 Maize Rage “Superfan” Zach Linfield advocates for expanding the maize rage during a game vs Rutgers on February 23. Photo used with permission from Marc-Grégor Campredon / MGoBlog Among a conference full of intimidating atmospheres for visiting basketball teams, players and students agree that Michigan’s Crisler Center is sorely lacking. In an online petition scheduled to be published later today, several student leaders have a proposed fix: “Expand the Maize Rage.” Currently, Michigan students are only allocated a limited amount of seats in the lower bowl of Crisler Center. A vast majority of the student section (dubbed the “Maize Rage”) is located in the upper bowl of the arena, isolated and far from the action. Subsequently, the Michigan men’s basketball team is unable to fully harness the energy of the students during crucial moments of games. The upcoming petition created by leaders of the Maize Rage urges the Michigan Athletic Department to expand the number of seats allocated to the student section within the lower bowl. A draft of the petition obtained by WCBN Sports raises two demands for administrators in the Athletic Department. First, it writes that “the Maize Rage needs to be expanded to allow more students into the lower bowl,” although it does not mention specific areas where the student section should expand to or how many students should be added to the lower bowl. Second, the petition asks that student leaders of Maize Rage “get a seat at the table when it comes to making this decision.” The petition claims that these requests, along with a modified student ticketing strategy, will “make the Crisler Center one of the toughest environments to play in the whole country.” | |
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by Jared Greenspan 1. Michigan (7-1) It would be near-impossible to script a better start to the Juwan Howard era for the Wolverines. For months, questions swirled about how Michigan would acclimate to life without long-time coach John Beilein and its top-three scorers from a year ago. In the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, the Wolverines proved doubters wrong, bulldozing perennial powerhouses North Carolina and Gonzaga en route to the tournament title. Michigan picked up its first loss of the year against #1 Louisville on Tuesday, but still stands as the cream of the crop in the nation’s best conference. 2. Ohio State (8-0) The Buckeyes have built a resume as impressive as any team in the nation, with two 25-point victories over then-top-10 teams in Villanova and North Carolina. Ohio State’s wing players like Duane Washington and Luther Muhammad have an additional year under their belt, making Chris Holtmann’s group equipped with weapons to coincide with one of the nation’s best big men in Kaleb Wesson. 3. Maryland (9-0) The Terrapins lost Bruno Fernando to the NBA back in June yet haven’t missed a beat thus far in the 2019-2020 campaign. Marc Turgeon has a plethora of weapons and wing players to complement big man Jalen Smith, who looks vastly-improved in his sophomore season. Critics would point out that Maryland, ranked third in the nation, has yet to play a ranked opponent, yet its resume features wins over Notre Dame and Marquette, two teams expected to compete for an NCAA tournament berth. 4. Michigan State (5-3) The Spartans entered the season with as much national hype as any team in the country, boosted by a solid incoming recruiting class and the return of national player of the year favorite Cassius Winston. Without Josh Langford, who continues to struggle with recurring foot injuries, Michigan State has hit a few bumps in the road, mainly a first-round loss in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational to unranked Virginia Tech. Until Langford returns, the Spartans’ ceiling will be as far as Winston can carry them, which right now isn’t enough to crack the top-three in a top-heavy Big Ten conference. 5. Purdue (5-3) Purdue basketball underneath Matt Painter is always steady, and there’s no reason this year shouldn’t culminate with another NCAA Tournament appearance for the Boilermakers. Life is different without Carsen Edwards, and a young team has shown struggles against other major-conference opponents, falling to Marquette, Texas and Florida State.Expect this team, though, to only get better as the months move on -- with a resounding victory over defending-champion Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC challenge, the Boilermakers already appear to be making strides, 6. Penn State (7-1) After years of false temptations, this might finally be the season that the Nittany Lions are relevant on the basketball court. Lamar Stevens is a pure scorer, and Penn State