With the college basketball season only a week away this is the most excited I've been for Michigan basketball to start for as long as I can remember. With the team entering the season ranked 5th in the country there is reason for excitement. This is the best recruiting class the school has had since the Fab Five and are coming off their first Big Ten regular season championship since 1986 (even though they were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament).
Michigan has three starters returning from last years squad, the most important has to be Trey Burke. He has been named a preseason All-American and is arguably the best point guard in the country. Burke thought about making the jump to the NBA but returned for his Sophomore year and with the loss of team leaders Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, Burke will be looked upon to be the leader in the locker room and on the court. Tim Hardaway Jr. will also be back for his third year with the team. He seemed to put too much pressure on himself last year to score as all of his shooting percentages went down from his Freshman season. Hopefully with this recruiting class coming in they will take some of that pressure off his shoulders. Lastly, Jordan Morgan will be back in the post for the Wolverines. What I'm looking to get out of him this year are rebounds and hustle plays. The thing that frustrates me that most about Morgan is that he plays below the rim more than I'd like. Is it too much to ask for a big man that looks to dunk instead of laying it in?
Now to the newcomers. This recruiting class is headlined by Glenn Robinson III, big blue's highest rated player since LaVell Blanchard (Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 1999). Robinson is a 6'6" athletic Small Forward that shot up the rankings during his Senior year of High School all the way to #18 overall. Robinson will add offense help to Burke and Hardaway Jr. as a player who can create his own shot and break guys down off the dribble. Originally, Mitch McGary was the coveted player of this class when he was ranked #2 in the nation at the time of his signing but unlike Robinson who moved up, McGary moved down 27th. Although he fell I'm pumped to actually have a true big man but I'm interested to see how Beilein involves him in the offense. I don't want him to be another Pittsnogle, that's not his game. I want to see him be a bruiser inside that posts up and gives Michigan a consistent inside scoring presence. What makes me nervous about McGary is that he has trouble going against players that are his size but more athletic. I saw the game between McGary and Nerlens Noel, the #1 recruit headed to Kentucky, last year and Noel dominated the entire game. The good thing for McGary is that he won't see too many players like that unless they make a deep run in the tournament. Nik Stauskas is the third player ranked in ESPN's top 100 coming in this season. Stauskas is a sniper from beyond the arc that will fill in for the loss of Douglass. He is the typical recruit for Beilein as his teams are consistently close to the leaders in three-point attempts. Rounding out the recruits are Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht.
Like I said, I can't remember the last time I've been this excited for Michigan basketball. With a lineup of Burke, Hardaway Jr., Robinson III, Morgan, and McGary they have size and scoring options at multiple positions. Do I think they are the 5th best in the country right now? Probably not. But I do know they have plenty of potential to prove they are deserving of the ranking and have their best opportunity for a Final Four run in the past 20 years.
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