Michigan Rebounds – LiterallyIt was, if one were a Hawkeye fan, easy to see why Iowa struggles to stay in games and pull out wins. There is not much basketball talent out on the floor. Sure, there were moments when Iowa’s guards drove the middle and secured easy lay-ups against Michigan’s inside defense, and there were the three pointers that went in now and then. But for most of the game, Michigan, with better talent, made more shots, got to the loose balls before Iowa, and generally was able to easily rebound and get the ball up court. Iowa did not have many opportunities to apply pressure since so few shots went in during the first half. This may have made no difference.
Michigan started off smartly by immediately getting Sims the ball on some good entries. After building a good lead, it looked like the guys got bored and started launching some less than ideal shots, including the dreaded barrages of three’s. Enough went in this time to protect the lead.
In the second half, Manny decided it was his turn to join the fun and he dominated most of the second half. Make no mistake, even though the Wolverines got the ball to Sims early and Manny fired and hit late, the team did not put on an offensive clinic yesterday.
During the last ten minutes, Michigan became sloppy and threw many poor passes, just after receiving a compliment on this site for improvement in taking care of the ball. Some poor shots went up and certain subs could have played a little better during this stretch. Anthony Wright played very hard but the results were unfortunately unimpressive.
Sims continues to impress me with his overall skill set; he works hard (usually), can go inside or outside, and frankly can rebound very well for his size. It is the belief here that he could make a nice small forward in the NBA. Scouts will like him because he could play some 4 as well as 3. Someone in the NBA may agree and draft Sims before Manny. Neither is going to be a lottery pick, and neither may actually be a first-round pick.
Michigan is still hanging by that dreaded thin thread, just where the improbable is still possible. The mission is simple; this team must get on an unexpected role and get some quality wins. The four and five of the first part of the Big Ten season must be more than reversed in the second half of the Big Ten season. The Wolverines will likely finish between a high of 6th and a low of ninth. It seems improbable that Iowa, Indiana, or Penn State should overtake UM. Michigan must set the scope sight on Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern. This group will be the bottom of the cement mixer that was discussed in the preseason article offered on this site. Who will come out of the mixer and get the final Big Ten slot is still very much in doubt. So, Michigan’s job is to win enough games to literally stay in this mix and not sink to the land of Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa.
Thank you for reading and continue to visit GBMW.
Written by Doc4blu
Go Blue -- Wear Maize!
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