The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/970722
24 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2018 BY JOHN BORTON J ohn Beilein is a winner. No, not the despite-his-record kind of winner, a feel-good story about a man-molder and paragon of integrity, although he's all of the latter. He's a winner because he wins in every way imaginable, at the highest level of college basketball. At 65, he's one triumph away from 800 victories as a college head coach. The fact that he didn't ring up that win on the biggest stage of all — in the 2018 national championship game against Villanova — does not crush him. It doesn't even double him over, in the deepest sense of near-miss agony. Twice in the past six years, he and the Wolverines have been to the mountaintop. Twice they couldn't plant the flag as national champions. Twice they've walked away with their heads held high, following the leader. "Oh man — don't worry about me," Beilein said following Michi- gan's loss to Villanova in the national championship game. "I would love to win a national championship for those guys and for the University of Michigan, all those great students and all our alumni. But for me, this is why I coach: To be in that locker room right now with these kids and to have this opportunity to tell them, 'This is life.' "This is a great part of life. You have these highlights, and then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, your season is over and there's sadness. But in the long run, there's a lot of joy in what we just went through." There's a lot of joy in what Mich- igan basketball fans have been through, ever since Beilein strode into Crisler Arena for the 2007-08 season. Before he showed up, the Wolverines hadn't experienced an NCAA Tour- nament in a decade. Since Beilein's arrival, Michigan fans no longer view March Madness as a rueful TV opportunity. Eight times in 11 years, they've been danc- ing. The past six seasons proved partic- ularly telling. The Wolverines missed the tournament in 2014-15, largely because NBA first-rounder Caris Le- Vert broke his foot, exacerbating an already injury-pocked campaign. That year aside, the past half-dozen produced a pair of championship showdowns, two Final Fours, three Elite Eight appearances and four Sweet 16 efforts. The Wolverines have won 16 NCAA Tournament games over the past six years, tied with North Carolina for the best effort in the nation during that span. Duke, Kentucky and Villanova have each won 15 times over the same stretch. For those keeping score, Michigan State and its erstwhile king of March, Tom Izzo, earned 11 tour- nament wins in that period, failing to make the Sweet 16 the past three years. Beilein doesn't play the angry ri- valry game. After Michigan's open- ing-round victory over Montana, he asked about the other Big Ten teams in the tournament, openly hopeful that they'd won. Others aren't quite as magnani- mous. They point out since Beilein got it rolling in 2012-13, the Wolver- ines are 9-7 over an MSU coach and program that had owned Michigan for far too long — and reveled in it. Toss in a pair of regular-season Big Ten championships, along with stirring runs to the Big Ten Tourna- ment title the past two seasons, and Beilein's Michigan résumé requires no artificial polishing. Of course, there's far more to a genuinely great coach than wins and losses. But as honest as Bo Schem- bechler was, his integrity wouldn't have gained the luster it did without making "The Victors" ring true so often. Beilein covers all the bases. "We all look up to him," assistant coach DeAndre Haynes said. "I tell him every day, 'Thank you, Coach. Thank you for being who you are, for being the man that you are, a man of integrity, a family man.' "If I ever get an opportunity, no matter if it's an assistant or head coach, I'm going to take a lot of things he does for this program with me." ADAPTABILITY PAYS Beilein never served as an assistant coach, dating all the way back to his efforts guiding the jayvees at New- fane (N.Y.) High School in 1975. That sort of control could engender a cer- tain rigidity of belief, an entrenched mindset not given too much tactical evolution. Not so with Michigan's boss. His recognition of the Wolverines' need to get better on defense served as a major mover in U-M's fortunes the past two seasons. When assistants Bacari Alexander and LaVall Jordan left to take head coaching jobs after the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Beilein looked to hire someone specifically designated to focus on Michigan's defense. "We'll work together to decide the schemes," Beilein assured. "It's not, 'Hey, you've got the D, I don't want to hear about it.' Forty years of coach- ing tells you a lot of things. But I want the voice. Master At Work John Beilein Draws A Well-Earned Spotlight In 11 years in Ann Arbor, Beilein has gone 248-143 (.634 winning percentage) with eight NCAA Tournament bids, two champi- onship game appearances and four Sweet 16s. Before he showed up, the Wolverines hadn't experienced an NCAA Tournament in a decade. PHOTO BY SAMUEL MOUSIGIAN Beilein following his team's 79-62 loss to Villanova "I would love to win a national championship for those guys and for the University of Michigan, all those great students and all our alumni. But for me, this is why I coach: To be in that locker room right now with these kids and to have this opportunity to tell them, 'This is life.'"