Requiem: The Detroit Duo

DeShawn Sims

Small Forward/Power Forward, 6'7, 222
Detroit, Michigan; Pershing High School
Rivals: 4 stars, #6 PF, #31 overall
Scout: 4 stars, #9 SF, #44 overall
Committed to Michigan - August 12, 2005

Corperryale "Manny" Harris

Shooting Guard, 6'4, 170
Detroit, Michigan; Redford High School
Rivals: 4 stars, #6 SG, #34 overall
Scout: 4 stars, #12 SG, #57 overall
Committed to Michigan - July 10, 2006

It was clear after the 2008/2009 season that, eventually, an ode to Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims would be necessary. Just like Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Mario Manningham in football, the Detroit Duo left a mark on the program that is worth remembering, recollecting, and recapping.

Unfortunately, as per the usual in our wretched M existences now, what appeared to be headed for a storybook ending ended like that stupid Nicolas Cage movie. Which one? I don't know, there are a lot of them like that. But what looked like a story of redemption in the wake of backdoor cuts against UCLA and drives through the lane for dunks against Duke ended with putrid, ghastly, abortions in 2009/2010, and the image of Evan Turner strutting off the court in Indianapolis as Thad Matta screamed and flailed like a chipmunk on uppers.

Neither Manny Harris nor DeShawn Sims signed on for what they got. Both committed to play for Tommy Amaker, and ended up with John Beilein. But unlike those with prophets for parents and those who didn't "fit", Manny and DeShawn stuck around and took us for a two-year roller coaster ride. Erratic at times, dominant at others, they were the closest Michigan's had to "elite" basketball players in some time. And for flashes over the past two seasons, they showed things that Daniel Horton and Dion Harris and Courtney Sims never could - the ability to excel under pressure. My lasting image of Harris and Sims is one of a complete breakdown in basketball fundamentals at the end of the 2007 regular season against the Greg Oden/Mike Conley Buckeyes - a game Michigan had no business being in, but was in nonetheless, until they displayed all the characteristics that made the Amaker era infuriating. Missed free throws, blown dunks and layups, and a 10-0 run in the final minutes by Ohio State to beat Michigan 65-61.

It would've been easy for DeShawn and/or Manny to hit the road once John Beilein arrived. As Michigan fans, we've gotten used to hearing the whole "Oh, he doesn't fit the system" thing in both basketball and football. But I think it's a testament to both Beilein and Sims and Harris that they both stuck around and did their best to make it work. In the end, Beilein's a basketball coach, and Sims and Harris are good basketball players. It's not cut and dry like football. But I don't want this to be one of those posts. I probably made a mistake by mentioning football anyway. This isn't what this is for. This is for fondly remembering #3 and #34.

DeShawn, the mild-mannered, always-humble one who never seemed to fit into either the small forward or power forward position. Sometimes he was unstoppable, especially when his jump shot was falling. Often times, he was our only real threat on offense, and most times that was a burden that was too much to bear. When asked to set up shop in the paint, he was hit or miss. He was never a dominant finisher at the rim, often missing simple layins, rarely finishing with an emphatic dunk. We remember his dominance in the 2009 Big Ten Tournament against Iowa, which finally sent Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament. We remember this year's MSU game, where he was inches away from being a hero, despite being so obviously fouled. What's the lasting image of DeShawn Sims in a Michigan uniform?

Here's mine:


One of basketball's most fundamental plays, the backdoor cut, capitalized by a slam dunk and a player wearing a Michigan uniform running upcourt clapping his hands above his head in the world's most famous venue for basketball. That's DeShawn Sims. When I think of DeShawn, I think of the backdoor cut against UCLA that returned Michigan to some sort of relevance.

