressive because Michigan is coming from a place of strength (22nd last year) and most of the other teams on that list are coming around from awful—the best 2012 offense on the list other than M is Butler, 223rd last year. The rest are 284th or worse. </p> <p><strong>Show us the game!</strong> Here's an early candidate for rant of the year at <em>Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. </em>It is dropping <a href="" target="_blank">the bomb on the guy producing Syracuse's nail-biting win over Cincinnati</a>: </p> <blockquote><p><b>2.5</b> -- And here we come to ESPN's <i>coup de grace</i>. Their fucking <a href="">Starchild</a> shot of the whole broadcast. With an incredibly important front-end one-and-one foul shot in a 2-point game, this is the camera angle ESPN goes with from the time Brandon Triche recieves the ball from the official all the way through as he shoots, misses it, Cincinnati rebounds it, and then calls time out:</p> <p><img alt="Starchild_medium" src="" /></p> <p>Thrilling!</p> <p>I always want to watch important plays from the worst seat in the house! In fact, it's why I usually watch games on TV instead of heading to the arena...because you can just never get those worst-seat-in-the-house tickets.</p> </blockquote> <p>Any live shot that is not the traditional sideline view is fist-clenchingly bad. You are not Stanley Kubrick, director guy. Just push the button.</p> <p><strong>Grraaagh</strong>. There's always a chance Penn State loses a game 19-16; outside of that Michigan State's 49-47 win over Wisconsin is assured of being the ugliest game of the year in the Big Ten. <a href="" target="_blank">Consider this sentence</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>This one was a double shutout until Wisconsin hit a 3 four minutes into the game.</p> </blockquote> <p>And then this one:</p> <blockquote><p>A layup by Dawson with 6:58 to go to give MSU a 47-43 lead would be MSU's last field goal of the game.</p> </blockquote> <p>They scored two points in the final seven minutes! And won! Wisconsin shot 30% from 2 and 3 and 39% from the line, and lost by two! </p> <p>Neither of these teams will play a game this bad again this year, so prepare to be frustrated when they score in the, like, 50s. </p> <p><strong>File under Everyone Hates Wisconsin.</strong> Possessions in Wisconsin's Big Ten games so far: 59, 57, 59, 59, 64 (Iowa), 55. Prepare for a grim, grim game. Given Wisconsin's free-throw shooting woes—61% on the season, 331st, and 52% in Big Ten play—Michigan's low-foul ways might actually work against them in this one. </p> <p>If they find themselves down, hack-an-Evans should be a real option. He's 33 of 84 from the line (39%) and a team with Michigan's offense should be more inclined to exchange points at the line for extra possessions than normal. </p> <p><strong>Denard at WR.</strong> As you might expect, <a href=";eref=sihp" target="_blank">he's inexperienced</a>. </p> <blockquote><p>Gilmore said Robinson has some tangible and intangible qualities that should allow him to make up ground quickly. &quot;The language I'm talking right now to him is foreign,&quot; Gilmore said. &quot;It's Chinese. But the one thing I appreciate, he's asking questions.&quot; On Monday and Tuesday, Robinson stuck close to Gilmore when he wasn't taking reps. When Robinson saw something he either didn't understand or wanted to clarify, he asked Gilmore. &quot;He's very coachable,&quot; Gilmore said. &quot;He's a very humble kid. He asks some great questions. Not good questions. Great questions.&quot; That willingness to learn combined with Robinson's superior athleticism should help him close the gap with more experienced receivers. &quot;Because of the athleticism he possesses, it will be a shorter learning curve than most,&quot; Gilmore said. &quot;Once again, the God-given ability will take over. He's just got to get the reps.&quot;</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>But we want to visit the empty cathedrals of college football.</strong> <a href="" target="_blank">Talkin' up neutral sites</a> is one Gene Smith: </p> <blockquote><p>Big Ten athletic directors have a lot of decisions to make for the future, including the possibility of playing nine or even 10 conference home games per season starting in 2014. If the league does go that route, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has an idea.