The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2019 "When you win so many games and you've been coaching for so long … you've never been an assistant coach," Merritt said. "You've always been at the helm. The likelihood that you're willing to change who you are — when you've had success at every other place, doing what you do — is very small. "It maybe took him some time to realize, maybe I need to approach this in a different way. When I was doing radio, I sat in a different spot than when I was playing. I got access to things behind the scenes, like practice strategy sessions. "Just to see at that point how willing he was to listen to his assistants, how willing he was to give them a plat- form to offer their opinions, opinions that differed from his, and his willing- ness to take that into consideration … even as a color analyst, I started to appreciate just looking at him and his willingness to change, to listen and to adapt to changing times." Merritt even saw change in the way Beilein related to players. Super Soak- ers in the locker room after tourna- ment wins gave the world a peek at a fun-loving head coach, one who has been through plenty and learned to enjoy the journey. "His maturation process, not only as a coach but as an individual, has been extremely impressive, when you take into account how old he is and how long he's been doing it," Merritt noted. "I imagine that's one of the reasons he's been so successful — his willingness to adapt and change." A LASTING IMPRESSION Beilein's departure stunned some, despite his interest in the Detroit Pis- tons job just a year earlier. It left others in a reflective mood, harkening back to all Michigan accomplished, claw- ing its way back to respectability and beyond. "He's changed the landscape," Mc- Cormick said. "Michigan is a much more attractive job now than it was when he came here. John Beilein left John Beilein took Michigan basketball to the next level after being hired to re- place Tommy Amaker in 2007-08, leading the Wolverines to two Big Ten regular- season championships, two Big Ten Tour- nament titles and two national champi- onship games in his 12-year career. He spoke with The Wolverine one last time after officially being introduced by the Cleveland Cavaliers: The Wolverine: People will remem- ber you for your four championships, a legacy of graduating players and do- ing it the right way. What's your lasting memory of Michigan? John Beilein: "Man, I'll tell you what … in our final home game this past year when we beat Nebraska really badly and having [departing wing] Charles Mat- thews take the microphone, and I saw the pride he had of being truly a Michi- gan guy through thick and thin. … "So it's the littlest events. It's not the win over this team or that team. It's the littlest event that I realized [how good it was]. We were about to go to Mary- land and Michigan State, so we were still in the hunt for a championship. It was a Thursday night game, the place was packed and Charles wasn't even like a four-year senior. But everybody was into it, and I felt like I was connected to our fans. "Each year one of the most gratifying things was singing 'The Victors' in front of the crowd. That's the best thing ever." The Wolverine: How fast did that 12 years go? John Beilein: "We talk about it all the time — where did that go? Four ath- letic directors, four football coaches, two Presidents … it's incredible." The Wolverine: You coached Mike Gan- sey at West Virginia, and many people have said he's like a son to you. He's now the assistant general manager for the Cavaliers. How much did that factor in to your decision to move from Michigan to Cleveland? John Beilein: "I really trusted Mike and [general manager] Koby Altman. It's very difficult when you have somebody come out of nowhere. Just like last year, [former Wolverine] Josh Bartelstein with the Pistons let me know their plan and I trusted that plan, because I genuinely knew him. "This one, Mike and Koby … I knew Mike more, but I got to know Koby since Mike's wedding. I had great trust for their plan and how I could fit into that plan." The Wolverine: You're now almost cen- trally located between all of your chil- dren and grandchildren in Ann Arbor and New York. How important was that in any move? Beilein: "That was a key element in this thing. There were some opportuni- ties before where I said, 'I'm not going to pick [wife] Kathleen up and move her again away from her grandkids and go far away.' That was appealing, but [hous- ing] we've still got to work out. "There's the offseason and the vacation period, and then there's the season. In the offseason, hopefully we are playing in May and June, but then September at times [is clear]. I can come home on weekends, a two-hour-and-20-minute drive. The vacation period we're up to our cottage [in northern Michigan], and that's going to be great, too. "The other kids, they can come in for games fairly easily. We're going to get a big enough place wherever I get to live that we've got some rooms, so it will be Exclusive Q&A: John Beilein Talks After Leaving U-M For The Cleveland Cavaliers In 12 years at Michigan, Beilein led his team to nine NCAA Tournaments and reached five Sweet 16s, two Final Fours and a pair of cham- pionship games. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL