John Beilein is now 2-16 vs Wisconsin, 6-11 vs MSU, and 7-14 vs Ohio State
All while making $3.37 million dollars a year, which places him only behind Coach K, John Calipari, Sean Miller, Bill Self, and Tom Izzo.
Beilein is a heck of a nice guy who did a lot of good for the program, but for this kind of money I expect so much more. The recruiting, defense, and rebounding are issues that have been around 10 years and are never going to get better as long as he's still here IMO. Michigan hasn't won a true road game since February 2016. West Virginia has been better off since he left. Beilein had a nice two year run with a whole lot of "blah" before and after. Unfortunately, it feels like the program will be stuck in purgatory until a change is made.
February 5th, 2017 at 11:23 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^
This thread probably contains many of the dumb ass posters who wanted Coach Beilein and Coach Harbaugh to be let go by Warde Manuel. Powerful combination of dumb going on here
February 5th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 11:34 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:05 PM ^
Does Trippy McTripperson come with?
February 5th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:09 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:50 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:42 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^
That's fine, but there is a certain segment of people who are acting like Beilein didn't accomplish anything at Michigan and thus he should have been fired already. The guy took the program to arguably the best three year stretch in program history.
February 5th, 2017 at 9:02 PM ^
I think if we keep Beilein we will be a perennial bubble team. Some years on the right side, like last year, and some times on the wrong side. I guess for some people that is enough since we went to a championship game five years ago and an elite 8 four years ago.
If we miss the tournament with the experienced and veteran roster we have then it is time for Beilein to go. Walton, Irvin, and Donnal are in their fourth year with the program. MAAR, Wilson, and Robinson are in their third years with the program. Wagner and Simpson are the only underclassman getting serious minutes and if we had Albrecht we would have a 5th year guy getting Simpson's minutes.
February 6th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^
Definitely not the best 3 year stretch in history but even if it was, why pick 3 years? Oh, because any other number makes you obviously wrong. You're trying too hard.
February 6th, 2017 at 8:34 AM ^
The guy took the program to arguably the best three year stretch in program history.
I think you'd have a hard time arguing that...
Dave Strack
1963-64: Tie for 1st in conference, NCAA Final Four
1964-65: 1st in conference, NCAA Runner Up
1965-66: 1st in conference, NCAA Elite Eight
February 5th, 2017 at 12:01 PM ^
OK, he's performing well versus Ellerbe and Amaker. Got it.
He's not performing well at a $3.37 million per year level. He's not performing well versus the resources and recruiting advantages he has at Michigan.
Miichigan is a program that can ask what do we want to be? Not what do we have to be.
Michigan as a program can do better than not-Ellerbe, not-Amaker. We don't have to settle.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
Michigan can and must have higher standards for its basketball program than what is currently being achieved (or not as the case may be). Michigan should be competing for the Big Ten title every year with the NCAA tournament being a given. Anything less - like finishing in the bottom half of the conference, missing the Tournament, getting an NIT bid, etc. - are failures. The school has invested too much money in facilities, alumni support, and coaching staff salaries to accept the current performance on the court and poor recruiting. It's nothing personal against Beilein. He's a great guy who you would love to have as a brother, father, grandfather, friend, or what have you. But this needs to be a business decision by the AD and possibly regents.
February 5th, 2017 at 5:41 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:14 PM ^
Cool, so he will likely be gone at the end of the season. What more do you want? Do we have to go back and call him a failure who only got lucky for three straight years over and over again?
February 5th, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^
Nobody is interested in calling him names. He's been good for the program and it is appreciated.
I just think he is locked into a system and style of recruiting that is not working out, and it is not going to change. It is who he is.
We are well past the point where we should be constantly worried about making an NCAA tournament that consists of 68 teams.
When you look at this team, do you really think it will be materially better next year or the year after? Is our goal just to make the NCAAs? That's the same aspiration that Northwestern has.
I'm not personally in favor of any kind of mid-season firing. Let him finish out the year and bow out with dignity.
February 6th, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^
think that the program took some hits that drastically changed its fortunes, and that not all of this has been Beilein's doing. I do think we need a coaching change at this point to jump start the program, however. I think he has lost all momentum and that he does not have the energy to really take this thing from the ground up again.
Stauskus and Robinson both leave. McGary suspended. Levert hurt. Walton hurt. Levert hurt again. Spike hurt.
This is not to attempt to minimize his role in things going downhill to this degree, but there have been obstacles that simply were not apparent two years ago. I feel like the entire team is frustrated passed the point of being able to turn it into effective leadership or collective purpose. Short version - It is a shit show. Beliein did not create all of it, he has been the victim of some unfortunate circumstances. The question is - is he the one to clean it up? I don't think he is the guy to take on that job again.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:03 PM ^
I don't think comparing what Beilein has done to the worst era in Michigan basketball history is relevant. Michigan made two bad coaching hires and had a down decade. It happens, even in football. This is like comparing everything Harbaugh does to the Rich Rod and Hoke years, and not the Schembechler, Moeller, and Carr era.
Michigan basketball has never had the true super star coach maybe outside of Fisher, but they've had 5 different coaches take this program to a Final 4, which I think really says something. Before 1990, UM basketball had more national titles and had been to more final 4's than Duke. My point is that this is not a one man or one coach program, but a place multiple people have won big at and can win big at.
