Friday Quick Hits: Michigan Beats Saginaw Valley State 81-55

By Sean · Friday, November 7, 2008 · 2:30 AM |  Share | 2 Comments 

• What is even worse than the fact that Michigan is likely going to lose the Little Brown Jug to Minnesota on Saturday? Well, if the Wolverines do in fact lose, they will not be able to retake the Jug until 2011. Minnesota isn’t on Michigan’s schedule in 2009 and 2010, so wherever the Jug ends up, it will be there until at least 2011.
• Although most of Michigan’s commitments seem solid right now, quotes like this make me feel like DeQuinta Jones is not going to end up in Ann Arbor.
  

  “I am committed to (Michigan) but I have wandering eyeballs,” the 6-2, 270-pounder told Scout.com. “I have been noticing Oklahoma State and they are looking pretty good. I have wandering eyeballs for Alabama. They have been playing really good. I have my eyes on Arkansas and California, too.”

  Regardless of what Jones decides to do, Michigan is in good shape with 4-star defensive tackle Pearlie Graves (what an awesome name).

• Michigan commit Anthony LaLota will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on January 3. Another U-M commit, Jeremy Gallon, was also just invited to play in the game.
• The Michigan hockey team plays tonight and tomorrow at Alaska-Fairbanks. If you’re interested in staying up for the games, both of them start at 11:05 p.m. ET. Check out The Blog That Yost Built for 10 things we should know about Alaska.
• Michigan beat Saginaw Valley State in an exhibition basketball game last night by a score of 81-55. The Wolverines got off to a slow start and actually trailed late in the first half. Thankfully, though, Michigan turned it around and started to pull away in the second half. It was a shaky start that had me worried, but it seemed like the team was just really rusty early on. For a full look at the game on a player-by-player basis, check out UM Hoops.
• Freshman center Ben Cronin looks like he may be headed for a redshirt. He got into the game in the final minutes and looked pretty good. However, he was noticeably limping, leading me to believe that he isn’t even close to being 100% healthy. Although Michigan could use the height — they did get out-rebounded by SVSU and had big issues on the boards — it wouldn’t be smart to play someone that isn’t healthy, especially a freshman. A redshirt would probably be the most logical move if his injury lingers, but we’ll see.
• Stu Douglass, another freshman, started at shooting guard and went 3-5 from three-point land. One of the three-pointers he made was a really awkward shot where he didn’t seem to have his feet set. What I like about Douglass is that he is able to get those kinds of shots off with ease, so we probably will see quite a few three’s from him that make us scratch our heads in a good way.
• DeShawn Sims came off the bench. I’m not exactly sure why, but I doubt this will be a usual occurrence.
• David Merritt started at point guard for Michigan.
• Former players Daniel Horton, Brent Petway, and Chris Hunter were at the game and each got their name or nickname chanted by the Maize Rage.
• Women’s basketball coach Kevin Borseth was also at the game and sat courtside next to Bill Martin during the first half.
• Saginaw Valley State’s coach did some very interesting things during the game. He got a technical foul, which came as no surprise considering it seemed like he was trying to get one on purpose throughout much of the game. What did surprise me, though, was that he actually responded to the Maize Rage on more than one occasion. Often times the student section started making noise when he argued calls and at least four or five times he looked at the Maize Rage and said something. It was funny, yet at the same time I wondered if he should be more focused on the game than on talking with the opposing crowd.
• The new sound system is so much better than what Crisler used to have. Not only is the sound louder, but it’s much, much clearer now.
• Charlie Weis’ knee injury is really bad. Apparently the damage he suffered was like getting hit by a car, so the recovery process will be pretty long, as you can imagine.
• Florida State’s Myron Rolle is one of the few true examples of a student-athlete. He is going to potentially miss the FSU-Maryland game on November 22 to be interviewed for the Rhodes Scholarship. If the game is at night there is a chance that Rolle could get there by the second half. But regardless of whether or not he plays, the fact that he is putting academics before football is almost as amazing as the fact that he is so close to becoming a Rhodes Scholar.