Nov. 17, 2010
Sophomore guard Josh Bartelstein will give an inside look all season at the 2010-11 version of the Wolverines.
I hope everyone is doing well. It is crazy that we are done with a month of practice already. At times it has felt long, but overall, it really does fly by quicker than you would think. Despite that feeling, we have officially entered what I call Phase II -- no one else but me calls it this but I like it -- of the season which means our schedule becomes a little more set in stone.
For the next 16 weeks, we play at least two games a week. This means two days to prepare for a team then a game followed by two more days and then another game. That last day must be a day off - NCAA-mandated. So while the first month of practice is all about working on Michigan stuff, Phase II is more about preparing for teams we are about to play.
So, are you ready for Phase II?
On Tuesday this week, we had a very special dinner with our new athletic director, Dave Brandon. Before I get into this dinner, I want to tell a little story about Jon Horford almost not attending. You see about a week before the dinner we got an email asking us to attend and to RSVP back. Well everyone knew right away this was a very important dinner and everyone should reply back right away. When I say everyone, this would include Jon as well.
Turns out, Horford thought we would have training table or practice during the dinner so replied saying he couldn't come. His reply back according to multiple sources sounded something like this. "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to attend dinner on Tuesday. I'll either have practice, training table or a home-cooked meal. Thanks a lot for the invite." That is the Jon Horford we all love. Regardless, we got a chuckle out of it. And don't worry, Jon made it.
The dinner we had was great. Mr. Brandon is an amazing person. There are some people who when they speak they just captivate you. He is definitely one of those people. We found out he was really similar to us and that he was a student-athlete at Michigan who played football and also basketball for a year.
We also learned earlier that day he started a Twitter account and within three hours had over 900 followers. (Zack) Novak was shocked and dismayed that he tripled his following in a matter of hours. It was very cool for us to get to know our athletic director. So many times we hear about all he is doing but we don't really get to know him on a personal level.
I can tell you if you have a chance to meet him I strongly recommend it.
The major point he got across with us is that he is going to do everything in his power to make Michigan Basketball the best program in the country. We couldn't have more support from him and he is showing that with our new practice facility and the soon to be renovated Crisler Arena. In return, we must make him proud and represent the University of Michigan to the highest standard. Something we know and will keep doing.
That is it for now. We have a couple of games this week. Hope to see you all there!
Keep sending your questions in at askjbart20@gmail.com. Lastly I'm thinking about doing a running diary for a trip to Atlantic City net week. What do you guys think of that?
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