Michigan Sports: Ministers of Defense
Michigan now has both a football and a basketball 'Defensive Coordinator' performing at an elite level. Meet Luke Yaklich and Don Brown, Michigan's Ministers of Defense:
Michigan bball is now up to #9 in defensive efficiency rankings according to KenPom. That is a team that gives Mo Wagner and Duncan Robinson major minutes (Now those guys have done their part, but considering their defensive skills last year makes #9 even more incredible.). We continue to win games with defense; a remarkable development in the Beilein era. Don Brown, well, do we need to insult him by trying to compare him to other mere mortal defensive coordinators? The D and stats speak for themselves. Michigan friends, it is time to celebrate Michigan's new Ministers of Defense!
He adapted, again. He acknowledged a chink in his armor and specifically found a defensive coach in Billy Donlon to help improve the defense. We all know what a control freak he is, but he saw it better for the team to relinquish some of that responsibility. He saw the fruit of that last year. When Billy jumped to a sinking ship close to his family, Coach B found a better defensive coach. That would be one Luke Yaklich; another diamond in the rough (kind of like his 2 and 3 stars recruits who become 1st round draft picks.) He relinquished even more control to Yaklich, and now we are seeing what Michigan basketball can become... the elite program that we all long for! Hats off to Coach B for demonstrating another virtue: humilty. Every day is a good day to celebrate Beilein.
If Greg Mattison was the DC, we'd still have a top 20 defense and would be celebrating the awesome DC we had. But with Brown, we forget that Mattison won a friggen Super Bowl with his defense in Baltimore! Brown is awesome, and I appreciate Mattison, as much as I appreciate Beilein, for stepping back and letting someone else take over.
What a fantastic group of coaches Michigan has...
It is odd seeing our defense play so well defensively. We put Duncan Robinson on the opposing team's best player at times and it actually works out. He may not be the most athletically gifted defensive player, but the coaches have done an amazing job making him extremely effective on the defensive end. They have done a great job with everyone, but Duncan especially stands out to me from his improvement. Credit goes to him as well for putting the work in.