</p> <p>&quot;I would like to see more neutral sites in those scenarios,&quot; Smith told &quot;We've got a great stadium in Chicago, one in Detroit, one in Indianapolis, and now we have the East Coast. So I can see more neutral sites for conference games.&quot;</p> </blockquote> <p>I find myself strangely unoffended by this because it seems like Smith is talking about moving games from Rutgers and Maryland to somewhere other than Rutgers and Maryland. And… yeah, I don't care. No one's ever going to move a Michigan home game away from Ann Arbor, so I don't care. I do have a problem with Penn State essentially buying an Indiana home game and moving it to Philly, as that upsets competitive balance. Moving a Rutgers game to the Meadowlands doesn't, so I don't care. </p> <p>I probably should care, but I've already done my YOU BLEW IT UP YOU MANIACS bit and am now settling in to my new reality in the dystopian future I thought couldn't happen to us. Vat-grown protein for all.</p> <p><strong>Etc.:</strong> Denard's <a href="" target="_blank">getting mixed reviews</a> as a wide receiver at the Senior Bowl. <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">Ain't no gentlemen 'round here</a>. Mitch McGary <a href="" target="_blank">profiled</a> and <a href="" target="_blank">profiled</a>. Devin Booker <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">scores points in front of Michigan coaches</a>. Irvin, Kennard <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">also score points</a>. Mark Donnal <a href="" target="_blank">scouted</a>. Winning by lots <a href="" target="_blank">is good</a>. Purdue <a href="" target="_blank">braces for impact</a>. <a href="" target="_blank">ADIDAS SCREWED UP 1928</a>.</p> <a name="more"></a> do want michigan state ncaa: the bureaucracy ncaa: the hypocrisy and how to fix it pick and roll unverified voracity wisconsin Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:39:25 +0000 Brian 75607 at Hoops Picture Pages: Spacing Issues <p>For the first time this season, Michigan&#39;s offense looked stagnant for prolonged stretches against Ohio State, largely due to the Buckeyes shutting down the pick and roll game. Going back over the film, it was clear much of this had to do with the on-ball defense of Aaron Craft, who hounded Trey Burke into a 4-for-13 shooting performance.</p> <p>Interestingly, Craft was able to get away with going under the screen for most of the game despite Burke hitting a three-pointer when he did so in the game&#39;s opening minutes. With Burke not shooting over the top, Craft was able to take away his ability to get to the basket, and with that the easy buckets that Burke usually creates for himself and his teammates.</p> <p>While Craft played a stellar defensive game, however, it wasn&#39;t his play alone that mitigated Michigan&#39;s go-to offensive play; the Wolverines simply didn&#39;t execute well on offense. Here&#39;s one such example&mdash;Michigan has just reset after an offensive rebound, and Mitch McGary comes out to set a screen for Burke:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="" style="height: 304px; width: 540px;" /></p> <p>Note that there&#39;s plenty of space in the middle of the Buckeye defense above. In the next frame, you&#39;ll see Craft has gone over McGary&#39;s screen and is now stuck behind Burke, so OSU center Evan Ravenel steps up to cut off the drive while McGary starts his roll to the basket:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="" style="height: 304px; width: 540px;" /></p> <p>At this juncture, Michigan should be able to create a good look. Burke is past Craft and therefore occupying Ravenel. McGary is heading to the basket, which should force Deshaun Thomas (defending in the paint) to abandon guarding Tim Hardaway Jr. entirely&mdash;which, of course, leaves one Buckeye to guard both Hardaway and Nik Stauskas. If Sam Thompson&mdash;at the top of the screen&mdash;comes down to help, Glenn Robinson III should be open in the corner for a... wait, Glenn, where are you going?</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="" style="height: 304px; width: 540px;" /></p> <p>Unfortunately for Michigan, Robinson cut to the basket at precisely the wrong time&mdash;he heads right into the space that McGary is cutting towards. When coaches talk about the importance of spacing, this is what they&#39;re talking about. The spacing issues Robinson&#39;s cut creates are really apparent in the next frame:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="" style="height: 304px; width: 540px;" /></p> <p>Even though Burke still has a step on Craft, OSU has every Michigan option covered. Ravenel is both taking away the drive and any passing lane to McGary, while Thompson is doing the same on Robinson. Thomas is able to step out on Hardaway. Stauskas is occupied in the corner. Now Burke is forced to try to make something out of nothing:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="" style="height: 304px; width: 540px;" /></p> <p>That something turns out to be a contested layup over Ravenel that doesn&#39;t even catch iron. Note that a small blanket could cover both Robinson and McGary.