Morris

Kid should have stayed another year.

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-basketball/ex-michigan-basketball-pg-darius-morris-assigned-to-d-league-by-lakers/

No shit.

I'm happy as hell he DIDN'T. Otherwise, foreseeing so much more bench time behind a 3rd-year Darius, Columbus native Trey Burke might have,
ahem, "stayed home"...

I think there would still be enough PT for both. One thing that Michigan does not have is depth. If one of our starters go down the pickings get real slim, real quick. Having Morris still in the mix would have improved the situation.

But while depth admittedly would have been improved, would the overall team CHEMISTRY have taken a hit? Isn't the point guard position in some ways/to some extent analogous to football's QB position?

And we all know how effective a system of CO-quarterback's is, eh?

Good point in regards to Burke.

Wonder how that would've played out.

I will say that if Mo stayed, and they had both players on the court at the same time, UM wins the B1G and is staring at no worse than a #2 seed. Just my opinion.

I agree Admin. I think the team would be better. At times it looks like the team just stands around the arc and never thinks to penetrate. With Morris and Burke and throw in Hardaway when he is in the mood, I think you would see a lot more penetration. Then they can either kick it out for an open three or take a short jumper/lay-up for a higher percentage shot.

Can you imagine the fast breaks? With Morris this team would be faster and more athletic.

Oh well it is fun to dream.

Hell yeah....TB and DM driving and dishing back to the perimeter to each other, THJ, Smot, Stu or Novak? That would be FILTHY.

Or they don't dish because people are expecting it, so it's 1-on-1 Trey or Darius against the defender...I'll take my chances on that every time. It'd be 2 points 60-80% of the time.

re: co-quarterbacks...Let us not forget Henson-Brady. THAT worked out pretty good, well, at least OK...better than Tater and Denard.

I would like to re-iterate that Morris would be huge on this team. You have seen the way we have been shooting lately. This is why you need guys that can create shots for themselves or open things up for their teammates. You saw during the Minny game that they made Burke work to get the ball to get it up the court. Morris would have been able to take some of the pressure off of Burke.

Look for teams to try to deny Burke the ball more and more now that we are entering the tourney. Burke is going to have to work a little harder.

But no one seems willing to refute or even debate my point that, knowing Darius WOULD be back for the 2011-12 season, Mr. Burke would have come here, instead of going elsewhere...

Then again, maybe he wouldn't have stayed "home", seeing that roster loaded, too. [Although he and Mr. Sullinger are very close friends].

And while I'm at it, I don't expect a really deep run from the Scarlet and Gray---not when your point guard, able defensive player that he is, brings virtually ZERO offense to the table.

I disagree about Darius staying would have kept Burke away. There is enough PT for both so what is the issue? Michigan only goes 7 deep 8 if you would have assumed Horford would have been playing this season. Also take into account how Burke has played this season. He clearly would have been top 5 on the team even with Morris. Douglass may have been the odd man out and would have been on the bench.

He certainly would not have gone to Ohio. They had no (zero) interest in Trey.

You might be right...but assuming Burke had come, and shared the backcourt (which is very do-able) with D.M., our present team STILL would have suffered from the same, biggest weakness it has in reality:lack of a genuine inside presence. Having TWO explosive PGs, though, could well have compensated somewhat.

And the "pit" Mr.Morris seems buried in within the Lakers organization might well serve a purpose for us (U-M) after all: it could serve as a reminder to both Trey and Timmy Jr. about the risks of leaving TOO early.

michmike wrote:

You might be right...but assuming Burke had come, and shared the backcourt (which is very do-able) with D.M., our present team STILL would have suffered from the same, biggest weakness it has in reality:lack of a genuine inside presence. Having TWO explosive PGs, though, could well have compensated somewhat.

And the "pit" Mr.Morris seems buried in within the Lakers organization might well serve a purpose for us (U-M) after all: it could serve as a reminder to both Trey and Timmy Jr. about the risks of leaving TOO early.

I somehow hope Mitch is our answer, at least on the offensive end.

I hope you are right about Morris being a warning to Burke and THJ. I would love to see both back next year with the recruits we have coming in.