NBA Draft predictions for Burke, Hardaway Jr.

The NBA Draft takes place tonight and a pair of Michigan Wolverines should be featured in the first round.

Here are my predictions for where Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. will end up.

Trey Burke – No. 7 to the Sacramento Kings

Burke has been a bit of a mystery leading up to the draft. He has been projected as high as No. 2, but is now being projected at No. 12 to Oklahoma City by ESPN Insider Chad Ford. I think Burke will find himself more in the middle of that, to Sacramento at No. 7. The Kings could use Burke’s ball-handling and scoring ability for their team that seems to constantly be in rebuilding mode. Michigan fans won’t be happy to see Burke taken 7^th, because the Pistons could be an option at 8.

Tim Hardaway Jr. – No. 27 to the Denver Nuggets

I have seen a lot of mock drafts putting Hardaway to the Clippers at 25, but I think the draft will shake out a little differently and he will find himself in Denver. The Nuggets could use Hardaway’s skills in their fast-paced offense. Brian Shaw may have a different style of coaching than George Karl, but the Nuggets are built to push the floor and Hardaway would be a great option for them because of his ability to play multiple positions.

Bonus Pick – Detroit Pistons No. 8 – Michael Carter-Williams

I think Carter-Williams would be the best option for the Pistons, unless one of the top players fall back to them. Detroit needs to find itself a true point guard that can distribute the ball to the young bigs like Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. This would also allow Brandon Knight to play more of a small guard role and then fill in a point when needed. Carter-Williams could be a bust, but the 6-6 point guard has a lot of potential.

Burke or Hardaway - Who has the better NBA career?

It’s been a while.

I went into a little bit of hibernation from the blog with basketball season ending, but am ready to start things back up this week with the NBA Draft looming and the college football season not too far off.

The big focus of this week is on the 2013 NBA Draft and the future of Michigan guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.

It’s funny how things have changed for both men since the college season ended.

It was a slam-dunk decision for Burke to opt for the NBA Draft, but Hardaway’s decision to leave seemed somewhat questionable.

However, the momentum of both players seems to be turning. Burke will still be a lottery pick, but his stock seems to be sliding. Hardaway started as an expected second-round pick, but is now working his way into the first round and still climbing each day.

ESPN Insider Chad Ford lists Burke as No. 9 on his NBA Draft big board, while Hardaway Jr. has climbed up to a tie for 24^th.

Burke is stuck in-between positions, as he is a shooting guard/point guard mixture. Burke will look to score and not just be a floor general, but he still has the skills to run the floor.

Hardaway has been impressive in his workouts, with Ford indicating he could go anywhere from seventh to 27^th, but he still is a work in progress.

Hardaway Jr. has the raw talent to be great in the NBA, just like his father. He could be a mid-to-late first round pick that ends up being a huge success for an NBA franchise.

Burke, however, seems to be riding that boom or bust moniker right now. Is he too small? Will his game translate to the NBA level? Can he be a franchise player?

Time will tell on both, but here is your chance to share your thoughts on both players.

Who will have the more successful NBA career?

How hard will Michigan be hit by the 2013 NBA Draft?

It was a great run for Michigan.

I for one didn’t see the Wolverines coming within six points of a national championship at the end of the regular season, but Michigan really played its best basketball at the right time.

There are plenty of ways you can analyze Monday’s game. You can be critical of the coaches or players or the refs, but I am just going to let that all go.

Michigan had a great season and accomplished something big for its program by reaching the national championship game. I didn’t think John Beilein was a coach capable of taking Michigan to that next level, but he proved me wrong and he deserves credit for that. I think he has secured his spot as head coach of the Wolverines for a long time to come.

This season had the makings of being a disappointing one after Michigan failed to win a Big Ten title of any kind, but the Final Four and national championship game appearances made up for all that.

This last month can do a lot for the Michigan program going forward. It should do a lot for recruiting, which is already going well for the Wolverines (three ESPN Top 100 recruits joining the team next season).

Next season will certainly be interesting for Michigan, but the big question heading into the offseason is who will be back for the Wolverines?

Four of Michigan’s starting five all have the potential to leave for the NBA.

It is more than expected that Trey Burke is leaving. The sophomore point guard nearly left after his freshman year, but decided to stay. Now he is the National Player of the Year and doesn’t have any reason to come back outside of wanting to win a national title. I’d be shocked if Burke returned. He is a guaranteed lottery pick.

Junior Tim Hardaway Jr. also seems set to leave. I personally think he could benefit from coming back and being the focal point of the Michigan offense. Hardaway disappeared at times throughout the season and another year to develop his shot would be beneficial in my opinion. His family pedigree helps his draft status, but I am not sure he’s ready.

Glenn Robinson III also has the family background to go pro, but I really think he needs a second year of college. The freshman has good length, at 6-6, but I think he could use another year in a strength and conditioning program to bulk up a little bit. He was frequently out-muscled when playing defense this year and became somewhat of a defensive liability for Michigan. With his athleticism, Robinson III can be a great pro player if he develops his shot. He was just a 32 percent shooting from 3-point land and 67 percent shooter at the free-throw line.

Mitch McGary wasn’t really on the NBA radar entering the tournament, but he certainly is now. I don’t expect him to leave, but his stocker has never been better. He already has pretty good size at 6-10, 250 pounds, and his outside shooting has noticeably improved. McGary also runs the floor well and has great court awareness. I still think it would be wise for him to return to Michigan and work on his post moves and try to develop his scoring inside with both hands. I think McGary could really dominate if he continues to develop. He would be a featured player for Michigan and I think he could be a Player of the Year Candidate with another year of progress.