</p> <p>Video:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="" width="540"></iframe></p> <p>While Craft recovered nicely, this is a play that should&#39;ve resulted in a Michigan basket, but it was thwarted by inexperience; a simple mistimed cut from Robinson is enough to throw off the entire play.</p> <p>As Michigan romped through non-conference play, it was easy to forgot that they&#39;re still a very young team. Some freshman mistakes are more obvious than others, like when Caris LeVert threw a pass to no one after leaving his feet, giving Ohio State an easy fast break layup. Plays like the one above&mdash;after a reset, when a player needs to know on the fly where the offense calls for him to be on the floor&mdash;are more subtle, but also show off mistakes born from inexperience.</p> <p>Those plays should be fewer and farther between as the season goes along; at the same time, this team is going to rely all year on five freshmen. Trey Burke is a great example of a player making a big leap after getting familiar with John Beilein&#39;s system&mdash;that leap, of course, came between his freshman and sophomore seasons. It&#39;s doubtful Michigan is going to eliminate these types of errors by March.</p> <p>That&#39;s not to say Michigan can&#39;t make the Final Four by sheer force of talent combined with Beilein&#39;s coaching; if they do, though, they&#39;ll have to overcome their youth.</p> <a name="more"></a> aaron craft hoops picture pages mitch mcgary pick and roll trey burke Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:12:38 +0000 Ace 75366 at Hoops Picture Pages: Soft Hedge <p>Trey Burke had&mdash;by his standards&mdash;a sub-par performance against Nebraska, needing 16 shots to score 18 points and only dishing out three assists. In the post-game presser, I asked John Beilein if Nebraska did anything defensively that he hadn&#39;t seen so far this year; without going into details, he mentioned that the Huskers had a different way of defending the pick and roll&mdash;Burke&#39;s bread-and-butter play.</p> <p>After taking a look at the film, I think I&#39;ve found what he was talking about. Last year, opponents <a href="">utilized a hard hedge</a>&mdash;doubling Burke off the screen with their big&mdash;as a way to dial up the pressure against the diminutive point guard. On Wednesday, Nebraska came with a variation, which this uneducated blogger will call a &#39;soft hedge&#39;. To the screencaps!</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 540px; height: 304px;" /></p> <p>After Michigan reset up top, McGary comes over to set a screen for Burke. The key player for Nebraska will be McGary&#39;s man, Brandon Ubel (#13), who in this frame is fighting through a screen by Tim Hardaway Jr.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 540px; height: 304px;" /></p> <p>As McGary sets the (not great) pick, Burke&#39;s man fights hard over the top; his responsibility is to make sure Burke can&#39;t pull up for three. Instead of hedging hard, Ubel positions himself a few feet inside the arc; his primary objective is to take away the drive.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 540px; height: 304px;" /></p> <p>Burke&#39;s man has successfully gone over the screen and recovered position, with Ubel in position to stymie any attempt to attack the basket off the dribble. Meanwhile, Hardaway&#39;s man (#24 Dylan Talley, standing right below the &#39;B&#39; in the paint) has sunk back to defend a pass to McGary on the roll.</p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="" style="width: 540px; height: 304px;" /></p> <p>With Burke contained, Ubel slides back onto McGary while Talley heads out towards Hardaway.</p> <p>Video:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="" width="540"></iframe></p> <p>I should probably have kept the next part in the video: Talley is late getting back out to Hardaway, who drives to the free-throw line and knocks down a jumper. Still, that was a tougher shot than what Michigan usually produces off the pick and roll (a layup or an open three), and I don&#39;t think Talley needed to sink so far into the lane with Ubel falling back.