Chris Webber - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Chris Webber officially retired from the NBA yesterday. Like many Michigan fans, I have conflicting emotions when it comes to Webber.

The Good
On the one hand, he was the leader of a great collection of talented freshmen at Michigan that led the Wolverines to two consecutive final four appearances. He was a strong, powerful inside presence, he had a deft touch on mid-range jumpers, and he was a great passer and ball handler for a big man. His years at Michigan were arguably the most exciting in Michigan basketball history. My wife's introduction to Michigan basketball was the fab five era. After leaving U of M, he was the first pick in the draft. He was rookie of the year. He was a five-time all-star. He averaged 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game - only the fifth player ever to accomplish that (the other four are in the hall-of-fame). Showing he has a sense of humor about his past mistakes, Webber created "The Timeout Foundation," which provides educational opportunities for youngsters. He also has an extensive collection of African American artifacts that has been featured in several museums. By all accounts, he's a good guy.

The Bad
On the other hand, he seemed to be the epitome of unfulfilled potential. With Michigan down by two at the end of the 1993 National Championship game against UNC, he took the inbounds pass and traveled. When that wasn't called, he proceeded to dribble down court and call a timeout when the team did not have one, resulting in a technical foul and sealing the game for the Tar Heels. After turning pro, he squabbled with his first head coach Don Nelson, which led to him being traded after his first season. Like he did at Michigan, he made his NBA teams very good, but was unable to lead any of them to a championship. His last few years, he has been reduced to a shell of his former self due to several knee injuries.

The Ugly
Of course, there is also the minor matter of "The Ed Martin Scandal." Webber eventually admitted to accepting lots of money from Martin during (and before) his years at Michigan, which resulted in the Wolverines forfeiting lots of games, the deletion of Webber's records from the record books, and removing the two final four banners from the rafters of Crisler Arena. In addition, he is banned from involvement with the Michigan program until 2012. His legacy at Michigan could have been one of greatness and brilliance. Instead, it's one of cheating, horrible decision-making, and unfulfilled promise. In Ann Arbor, it's like he never existed. It's like institutional denial: "It never happened."

The bottom line is, many Michigan fans have great memories of the "Fab Five" years. At the time, it was incredible. Exciting basketball, lots of wins, an all-freshman starting-five, and great team players. However, those same fans feel like Webber betrayed them and their memories are forever tainted by his involvement with Ed Martin. While Webber is certainly to blame for his involvement, the coaching staff allegedly was aware of Ed Martin's shenanigans and turned a blind eye to it because of Webber's talent. The blame for all this, in order, falls on Webber, Martin, and the Michigan Athletic Dept.

I was trying to think of an analogy that makes sense. Maybe it's like a great love affair. It was great for a short time, and even a few years later you look back and think about how great it was - the sex melted your face, you were excited every time you saw her, and it was one of the happiest times of your life. But then, ten years later, you found out that she was screwing four other guys at the same time (your friends knew about it at the time and didn't tell you), and you just feel dirty. Then, when you see her five years after that, you're kinda happy that she looks like a crack-whore, and is living in a trailer with a meth-dealer in east Texas.

Edited to add: Chris Webber rapping. One more reason to dislike him.

Edited again: Apparently, the video has been taken down. Double turds!

Tom Izzo and Lloyd Carr

Tom Izzo has led his Michigan State Spartan basketball team to an impressive 7th NCAA Tournament sweet 16 in his 13th year as a head coach. It got me to thinking: his reign is similar in many ways to Lloyd Carr's run (also 13 years) as Michigan's head football coach. Let's have a look.

First of all, both started coaching in the shadow of a legendary coach: Izzo followed Jud Heathcote, and Lloyd followed Bo (after a few years of Moeller). Izzo's winning percentage as MSU head coach is 70%, and Lloyd's winning percentage as UofM head coach was 74%. Each has one national title - Izzo in 2000, Carr in 1997. Izzo won a title in his fifth year as head coach. Lloyd won a title in his third year. Izzo's team has seven sweet 16 appearances. Lloyd's teams finished in the top 16 seven different times. Each has had teams that in off-years still had some success at the end of the year - Lloyd with his bowl win over Florida last year, and Izzo with an elite 8 run in 2003 with 12 losses.

I'm not going to sit here and argue that Lloyd was a better coach than Izzo. They coach different sports with vastly differing philosophies, and the measures for success are quite different in each sport. Lloyd can't match Izzo's three consecutive final four appearances. Izzo can't match Lloyd's five conference titles. It's hard to equate coaching accomplishments in different sports, but both coaches have attained a kind of consistency that successful teams strive for. Lloyd led Michigan to bowl appearances in each of his 13 seasons, and Izzo has 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

I have a lot of respect for Tom Izzo. I started thinking about Izzo and his success after their victory over Pitt this weekend, and how nice it would be to have a team in the tourney year after year. His teams are always near the top of the Big Ten and are sucessful in the tournament because they play smart and tough, and are well coached. And scandals at MSU are rare. He always seems to get the best out of the talent on his team.

