Weekly Grab Bag is Not Good at Predicting Stuff

¡Viva 2014!

The football and basketball teams are undefeated in 2014! The football team has yet to play, but don't hold that against them. C'mon, seriously. Let it go. I need this. Anyway, the basketball team went 8-0 in January, which also means they're 8-0 in the B1G and sit atop the conference standings like Bo Ryan perched atop Mount Crumpit.

Then he slunk to the icebox...*SLUUUNK*

Amidst this year's inaugural month: Nik Stauskas has solidified himself as a top-3 player in the league, Derrick Walton has begun to expand his feet into the waffle-stompers Trey Burke left behind, and the team boasts the league's #1 Offense WITHOUT Mitch McGary.
Yeah, it was a good month. I'm posting this before the game at Indiana today, so here's hoping 2014's majesty upon the fruited plain continues.

However, Stauskas's improved play offers the distinct possibility that the the 2014-2015 MBB outfit will look fairly depleted at first glance.
Departures: F/C Jordan Morgan (RS SR), F Glenn Robinson III (SO), F/C Mitch McGary (SO), G/F Nik Stauskas (SO)
Additions: F Kameron Chatman, F/C Ricky Doyle, G/F Austin Hatch, F D.J. Wilson

I've been wrestling with myself over how to feel about this. Nik will only get better, and he's showing that he can ball with the best at a consistently high level. I'd say he's gone. I think Mitch could benefit from a full, solid year in college, especially since he'd most likely be the focal point on both ends of the floor next year. On the other hand, I can totally see him leaving and getting picked late in the first round, spending a couple years providing energy off the bench for a good team, then emerging as a dominant Large Puppy in 2017. GR3 is still a damn mystery to me, man. Landmark potential, Cedar Village results thus far, at least in terms of consistency and dominance. For every OMG dunk, there's a possession where he could TOTALLY put the ball on the floor, drive the lane, and elicit this reaction on like, an every-other-play-at-least basis. IDK, man.

For the sake of argument, let's say they're all gone next year. John Beilein still returns Caris Levert, Zak Irvin, Spike Albrecht, Jon Horford, Max Bielfeldt, and a sophomore point guard in Derrick Walton. Y'all might not remember, but sophomore point guards do pretty solid under ol' J-Bones. In addition, Redshirt Freshman Mark Donnal will presumably take his place as Big Man in a John Beilein Offense and, along with Horford, Bielfeldt, and possibly Ricky Doyle, make up for the loss of McGary Points. Wilson and Chatman should provide immediate impact as well.

So, that's the potential loss of 4 pretty monumental players in recent Michigan history, but Beilein has shown he can not only recruit talent, but develop it. I mean...we all DEFINITELY figured we'd lose Trey Burke + Timmy Hardaway and turn it around into the best Big Ten start since the bicentennial.

"AND ANOTHER THING: BANANAS ARE AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF POTASSIUM, DADGUMMIT"
[Thanks MGoBlog for the .gif]

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