</p> <p>What does the soft hedge accomplish? A few things.</p> <p><strong>No open threes. </strong>With the guard going hard over the top, Burke doesn&#39;t get a good opportunity to pull up for three, especially with Ubel in position to step out and contest.</p> <p><strong>No dribble drive. </strong>With the way the defense is aligned, if Burke wants to drive he can only go to his left&mdash;straight into Ubel. That&#39;s not much of an option.</p> <p><strong>No easy slip. </strong>One of the ways Michigan counters the hard hedge is to have the screener &quot;slip&quot; the pick&mdash;roll to the basket before fully setting the pick, ideally to receive an early pass before the double can get to Burke. With the big hanging back in this case, that option isn&#39;t there either.</p> <p>Of course, there&#39;s no perfect way to defend the pick and roll, or John Stockton and Karl Malone wouldn&#39;t be in the Hall of Fame. I see two counters to the soft hedge. One is what Michigan did above: kick it back out to the wing (in this case, Hardaway), who should have an open look from deep or the opportunity to drive if his defender is late to recover or closes out too hard.</p> <p>The other actually occurred a few minutes earlier in the game and should&#39;ve resulted in an easy two points. On this play, Nebraska defends the initial pick in the same fashion; instead of rolling to the basket, however, McGary doubles back and sets another screen going the opposite way. The Huskers are forced to double Burke, and McGary slips the pick; Burke&#39;s feed is on the mark, but McGary&#39;s dunk attempt ricochets off the back iron:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="" width="540"></iframe></p> <p>Surprisingly, Michigan didn&#39;t really go back to this tactic despite the fact that it should&#39;ve resulted in a (successful) dunk.</p> <p>While Nebraska&#39;s defense did a solid job of limiting Michigan&#39;s points off the pick and roll, I don&#39;t think this is the magic bullet to stop that aspect of the Wolverine offense. The picture-paged example shows some sloppy play from Michigan; McGary&#39;s pick is too shallow, allowing Burke&#39;s man an easy path over the top, and the offensive spacing on the perimeter isn&#39;t ideal. Then, when Michigan countered, they did everything right except convert an open dunk.</p> <p>The soft hedge is another way to slow down Burke, however, and does a good job of forcing him to give up the basketball&mdash;any defense that takes the ball away from Michigan&#39;s best player is one we&#39;ll likely see a fair amount moving forward.</p> <a name="more"></a> hoops picture pages pick and roll trey burke Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:52:37 +0000 Ace 75285 at Trophy Conjures Lid <p><strong>1/11/2011 – Michigan 66, Northwestern 64 (OT) – 14-3, 4-1 Big Ten</strong></p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="molk-sugar-bowl" border="0" alt="molk-sugar-bowl" src="" width="307" height="354" /></a><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="morgan-swarmed" border="0" alt="morgan-swarmed" src="" width="236" height="354" /></a></p> <p align="center"><em>Melanie Maxwell/</em><a href=""><em></em></a></p> <p>I blame the Sugar Bowl trophy. Clearly, this edition has fey powers. Those powers are 1) making everything around it uglier so that it seems pretty in comparison and 2) driving Michigan towards improbable victories it does not seem to deserve. </p> <p>Because of the trophy's presence we got an extensive dose of the exasperated wail basketball has a near-monopoly on*. Scoring is so frequent that extended droughts are rare, rarer still when the team in question is getting of a wide variety of high-quality shots. When that happens and the home team is still missing, still missing, still—argh that one was halfway down—missing, each subsequent missed opportunity comes with a rising crescendo of despair. Normally calm old men start throwing their hands hither and thither. People lose their minds the fifth time &quot;all right, two points&quot; turns into &quot;how did you miss that?