And then...Manny. I'm probably not the only one who gets a Mario Manningham vibe when thinking about Manny Harris's three years at UofM. Supremely talented, memorable moments...and yet a feeling that if his head had been on a little straighter, things could've been so much better. We all know the flaws in Manny's game - his jumpshot is sort of messy, he can be careless with the ball, he's too small to play small forward in the NBA, etc. We saw Manny's potential during his freshman year, which was for the most part a black hole of death. He showed flashes of what he was capable of, as Michigan lost 20 games. His sophomore year, he led us through the promised land, finishing off Duke at Crisler when he knifed through the lane and flushed the ball through the rim. We remember how he delivered Michigan's first NCAA Tournament win in over a decade with his and-one against Clemson. But for all the highs, it's hard to overlook the controversies. Being benched for overtime against Iowa his sophomore year. Being suspended this past year for the Purdue game. And now he leaves. It's pretty much unanimous that his NBA prospects aren't good, and the fact that he's hiring an agent (and closing the door on any possible return) makes it pretty clear that he butted heads with Beilein on multiple occasions. I was happy to see that Beilein was there with him at the press conference today. I hope it wasn't just for show, because if there's one thing Michigan basketball needs (aside from on the court stuff), it's former players embracing the program. We need Manny Harris to mean what he said today, about how his relationship with Coach Beilein is good and he will always support Michigan. This isn't just about Trey Zeigler, but it starts with him and expands. To land great recruits like that, Michigan basketball needs stars like Manny Harris to say, "Michigan is a great place."

I'm so tired of this, really. I truly am. I'm sick of writing these types of posts, bidding farewell to those who gave so much and got so little in return. Jesus, just wait until the Brandon Graham requiem post. Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims took a chance on Michigan. They could've picked pretty much any basketball program in America, and they took a chance on Tommy Amaker, and an even bigger one on John Beilein. They'll tell you they don't regret anything they've done. They had productive careers, led Michigan to a place it was 11 years removed from, and will get their shot at proving themselves at the next level. But as we face the specter of a 2010/2011 Michigan team, sans Manny, sans DeShawn...it's not a pretty picture.

I'm tired of scenes like this...


...where even our best isn't good enough anymore.

I long for the day where I can say farewell to a Michigan player and thank him for the beatings he put on those we detest the most, instead of only thanking him for the hard work he put in and awkwardly apologizing for how it didn't work out the way it should have or could have.

Goodbye, Manny and DeShawn. Thank you for taking a chance on Michigan. If the day should come where Michigan is great again, I hope to see the two of you back at Crisler to celebrate.

The Team Nobody Wants Any Part Of

3/24/10: Red Wings 4, Blues 2; 8th place, Western Conference

I haven't spoken about the Wings in a long time. Not here, anyway. Not since That Fateful Night in June. I've followed them throughout the season, sure, watched them quite a bit on TV (not so much at the start...just couldn't bear seeing them, really). My interest in hockey took a groin shot on TFNiJ, and I started recovering from it a couple weeks before the Olympics in Vancouver, as the Red Wings continued to flounder and look nothing like the Wings we're used to seeing.

Once the Olympics hit, the hockey fan at heart that I am broke out of his proverbial shell, and that's that. I cheered like a rabid, stark-raving lunatic for the USA in Vancouver. I think my head nearly hit the ceiling when Parise scored the tying goal in the final seconds against Canada, I jumped so high. When Crosby won it in OT for the hosers, I cussed and screamed and was almost as devastated as I was after TFNiJ. After the anger faded away though, there was one thought prevailing in my mind: Hot damn I can't wait for the Red Wings to come back.

As it turns out, that was a double entendre. They obviously came back from the Olympic break, but they also came back in another way. They came back from the injury-plagued, offensively-crippled malaise that had dragged them down the standings for the first five months of the season. Now, the Wings are healthy and rolling, and each night, San Jose, Chicago, Vancouver and Phoenix nervously look at the standings. It's a game of musical chairs, so to speak, between the Sharks, Blackhawks, Canucks and Coyotes. When the music stops, one of those teams is probably going to have the misfortune of facing the Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. Whether it's the 1-8 matchup, or the 2-7 or 3-6, somebody's going to get more than they bargained for. It's not often the two-time defending conference champions end up at the bottom of the playoff bracket, but that's what's going to happen. And the Red Wings match up well with everybody - 3-1 against Vancouver, 3-1 against San Jose, 2-3 against Chicago (with one of those losses being a shootout loss), 2-2 against Phoenix (with both losses being after regulation). Do you think the Sharks want any part of Detroit? They have the weight of the world resting squarely on their shoulders as they try to shake the moniker of postseason chokers; you think they're interested in facing a team that has been to three straight final fours? And the Coyotes, the playoff virgins? Please.

