Michigan Thursday: Michigan Got A New GM

The one thing that Warde has always failed to understand is,  you don't fire an important position without knowing you are going to hire next.  Warde is a bad leader for many reason, but his lack of future planning might be his biggest weakness. 

Case in point, Coach Whitt comes in and has his coordinators lined up before he got to Ann Arbor.  He also knew the priority was keeping the current roster in A2 and lining up great players in the portal.   You can't bring in a new GM at that point and do that.   So he keep Magee around until this week to serve that purpose.   That is a boss move.  

The next is hiring former ND Co-AD Dave Peloquin as Michigan's next GM.  Dave was with ND for 21 years in these roles: Notre Dame’s director of player personnel 2004-2023, director of football development (2007-2013) and assistant athletic director/strategic initiatives (2023-2025).

This is considered to be a big time hire for Michigan and a midwest football guy leading the organization.  ND was in the National Championship game twice under Dave's leadership.  This seemed to be the #1 target and Coach Whitt landed him.

I can't tell you how happy I am to have a real leader leading this program on and off the field.

• We reported a few weeks ago that some teams had not been paid from the Players Tournament that Michigan won over the holidays.  Other reports have now surfaced that Michigan did get their share but not the $1M bonus for winning the tournament. 

Wolverine Wednesday: You Can't Go 2-0 this Week without a Win in Mackey

Mackey Arena is a really hard place to win.  Purdue Basketball is always solid since the days the Big Dog was running the court.  When Purdue is the Pre-Season #1 and currently in the top 10, it's even tougher.  

Michigan put together one of its best performances in a true road game.  Michigan has played better but those were all neutral site games.  Michigan started shooting the 3 well in the first half and grew the lead to 20 early and was up by 16 at the half.   Everyone expected the Boilermakers to make a run in the 2nd, they played better but only got within 8 points or so of the Wolverines, who always seemed to have an answer and a defensive stop when Purdue inched closer. 

Cadeau got out of his mini slump and added 17 points 7 assists.  Cason continued his hot streak with 13 and McKenny added another 13 off the bench.  Yax followed script scoring 13, Johnson had a bit of an off game with 12 (3-7 from the floor), and Mara added 10.   It was a complete team effort and a very good win.  

A great win from a great Michigan team.  Duke is up next on Saturday in DC.  The fun continues. 

• Michigan Football lost their 2027 QB last night in Peter Bourque.  This was somewhat expected as Michigan has a brand new staff and doesn't have a strong foundation with Peter.  Michigan might still be his choice, but Peter didn't feel good about visiting other programs while committed to Michigan.  Which is truly very honorable from the young man.  I have faith in our new OC that he will find a good 2027 solution at QB. 

Michigan Tuesday: Big Ball Game Night

Michigan and Purdue play a top 10 match up in Indiana tonight.  It's at a weird time and on a weird channel.  Yes, its a 6:30 EST tip on Peacock.  For those of you that don't subscribe and have YouTube TV, I do have a hack for you.  The game is also telecast on the NBC Sports Channel, which does not require an extra subscription (on YouTube TV).  This channel came back from the dead a few months ago and shows most Peacock games live. 

• Wheat is the new RB coach at Illinois.  Wheat had a really bad run as head coach of Wayne State for a couple of years. 

• Former Detroit Tiger and current MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has resigned.

• Sacramento State joining the MAC seems strange to me. It's just in football and the travel will be very costly for them and the MAC teams on their schedule. It's a 5 year experiment, with not a ton of upside. Warmer Tuesday night MACtion?

• The new Michigan staff seems to be hitting the road and making some strides with recruits in the 2027 and beyond classes. Seems crazy that Spring Ball will be here before we know it.

Michigan Monday: Big Week for Michigan Basketball

Michigan Basketball is really good when they don't play down to the competition.  UCLA came in on Saturday for a strange 12:45 tip and found themselves only down 2 points at the half.  The Bruins left Ann Arbor with a 30 point loss.  Mick Cronin went from getting technical fouls in the first half to sitting in disbelief in the 2nd. 

It's really hard to nit pick this team but of course I have a couple.   I don't like the big line changes that Dusty does sometimes.  Of course, that gives the starter's rest, but it also seems to bring the opponent back into the game. Michigan also starts most game by shooting too many 3's. Michigan can get anything they want in the lane and they are shooting quick 3's.   Lastly, I believe Gayle needs to understand his role at bit better.   Last year, Michigan Basketball needed him to score, this year we need Rodney to play great defense, get rebounds, and get the ball to the scores on offense.  He continues to force the ball in the post for wild layups and often turns the ball over. 

Michigan is so much better with Yax on the floor.  He is an elite defender, great ball distributor, and can get buckets.  Dusty realizes that and that is the reason he is rarely is off the floor in the 2nd half. 

Now on to this week.  Michigan has to travel to Purdue tomorrow night for a top 15 top 10 match-up and then to DC for a neutral site game against top 5 top 3 Duke.  So here is my question, if Michigan has to go 1-1 this week, which team do you want to beat?

If Michigan beats Purdue, they continue to lead the Big Ten by a couple games.  

If Michigan beats Duke, they make waves nationally, and its Duke! Of course, this game has zero effect on the Big Ten regular season championship.  

• Update: Michigan has a new number in front of their name in the AP poll.  It's a good number and one that Ricky Bobby likes a lot.  No need to dwell on it, lots of work to do this week and the rest of the season. 

This might be crazy but I would rather beat Duke.   Let's just go 2-0 and make this dumb question, even dumber. 

• Michigan Baseball opens their season 3-0.  Seems strange to think about Michigan Baseball in February. 

• Michigan has hired Vandy Co-DC and  DL Coach Larry Black as its next DL coach.  Fun fact, Larry is the brother of Jibreel Black who was a former defensive lineman at Michigan.   This seems to be a solid hire.