God forbid we have high expectation for the basketball team. "Well he's made the tournament 6 out of 10 years that's fine." I mean good lord.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^
Actually Wisconsin has excellent basketball facilities - the Kohl Center was part of a big upgrade in that area. The record against them is terrible, nonetheless.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
Have you been to the Kohl Center? I was just there for the game a few weeks ago. Very mediocre arena. Not horrible, but nothing special at all. Doesn't come close to how beautiful of an arena Crisler is now.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:19 PM ^
The Crisler concourse is quite nice. The arena itself sucks. It's too small which is why we have no real advantage there. There's not even room to put 1,000 students down low when we're good when the Greatful Red has something like 1,500 seats. Same with the Izzone.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^
There is plenty of room to put 1000 students if they wanted to. And size isn't even a big deal anyway. Crisler seats 12,700. Cameron seats 9,300. There are plenty of small arenas in college hoops that are good environments. The amount of people doesn't have an enormous impact on the loudness because you need less noise to fill a smaller space. Has much more to do with whether you're filling up the arena and how excited those people are.
We don't have an advantage because people aren't attending games...and those that are attending are not excited.
EDIT: Btw. Our overall student section was larger than Wisconsin's until this year.
February 5th, 2017 at 3:59 PM ^
February 6th, 2017 at 6:28 PM ^
It's not often that a comment literally makes me laugh out loud, but this one did.
Criser isn't even in the same universe as the Kohl Center. I honestly don't even know how you compare them. Kohl is a modern, NBA caliber facility with mid level luxury suites and a seating capacity of 17,500. It holds 5,000 more fans for basketball than Crisler does. And unlike Crisler, it sells out. I've been to Crisler several times. Let's just say the renovations were necessary. They turned a dingy, depressing arena into something passable, and finally provided the program with a dedicated practice facility that others have had for years. Crisler is still lumped in with Illinois, Purdue and Iowa. It's nowhere near Kohl Center, Breslin or Value City, by far the 3 nicest arenas in the conference. It's not even as nice as Xfinity.
I also have no idea where this student section info came from. Wisconsin allots 2,100 student season tickets. They sell out every year, this year in 3 minutes. Michigan gets like 1,000 students per game.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:12 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
Serious question: How many programs have had a three year stretch where they won two conference titles and went to a tournament final in the last 10 years?
Let's measure him against that.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:29 PM ^
is that ever coming back, or was that a one-time thing based on a few key players that have turned out to be unicorns?
February 5th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^
That's not the argument. If he goes at the end of the year, I'm fine with that.
But let's stop pretending like he didn't do anything that would have merited him getting some benefit of the doubt the last few years.
Now we've got people on the verge of going to bat for Ellerbe and Amaker and pretending like Beilein just made a couple of second rounds of the tournament in ten years or something.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^
I would still like to give him some benefit of the doubt. But he seems locked in a system that has no margin for error.
You hit 40% from the three line or you die.
I would be happy with an updated John Beilein, I just don't know if he can do it.
Plain and simple, at a program like Michigan he has to be able to recruit better. He has to be able to recruit athletes, especially down low.
Why is he recruiting players from Germany when he's next door to Detroit and a few hours from Chicago? Can he not recruit in our own naturally talent-rich area? Is he locked into a system that does not appeal to a lot fo those kids?
February 5th, 2017 at 4:07 PM ^
It seems like people are making an argument against an argument that doesn't exist.
I don't see anyone making the case that if the team finishes up the season the way they are playing now that John Beilein should be coaching next year. Maybe there is someone doing that that I skipped over, I dunno.
I've said multiple times I think Beilein will be gone next year. So why do you keep asking me if I think things are going to get better or rehashing his recruiting style or his over-reliance on his system? I'm not making any case for keeping him or am I making any case for why things have fallen off.
Beilein had a nice run. The team has fallen off and isn't playing well and hasn't for the third year in a row. It's likely time for him to leave (barring a miraculous Big Ten tourney run or something). That's it. Sometimes things are really that simple.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:30 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:34 PM ^
Michigan won the conference in 2013-14. That is recent.
It's perfectly logical he would still be the coach here despite two seasons below expectations going on a third. At the end of the year, if Michigan is playing the way they are playing now, he will likely be gone.
That's it. Its really not all that dramatic.
February 6th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
Serious question: How many programs have had a three year stretch where they won two conference titles and went to a tournament final in the last 10 years?
Of the 14 teams that have made a tournament final in the last 10 years, 10 had a 3 year stretch like that.
Villanova (2016 National Champs, 2013-15 Conference Champs)
Louisville (2013 National Champs, 2012-13 Conference champs)
Kentucky (2012 National Champs, 2009 & 2011 Conference champs)
North Carolina (2009 National Champs, 2006-08 Conference Champs)
Butler (2010 & 2011 NCAA Runner Ups, 2007-10 Conference Champs)
Michigan State (2009 Runner up, 2008-09 Conference Champs)
Kansas (2012 Runner up & 2008 National Champs, 2004-2015 Conference champs)
Memphis (2008 Runner up, 2005-08 Conference champs)
Ohio State (2007 Runner up, 2005-06 Conference champs)
The 4 teams that didn't qualify (in the last 10 years):
Duke: 2 national Championships - but never managed to win more than 1 conference championship in a 3 year period
Wisconsin: NCAA runner up, Final Four, 4x Sweet Sixteen - but never managed to win more than 1 conference championship in a 3 year period
Connecticut: NCAA Championship but otherwise mediocre
Florida: 2 National Championships, Final Four, 3x Elite Eight - but never managed to win more than 1 conference championship in a 3 year period
So most teams that make the National Championship game have similar success - in fact, I'd say Michigan probably has the least success other than Connecticut of any team that has been in a NCAA final inthe last 10 years.