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Wednesday, May 30th, 2018
| Time | Event | ||||||||
| 3:42p | This Weeks Obsession: Daves Burner Account
hashtag ifitaintbrokebreakit [Eric Uphurch] THIS ARTICLE HAS A SPONSOR: Its Nick Hopwood, our MGoFinancial Planner from Peak Wealth Management. Legal disclosure in tiny font: Calling Nick our official financial planner is not intended as financial advice; Nick is an advertiser who financially supports MGoBlog. MGoBlog is not responsible for any advice or other communication provided to an investor by any financial advisor, and makes no representations or warranties as to the suitability of any particular financial advisor and/or investment for a specific investor. ------------------------------- BECAUSE OF RECENT EVENTS, LETS JUST NAME SOME ENTIRELY THEORETICAL DAVE BRANDON BURNER ACCOUNTS AND SEE WHERE THIS GOES slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed Ace: Slackbot knows this is a bad idea but were gonna power through it. The Mathlete: This a probable mild bad decision, @probablemild Seth: @thebrand1234567 Ace: @retailactivationerror The Mathlete: @enoughlatenightdrinking Alex: @campdavid6969 Ace: @everafter734 Alex: @vulturecapitaltoysrus Seth: @tgiff And by the way we are docking the cost of those cardboard boxes from your last paycheck. Ace: @findanewteam @happylife_goblue Seth: @... The Mathlete: @plentyofseatsonmyjet Ace: @lochdogg The Mathlete: @wowexperience Seth: @section1. Ace: lol, was waiting for that one. Seth: Sorry, Section 1. Ace: Should we maybe tell people why were doing this? This is why were doing this:
I never thought Id say anything like this but& at least Brandon knew better than to get on the bad side of his own players? [After THE JUMP: we create the space.] The Mathlete: (do we want to offer some sort of a bounty for anyone that can track back a potential Brandon burner account) Ace: (my god yes, I still have that Dave Brandon football card) slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed Brian: @mypersonalityihavetofixit Seth: @createthefuture, @innovatethespace Brian: I should state for the record that I don't think Brandon actually had any burners. Ace: &but wed be interested in learning about any. Brian: Because he just emailed people under his own account. Ace: This is true. Brian: Also remember that post on the official site about "big boy football"? Ace: His university account! Brian: To have a burner you have to have a sense of shame. Seth: @pimphand from back when Dave read MGoBlog. Ace: Or be illegally sharing medical information. So& maybe we should check some tweets from after the Morris incident. Brian: Again, Michigan was just throwing that out there in public possibly illegally. I absolve Dave Brandon of the sin of having burners, because he's guilty of all others. slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed Alex: Would you put it past @pizzadave5and7 to defend Dave Brandon's sartorial choices online? slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed Ace: Every time I think back to 2014 it gets more and more, just, how did any of this happen. @onedaymediatour A deep cut: @heretoacceptanaward Alex: My take remains this: if Shane doesn't get concussed, and if Michigan doesn't create a massive PR crisis, Brandon isn't fired in time, Harbaugh doesn't go to Ann Arbor, and we get Butch Jones or something. Ace: The emails helped. Alex: but. his. e. mails. Brian: I don't want to get into Man In The High Castle alternate histories until Harbaugh wins a thing Ace: Fair. Seth: Michigan had way more problems in 2014 than the football coach. Ace: There was a rally on the school presidents front lawn during, I believe, his first week on the job? About football. He came from Brown. That had to be a hell of a hello for Schlissel. He still looked completely befuddled about most of this at the presser announcing DBs resignation. Alex: Well if @thebrandthebrandthebrand had made some good points in Schlissel's menchies, who knows what would have happened. Ace: @deleharding Brian: Yes, poor bastard. "This seems like the kind of academic institution I can respectably leave my post for. Oh, look, a protest! The vital wellspring of campus life! Seems strangely male, I wonder if this is about-- it's about what? Did I sign that contract already?" Seth: Schlissel had a pre-scheduled meeting the morning of the Fire Brandon rally with the Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council. First thing he said when he met with us (i.e. our director and board officials) was "I don't want to talk about football." Brian: We all get there eventually. Ace:
Surreal. Was then, even more now. Brian: I cannot believe that happened Alex: I was in a creative writing class in Angell Hall when this was happening and my classmates were wondering why a helicopter was hovering overhead. The Mathlete: Remember how I was randomly in town and you, your wife and I randomly ate dinner together after? Brian: At Seoul Garden? The Mathlete: Red Hawk, I think. Brian: Both good options. Ace: I definitely took photos of Brian getting interviewed on the local news in a Michigan hockey jersey. Seth: Kenny Magee sent me some photos of that. I think the reporter had to stand on a duffel bag because Brian was too tall for her. Ace:
The Mathlete: you were plotting your run from Trustee Ace: The whole album is just absurd. The Mathlete: We should plan a 5 year reunion of the event. Alex: I'm hoping for An Oral History Of The Demise Of David Brandon at some point. Seth: I bet Two Cokes guy is successful now.