&quot;</p> <p>By my calculations, all minds in Crisler last night were lost 2.4 times in the first half. Michigan limped to the locker room trailing by seven after shooting 25% on their twos. One three that bounced in and around the rim before popping out caused a guy in front of me to undergo this sort of arms-raised twitchy anger dance. I felt ill. </p> <p>It didn't seem like the team was playing poorly—at least not on offense—but rather that it had been cosmically ordained from above that Michigan was to lose this game. If it had been a video game, 15 minutes in would have been controller-throwing, reset-hitting, pout-and-watch-TNG time. </p> <p>But they won, didn't they? They won by brutalizing Northwestern on the boards and in turnover margin, by somewhat limiting Wildcat threes (27% opposed to their usual 33%) and refusing to foul unless someone was launching a wild three with less than a second on the clock. It was ugly and terrible; it was the game that you point to at the end of the season as One Of Those Games. It was the inexplicable loss you suck up and overcome… and they won. </p> <p>So okay. Damage escaped, Iowa next, let's keep on inching.</p> <h3>Bullets that could use a GPS or something</h3> <p><strong>The hedge.</strong> Northwestern fiercely hedged all ball screens with Burke and got away with every single one. Burke tried to split one late and was fortunate to get a tenuous kicked ball call; all other saw him take the long way and not end up punishing the hedge. </p> <p>This is a spot in which Morris had a major advantage because he was a half-foot taller and lanky. Hedge like that and the ball is going to the big slipping the screen for a 70% chance at a Jordan Morgan basket, or Morris will peel around the big guy with a good chance at catching him out of position and using his height to get a solid look. Burke… well, we need some work there. </p> <p>Hypothesis 1: he should try to use his quickness by accelerating into the hedger before he can get set and get those Chauncey Billups calls. Hypothesis 2: we should run more pick and roll with Hardaway, who can pass over the shorter guy or drive to the basket against a guy who will probably not be blocking his shot. Hardaway has such height and elevation that little pull up jumpers are a high percentage business. </p> <p>Do you think Beilein would be amenable to answering questions like that? </p> <p><strong>Small ball.</strong> I'm not sure if Northwestern's small lineup killed Michigan or not, what with the massive offensive rebounding numbers Michigan put up and Carmody's decision to go with Mirkovic for most of the stretch. If Michigan's shooting anywhere near a reasonable percentage given their shot quality the offensive benefits of the small lineup are outweighed by their terrible D numbers. </p> <p>Michigan ended up going small in response, spending much of the second half switching Smotrycz and Morgan O for D; Stu Douglass ended up playing 38 of 45 minutes.</p> <p><strong>Insane devotion to foul orthodoxy</strong>. I can see yanking Smotrycz after his second since Michigan had a reason to go small and Smotrycz is the kind of guy who will foul out if you don't keep an eye on him. But Novak? <a href="" target="_blank">UMHoops</a> mentioned this gently; I'll restate: guy averages 2.8 fouls per 40 minutes. The risk of bringing him back in for the last five minutes of the first half is not high. </p> <p><strong>Stu!</strong> Douglass has quietly been an effective, important player in the last three games. His shooting helped a lot against Indiana and Wisconsin and his perimeter defense is the best on the team by a wide margin. He had five steals against Wisconsin and two in this game. </p> <p>Even more importantly, switching Douglass onto Crawford slowed him considerably. In the second half and OT, Crawford had one dunk he was given after Michigan played great defense to deny three-point opportunities as NU wound the clock from 22 seconds to 8 and went 5/6 on free throws from Morgan and Burke fouls. The Douglass matchup:</p> <ul> <li>1 steal</li> <li>2 TO</li> <li>1/5 from 2</li> <li>0/1 from 3</li> </ul> <p>IIRC Hardaway had Crawford for most of the first half when he went 6 of 9 with a made three. </p> <p>Douglass couldn't throw it into Gordon Gee's mouth in this game but since no one other than Hardaway could that's a criticism to save for another time. Even so he was Michigan's second most efficient scorer in this game with 10 points on 10 shots; Hardaway and Burke bested him but Burke only did so thanks to his end-of-game free throw spree.</p> <p><strong>Not that there's anything wrong with that</strong>. Ice cold, young man, especially after playing the entire game.