John Beilein Appreciation Thread
Big win. Credit players and Beilein.
One of their best wins of the year considering what this team has been through in the last day.
Credit Beilein, palyers and the staff.
Great memory. My celebration may have been more demonstrative than his.
Top 3 sports moment I've witnessed in person. My mom sat in her seat and cried and my brother fell over the seats into the next row when Trey Burke hit the tying 3. Even the Kansas fans around us couldn't help but admit it was an amazing game!
I jumped up and down so much after Burke's 3 to tie it, that I dropped my keys down to the row in front of me. After the game, I had to sheepishly ask the gentleman in front of me to retrieve them.
I just remember walking to the bathroom after the game and all of the stunned Kansas fans walking around like they were zombies.
I will never forget Beilein's celebrations/looks on his face during the Tournament that year. He looked to be having just as much fun as the kids playing. Man that was such a fun season.
I've had my doubts but I'm glad he's our coach.
Sorry, I'm 2 months late with this post.
Great job to the winningest coach in UofM MBB history!
Count me in. There are things about him that irritate, but he took us out of the wilderness, and runs a clean program that wins (mostly) and helps his players (nearly always).
Anyone still doubt the toughness and determination of this team?
after they actually became tough and determined about 14 games ago.
He seems to have shown great leadership in the plane situation as well. What a last 24 hours for him and the guys.
In his post-game interview, he looked to be getting a little emotional. Can't blame him a bit. I've seldom been more proud of a Michigan team than this team today after what they overcame. Go Blue!
A fantastic job. Team has the potential to make some serious noise in the tournament and next year we should be a top 10 team if nobody leaves early.
I think youre forgetting we lose a key part of our team next year in Walton
need DJ and Wagner to continue improving, need Mathews to be an upgrade over Irvin (harder than it seems), need MAAR to just keep doing what he's doing, and need X to not be a huge downgrade. I don't see top 10, but certainly should be top 25 (as we were/should have been this year with a bit better luck).
#leadership
where we rage because Warde is too gutless to fire Beilein?
I was late this morning and missed the free coffee and donuts at Ann Arbor Torch & Ptickfork...
I'm surprised you didn't see Warde there, since he's a "fat, spineless pussy" or whatever was the official term this morning.
I also apparently cannot spell. Self neg.
He's a hell of a coach. We dont know how good we have it. He's been winning without 5-star caliber recruits all these years. If he can ever get to recruiting at an elite level this is a coach that can win us an NCAA championship.
I'm happy he won. I'm also happy that (most) of the people who wanted him canned halfway through the year and questioned his ability, his mindset, his personality, and his temperment, have seen that, perhaps, he's good at his job.
I love that man...I know the recruiting isn't the greatest and there have been struggles, but he's my all-time favorite coach. Just the what he represents, how he runs his program, how it's always about his team.
He's such a great ambassador for the University. That postgame interview was special.
In the Fire Beilein threads earlier this year I mentioned that if he did step down after the season (because those calling for his job midseason were idiots)...I hoped he found a job in the athletics department. Something similar to Greg Harden for the football team.
He bleeds blue, he's such an amazing mentor...all student-athletes should have some time to learn from and build with him when that day does come and he's no longer the coach.
I honestly see him as "MICHIGAN" like I see Bo, Hutch, Red, Fritz, Fielding, etc. - I'm not saying his career is as good, I'm just saying he embodies everything "MICHIGAN" embodies.
Proud he's our coach. GO BLUE! Thank you Coach B!
may very well be Beilein's best coaching job. The improvement this team has shown is nothing short of startling.
In terms of player development, Walton has blossomed into a star, Wagner's become an NBA-caliber talent, and his patience in sticking with Irvin has really paid dividends.
This is one scary-good team right now - perfectly poised for a fun NCAAT!
Congratulations and thank you coach Beilein.
Go Blue!
but here's why I hold mine.
OSU, Indiana and MSU all have more highly ranked guys, and look how they did this year. OSU and Indiana both got worse as the season wore on, and MSU hasn't played nearly to their potential.
It's kind of funny that your disappointment is based on performance vs. recruiting rankings - most people here bash Beilein for his failure to bring in top recruits.
Both Walton and Irvin have had their struggles, but both had multiple injury issues too. And again, that's why I believe this year may be Beilein's best coaching job; finally extracting the full potential from both those guys.
Irvin completely lost confidence in his shot after his back injury, and it appeared to negatively impact every part of his game. Despite that, JB stayed the course, and now he's playing up to his full potential. IMO, that's all you can ask. Another coach might have benched him.
As for Walton, some guys take time for the light to turn on. Walton's injuries, coupled with some flaws in his game (sub-optimal handle, average court vision and inconsistent shot) held him back. However, this year he's finally fully healthy, and has markedly improved in every area.
Most importantly, both those guys have showed tremendous senior leadership.
Outside those two, remember last year, when Wagner and Wilson were barely mediocre and awful, respectively? Their improvement this year is enormous. MAAR has continued to steadily improve, and is now a pretty reliable two-way player.
People beat Beilein up over his auto-bench and continued use of Donnal, but IMO this team has a short bench, and it's essential the starters are available and rested at the end of games - especially Wagner. I also like that Beilein realized that Robinson's best value to the team is as instant offense off the bench.
Finally, first-half Michigan was one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball. Now they are - dare I say it - pretty damn good.
College basketball seasons are long, and the best coaches finished products are much better than their early-season editions.
Sorry for lengthy reply. I'm just very, very impressed by the coaching this year.
C'mon man, it's not about who the opponent was, it's about how we won and Beilein's leadership over the past 24 hours. Also, he is now the winningest coach in Michigan basketball history.
Coach embodies class. All about the team. Elevates others. Does things the right way. Winner in every sense of the word. Was at the game today. The loud dude in the White M sweatshirt. Go Blue!
His leadership yesterday is really the big story here!
Gotta say, Beilein getting choked up in the interview after the game made me all I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING.
And regarding what he said about how connected his players are, how much they love each other, it's so incredibly apparent watching them on the court. I can't get enough of Zak and Derrick's comaraderie and love.
Beilein's recruiting is definitely a little home-grown and he strikes out way more than any of us would like, but it has never been hard to cheer for the kids he puts in a Michigan uniform.
35 years of cheering for Michigan basketball and the Beilein years have been, maybe, my proudest. (Don't tell my 9 year-old self. That kid's a Fab 5 diehard.)
I'm so happy he's our coach. He's earned the right to go out on his own terms, whenever that may be, regardless of any particular season's quality or lack thereof. The winningest coach in Michigan history should get at least that.
Beilein über alles.
I've always respected the hell out of Beilein. His offense is beautiful, he develops players, he doesn't cheat, he's well spoken, and he's not afraid to admit when he needs to make a change - which he's now done twice in his career. I started going to Michigan games right after Jalen/Juwan left and have been a die-hard fan ever since - slogging through the Fisher/Ellerbe/Amaker eras. Beilein is not perfect and has limitations, but I respect the heck out of him.
I think of him a little like Lloyd Carr. He's never going to be the best coach or most talked about coach in the sport - but he's going to keep you competitive and you're going to respect him while he's doing it. Carr's weakness was being too old-school conservative. Beilein's is his recruiting.
It still amazes me that high school kids aren't flocking to play in Beilein's system. He essentially is doing what the Warriors started doing a couple years ago. He's sent eight kids to the NBA in his 10 years at Michigan (counting Manny, McGary, and Morris there but not Udoh). Instead you get all of these recruits bashing him for playing "white boy basketball". Doesn't make sense....but then again I'm not an 18-year old hoops star.
Where are you at, Maizen?