Michigan's Morris staying in draft

That one surprises me. That's a significant blow to the Wolverines, though they'll still be formidable.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...47/another-surprise-ums-morris-stays-in-draft

Huge blow to Michigan. That's pretty surprising.

Yikes, that is definitely a huge blow to them. You lose a big time matchup issue in having a big point guard like that.

I'm not surprised at all, he's pretty much a late first round guy on most mock drafts. With all the players staying in college, next years draft should be deep and could be more difficult to crack the first round.

Though losing Darius is not good for Michigan, I am not certain about how big a blow it is to them. When Beilein did try to restructure his system to accommodate a couple of studs in 2009-2010, it did not work too well (although there were perhaps more important issues that helped to bring them down in that season).

So, I am concerned about pro-caliber players emerging out of their roster and their effect on Beilein’s system for next season. I am not as positive about it and think Michigan with Darius is pretty overrated into next season.

Maybe, it is just my prejudice against Princeton derivatives as I think they are susceptible to overachieving with less and underachieving with more.

With Morris gone

I'd tweak my off-season B1G projections just a bit, moving Go Blue down a few notches. Still waiting on decisions of Shurna and Sampson. Ralph apparently could go either way, but I'm sure Shurna will come back.

With Morris gone (and awaiting Shurna & Ralph decisions). ...

1. Ohio State (clear-cut favorite with Sullinger, Buford, Craft & Thomas back)
2. Wisconsin (Taylor will battle Sullinger for Big Ten POY & per usual other Badgers will step up)
3. Michigan State (likely addition of Wood from Valpo will bolster depleted G core)
4. Purdue (for now banking on Hummel being healthy)
5. Michigan (this still will be a good team, just not B1G-title good)
6. Minnesota (Gophs most likely middle of the pack, maybe a little higher or lower, with or without Ralph)
7. Indiana (it's time for Pacing/Clapping Maniac to make a big jump; it's possible with down B1G)
8. Illinois (will be talented but young)
9. Iowa (am quietly high on the Hawks; could be last year's Nitts, with a jump to bubble range)
10. Northwestern (several solid players returning, but replacing Juice will be a tall order)
11. Nebraska (don't know a lot about 'em, but Huskers should finish ahead of PSU)
12. Penn State (where have you gone, Talor B. ... and Jeff B?)