At times, this is a tough Detroit team to figure out. The defense is considerably better this year - 19th in goals allowed a year ago, 10th this year, 25th in penalty killing last year, 9th this year. The goals allowed thing is an interesting dynamic - a year ago the Wings had three legit scoring lines, and I'm sure that, among other things, contributed to a slacking on the defensive end. Those "other things" I mentioned being a considerable Stanley Cup hangover last year (especially from Chris Osgood), while this year Jimmy Howard has only gotten stronger as the season progressed. And predictably, the offense sagged this year, for two obvious reasons: the losses of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson, and the epidemic of injuries that sidelined Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Franzen, Kronwall, Filppula, etc...

Interesting note about the offseason defections: the decision by the Red Wings to let Samuelsson walk was in every sense the right one. One, because they had the choice of trying to re-sign him or re-sign Hudler - they picked Hudler, which was the right call, except then Hudler bolted for Russia (which was the right move on his part...it's not like he took less money to sign with a team that just beat the Red Wings in the playoffs). But as George Malik at MLive pointed out on March 14th, the Wings took the money they would've given Samuelsson (or Hudler), and turned it into Todd Bertuzzi, Drew Miller, and Patrick Eaves. Bertuzzi has been one of the few healthy bodies for Detroit this year, and is currently catching fire on the second line with Zetterberg and Filppula. Eaves and Miller have brought a youthful energy and scrapiness that every championship team has. When you look at the sum of all the parts, the Wings aren't as "sexy" as they were last year with their three monster lines (Datsyuk/Hossa/Holmstrom, Zetterberg/Franzen/Cleary and Filppula/Hudler/Samuelsson). But they absolutely resemble the Cup-winning team of two years ago, with the appropriate level of starpower and supporting cast. The only noticeable difference is, obviously, in net. And while I've become a huge Jimmy Howard fan as the season went on, I do believe that will probably be the Wings' undoing this year. When Hasek melted down in the first round against Nashville, the Wings had a championship-winning vet in Ozzie to turn to, and they caught lightning in a bottle. This time around, it is absolutely Howard's show, and I tend to doubt that a rookie goaltender playing in his first postseason will have the poise and calm that Osgood had two years ago. That's not to say he should be thrown under the bus should the Wings fall short; not at all. The experience Howard gains in the postseason this year (should Detroit make it) will be absolutely invaluable. Datsyuk and Zetterberg had to go through growing pains against Calgary in 2004 and Edmonton in 2006 before they blossomed into true postseason performers, nearly saving the season all by themselves in Game 6 in Anaheim in 2007, which set the stage for the past two seasons. Just as they learned from their mistakes and learned what it took to win the playoffs, Howard will to. But more often than not, such lessons must be learned through defeat. So considering everything the Wings have been through this season, I'd consider another trip to the conference finals a pretty damn good ending.