Michigan head basketball coach John Beilein had some very nice success at WVU, and his leftover players are in the sweet 16 this year too. If he can start to get some good players to come to Ann Arbor (and not to East Lansing), he'll have Michigan contending in the Big Ten in no time. I have a feeling that in a couple years, we'll be starting an NCAA tournament streak of our own.

Go Blue!

Terrelle Pryor - D-Day

Well, it's back to football for a quick post. Terrelle Pryor is allegedly going to make his final decision on where to attend classes play football next year. It would be nice if he were to sign on with Michigan, but all experts seem to be thinking OSU. I am now more interested in his recruitment just for the possibility that he could play hoops. The Michigan basketball team could use some help. Would he even be allowed to play basketball at Michigan? He's gotta be good enough to contribute to a 10-win team. I have read some stuff on the web saying that he's a top-25 high school basketball player in addition to being the top high school football player. Beilein and Rodriguez should be sure to make a few more phone calls to Terrelle (assuming that it's legal) to make sure they have stated their case to him. He could help both the basketball and football teams immensely, and help jump start both programs after recent coaching changes. He is supposedly announcing his intentions at a noon EDT press conference. Godspeed, Terrelle.

NOTE: tOSU it is. Good luck Terrelle. Looks like Threet will be our QB next year.

Go Blue!

I Have A Dream

After I heard that the Michigan basketball team won its third consecutive game earlier in the week, I started to think they have turned the corner and are starting to get coach Beilein's system. Then I had a dream last night. It was very detailed and vivid. Here's what happened:

After finishing tied for 8th in the Big Ten regular season, the scrappy Wolverines pulled out a gutty first round victory over Iowa, 62-59. In the second round, Michigan faced top seeded Wisconsin, who were without star guard Michael Flowers, who was out with an a severe hangover. Michigan started quickly, led by five at the half, and were able to hold on for a 72-70 victory. The Wolverines faced off with Michigan State in the third round. The Spartans were playing without their entire starting five due to a suspicious food poisoning incident originating in an Indianapolis restaurant co-owned by Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard (there is no truth to the rumor that their waiter was Mike Griffin - however, Demetrious Calip does work as a bartender in the same restaurant). The Wolverines' balanced attack was led by DeShawn Sims' 18 points, on their way to a surprisingly easy 68-58 victory. In the tournament final, the red-hot Wolverines faced the Indiana Hoosiers, who were on a hot streak of their own that started when they suspended habitual rule-breaking head coach Kelvin Sampson. Indiana played their last five games of the season with no coaching staff. Team practices (all closed to the media) were run by the players (there is no truth to the rumor that Bob Knight was involved in running practices, although a red sweater and a bullwhip were found in the locker room following their last regular season game). The Hoosiers jumped out to a quick lead, led by freshman sensation Eric Gordon, and were in front by ten at the half. However, at halftime a crazed Illinois fan, still bitter that his team was spurned by Gordon, jumped out from the crowd as the teams were leaving the court and gave Gordon the "Nancy Kerrigan treatment." His knee was severely bruised, and he was unable to play in the second half. The Wolverines went in a 15-2 run to start the second half, and the stunned Hoosiers never recovered. Michigan walked away with a 75-70 win, and with the Big Ten Tournament victory, Michigan qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.

It's possible, right? Right? Anyone?

Michigan Basketball - "The Horror"

Mgoblue.com has the following sub-headline to their story about the loss to Indiana last night:

No. 10 Indiana shot a blazing 46 percent from the floor to answer Manny Harris' 19 points and DeShawn Sims' 16 in a 78-64 Michigan loss in Crisler Arena.

Really? 46% is "blazing?" I would say 56% is blazing. I would say 46% is "decent." I guess "No. 10 Indiana shot a mediocre 46% from the floor..." doesn't sound as dramatic. I suppose they wanted to make it seem like Indiana had to shoot the lights out in order to beat the Wolverines. Indiana shot 30-for-66. If you look at the 14 point final score differential, and doing a quick calculation (for simplicity, I'll just assume all 2-point baskets), they could have made six fewer shots and still won. That would be 24-for-66, or 37%.

Of course, when they say "blazing," that could be a relative term, since Michigan shot 32% for the game (19-for-60), which is most assuredly not blazing. In fact, I would classify that as frigid, icy, arctic, Siberian, etc.

It's gonna be a long basketball season. The Michigan basketball team will not win as many games as the Michigan football team did this year. Guaranteed. They have 4 wins now, and there is no way they win more than three or four Big Ten games. However, I remain optimistic for the future of the progam. I think Coach Beilein can restore the program to respectability.

As for the present state of the program, we have Tommy Amaker to thank for that. Thanks Tommy. Enjoy your time in pressure-free Harvard. Those pointy-headed ivy leaguers will probably love you and your turtleneck/sportcoat look.

Go Blue!