</p> <p><strong>Hardaway launch pad</strong>. He took a couple of wince-inducing threes but they went down in this outing. One was a heat check that is not statistically more likely to go in but is impossible to prevent even the meekest low usage guy from taking, so okay. </p> <p><strong>Two for one</strong>. Beilein went for one at the end of the game; it did not work out because the pass to Hardaway was a little off and the resulting Novak three left only a six-second difference between shot and game clock, and then the insane Hardaway foul erased that. Good idea, though.</p> <p><strong>Speaking of.</strong> Ohmygawd what was that at the end of the game? If Northwestern had been in the bonus I think my head would have come off. They are letting almost everything slide and then they call a nothing foul with ten seconds left. Face, meet palm. </p> <p>And <em>then</em> Douglass hacks the hell out of Crawford because Michigan has fouls to give and the refs ignore that. Quite a sequence there. Don't get me started on Novak trying to take charges. </p> <p><strong>Timeouts</strong>. Argh. All basketball games would be improved by cutting two timeouts. This one would have been immensely so. </p> <p>*[Hockey has a version of it when one team is throwing chance after chance at a hot goalie and his even hotter goalposts in a close game—call it the Ryan Miller Experience. Baseball has nothing like it and the tenor of a frustrated football crowd is different; the anger is usually more directed. This frustration is a cosmic one.]</p> <a name="more"></a> basketball game columns northwestern pick and roll stu douglass trey burke Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:19:55 +0000 Brian 65053 at Unverified Voracity Latches On <p><strong>UFR will go up tomorrow.</strong> FYI. </p> <p><strong>It's raining wallpaper</strong>. As per usual. <a href="" target="_blank">This one</a> is from jonvalk: </p> <p><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Sugar-bowl[1]" border="0" alt="Sugar-bowl[1]" src="" width="564" height="319" /></a></p> <p><strong>This week in bowl parasitism</strong>. Bowl games are parasites on college football designed to bleed as much money from the system as they can get away with. Thanks to the interest levels provided by the teams—not the stadiums or locations—some of them do actually pump money into the system (although far less money than an NCAA controlled playoff would). The <a href="" target="_blank">latest example of this</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>The Fiesta Bowl has a deal with the Scottsdale Convention &amp; Visitors Bureau that pays the bowl hundreds of thousands of tax dollars a year in return for requiring participating teams to stay in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley resorts.</p> <p>The bowl says the agreement is strictly legal and good business for all parties involved.</p> <p>But it may increase the cost for schools playing in the Fiesta Bowl and BCS Championship Game, because they are required to stay a certain number of nights at high-end hotels.</p> <p>The bowl, according to records obtained by <i>The Arizona Republic</i>, received $491,340 from the Scottsdale CVB this past college-bowl season when the Connecticut, Oklahoma, Oregon and Auburn football programs stayed in Scottsdale-area resorts for the Fiesta Bowl and Bowl Championship Series title game, respectively.</p> </blockquote> <p>Legal or not, that's a half-million dollars of overhead from the payment alone and however much more from the monopoly lock in the payment provides. We can ballpark how much this is from <a href="" target="_blank">UConn's trip to the Fiesta last year</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>UConn also has a hotel obligation — a total of 550 rooms at three different hotels ranging in price from $125-225 a night, not including tax, with blocks reserved for either three or seven nights. </p> </blockquote> <p>Without the lock-in teams could put the band in six rooms at the Super Eight and save themselves a bucket of money. The Sugar does this as well. Their defense is &quot;this is legal,&quot; which is true but beside the point. </p> <p>If bowls are going to exist they should be worthwhile businesses without heaping unnecessary expenses on the participating teams. This is a relatively piddly expense relative to <a href="" target="_blank">ticket guarantees that erase payouts</a> and leave cash-strapped programs with a net deficit, but it just shows how much of a racket bowls are. Not that you needed to be told that when the Michigan-OSU game featured Rose Bowl reps when the combined chance of either team making it to Pasadena was zero percent.