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Posted on Thu, Mar 24, 2011 : 5:39 a.m.

Five reasons for optimism for the 2011-12 Michigan basketball season

By Michael Rothstein

The Michigan basketball season ended on a high note, even in a 73-71 loss to top-seeded Duke on Sunday.

The Wolverines fought back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to have a chance to win or send the game to overtime, something no other team had done against the Blue Devils this season.

Michigan coach John Beilein used every scholarship player he had in the first half of one of the two NCAA tournament games the Wolverines played, showing the improvement players made throughout the season.

Those highlights from this weekend can be tied into the following list of five reasons to be optimistic about Michigan next season:

Every player should return While most didn’t want to admit it, this was always a two-year cycle and project for this group of players and coaches. No matter what players and coaches have said this year, the way Michigan played the last month of the season was beyond any expectation for this year. Plus, Michigan will add two talented freshman guards in Trey Burke and Carlton Brundidge. If players improve at the same rate they did throughout this season, Michigan has every reason to be dangerous next year.

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The development of Jon Horford By the end of Michigan’s season, a knee injury sent the freshman to the depths of the Wolverines’ bench. But earlier in the year, before he hurt his knee and hit a freshman wall, he showed signs of being a very efficient player. If his body grows like his brother Al Horford’s did between his freshman and sophomore seasons, he could be the breakout player for the Wolverines in 2011-12.

The Duke loss It might sound weird, but losses like Sunday's against Duke are sometimes better for teams that return a good amount of players. The loss will sting for a while, but there is a definitive target for the Wolverines now — both in trying to reach the Sweet 16 next year and the chance Michigan could see Duke again in the 2011 Maui Invitational.

Two potential first round picks Anyone who questions whether Michigan has talent no longer needs to. The Wolverines have two future NBA first-round picks on their roster in sophomore guard Darius Morris and freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. Both are already recognized as prospects by NBA scouts and with another year of coaching under Beilein could reach the next level.

Improving facilities Beilein and his staff will move out of their temporary trailer homes and into a brand new Player Development Center, likely in October or November. This is the first step of a major facility upgrade for the basketball programs. It’ll be helpful in recruiting, makes scheduling practices easier and will allow players to work out whenever they’d like. All of these are bonuses.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.

Comments

trigg7

Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 3:56 p.m.

WOW, 1 injuries with walk ons playing 2 "Spartan for life' 3 Detroit area is a dump. 4 Takes more then 1or2 good players to hang with the BIG BOYS. 5 wining 80 years ago was a whole different thing compaer to now,but if it makes u feel better so be it. Dirty era?still is its called probation,you know like the Football team.Is hockey next?

tater

Fri, Mar 25, 2011 : 4:21 a.m.

Here are a few more reasons to be optimistic: 1. Unrest at MSU. The Spartans stopped listening to their coach after his Cavalier Indulgence. They may listen again; they may not. Either way, they are now in the rebuilding mode. 2. Izzo could leave. This could make it a lot easier for the turnaround to complete itself, and for Michigan to find itself where it customarily was before the Ed Martin Fiasco: the superior program in Michigan. 3. One elite recruit. All it will take for the floodgates to open is for one very tall elite recruit to choose Michigan. Once elite recruits, such as McDonald's All-Americans, perceive Michigan as a "cool" place to go, Michigan should recruit like they used to in the 80's and early 90's. 4. Horford will get better. You are iffy on this; I am not. Both his father and brother were "late bloomers." HIs father had extenuating circumstances: he didn't start playing basketball in the Dominican Republic until high school. But the entire family takes time to grow into their bodies. 5. Regression to the mean. Even with vacating games from the dirty era and the 12-year Ed Martin Fiasco Hangover, Michigan is still 93-71 against MSU. That is because they are historically better. The Izzo era is a statistical aberration. Those always correct themselves.