Beilein put a penetrating point guard into the game,
can it be too much to ask
no more former walk-ons making you lame
there’s just but one guy up to the task,

But he has now fallen to third in line,
why all of the Wolvie fans wonder
could it be he needs to refine
or is this just solely Beilein’s blunder

Kelvin Grady, sophomore point guard for the Wolverines, has apparently fallen out of favor with Coach Beilein. It has gotten to the point where Grady, the only point guard who can hit the broadside of a barn and drive past defenses and dish it out (ie. make plays), is now not adept enough to get quality minutes for a team in DESPERATE need of decent point guard play.

I don’t know what lesson Beilein is trying to teach here, but it’s not working and it’s certainly holding the Wolverines back. Versus MSU, senior guard C.J. Lee (former walk-on) played 37 minutes and led the Michigan offense to 42 total points on 2 assists and 1-4 shooting. This is the guy who has taken over the main point guard duties for the team. He’s a hard worker and somebody every coach would want on their side. But he’s very limited. He does not have the quicks Grady has and certainly does not have the shot making ability either. However, Lee does not turn the ball over much at all, so he is often deemed as the safe choice. That is all fine and good except for the fact that the Wolverines have a roster full of jump shooters (save Harris and Sims) with no ability to create their own shots. Running Lee out there and then subbing in David Merritt for back up duty (former walk-on), even more limited than Lee, is a recipe for disaster, especially for the motion offense Beilein likes to run. Teams facing Michigan have figured out how to stop them– it’s by not allowing Manny Harris to penetrate (Walton and the whole Spartan D played great against him Tuesday) and pushing the offense farther and farther way from the basket because after all, Lee and Merritt do not have any penetrating skills to scare anybody. Therefore there are not a whole lot of opportunities for uncontested shots on most occasions. Most of Michigan’s offense on Tuesday came from forcing turnovers and the fine work underneath by DeShawn Sims, but not a lot of anything going TOWARDS the hoop.

Now I will point out that Grady did see the court on Tuesday night for about 7 minutes and had very little impact on the game. However his confidence has to be shot right now (DNP vs. UConn) after being demoted behind two less talented guards. But, see, according to Beilein (and I agree with coach about the defense) Lee and Merritt right now are playing better defense and there’s just not enough room at the position for Grady to see significant minutes.

But it isn’t working.

You can get away with playing 4 on 5 against Penn State (last win for Michigan-Grady just 1 minute), but against the supreme teams in the nation (UConn, MSU) it’s not going to work.

This team is falling faster than A-Rod’s credibility right now and what they really need is a offensive re-birth or something. These rotation/lineup shuffles have got to stop. Play the right people. Make sure they know their roles. Go with your most skilled guys– the players who can shoot and break down defenses.

Live with the occasional defensive lapse and the unforced turnover, insert Grady back into the rotation. He can be a difference maker on the offensive end and right now Michigan’s offense is mind-blowingly inadequate, or as Kevin would say, lousy and stinky.

Post from: EveryJoe

Paging all point guards

Not only did lightning quick (tell that to Ty Lawson) sophomore guard Kalin Lucas struggle, virtually no points came from Michigan State’s frontline, and to make matters worse, the Ford Field crowd had the intensity of a mid-August Royals crowd at Kauffman Stadium.

Spartans Weblog author kj was actually at the drubbing,

…the environment at Ford Field didn’t help. The sparse crowd (relative to the size of the arena) never gave the team any kind of emotional lift. At one point in the second half, the crowd gave a Bronx cheer after a made field goal–something I’ve never witnessed in my years of attending MSU basketball games.

So we’ll give the team a gigantic pass on the final twenty minutes of the game.

Watching the Spartans from time to time so far this season, I get the feeling this team is missing one ingredient. I believe that one ingredient is a healthy and explosive Delvon Roe. Once he gets back that extra lift he had prior to the knee surgery, look out. He’s currently averaging 5.5 rebs/gm and 1.2 blk/gm. He’s shown some flashes. He has a high basketball IQ.

Unfortunately for State fans Delvon won’t be back at full strength until next season. Wait, actually that’s a great thing.

Just think about next season …

Jr. Kalin Lucas
Jr. Chris Allen
Jr. Durrell Summers
Sr. Raymar Morgan (iffy)
So. Delvon Roe
So. Korie Lucious
So. Draymond Green

Not even counting the couple solid freshmen coming in.

I know I know, it’s not always about next season. Predictable trap everyone gets sucked into at certain times.

But next season does look good for Sparty.

Post from: EveryJoe

Spartans not looking so mighty

Usually Izzo recruits pan out.

Look for this kid to be fantastic come the Big Ten slate.

Post from: EveryJoe

Delvon Roe dunk!

My crystal ball I dust off every July or August is acting abnormally insane, as, for the very first time, the Northwestern Wildcats have scratched their way to the front of my lopsided prediction formation… via the crystal ball.

I need to listen to the ball.

You can’t not listen to the ball.