</p> <p><strong>Crose enough*!</strong> Andy Staples has <a href="" target="_blank">an article about the Big 12's sudden, unsurprising opinion flip</a> in re: an expanded playoff field. It promises change: </p> <blockquote><p>Monday, Big 12 athletic directors voted in a straw poll to get behind the idea of a plus-one format that would allow four teams to compete for the national title. Such a format would have allowed USC to play for the national title in 2003, Auburn to play for it in 2004, Texas to play for it in 2008 and Oklahoma State -- which finished behind No. 2 Alabama by the slimmest of margins in the BCS standings -- to play for the title this season. If the league's presidents choose to agree with their athletic directors, the Big 12's support would be a huge step forward. The Big 12 was one of several leagues that blocked SEC commissioner Mike Slive's 2008 proposal for a four-team, seeded tournament. The ACC was the only conference that supported the plan. </p> </blockquote> <p>With Larry Scott now creating the future in earnest in the Pac-12, the major remaining obstacle to a playoff is one of these two men.</p> <p align="center"><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="jim-delany" border="0" alt="jim-delany" src="" width="130" height="192" /></a><a href=""><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="12823_109298[1]" border="0" alt="12823_109298[1]" src="" width="195" height="192" /></a></p> <p align="center"><em>Left: Lando Mollari. Right: Jim Delany</em></p> <p>Jim Delany <a href="" target="_blank">still hates the Narn</a> with all his heart. </p> <blockquote><p>“Our view is we’d like to stay where we are,” Delany told the Tribune. “We do believe in the slippery slope theory.” </p> </blockquote> <p>You should have thought of that <em>before</em> you joined the BCS, dude. As soon as the dumbest playoff in history was instituted, outrage started piling up. As soon as the sanctity of the Rose Bowl was undermined, erosion got busy. The levees are about to break. </p> <p>Staples <a href="" target="_blank">is on board with big chunks</a> of the <a href="" target="_blank">MGoPlayoff</a>, not quite arriving at six teams but still proposing something I'd love:</p> <blockquote><p>If conference leaders are smart, they'll design a plan that allows for the two semifinal games to be played on the home fields of the No. 1- and No. 2-seeded teams. If they wanted to appease the must-win-your-league crowd, they could require that a team must win its conference to host a semifinal. Home-site semifinals would eliminate concerns about fan bases traveling twice -- a non-starter -- and would help reinforce the importance of the regular season. Teams would go into the final week fighting for a home game in a sport where home-field advantage means a lot. Just imagine an LSU-Stanford semifinal at Tiger Stadium or an Alabama-Oklahoma State semifinal in Stillwater (using the must-win-conference rule). Also, to remove the negative consequences of a semifinal loss, the two losing teams would be placed into premium bowls, where they could take a well-deserved victory lap for a great season. This would appease bowl executives, who for some unknown reason strike fear into the hearts of the people who run the sport. </p> </blockquote> <p>One day people will wake up and realize that doofs in yellow jackets getting <em>paid</em> is not in the best interests of the sport. Think Of The Children. </p> <p>*[<a href="" target="_blank">This</a>.]</p> <p><strong>Not fair</strong>. <a href="" target="_blank">UMHoops</a> has David Merritt <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">breaking down some of Michigan's pick and rolls</a> from Maui. </p> <blockquote><p><em>Hard Hedge </em> <br />As Witherspoon jumps out to hedge, Trey Burke puts on the brakes and changes direction with a between the legs dribble. All within a split of a second. This makes the play right here. The change of direction gives him another screen but also has his defender back up and lose attachment.</p> <p><a href=""><img title="Memphis1-11" border="0" alt="Memphis1-11" src="" width="492" height="279" /></a></p> <p>All Trey has to do now is get to the outside of Barton’s left leg and he will get in the lane.