It's Like Dogs and Cats Living Together

First off, a belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year to you and yours.  I hope you got everything you were hoping for from Santa Claus, and that you've got your New Year's resolutions all written down and ready to implement for a great 2009.  Moving on...

Down is up.  Up is down.  Michigan Basketball, who has rarely sniffed the ass-end of the polls over the past 10 years finds itself ranked #23/#24 in the AP/USAToday respectively.  Going into Big Ten play, which commences Wednesday at Crisler against Wisconsin, the Wolverines have already notched their 10th victory, matching their total from last year.  Fast and vast has been the improvement from last year.  More important than their record, or their victories over Duke and UCLA, has been their watchability.  They nail threes from every position.  They play defense.  They run plays.  Then they shoot more threes.  They dive for balls.  They press.  They push it up court.  Then they shoot more threes.

Are they moving in the right direction?  Jerod Ward thinks so, so you should too.

Harris and Sims fill the superstar quotient, and could lead the team on their own but don't have to.  Lovable characters are donning the white jersey, like the man with a dagger cloaked in a babyface in Zack Novak, a massively improved Jevohn Shepherd, and the recent addition...perimeter defender specialist and gunslinger LLP.  The supporting cast and the bench are making things look so different than what we are used to, that you'd swear that none of these faces ever graced the freshly lit court at Crisler Arena.  Absolutely, positively, FUN TO WATCH.

Basically the polar opposite of what you experienced from August 30th to November 22nd.

So if you are a fresh-faced youth with no knowledge of Michigan Basketball history, hop on this bandwagon, revel in your ignorance, and rush the court.  If you are an old timer and remember that the teams of the 70's, 80's, and early 90's left a mark in college basketball that far outweighs the crap that Little Brother has been slingin' your way....then welcome.  Welcome to the "Road to Detroit."