Oh, and one name that deserves special mention, because I've disliked him for so long but must finally recant: Andreas freaking Lilja. The lasting memory of Lilja to pretty much every Wings fan is the mind-numbing giveaway to Teemu Selanne in overtime in Game 5 of the 2007 West Finals, which put the Wings down 3-2 and cut their legs out from under them. That's pretty much a habit of Lilja, actually. At any given moment, he may give the puck away inexplicably. He has almost zero offensive talent (six goals in 290 regular season games), he's slow and lumbering, and is generally unimpressive as a hockey player. And yet the numbers don't lie - since Lilja made his season debut on March 1st, the Red Wings have killed 29 of 31 penalties they've incurred. That's 93.5%, after months of toiling away in the lower half of the league. 93.5% after a postseason last year that saw the Wings, minus the concussed Lilja, give up a power play goal in 18 straight games. His absence was brought up as a factor in the incompetence last spring, and I largely dismissed it. I am now a believer. Andreas Lilja has a place on this team - and it's parked right in front of his goalie, steering traffic clear and doing things like what he did last night, throwing himself in front of Andy McDonald and preventing a slam dunk power play goal for St. Louis with the net wide open. Last season in the playoffs, such a rebound would've been slammed home by Corey Perry or Evgeni Malkin. This year, Lilja brings the physical presence and rugged determination required to kill penalties. I will no longer underestimate him.

Do I have a real point to make here? I guess not. This isn't as poignant or as stabbing a post as my recent stuff as been - I'm just on a hockey buzz, and wanted to ramble on about the Wings for a bit. Well, I guess I do have a point: Despite TFNiJ, losing essentially a entire line of production in the offseason, having the roster gutted by injuries this year and playing a rookie goaltender, the Red Wings are still badass, Kenny Holland is still a wizard, Mike Babcock is still a drunken genius, and no matter how this season ends, the Wings' demise has been greatly exaggerated, and they will be back near the top next year regardless.

Oh, here, this is something good to close on.

So Far Away

Michigan State 64, Michigan 48; 14-16 (7-11)

	Dire Straits - So Far Away
	Found at skreemr.com

Generally, I err on the side of restraint when it comes to criticizing coaches. Mainly because there is a reason they're on the sidelines coaching and I'm on the sofa watching at home - despite my issues with them at times, they still know a lot more than I do when it comes to coaching a team, no matter the sport.

In this, however...what else is there to say other than John Beilein has had three years, and while reaching the Tournament in year two was of course excellent, the epic disappointment of this year washed away almost all goodwill last year bought? And I don't want to hear about any "parallels" to the football program, either. One, because Rodriguez has had two years compared to Beilein's three (and I'll be having similar sentiments about Rodriguez if he flames out in year three as well), and two, it's actually much easier running a basketball program than it is football. You could say that's just an opinion; I say it's just numbers. 13 scholarships in basketball compared to 85 in football - the variance is much lower, and recruiting is so much bigger in terms of impact. You can take a kid right out of high school, stick him on a basketball court, and he can be a star - see Calipari with Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall. The same does not hold true for football; it's a much, much more complex game. Physical and mental maturity are required, and even if you're the biggest of the big dogs in football recruiting, you are not guaranteed to step onto a college football field and be big shit from day one - see Terrelle Pryor and Jimmy Clausen.

I can envision a scenario where Michigan's defense is improved on the football field in 2010 even with Brandon Graham and Donovan Warren gone. With Greg Robinson taking over the linebackers and safeties, it's not outside the realm of possibility those positions stabilize to an extent, which would allow Michigan to field at least a serviceable defense. In basketball, on the other hand...can you create a scenario where Michigan's basketball team is improved in 2010-2011 without DeShawn Sims and (possibly) Manny Harris? I guess it's possible Blake McLimans and Jordan Morgan are 100% and able to step in and finally provide some size, but where's the scoring going to come from if Manny is gone? Even if Beilein reels in super-recruit Trey Zeigler (and honestly, do you think that's on the sunny side of happening now?), would he be able to step in and star from day one? Possible, but not probable.

It boils down to this: Beilein has failed at two of the fundamental cornerstones of the game of basketball: size and shooting. One of these is not entirely on him. He's had abysmal luck when it comes to the big men - Izzo took away Draymond Green, the NCAA took away Robin Benzing, Ekpe Udoh bolted, Ben Cronin's career is probably over before it began, and Jordan Morgan is injured too. That's five separate players who could've been pounding the glass and working the paint next to DeShawn Sims instead of 6'5, 210-pound Zack Novak, who, bless his heart, is not someone who should be asked to play power forward. Combine those losses with recruiting close-but-no-cigars in 6'8 and top 50 forward Nate Lubick (Georgetown) and 6'10 and top 50ish forward Mason Plumlee (Duke), and you get what we currently have: a woefully undersized Michigan team that gets shredded on the boards and down low with regularity, especially in the Big Ten.