So, of the four, how many do you think will return. Right now, I think Burke and Hardaway Jr. are leaving. I am on the fence about Robinson III. He may not feel comfortable coming back with the others leaving, or he could embrace the challenge of having to be a featured player. I think McGary will be back for sure, which will help Michigan a great deal.

How many players will leave Michigan for the NBA?

Just how good is Michigan? Time to find out.

Michigan is off to an amazing start in the basketball season. The Wolverines are 16-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play.

Coming into the season, most of us expected the Wolverines to be strong, but we didn’t quite know how strong they would be.

Even though Michigan is ranked No. 2 in the country and undefeated, there is still a little big of doubt as to just how good Michigan really is.

That should all be settled over the next week.

The Wolverines have a pair of tough road games over the next seven days, meeting No. 15 Ohio State on Sunday before heading to No. 8 Minnesota on Thursday. These will be the two toughest games Michigan has had thus far in the season.

The 3-0 start in Big Ten play is nice, but the Wolverines have had the luxury of facing some of the worst teams in the Big Ten to open conference play. Despite that, the Wolverines have won, and won impressively for the most part.

In a season that started with some big expectations, this 16-0 start has created great expectations for Michigan. The Wolverines truly look like a potential contender for the national championship this season. The key will be seeing how the Wolverines handle these next two games. Both will be very hostile environments, especially Ohio State on Sunday.

Michigan has passed every test thus far with flying colors, but now it is time for an even bigger test.

Can the Wolverines pass it?

Early thoughts on Michigan's basketball season

Michigan has gotten off to an 8-0 start this basketball season and the Wolverines have looked pretty good in the process.

The Wolverines haven’t faced the toughest competition, but they also haven’t played a cake schedule. In recent years, wins over Pittsburgh and Kansas State would carry more weight than they do this year. N.C. State was ranked 18^th at the time, so that still is a good win, relatively speaking.

Everyone knew what Michigan had in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. Those two have lived up to expectations thus far, with Burke average 17 points and 7.1 assists per game and Hardaway chipping in with 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

Many also knew of Michigan’s talented freshmen that were coming in, led by Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary.

What has been somewhat surprising is the play of another freshman, Nik Stasukas.

Stauskas is currently third on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game and he is shooting an amazing 63.6% from 3-point land (21 of 33).

With McGary being a little slow out of the gates, Stauskas has picked up the slack and made Michigan into more of a dangerous team that first projected.

We have to assume that Stauskas will cool off at some point, but we can also expect McGary to improve. The key, either way, is that Michigan has a lot of scoring options this year.

With Robinson III’s 13.9 points per game, Michigan has four players averaging double figures in scoring. Outside of those four players, the Wolverines still have contributors like Jordan Morgan and McGary.

Right now the Wolverines are third in the nation in shooting at 52.1 percent. It would be hard to see them continuing to shoot that well. But, unlike past seasons, it appears Michigan won’t have to rely on shooting well from the outside to win games, which is why it is fair to call Michigan one of the best teams in the country right now.

Big Ten College Basketball Preseason Predictions

It’s hard to believe, but the college basketball season already gets underway this Friday.

I plan on jumping heavily into basketball once the regular season of football is over, but I thought I would give my preseason picks for the Big Ten today before the season actually begins.

Here is how I look for the Big Ten to play out this year.

1. Indiana – The Hoosiers have the experience and the talent. It was a slow rebuild for Tom Crean, but patience seems to be paying off for Indiana.

2. Michigan – Things can go really well for Michigan this year or really poorly. The Wolverines are relying on a lot of new faces, but they are expected to be a talented group of new faces. Hardaway Jr. and Burke will need to stay healthy throughout the season.

3. Michigan State – The Spartans have a lot of talent, but the loss of Draymond Green will hurt in more ways than one. Leadership issues could lead to struggles during the season. If Nix and Payne take a big step forward in their progression, the Spartans could win the conference.

4. Ohio State – The loss of Jared Sullinger and William Buford are big for the Buckeyes. They will have to rely more on their defense this year, led by Aaron Craft. I don’t see them being able to consistently win big games in the conference.

5. Wisconsin – The Badgers return a solid core from last year but lose their playmaker in Jordan Taylor. Not sure where the points will come from for Wisconsin, but they should be strong defensively once again.

6. Minnesota – The Golden Gophers could be the dark horse in the Big Ten as they return their top five scoring leaders from last season. The question is, even with the returning talent, do they have the talent that the other teams in the Big Ten have?

7. Purdue – The Boilermakers were hit hard with losing the likes of Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson and Ryne Smith. Purdue will be a team that is stronger later in the season as it develops new go-to players.

8. Iowa – The Hawkeyes took a step forward last year and I think that will continue some this year as they threaten to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. Iowa’s concern is not having a lot of depth to work with after losing four players from last year’s squad.

9. Northwestern – Some see Northwestern higher, but the loss of John Shurna will be a lot to overcome. The Wildcats still have some talent, but they don’t have a game-changer like Shurna to turn to. Drew Crawford will attempt to take that role, but I’m not sure he can do it with added defensive focus put on him.

10. Illinois – I like the addition of John Groce as the coach, but he doesn’t have a lot to work with this season at Illinois. Look for the Illini to struggle most of the year, but pull off a few upsets late in the season.

11. Penn State – It’s hard to say if it’s good news or bad news, but Penn State lost four players from a 12-20 team last season. I see it as the Nittany Lions having little talent, and now, even less depth.

12. Nebraska – What Nebraska can accomplish in football with a move to the Big Ten, it loses in basketball. The Cornhuskers are a mess of a basketball program. Similar to Penn State, Nebraska lost five players from a 12-18 team. It will be a long year for new coach Tim Miles.