has built a solid early-season resume with wins over Georgetown and Syracuse. We’ll know a lot more about this team after their trip to Ohio State and hosting of Maryland to open the Big Ten slate this upcoming week. 7. Indiana (8-0) The Hoosiers are receiving far less national attention post-Romeo Langford, and that might be for the better. Entering its Big Ten-ACC matchup against Florida State, the narrative was that Indiana had yet to be tested. Still, it won the games it was meant to win, something that was a downfall of last year’s squad. A dominating victory over the Seminoles, though, puts Archie Miller’s squad back on the map. Indiana has a lot of fresh faces on and it’ll be interesting to see who emerges as the team’s legitimate scoring option with more formidable opponents looming around the corner. 8. Iowa (6-2) Iowa under Fran McCaffery always seems to be middle-of-the-pack, and it seems as if the Hawkeyes are destined for another one of those years. This isn’t the same Iowa team that was one disastrous collapse against Tennessee away from advancing to the Sweet 16, but it returns potent scorers and outside-shooters. Resounding victory over then 12th ranked Texas Tech and Syracuse in the Carrier Dome seem to subdue apprehensions after a non-competitive home loss to Depaul a few weeks earlier. 9. Wisconsin (4-4) Life without Ethan Happ has not gone smoothly for the Badgers, who remain a perplexing bunch. Losses to Richmond and New Mexico State look worse than they are at first glance, but these two mid-majors are formidable opponents that will vy for a tournament spot come March. Still, they are games that Wisconsin should win if they plan on remaining relevant in the Big Ten. A convincing win over in-state rival Marquette and a hard-fought loss against St. Marys tell us not to count the Badgers out quite yet, unless offensive struggles continue to persist. 10. Minnesota (4-4) Richard Pitino’s program was destined to take a step back last year after losing several prominent players from a team that topped Louisville in the NCAA tournament. The only question was how big a step it would be and early results are not encouraging. The Gophers played four major-conference opponents in non conference play and lost all four of them, before breaking that spell with a big win over Clemson on Monday. It’s a team that will likely grow into its own as the season progresses, yet for now remains in the wrong half of the power rankings. 11. Illinois (6-2) Entering the season, expectations for the Fighting Illini were as high as they’ve been in recent memory. Brad Underwood and company showed tantalizing flashes toward the end of last season, and when fringe first-round pick Ayo Dosunmo returned to school for his sophomore season, the hype only grew. In the Big Ten-ACC challenge on Monday, Illinois failed to show up, trailing by as many as 25 in the first half at home to a subpar Miami squad. Performances like these won’t cut it in a cutthroat Big Ten. 12. Rutgers (6-2) Oh, Rutgers. At some point, you figure, Steve Pikell will turn Rutgers into a contender. While the Scarlet Knights have gone 6-2 thus far, it seems unlikely that this is the year. The resume, though, does feature a victory over Stephen F Austin, so, by the transitive property, Rutgers would beat Duke…. Enough of that. Back to reality. A team that squeaked past Bryant by two and Drexel by five will remain a bottom-dweller. 13. Northwestern (4-3) It feels like just the other day that the Wildcats were turning the corner toward prolonged national relevance after finally breaking through and making the tournament in 2017. Instead, Doug Collins’ team, instead of using their NCAA appearance as a springboard, has done the opposite, reverting back to their laughable losing ways. Any optimism for this season was quickly quelled with a season-opening loss to Merrimack -- a team that had yet to win a game at the DI level -- as 18.5 point favorites. 14. Nebraska (4-4) Fred Hoiberg’s return to college basketball thus far has gone, to put it kindly, poorly. Struggles were expected after the team went through a complete offseason overhaul, losing their four best players in the process. But consecutive home losses to UC Riverside and Southern Utah to open the season, combined with a loss to George Mason a few weeks later, wasn’t something anyone saw coming. Despite rebounding a bit with wins over USF and Washington State, this Cornhusker team remains the least-competitive in the Big Ten until they prove otherwise. by Jared Greenspan Michigan basketball entered the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament as a relative unknown. While its record was unblemished, anxieties still swirled, the departures of John