It’s like the Tommyknockers.

Apparently Kevin Coble and his band of international scholars, not so much ballers, are going to be getting some help of the vertically gifted variety this next season. Four 6’8 or taller players are included in this year’s class.

Last year, not even one player on the squad was taller than 6’8, leaving star Kevin Coble, more of perimeter oriented player, to be the only real Wildcat threat on the boards.

The Bill Carmody led team should be able to crack the top 7 in the Big Ten this season provided Coble plays the entire year and the bulk of the rotation improves.

Could a postseason appearance be in the cards for the first time since Carmody has been in Evanston?

Hell yes, surely now that there’s a 3rd postseason tournament.

No excuses!

So ten teams, players or college basketball ingredients are to be predicted upon by me

After the tenth and final prediction, you can categorize me as either a

A) moron
B) racist (races)
C) Dwight Howard cornbread non-apologist
D) genius
E) homer
F) D and E

Prediction # 1

1) The Michigan State Spartans will once again let down their exceptionally loyal and passionate fan base with a less than impressive run in the NCAA tourney. This means they will not advance past the Sweet 16. Underachieve has become a common word thrown around in East Lansing lately and it makes you wonder whether Izzo can get it done anymore.

Izzo is a fabulous recruiter, but he doesn’t seem to be able to mesh his roster together at the right time.

This year’s team, no different from most Izzo teams, has a wealth of depth and athleticism. The team can play small and fast, or also big and long, provided prized recruit Delvon Roe is in good enough shape to hold his own and whether or not Marquise Gray or Tom Herzog can show consistency.

Don’t count on it.

I cannot easily forget the team that lost to George Mason in round 1 three years ago. Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager and Paul Davis wore the Spartan green that year. To go out that way left a bad taste in a lot of fan’s mouths.

While I lean towards the Michigan Wolverines side for rooting purposes in-state, I still like to see the Spartans succeed.

Oh well, I just remembered being very shocked and let down by that loss. I probably had them going to the Elite 8 or something, like I do every year.

Damn.

$10 would be helpful right about now.

Punctual predictions 2-10 coming up in later posts.

Also I’ll explain the Northwestern Wildcat squad and why they got a mention on this blog.

Actually I’ll have to refer back to the crystal meth, I mean ball about that.

(50-20 at the half)

?

Post from: EveryJoe

Prediction one, actually there’s two in here

- Even though the game is far from over, I want to extend my congratulations to the Michigan State Spartans for laying the biggest egg of the tournament thus far. Extremely disappointing effort by the Spartans.

- Very convincing win by Texas over a pretty good Stanford team. DJ Augustin is as good as advertised.

- Note to the rest of the teams in the tournament – Don’t let Stephen Curry touch the ball. Period. End of story. Deny him the ball constantly or he will destroy you.

- There is still 14 minutes left in the Kansas/Villanova game, but Villanova hasn’t impressed me that much tonight. For some reason, their guards are convinced that they can beat the Kansas guards off the dribble, which just isn’t happening. Why they don’t work on passing the ball around the perimeter and move without the ball is beyond me. Far too much one-on-one play from Villanova.

Post from: EveryJoe

Sweet 16 – Day 2 notes

March Madness is fast approaching.

Every conference game matters. One big win could secure your team a birth in the NCAA tournament. One huge loss could dash your team’s hopes to play in the post-season.

Here are some of the biggest games to watch this week:

Tonight: #15 Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin - the Badgers are tied for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana and Purdue, while the Spartans are trying to play catch-up. Wisconsin needs to win this game to put the pressure on the Boilermakers and Hoosiers.

Saturday March 1st – Kansas State at #7 Kansas – super-freshman Michael Beasley could do a lot for his Player of the Year candidacy if he leads the Wildcats to a victory over UK. The Jayhawks are one game behind Texas in the Big 12 standings, and a loss to KSU would really hurt their chances at winning the regular season conference title.

Sunday March 2nd – #4 UCLA at Arizona – Arizona lost by 22 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion back in early February, but the Wildcats are a different team at home. Kevin Love and the Bruins should be on high upset alert.

Post from: EveryJoe

Games to watch this week – February 28th

Saturday February 16:

#7 Stanford at Arizona – the Wildcats are on a roll at home right now, as they have defeated Washington State, Washington and USC in their last three home games. Arizona played the Cardinal very tight in their last meeting on January 17th at Stanford, losing 56-52. Stanford needs to be on serious upset alert.

#9 Michigan State at #12 Indiana – the Hoosiers will be playing this game under a cloud of distractions, as head coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff are facing serious recruiting violations reported by the NCAA. It might bring the Hoosiers together, or it could tear them apart.

#6 UCLA at USC – the Bruins will be out for revenge, as the Trojans trounced them 72-63 at Pauley Pavilion back on January 19th. The Trojans played out of their heads that night – can they make it two-for-two against their cross-town rivals?

Post from: EveryJoe

Games to watch this week – February 14th