Ace: The absolute best protest sign, bar none. Seth: Ohshit the meme guy is in there.
Ace: HES EVERYWHERE Brian: Some months later a guy @-d me something about how Brandon had accomplished more than I ever would and his twitter bio said he was the manager of brand activation for a pro sports team. Ace: That was Dave Brandon. slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed Brian: His twitter was not anonymous! He swiftly deleted the tweet and went private IIRC. Ace: lol Brian: I am the manager of brand de-activation Ace: Way better gig Seth: That explains the website launch. Ace: Hey-o. Coming soon! The Mathlete: -ish Brian: GUYS Ace: were all fired Seth: No it's still Thursday. Wednesday Whatever I blog. (for now) Ace: TWO DAYS, BABY FIRE ALL THE TAKES Brian: Anyway this is probably enough Dave Brandon retrospective for one year. slackbot: quit drinking and go to bed The Mathlete: We need to save some for the Anniversary Party next year. Ace: Yes. Thank you, Bryan Colangelo, but also not. Alex: More like Cryan Bolange-- no, NO wait! sorry! I'm trying to dele-- [gets hauled into the Sarlacc Pit] | ||||||||
| 8:17p | Charles Matthews Returning For Junior Year
The pieces are in place. Michigan announced this afternoon that Charles Matthews is withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and will return to school for his redshirt junior season:
Matthews has the opportunity to be Michigan's go-to scorer (a role Jordan Poole is eyeing, too) now that Moe Wagner has gone to the NBA, and his return cements the Wolverines as one of the Big Ten favorites for 2018-19, especially in conjunction with the news that Maryland's Kevin Huerter is hiring an agent. Not only does Matthews give the team another NBA talent, he allows a talented freshman class of wings to work their way into big roles at a more reasonable pace. It seems likely Matthews will follow the Wagner route—testing the waters, returning, then leaving after improving a couple key areas—and if he does, Michigan should be a very good team once again. His slashing, rebounding, and defense will be major assets, and if his shot develops this season like his footwork did last season, he'll be an all-conference player. I'll have a post soon to give a full overview of the returning and departing talent in the conference and its outlook now that we have a better handle on the rosters. Meanwhile, top-50 2019 TX forward Jalen Wilson is announcing his decision at 6 pm ET from a group of six that includes the favored Wolverines. | ||||||||
| 10:10p | Hoops Hello: Jalen Wilson
Not a bad evening for Michigan basketball. On the heels of Charles Matthews announcing his return, John Beilein's landed his first 2019 commitment, and it's a big one. Denton (TX) Guyer forward Jalen Wilson, the #34 overall prospect in the class, announced his choice of Michigan over a final group of Baylor, Kansas, Marquette, Oklahoma State, and UCLA this evening. (EDIT: With a video you should very much watch, I should add, now that I've done so myself.)
Wilson, who was named after Jalen Rose, pledged to his mother's favorite program a couple weeks after taking a visit to Ann Arbor. A month ago, this is what he told Rivals when asked about his interest in the Wolverines:
They don't tell that to everyone. Beilein and Luke Yaklich led Wilson's recruiting; this is a promising sign for Yaklich's recruiting chops. While Wilson, for the moment, fills Michigan's only open scholarship for 2019, more space is certain to open up, and the coaches are actively recruiting more top-tier talent. GURU RATINGS
I was annoyed that Rivals made me count up their position rankings for them until I got to ESPN and Wilson was missing from their database entirely. ESPN put out a cursory top 60 last summer; Wilson didn't make it and hasn't made the, from what I can tell, one or two updates since. I have no idea if they've even looked at him. The thing about the state of the recruiting industry, especially in ESPN's case, also applies to hoops. A lot of the best work out there is being done by independent sites now. Anyway, Wilson is a top-40 prospect to the two sites that have profiles on him. If his #34 overall ranking holds, he'd be the seventh-highest-ranked Michigan signee since 2000, according to 247's database. He's listed at 6'6", 185 pounds on 247 and 6'8", 210 pounds on Rivals; several scouting reports split the difference, and either way he's a true three or a smaller four in Beilein's system—he should bring positional versatility and defensive switchability. (That's a word, right?) [Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.] SCOUTING While already a known prospect, Wilson had a little work to do last summer after an injury cost him most of the early evaluation period—big-time recruiting attention was mostly local (Oklahoma and Texas). He blew away then-Scout analyst Evan Daniels upon his return, earning mention as one of the top players of the entire July evaluation period:
SMU had offered by then; their 247 site did a more thorough breakdown at the time that highlighted Wilson's combination of skill and versatility:
The shooting form is notable, as Wilson hasn't consistently posted good three-point shooting numbers in AAU ball, which can be a real concern or a product of playing style and small sample size (or all of the above). 247 initially slotted him soundly in five-star territory; even a slight backslide since has only brought him back to #29. Rivals got some extensive looks at Wilson at the end of the year and came away similarly impressed. By the Elite 14 event in early November, analyst Eric Bossi noted gains in his game from the previous open period:
Wilson landed his Kansas offer at this time. One of the Rivals local outlets watched Wilson drop 30 points while going a cool 16-for-16 from the free-throw line—evidence of that new-found aggressiveness—at the Cowtown Tip-Off. Next up was a standout performance at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, which features the best programs in Texas and schools from surrounding states, that precipitated his rise to #39 overall on Rivals. Bossi again:
UMHoops posted an extensive breakdown on Wilson's game, praising his diverse scoring ability from the wing, around the basket, and in transition, as well as his rebounding. Dylan also noted Wilson doesn't play above the rim—he's not a shot-blocker even at the high school level—and addressed his poor outside shooting numbers from the spring evaluation period:
The shot could use a Beilein magic, though it appears on film the shooting guru will have plenty with which to work—Wilson's form is solid. The numbers haven't caught up yet; he's a career 68% free-throw shooter in high school (never above 71% in a single season) and 36% three-point shooter. He may already be improving despite the poor stretch of AAU ball; he went 41-for-105 from downtown in his junior year at Guyer. Even with the outside shot as a question mark, Dylan seems like a big fan of the pickup—from his conclusion:
Endless Motor stands out as a slight outlier; they see Wilson as more of a mid four-star, comparing him unfavorably to in-state five-star and recent DePaul commit Romeo Weems, which isn't a huge knock but suggests he may lack the ceiling of more explosive athletes:
Wilson's stock has continued to rise, at least in terms of interest. During last month's evaluation period, he was "one of the most closely watched prospects" at the Dallas leg of the Adidas Gauntlet, drawing attention from UNC's Roy Williams in addition to Beilein, Oklahoma's Lon Kruger, and a host of assistants. He didn't miss the opportunity to show off: I'm inclined to think Beilein and Co. will get a lot out of him. OFFERS Wilson holds offers from all of his finalists—Baylor, Kansas, Marquette, Oklahoma State, and UCLA—as well as Arizona State, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma, Purdue, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, VCU, and Virginia Tech, among a few others. STATS In nine games this year for his AAU team, YGC36, Wilson is averaging a team-high 19.7 points (nobody else cracks 12), going 41/81 on twos (51%), the aforementioned 17/64 on threes (27%), and 44/62 (72%) at the line. He also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game and has dished out 26 assists against only 13 turnovers. He hasn't been too active on defense with three steals and a block, but he's at least stayed well out of foul trouble. (All stats via PrepCircuit.) In high school ball, there are extensive stats from all three of Wilson's varsity seasons available on MaxPreps. In 40 games as a junior, he averaged 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 60/39/68 (2P%/3P%/FT%). VIDEO Here's a bunch more from least (Dec. 2017) to most (this month) recent: Enjoy. PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE Wilson may not have GRIII hops, but he's got a lot of skill already, and there's room for his game to grow. His ability to slide between positions on the wing will come in handy, especially on defense. He'll join some other talented, bigger wings from the 2018 class in Iggy Brazdeikis, Brandon Johns, and Adrien Nunez, so he should get the opportunity to work his way into a big role after beginning his career on the bench even if (as I'd expect) this season is going to be the last college go-round for Charles Matthews. If Wilson develops a consistent three-point shot, he's got the potential to be an offensive centerpiece. While he probably doesn't have as much upside defensively, he's got plenty of length, and Luke Yaklich has done a lot with less. UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS Michigan is technically out of scholarships but is a dead lock to take at least one more 2019 prospect—between possible NBA departures and playing time transfers, there's gonna be more room. The current favorite to fill that spot is 4.5-star IA PG DJ Carton. Five-star IN PG Keion Brooks, top-50 MI SG Rocket Watts, and three-star NY sharpshooter Joe Girard also hold offers and have at least some interest in the program. |
Have you checked out his podcast yet? Hes been bringing in interesting guestsRichard Hoeg was one, Brians 
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