Beilein and last year’s top-three scorers looming over the program like an unrelenting cloud. Beating up on the likes of Elon and Houston Baptist offered reassuring confidence boosts for Juwan Howard and company, but no true insight into the team’s identity. Whether this team could compete against stiffer competition was unclear. In the Bahamas, the Wolverines resolutely answered the question. Criminally underrated and unranked, Michigan emerged as one of the best teams in the country. En route to capturing the tournament championship, the Wolverines defeated a respectable Iowa State team along with two blue bloods: sixth ranked North Carolina and eighth ranked Gonzaga. Even more impressive than the wins themselves was the manner in which they won, running each of their opponents straight out of the Paradise Ballroom. Michigan’s domination in the Bahamas truly was a team effort. Over the first four games of the season, the Wolverines heavily relied on senior point guard and leader Zavier Simpson. As Simpson went, so did the offense, for better and for worse. Against talented point guards like Iowa State sophomore Tyrese Haliburton and North Carolina freshman sensation Cole Anthony, it was presumed that Michigan would need peak-Simpson to stand a chance. In both matchups, the Wolverines got subpar Simpson. He was uncharacteristically sloppy as the court mistro in the opener, committing eight turnovers. A day later, he endured foul trouble and only appeared on the court for 17 minutes, fouling out with five minutes left to play. And yet, Michigan proved it could manage just fine without Simpson, opening up a 15-point lead on Iowa State despite Simpson’s bout with turnovers and stretching its lead against North Carolina to 24-points as Simpson rode the bench. Such was a far cry from the haplessness that branded the offense whenever Simpson took a breather in games pre-Atlantis. The emergence of rotational players underneath Juwan Howard’s guidance is a big reason why Michigan was all of a sudden able to navigate the storm without Simpson. Howard’s tendency to go nine and even ten players deep in a game has paid massive dividends, keeping everyone fresh and instilling confidence in their in-game abilities. David DeJulius is suddenly living up to his preseason hype, playing like a different player than the one we saw in the season-opener against Appalachian State. The sophomore guard dropped 34 points in the three games, showcasing a near-automatic three-point stroke. Eli Brooks too looks rejuvenated, notching 24 points in 39 minutes against North Carolina, a game in which he embraced his role as the go-to scorer late. Brooks showed a play-making ability with dribble-drives and stellar outside-shooting that rivaled Muhammad Ali-Abdur Rahkman’s. The narrative of improvement can be extended to every other player on the team. Isaiah Livers appears set to burst onto the scene as one of the premier players in the Big Ten. Franz Wagner flashed his potential after returning from a broken wrist. Colin Castleton seems stronger down low. Jon Teske silenced any doubts that he could keep up with the new frenetic, high-octane offensive system with a resounding 19 point, 15 rebound effort against Gonzaga that earned him MVP honors. A piece about Michigan proving itself would be remiss if it didn’t mention Juwan Howard himself. Just seven games into his coaching career, Howard has already quieted critics that harped on his lack of coaching experience and estrangement from the college game after out-coaching the likes of Roy Williams and Mark Few. He has shown a masterful ability to handle rotations, get the most out of his players and make in-game adjustments. Howard has quickly gained the support and adoration of his team — just look at the excitement and jubilation cast upon his players’ faces as he rocked his classic cabbage patch dance following the victory over Gonzaga. Howard and Michigan want to be more than feel good story — they want to keep this early-season success up. The schedule for the Wolverines offers no easy games. A road trip to Louisville, the nation’s freshly-minted number one team, beckons. Matchups against Iowa and Illinois to start Big Ten play, along with a tough non-conference game against Oregon, loom in the near-future as well. For now, though, the Wolverines are rolling and have firmly put themselves back onto the basketball map, a map that never should have removed them in the first place. by Jared GreenspanBy: Jared GreenspanFriday night, Michigan basketball unofficially kicked off the Juwan Howard era by defeating Division II Saginaw Valley State 82-51 in an exhibition game in Ann Arbor. Here are a few notable takeaways from the Wolverines' performance.
