Bill Martin’s buttocks are puckering. The reporters at the Ann Arbor News are sharpening their pencils. All that separates The University of Michigan from a separation with its head basketball coach is five victories. Heading into a month in which Tommy Amaker traditionally has been unable to either maintain the focus of his team or hide his program’s inadequacies against Big Ten competition, Amaker desperately needs to foresake his familiar swan drive.
No Margin for Error
With Michigan currently treading water with an undeniably soft 16-5 record, Michigan needs to scratch claw and hit a few guys in the nuts to get into the NCAA Tourney. If Michigan fails, AD Bill Martin has no choice but to finally cut Amaker loose. If Amaker eaks out five wins, it’s estasy in Ann Arbor, but for whom? Not Maize and Blue faithful.
Ten games remain before the Big Ten Tournament and Michigan’s schedule isn’t pretty. Coming off the first of what could be a string of successive defeats at the hands of the Badgers on Wednesday, Amaker’s bunch heads into Bloomington on Saturday where U of M hasn’t won in a decade. After that, the Wolverines play Michigan State and Ohio State twice, and then Illinois in Champaign. Two games against Minnesota and one against Iowa are must wins. A loss to IU on Saturday, Michigan is suddenly 16-6 heading into games with Iowa and Ohio State and the whispers will become chants.
For Michigan, a team nurturing considerable talent, leading the Conference in turnovers and possessing cupcake schedule with no wins against a top tier opponent, 20 wins isn’t enough. While Amaker certainly did all he could to garner as many wins as he could by scheduling a weak out of conference schedule, his efforts may not be enough. Not only did the cupcakes ill-prepare Michigan for a tough conference, its loses were ugly as Michigan was humiliated against the three teams of consequence it played (UCLA, NC State and Georgetown). Still, five wins in the next ten games gives them a 9-7 record in Conference and a ticket to the NCAAs. After waiting six years for Amaker to build a program in the mold of his beloved Duke, Wolverine fans are handed a numbers game rather than the great basketball they deserve.
Notwithstanding the outcome of Michigan’s season, like Mike Davis last year the uneasiness surrounding Amaker’s stability as a coach reflects poorly on the program overall and in its efforts to recruit Michigan players in particular. But perhaps most importantly, Michigan simply needs to cut bait and take a pass on accepting mediocrity in its basketball program. There’s a reason Tom Izzo routinely gets the best in-state players and Tommy Amaker doesn’t: one’s a great coach and the other isn’t. So long as they’re both in the State of Michigan, one will consistently compete at the highest level and one will stumble on hoping for some luck.
