Steve wins the award for LAZIEST NCAA game ever called *
I have watched and played a LOT of basketball in my life and I have never, not even once, seen someone mail-in an announcing performance like Steve Lavin did during the Michigan vs. Montana game last night on TBS.
I mean wow.
In the first minute, Zavier Simpson, Michigan’s starting point guard and defensive leader was whistled for TWO fouls, Coach Beilein immediately sat him on the bench.
Given Simpson’s importance to Michigan you would think this would spark a discussion of the quick whistles, about what this could mean to Michigan, or about Coach B’s long-time commitment to sitting anyone with two fouls for the rest of the first half.
Response from Lavin?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Okay, backup point guard Jarron Simpson played virtually the entire first half because of Simpson’s foul issues. You would think Lavin would discuss how his defense held up compared to Simpson, how he was running Beilein’s complex offense, or how his play was affecting Michigan’s style of play.
Response from Lavin?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
There were also the multiple times where Michigan ran a play to create a wide-open three, got the open shot, and missed it where Lavin said the Michigan player should have driven the ball (demonstrating he doesn’t understand the offense at all, the plays were literally designed to open up that shot as one of the options, sometimes people miss shots).
Okay, maybe the problem was just that he didn’t do his homework on Michigan but what about Montana?
I haven’t watched one Montana game all year but I knew one thing going into this game, they have really quick players and have been LOCKING teams down on D all year and especially during the last month of the season. In fact, if asked before the game, I would have said my biggest fear involved Michigan not being able to handle the defensive pressure Montana was going to bring.
So, Montana comes out and plays insane and speedy defense throwing Michigan’s sets all out of whack, insanely jumping and attacking ball screens and causing even Michigan’s best ball handlers into multiple mistakes.
You would think Lavin could comment on the defensive strategy, the skill with which Montana was deploying it, or how Michigan could counter the aggressiveness.
I will give minor Lavin credit here, he made a few tepid comments about using off ball movement (like back-cuts) to exploit the holes created by the aggressive ball pressure, but trust me when I say, he barely mentioned or talked about it all.
Why do we need a color commentator who seems too bored to add his “expert” perspective to an NCAA tournament game? How does this do a service to anyone watching?
And to top it all off, Lavin sounded as if he hadn’t slept in about a week and would rather be doing literally anything other than calling the game.
In the second half, and I can’t make this up, there was a period of over a full minute of television time where he didn’t say ONE WORD. When he finally chimed back in all he had to add were the words “Keystone Cops.”
Embarrassing.
I could give you at least twenty more examples, but I will close with one more about Lavin and one about his broadcasting partner Brad Nessler:
- The first time I heard the “John Beilein has never been an assistant coach” talking point was in 2007 (the year he was hired by Michigan). Since 2007, it has become the Gold Standard of lazy Michigan announcer talking points. So what was Lavin’s closing argument, you guessed it…”John Beilein has never been an assistant coach.”
- It is AMAZING how consistent this is given that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hasn’t played an official game of basketball in decades, but why do all announcers (and I am talking about you Brad Nessler) insist on calling “Muhammad-Ali ABDUR-Rahkman” “Muhammad-Ali ABDUL-Rahkman?”
Some context:
- Rahkman is a senior and has played a significant role for Michigan his entire college career (including last years sweet 16 run).
- Rahkman is one of Michigan’s key players and arguably the most consistent offensive player on the floor period.
- Rahkman wears a jersey which literally says ONLY “Abdur-Rahkman” on the back (and has for his entire Michigan career).
If you are too lazy to look at your sheet, maybe you could at least look at the guys jersey?
Okay, rant over, but CBS/TBS/TNT/TRU need to seriously consider hiring a color commentator and team (including whoever generates the talking points) who cares enough to actually scout the teams that they are covering.
Josh is a blogger, podcaster, and freelance writer who writes about television, movies, music, politics, race, ethics, and whatever else seems interesting at the time.