Struggles for DeJulius No Michigan player received more preseason hype than David DeJulius, the sophomore guard. Juwan Howard consistently praised DeJulius for his offseason work ethic and re-tooled jump shot. After playing only 95 minutes as a freshman, DeJulius suddenly emerged as one of the team’s most potent offensive weapons -- he dropped 21 on 7-8 from distance in a scrimmage against Detroit Mercy, and shined again in the inter-squad game. Friday night, however, offered a blunt reality-check for the DeJulius hype. Coming off the bench, he managed just 5 points and struggled shooting, going 2-9 from the field and 0-4 from three. While only a small sample size, the poor play was not an encouraging sign, especially since Michigan will rely on DeJulius to provide scoring and strong guard play while Franz Wagner recovers from his wrist injury. Adjustments at the Four One of the more intriguing lineup combinations that Juwan Howard experimented with involved playing both Jon Teske and Colin Castleton on the court at the same time. Such a lineup requires Castleton to show off his versatility as a forward, stretching to the perimeter to open up the floor with Teske down in the heart of the paint. Castleton looked comfortable playing the four, not hesitant to take a jump shot and willing to spend long periods of time estranged from the paint. Much like Castleton, Brandon Johns Jr. also looked in his element on the perimeter, going 4-5 from the field and draining two three-pointers. Moving forward, pairing one of Castleton and Johns with Teske will likely become an integral part of the offense as a way to keep the forwards on the floor. Zavier Simpson is still Zavier Simpson To no one’s surprise, Zavier Simpson was in direct control of Michigan’s offense Friday night. On the court, Simpson registered 11 assists, including two highlight-reel lobs to Isaiah Livers. He engineered solid ball movement with crisp passes, looking in mid-season form. Shooting-wise, Simpson had his ups-and-downs -- 3-6 from the field, 1-3 from distance, 0-2 from the line. Such shooting woes, while improved from years past, have come to be the norm for Simpson. Meanwhile, as soon as Simpson checked out of the game, the Michigan offense looked like an entirely different unit. Such struggles allowed Saginaw Valley State to get back into the game, ultimately cutting the deficit to two points until Simpson re-entered and, unsurprisingly, the offense began humming again. Juwan Howard will have to find the right spots to rest Simpson during the season, as his presence is truly invaluable on the court. A New Look Offense Perhaps the most notable difference between John Beilein’s offense and Juwan Howard’s offense (one game in) is the pace of play. Under Beilein, Michigan often ran half-court sets and was reluctant to push the pace out in transition. Last night, the Wolverines, led by Simpson and Eli Brooks in particular, pushed the tempo to no ends, making for a frenetic and aggressive style of play. It wasn’t all pretty -- at times play grew sloppy and out of control -- yet growing pains are sure to be expected. As the season gets under way, it’ll be interesting to see how the fast-paced offense looks when the players feel totally in-sync with the new system. Of course, doing such in haste would work to Michigan’s advantage. Strong Showing by Livers Isaiah Livers was far and away the best player on the court last night, a welcoming sign for Michigan. With Ignas Brazdeikis, Charles Matthews and Jordan Poole all having left for the NBA, much of the scoring duties now fall on the shoulders of Livers. The junior from Kalamazoo looked ready to handle the role of leading-scorer in the exhibition, dropping 20 points in 25 minutes. He went 7-11 from the field and 4-8 from downtown, displaying a pure shooting stroke and an ability to make shots from all over the court. He also showcased his athleticism and ability to run the floor with two early transition dunks. As teams focus more of their attention on Livers and as the level of opponent increases, Livers will likely experience some growing pains as the lead guy, yet Friday’s performance certainly offers much optimism. By Temi Yusuf  It seems that from the Beilein to the Howard era there has been a seamless transition. During Media Day, Coach Juwan, in his Michigan tracksuit and bright smile, fielded several questions about the dynamic of the team and his staff, as well as how his experience at Michigan as the Fab Five brought him here today, back to Ann Arbor.
