DAY 6

Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, March 4

After doing a deep clean of our Airbnb, it was time to leave Hilton Head Island and make the turn towards home. Before reaching Atlanta, we stopped at a little barbecue joint called Papa Buck’s BBQ. We went to town on some brisket, pulled pork and ribs that all hit the spot and some. After lunch, Ajay, our fearless leader, asked the staff if we could sing to them and to the surprise of all of us, they agreed. We performed Under The Bridge and they were so impressed that we got a discount on our bill (thanks y’all). Many local residents were fascinated by our midwestern accents, which even led to an impromptu interview of Adreesh and David to be aired on NBC Nightly News tomorrow night.

Things quickly got interesting as David’s car got its midterm scores back and decided to stop in the middle of I-75. The ordeal lasted almost 5 hours as the car had to be towed #prayForVibe #PFV. David, Tiger, Nick and Adreesh got substantial bonding time and learned much more about their favorite Disney princesses. Meanwhile, Spencer and I went to a local YMCA and played 2 vs 3 basketball against 3 local kids and lost a close game due to too many missed layups and poor communication on defense. Like basketball? Scroll down.

By the time the car was towed, we were all hungry and craving Chinese food. This was our first Chinese meal this tour (which is whack) and we all enjoyed bowls of noodles and rice dishes. Spencer tried to order the intestine noodles but the waitress talked him out of it, probably for the better.

Our host of the night, the Roy family (not Adreesh’s family but his family friends), had a birthday to celebrate. We brought along a cake and sang happy birthday to Nikita who turned 16 today!

This is the end of today’s blog.

- Brian

Now, let’s talk sports. I’m going to give a quick analysis of the Michigan basketball season so far. First off, Juwan Howard has done an outstanding job with the cards he was dealt this season. Losing Iggy, Charles Matthews and Jordan Poole meant a significant amount of scoring would need to be replaced. Isaiah Livers, when healthy, has been a catalyst for the offense, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates with his excellent shooting, cutting and finishing ability. The role of Zavier Simpson, or “my Tom Brady” as Coach Howard refers to him, has been instrumental in Michigan’s pick and roll success this season. I recommend anybody interested in learning more about Michigan’s Pick and Roll efficiency this season to read this article by Ace on MGoBlog. It details how Simpson and Michigan have succeeded in a P&R heavy offense with patience, secondary movement and opportunistic passing.

After assistant coach and defensive mastermind Luke Yaklich left for Texas last year, the defense has definitely lost some of its luster, but has shown encouraging signs. In particular, after getting absolutely destroyed by Big 10 centers such as Luke Garza, Trevion Williams and Kofi Cockburn at the beginning of the season, Jon Teske and Austin Davis have really improved their post defense and rebounding. This has made it much tougher on opposing offenses who already have to face stout perimeter defenders such as Simpson, Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks. If Michigan can figure out if they want to hedge or drop cover pick and rolls, their defense can be what takes them far into the tournament in March.

Real quick, two shoutouts to some standout guys this year: Austin Davis and Franz Wagner. Davis, a redshirt junior in his fourth year of eligibility, never really cracked the rotation his first three years but has blossomed into an interior scoring threat and reliable post defender who is shooting 69.6% from the field this season. Not only is he converting easy inside looks, but he has been adept at using his body to seal off defenders on reverse layups and baby hooks. I remember playing Davis in summer ball between my sophomore and junior years in high school and seeing how much he’s improved has been awesome and with the recent news that he is coming back for his fifth year, I can’t be more excited to see him ball out with the incoming class next year. Wagner, a true freshman from Berlin and brother of Moe, has grown into a major offensive playmaker and plus defender. While his shooting started off cold, he’s been tearing it up recently, averaging around 20 points his last 5 games. I was always high on Wagner, who has ridiculously long gumby arms that make him an excellent on ball defender and finisher at the rim. With one more year of maturation and strength work, he could very possible become a lottery pick next year. More Wagners plz.

Goodnight.