</p> </blockquote> <p>It's Picture Pages for basketball. All we've got now is a superior use of the crop tool. </p> <p><strong>So exactly right</strong>. There was a point a few years ago when I railed almost weekly against the relentless stenography that mainstream coverage had degenerated into. It was the bubble screen of 2007. I dropped six months after that hobby-horse expired, but when an ESPN vet like Tim Keown lays into the modern press conference I <a href="" target="_blank">cannot resist a very long blockquote</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>The death of the interview has spawned a generation raised on generalities and clichés. Caution is a lesson [Titans QB Matt] Hasselbeck has learned many times, most recently after the Titans beat the Colts on Oct. 30, when he was asked -- or told, he can't remember the phrasing -- to compare current teammate Chris Johnson with former Seahawks teammate Shaun Alexander. In Hasselbeck's view, it was a question with &quot;a negative vibe&quot; -- his pet peeve. </p> <p>What followed was an instructive look into the void left in the interview's wake. Hasselbeck, attempting to answer the question honestly, said he did see similarities: two great running backs who followed MVP-caliber seasons with &quot;normal&quot; years. He was attempting to make the point that both players were victims of unfair expectations, because nobody can be expected to perform at an MVP level every season. &quot;It's hard to be elite every year,&quot; he said. </p> <p>Predictably, he was seen as &quot;ripping&quot; Johnson and &quot;throwing him under the bus.&quot; … The question was legitimate. Johnson, a former offensive player of the year and recent signee of a huge contract, had been booed at home in much the same way former MVP Alexander was when his production dropped off after he signed a huge contract. The answer, as far as it went, was legitimate as well. What was missing was context, and before Hasselbeck could massage his message, he was hit with a new question and the group conversation -- such as it was -- moved on. </p> <p>&quot;If I were Chris Johnson, I would have wondered, 'Why is my quarterback saying this about me?'&quot; Hasselbeck says. &quot;Everyone knows how the Shaun Alexander story ended in Seattle, so it looked like I was ripping Chris Johnson.&quot; The subsequent coverage centered on Hasselbeck's &quot;unflattering&quot; comparison between the two running backs. &quot;I was asked a negative question, and instead of being a jerk I gave an honest answer,&quot; he says. </p> <p>His solution? Be boring. &quot;It's a headline-driven world, and what I said provided a headline,&quot; he says. &quot;That's why I'm guarded, cautious. I don't want to accidentally give bulletin-board material. If someone asks me about a player, I say, 'He's a great player.' If they ask me about a coach, I say, 'He's a great coach.' &quot;</p> </blockquote> <p>The problem is finding which section to blockquote since all of it is deadly accurate. It starts &quot;<b>BEHOLD THE DECOMPOSED REMAINS</b> of the sports interview&quot; and is probably 3000 words long. It's worth the read. </p> <p>The local spin comes in two parts. Part one: boy is it nice to have a coach with his banalities down pat. Rich Rodriguez may have gotten unfairly pilloried for his &quot;<a href=";rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CBwQFjAA&amp;;ei=S8HfTsTtD6Wg2AWYssC1BQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNFX7P7Lvd3ixcEkaH9NFLCXWgjo-A" target="_blank">get a life</a>&quot; statement, which was ripped out of context like Hasselbeck's statement was, but he was a magnet for that kind of stuff. Hoke hasn't had a misstep yet; he's settled into a comfort zone where the media is his lapdog, and that won't change. If things start going poorly the media will be defending Hoke and scorning fans until it's over. </p> <p>Part two: Michigan's suddenly better about this than most schools with their coordinator pressers and the relatively straight answers given in there, especially from Mattison. </p> <p><strong>Etc.:</strong> Gobbler Country <a href="" target="_blank">profiles Michigan</a>, which is us. More on this later, but Chris Brown's long-ago <a href="" target="_blank">profile of the Hokie D</a> is remarkably useful since it's about how they've adapted to the spread. UMHoops <a href=";utm_medium=feed&amp;;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">talks Oakland</a> with a Summit League blogger.</p> <a name="more"></a> bowl games bowl ticket scam fiesta bowl i am not a journalist thats the point jim delany media memphis pick and roll playoffs unverified voracity Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:38:50 +0000 Brian 63807 at