It's kind of ironic when one thinks about it. In a 2013 NCAA preseason poll, the Univ of Mich men's basketball team checked in at #8. Through the course of the regular season, the Wolverines would rise, fall, and rise again. And in the end, they wound up just about right back where they started. #8.
Yet few would doubt that Michigan has had a very successful season. They swept arch-rival Michigan State in their two regular season meetings, and cruised to the Big 10 crown. As this is written, UM and MSU will square off for a third time tomorrow to decide the Big 10 conference tournament championship. Will it be a 3-peat or will MSU finally exact some revenge? Only the shadow knows, but it should be a great game.
But just for kicks, let's ponder some what-ifs. Remember, UM made a somewhat surprising run all the way to the NCAA championship game last year, before bowing out to Louisville, which most had thought all year long was the class of the field. At that, it was hardly a blow-out. The Wolverines gave the Cardinals all they could handle for most of the game, only to come up a bit short in the second half and eventually lose 82-76.
Following that, star players Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. declared for the NBA draft and were both snapped up in the first round. Hardaway currently plays for the mediocre at best NY Knicks, while Burke has faded into obscurity toiling away for the woeful Utah Jazz. But it's hard to fault either. After all, they're both multi-millionaires doing what they always dreamed of doing. Playing in the NBA.
But back to the what-ifs. Both Burke and Hardaway could have come back to Michigan to play another year. Given what UM has already accomplished this year without them -- how good might they have been WITH them? Further, current UM big man Mitch McGary, a star player himself, was lost early this season due to back surgery. Throw him in the same mix, and Michigan might well have been unbeatable this year -- right?
Not so fast. It doesn't always work that way. In fact, though it seems illogical, sometimes it can even be counter-productive.
How so? One word. Chemistry. No sport requires more inter-action between its players than big-time basketball. Sure, talent is a necessary commodity, and star players are a great asset, but only if they can mesh well with their teammates. One superstar may take a team a long way, but it's rare such a team will get over the hump to win a championship. Ask Lebron about his Cleveland years. Or Larry Bird while at Indiana State.
In Michigan's current case, if Burke, Hardaway, and McGary were still on the floor -- one thing is certain. They would be a completely different ball club. But all that much better? Maybe. But maybe not as good either. To boot, their absence has allowed other players to step forward and show their stuff.
And who could argue with what UM has achieved thus far this year? Team chemistry can be a funny thing, and raw individual talent doesn't necessarily guarantee long term success. Excuse the cliches, but when a basketball team is a well-oiled machine, hitting on all cylinders, and every player on the floor knows where his teammates are going to be and what they're going to do next before they even do it -- they can go far. Michigan would seem to be a prime example of that. Yes, guard Nik Stauskus has emerged as one of the best pure shooters in the country, but few would consider him to be a superstar. What Michigan has right now is chemistry. And it's working.
There's other examples, even at the NBA level. Most would consider Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers a superstar. Earlier this season, when he was still rehabbing from an injury, the Lakers were somewhat holding their own. But when Kobe came back front and center, their record got worse.
Same with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. He's a superstar in his own right, but while he was out with an injury of his own, the Thunder were rolling everybody. When Westbrook came back, they started to lose games most thought they should easily win.
In both cases, yours truly would submit the teams had established chemistry without them, and putting them back in the mix upset the proverbial apple cart.
Kobe's nearing the end of his career and the Lakers are terrible anyway for lack of talent elsewhere. You gotta have at least SOME.
Yet will the Thunder be better with Westbrook than without in the long run? Of course. Eventually. Once the chemistry gets right again. But it takes time. And in the meanwhile, other cohesive teams will take advantage of any such crack in the armor of an opponent.
Oops, it now IS tomorrow. Gotta get some sleep. Big game to watch today.
Go Blue, or is that Go Green?
Know what? It doesn't much matter who wins this game. It's not like anybody's going to get eliminated. Just another trophy that will quickly be forgotten.
The REAL Big Dance starts next week. Then it matters. Who finished where in the Big 10 will be old, and quite irrelevant news.
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