Motifs throughout media day from both Howard and the team included trust, earning everything, hard work, and most importantly, family. A team that has been doubted even before Beilein’s departure, you can tell from their aura they’ve heard the noise. The players are working. They are getting better. They do not want to be counted out. Juwan Howard mentions, “I’ll be in the office at 10 at night and I’ll hear music blasting in the gym there’s always like one or two guys in there”. In addition to this, Coach Howard had a lot of great things to say about each player highlighting their talents and strong suits, even hinting that some may even see playing time. He referred to the team as sponges. This team wants to learn, and as a fan, it is exciting to know that a new coach won’t hinder their goals. Juwan Howard on the loss of major playmakers and shot takers, Matthews, Poole, and Brazdeikis: “Everyone stepping up. Collectively as a group. All hands on deck”, a mentality the players shared as well. Every member of the team, both players and staff, know they have shoes to fill and their goal is to show people they can. Livers, a junior out of Kalamazoo, when asked about the speculation of having a breakout season after a transformative off-season said, “If I have to be the guy to have a breakout season or whatever it is then I’ll do that because I know it’s good for my team”. Similar sentiments were shared with other players including sophomore, David DeJulius, who foresees a breakout season as well. Working out over the spring and summer alongside his confidence in the coaching staff has enabled him to focus on playmaking for his teammates and putting up more shots. During the open practice, it seemed that was all he wanted to do. During warmups, his jumpers looking better than ever, and I can attest to him being “a straight bucket” this season. The energy throughout the practice, from not only DeJulius but their leader, Zavier Simpson, also known as X, who pushes every single player on this team to work towards the end goal: to win. He holds not only himself accountable but others which forces his younger teammates to strive to earn their minutes and prove themselves. There are no excuses for this team, that’s how much they want to win. All the changes made to this team will not hold them back. Adapt and attack, that’s the motto. With an ‘egoless’ coaching staff and boys who want to win it all, something necessary and often forgotten is trust. Juwan Howard does not expect the trust of the players off the bat but in fact, wants to earn it. His late nights in the office and his basketball centered mind that keeps him up shows he is dedicated to the cause. He sends appreciation to the fans, reminding them of their role in making Michigan the school it is today. As he does this, he also emphasizes the family aspect of this team. They aren’t just here to develop as players but as young men who can give back to their families and community. And this is not all talk. His first time meeting Franz Wagner, German freshman and Michigan Alum Moe Wagner’s brother, was across the Atlantic Ocean in Greece. Coach Howard recalls Franz repeatedly saying he didn’t have to travel so far, however, Howard responded with “That’s what family does for each other”. Building such relationships with players bodes well for the team because it helps them feel comfortable on and off the court. Franz, who has access to several resources to help him adjust to a new environment, has gotten much support from all of his teammates and roommate, Cole Bajema. An important fact stressed during most interviews was that he plays defense, unlike his brother, and is definitely ahead of his time. A great shooter and ball-handler despite his 6’8 stature give Howard and teammates even more confidence in Michigan Basketball this upcoming season. Overall, Media Day reassures fans and lovers of Michigan Basketball that there is no need to worry about the transition or what is to come during the Howard era. This 2019-2020 unit is built on a foundation of trust, hard work and family. The players are playing faster than they ever have, taking more shots, and honing their craft thanks to the basketball masterminds on the coaching staff with over 60 years of experience combined. Each member is eager and willing to learn which should amplify excitement for this upcoming season. Therefore, it is safe to say that there will be a lot of shocks this year. |
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