As for the shooting, well, the numbers are right there to look at. One of Beilein's trademarks is 3-point shooting. Michigan's 3-point shooting over the past two seasons:

• Manny Harris, 08-09: 32.7%; 09-10: 30.1%
• DeShawn Sims, 08-09: 31.7%; 09-10: 29.0%
• Zack Novak, 08-09: 34.4%; 09-10: 31.6%
• Stu Douglass, 08-09: 33.5%; 09-10: 31.3%
• Laval Lucas-Perry, 08-09: 34.4%; 09-10: 30.2%
• Anthony Wright, 08-09: 33.3%; 09-10: 23.5%

All six players have shot worse from three this year than they did last year. And four of them (Sims, Novak, Douglass, and LLP) have attempted more threes this year than last (and the only reason Wright didn't is because he finally got benched for being an offensive black hole).

It's as simple as that: The players Beilein brought in to shoot can't shoot. And when your offense relies on jump shooting...you get a 14-16 record, and the looming possibility of your two best players (whom you inherited and did not recruit yourself) being gone next year. Douglass and Novak are glue players. They're the type that have a spot coming off the bench at major D-1 programs. They're the type a team like Butler or Western Kentucky has and captures the nation's attention with for a couple hours in March. But because of some bad luck, Michigan has had to rely on them far more than they're apparently capable of. Just as Novak is not a power forward, Douglass is not a point guard, let alone a starting one.

So where do we go from here? Just cross our fingers and hope Beilein lands Zeigler, and lands one of Amir Williams or Marshall Plumlee? I'm pleased with some of the pieces he's brought in - I like Vogrich, I think Morris has progressed pretty nicely as the season wound down, I really like Hardaway and Smortycz coming in next year, and Carlton Brundidge in 2011 is a great combo guard, and Michigan liked him better than MSU-bound Brandan Kearney. But is this really a situation conducive to success? Basketball recruiting is an entirely different beast from football recruiting. The list of "three-star sleepers" that have been developed into monsters in football is pretty extensive, because there are so many more aspects to football than basketball, so many different skills, etc. But in basketball, for the most part, things are chalk city when it comes to the rankings. Obviously there are always exceptions, but Michigan's two best players - Harris and Sims - were both high four-star recruits bordering on the edge of five-star status, while players like Douglass and Novak and Jordan Morgan and Blake McLimans were middling three-star recruits whose offer sheets were composed almost exclusively of Michigan and a bunch of mid-majors. Does this condemn them to a career of mediocrity? Of course not. But Douglass and Novak certainly looked overmatched in the Big Ten this year. Was it because Beilein was trying to force them into positions they weren't comfortable in, or because they simply aren't the type of talents that can excel against Big Ten powers? You decide.

Beilein, as a person, should be exactly what every Michigan fan (and every fan everywhere, really) wants as their coach. He's a great man who refuses to bend his morals even a little bit. He refuses to delve into the filthy world of AAU coaches getting handouts, family members getting jobs, and all the other gray areas that accompany the majority of basketball recruiting. This leaves a huge chunk of recruits each year off limits to Michigan - and considering UM's past, it has to be that way, anyway. So in that regard, Beilein has no peer. But as a gameday coach, a teacher, and from an Xs and Os standpoint - color me thoroughly underwhelmed. Dave Brandon officially starts his duties as Michigan athletic director today. It's highly unlikely (and would probably be too hasty) that he decides to suddenly fire Beilein. But if you can't draw conclusions about a coach after three years, you absolutely can after four, and I ask again - do you see any scenario where Michigan is substantially improved next season?