Basketball Prospectus | Indiana’s No. 1 – Dan Hanner ranks Michigan 44th: “Michigan is almost certainly too low in my prediction, but I haven’t been able to use historic data to generate a higher ranking for the Wolverines. John Beilein has never had a top-25 defense, and a team of newcomers is not the situation where a coach typically has his best defensive season. Then again this is the most athletic team Beilein has ever had in Ann Arbor, and it feels like Michigan’s defense will be better than what is projected here.“
Michigan ‘optimistic’ F Jon Horford will be available for season opener after left knee strain | MLive.com – “Jon will be back hopefully in a short period of time after straining his left knee,” Beilein said. “Right now it is too early to predict, however, we are optimistic he will return for the season opener.”
Overrated and underrated teams from first Associated Press Top 25 poll – NCB – ESPN – Gasaway: “I do think the Wolverines are being overrated slightly, but this is actually a trickier case than your run-of-the-mill overrated team. Basically I, like just about everyone else, expect John Beilein’s group to be in the mix near the top of a Big Ten that will have some of the best teams in the country. Michigan will win most of its home games against such teams and lose most of its road games against tough foes. But I guess what I’m having trouble getting past is my own uncertainty regarding exactly how the Wolverines will excel.”
The Bartelstein Blog: Someone New, Video Game Madness, Squad 96 – “Some of you might be saying we need to spend less time playing video games and more time on the court, but Trey has stated he has actually learned moves from playing the game. I actually have seen Trey use the euro step more in two weeks than all last year and he is saying some of that is from the video game. You never know where you will learn something new.”
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s hard work on defense in off-season paying off, Michigan coach John Beilein says | Michigan Wolverines | Detroit Free Press | freep.com – “Now he’s at a point where he’s priding himself in how he has grown defensively. Offensively, when he plays the three (small forward) or the two (shooting guard), how much he has the ball off the dribble, off the pass, I think he’s growing comfortable no matter what he’s doing and learning about his strengths. I love coaching him every day because the intensity is incredible.””
Beilein’s students aim to pass NCAA and Big Ten tests – “”When you’re talking with some of our young men, their eyes are right on you,” he says. “They just want to learn. It’s ‘Yes, sir. No, sir.’ These guys have a chance to be really good because they’re so coachable.”
Zwolle 92, Leeuwarden 69 – EUROBASKET – Zack Novak goes for 32 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists.
University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Deal of the Day | Groupon Ann Arbor – Cheap tickets….
Position Rankings: Who are nation’s 20 best point guards? | CollegeBasketballTalk – “3. Trey Burke (Michigan): No one is happier than head coach John Beilein that Burke bypassed the NBA draft and decided to return to Ann Arbor. With the recruiting class the Wolverines are bringing in, Burke could be the point guard on a team that makes a run in March.”
