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Afternoon Brew

By Maize n Brew Dave

Time to cut out for that 2pm happy hour. Here's what's

On Tap:

  1. Grady's Says He's Coming, Again.
  2. Mike Jackson Returns And Will Look At Your Kids For Michigan.
  3. Beilein? Beilein!
  4. Four Star PG Now Interested in Michigan.
  5. Peep Game
Grady's Back - According to Rivals, Kelvin Grady will honor his commitment to Michigan. On the recruiting front this is a nice affirmation of the early work HC John Beilein is doing to re-secure Michigan's promising recruiting class. Mgoblog has both video and commentary on Grady's abilities. After watching the video there are similarities between Smith's game and Grady's (e.g., both go to their left far too often and make silly passes at odd times). However, Grady appears two steps quicker than Smith and a much better defender with a hustle gear that seems lacking in Smith's game so far.

I haven't seen enough of Grady's mid-range jumper to have a clearer picture of his all around game but what I've seen leads me to the following:

  1. Excellent cutter who will get to the basket or find open shooters.
  2. Decent three-point range.
  3. Questionable mid-range jump shot.
  4. Not a lot of touch in the lane.
  5. Short. Gets to the basket well but is going to have trouble laying it in.
  6. Very active defender.
  7. Quick, quick hands and feet.
  8. Fearless.
Grady's shooting so far is a concern to me based on what I've seen. However, jump shots can be fixed with practice and Beilein runs a nasty shoot-till-your-arms-fall-off practice. His quickness will be very, very handy in Beilein's system and his tenacity will get him playing time immediately. Whether he turns into a rock star or not appears entirely up to him. If he develops a 10 foot runner and sures up his 12-18 foot jumper, he could be a very dangerous player. If he doesn't he'll be a good role player for the team.

Why Should I change my name? He's the One That Sucks - Assistant coach Mike Jackson* has returned to a hero's welcome in Ann Arbor. The Detroit recruiter extraordinare left Illinois State to return to Ann Arbor after Beilein invited him back and Michigan paid him a hell of a lot more than he was getting before.

Jackson is widely known as the man behind Legion, Harris, and Grady's recruitments. Upon hearing the news from Beilein himself, Legion's mother stated Jackson's return was a "major factor" in Alex's decision on whether to honor his letter of intent to Michigan. As mentioned above, Jackson's return was also one of the major reasons for Kelvin Grady re-affirmed his commitment to Michigan. Jackson is a vital cog in Michigan's recruiting and coaching future. He's credited with the recruitment of DeShawn Sims and Ekpe Udoh, despite only being with Michigan since 2005. If he can continue recruiting at this pace and develop as an Xs and Os guy under Beilein, look for big things from Jackson.

Ed Note - no relation to the burka clad perv wandering around Bahrain.

Beilein? Beilein! The old guy at the Grand Rapids Press is a little crotchety about Beilein's hiring. Not a lot. But a little.

If you look on the Internet, lots of people are already singing Beilein's praises. They might be right.

Let's face it. It's not like Tubby Smith is coming to town. It's not like Roy Williams coming home to North Carolina.

It's just one more fairly successful coach being brought in to see what happens, and let's keep our fingers crossed.

Damn Internets and those damn kids... grumble grumble... Where are my prunes and scotch?

Four Star Point Guard Now Listing Michigan - What a difference a coach makes. Clearwater, Florida's 4 Star, 6-4 point guard Luke Loucks is now listing Michigan as a possible destination. Loucks was originally high on West Virginia while Beilein was coach, and now the JB is coaching Michigan, Loucks recruiting has taken a Maize and Blue turn.

Loucks is rated Rivals #9 point guard and is the #73 rated player in 2008 class. Scout has him at the #12 PG slot #88 overall. According to Rivals,

"Once strongly considering West Virginia, Loucks said he is now looking at Michigan since John Beilein left for the Big Ten school."

Loucks appears to be a big time physical talent. In addition to playing for the "highly respected AAU team in Team Florida," Loucks is a standout quarterback for his high school team. However, Loucks has made it public he's playing basketball in college. With his size and abilities, it seems he'd blend well into Beilein's system. However, it sounds like he needs some work on his jumper according to Rivals analyst Jerry Merry.

"Loucks, who can play either backcourt position, has an exceptional basketball IQ and is a terrific passer. Has the size and feel for the game to be a tough rebounder and is a physical defender. He does need to improve the consistency of his outside jumper and improve his lateral quickness in order to guard speedy point guards." -- 9/20/2006

No matter what, 4* interest is a sign that things are picking up, recruiting wise at Michigan.

One More Site to Peep Game - During your afternoon slack off period make sure you travel over to The Conquering Heroes, another great addition to the veritable sea of Michigan bloggers.

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