1. On a day when there is strong competition for the title of "biggest cheater in college basketball," it's really nice to know John Beilein does things the right way.
2. Part of being a great coach - or a great anything - is the ability to evolve. Early in his career, JB switched from the 1-3-1 to man defense. Then he installed a pick-and-roll offense. Then he made a concerted move from playing smaller four men (Novak, Glenn) to a lineup featuring bigger fours (Wilson, Livers). Last year, he hired Yaklich and let him overhaul the defense. I assume going forward, we'll continue to see the "twin towers" at the four and five positions. In addition to Johns and Livers, we seem to be recruiting a number of fours and fives (including Lance Ware) in 2020.
3. One consistently great thing about this program is that usually, we peak in Big Ten play and in March. The non-conference has been the time for experimenting, and it has produced a few odd losses, even in otherwise great years (lost to UNC-Charlotte in 2013/14, lost to LSU last year). If it happens again this year for any reason - even more than once - let's all sit back and watch the season unfold. But come March, this team has usually found itself.
4. The hardware is, well, quite impressive. Two Big Ten regular season championships. Two Big Ten tourney titles (back-to-back, no less). Two NCAA title game appearances within five years of each other (something Tom Izzo has never done). Two Final Fours. One Elite Eight. And frankly, we've got some rosters moving forward that will hopefully keep us right there in the mix for deep tourney runs.
5. Finally, has anyone ever had a negative personal thing to say about John Beilein? He has to be the most humble coach I've ever seen. You never see him defensive at a press conference following a bad loss (I'm looking at you, Tom). His peers all have a ton of respect for him, and think he's the cleanest guy in the sport. I mean, he must have angered someone along the way, but I can't remember anyone ever saying a bad word about him.
None of this is to say he's a perfect coach, or that we can't be frustrated with the team from time to time. But if you step back for a second, we're really lucky to have this guy, and those are going to be some huge shoes to fill.
2. Part of being a great coach - or a great anything - is the ability to evolve. Early in his career, JB switched from the 1-3-1 to man defense. Then he installed a pick-and-roll offense. Then he made a concerted move from playing smaller four men (Novak, Glenn) to a lineup featuring bigger fours (Wilson, Livers). Last year, he hired Yaklich and let him overhaul the defense. I assume going forward, we'll continue to see the "twin towers" at the four and five positions. In addition to Johns and Livers, we seem to be recruiting a number of fours and fives (including Lance Ware) in 2020.
3. One consistently great thing about this program is that usually, we peak in Big Ten play and in March. The non-conference has been the time for experimenting, and it has produced a few odd losses, even in otherwise great years (lost to UNC-Charlotte in 2013/14, lost to LSU last year). If it happens again this year for any reason - even more than once - let's all sit back and watch the season unfold. But come March, this team has usually found itself.
4. The hardware is, well, quite impressive. Two Big Ten regular season championships. Two Big Ten tourney titles (back-to-back, no less). Two NCAA title game appearances within five years of each other (something Tom Izzo has never done). Two Final Fours. One Elite Eight. And frankly, we've got some rosters moving forward that will hopefully keep us right there in the mix for deep tourney runs.
5. Finally, has anyone ever had a negative personal thing to say about John Beilein? He has to be the most humble coach I've ever seen. You never see him defensive at a press conference following a bad loss (I'm looking at you, Tom). His peers all have a ton of respect for him, and think he's the cleanest guy in the sport. I mean, he must have angered someone along the way, but I can't remember anyone ever saying a bad word about him.
None of this is to say he's a perfect coach, or that we can't be frustrated with the team from time to time. But if you step back for a second, we're really lucky to have this guy, and those are going to be some huge shoes to fill.
