Imagine a headline like that in the 1980s, 90s or 2000-07. It’s crazy to think about.
But here we are in 2018, 14 years removed from Michigan’s last Big Ten Championship in football. The Wolverines haven’t been to the conference title game since its inception (2011 or something. We haven’t tracked it since U-M has only been a serious contender a few times).
Meanwhile, Michigan basketball coach John Beilein has become as “Michigan Man” as it gets. He’s the Bo Schembechler of his time, albeit in a few different ways.
For one, he didn’t inherit a loaded roster. He had to rebuild, and while the football culture was a bit lax under Bump Elliott, there was more tweaking than complete overhaul for Schembechler.
Schembechler had more in-conference success, while Beilein has done more on the national stage. Their accomplishments, however, are both admirable. These are guys who at the top of their profession when it comes to doing things the right way. There are and always will be filthy programs — Oklahoma, some SEC schools and SMU were among them when Schembechler was coaching, and in hoops we’ve found there’s Beilein and then just about everyone else when it comes to doing it the right way — but there’s a satisfaction that comes with winning at a high level while doing it the right way.
Beilein might be a unicorn in that sense. Jim Harbaugh’s going to have his shot, though, and sometimes it just takes a bit longer to get there.
The dumb thing to do would be to panic and say, “He’s never going to get there” after four seasons in which he’s No. 7 nationally in total wins since he arrived at U-M and inherited a 5-7 team. Yes, there was some talent there, obviously, but there were a lot of missing pieces and a lot of guys who didn’t know how to win in the biggest of big games.
That’s still the case, but assuming Harbaugh can’t get it there is foolish. He’ll have to adapt like Beilein did, and he’s already taken steps to do it. The Ed Warinner hire is one example. If you said after the Notre Dame game you thought Jon Runyan Jr. was an All-Big Ten caliber offensive tackle, you’re a liar.
Also, the talk of the offense being out of the 1980s is stupid. Harbaugh has continued to add to the arsenal and change, but there are principles he’s going to stick to and he’ll continue to tweak until he gets it right.
That’s what Beilein’s done since he arrived, and it’s worked well. There are things he’s scrapped completely, like the 1-3-1 defense, and he’s turned his assistants over a few times (some by making hard decisions). It’s a process, and it’s going to take time, made harder by the fact that Ohio State is a different animal now, too, having proven to be a “by any means necessary” program under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.
As the saying goes, too, it’s harder to stay at the top than get there. We were thinking about that last night in watching Michigan dismantle North Carolina, 84-67, in front of one of the most raucous crowds we’ve ever heard (perhaps the Fab Five’s first encounter with Duke was the only one louder).
Ticket sales were incredible after the Trey Burke/Nik Stauskas years, but turnover on that first team after their departure — and some key injuries — derailed the season. Losses to NJIT and Eastern Michigan deflated the fickle fan base, and it took time again to regain their trust.
Season ticket sales were through the roof again this year, and we were curious at the beginning of the year to see what the crowds would be like. They’ve been fantastic, and anyone who was there last night … well, we’d bet on them renewing their tickets for next year if things keep going like they are.
We fully expect them to. This team is jelling early, and its ceiling on offense is much higher. Defense travels, so even on off nights they’ll have a chance to win every game.
Someone asked on the boards last night, “how can elite kids not be lining up to be playing for Beilein?” And it’s simple. One, elite kids aren’t usually in charge of their own recruitments, and there are usually (if you don’t believe it now, you aren’t paying attention and never will) some looking for something.
Two, it takes a different kind of player to want to play for Beilein. His system isn’t “gimmicky” as some have said. It just requires the sacrifice of playing for something bigger than you. This isn’t going to be the place to showcase yourself unless you’re a point guard like Trey Burke, for example, who is forced to become scoring option No. 1 the second you get on campus.
“The team, the team, the team” mantra Schembechler coined sounded gimmicky when Tom Crean used it at Indiana, but it’s so perfect for Beilein’s teams. Like Schembechler, Beilein recruits pieces to work together in complete selflessness. If you’re out to get yours, you’d be best going somewhere else.
But when it works, it leads to games so good (like last night’s) that leave fans so giddy they can’t sleep afterward. UNC had a handful of pros on the roster that allegedly may or may not be required to go to real classes. Michigan had one surefire NBA guy in Ignas Brazdeikis, and he’s a frosh.
Charles Matthews initially picked Kentucky and was skeptical about U-M when approached during his transfer. As recently as two weeks ago he said people always told him Michigan was “soft.”
There’s not that impression anymore. Far from it.
These are great kids off the court, but they are you-know-whaters on it, and it’s incredible to watch. Just think if Big Jon Teske becomes a little bit more of the latter (for the record, he’s got a cousin who’s a D-III sniper and has been in his ear in recent weeks about this. It showed up a bit more last night).
Harbaugh’s had a few stumbles along the way, some of it in offensive line and skill position recruiting. Beilein had his, too. People were calling for Beilein’s head and calling him overrated at that time, but most of them have come around and seen why trashing everything and starting over when there’s adversity probably isn’t the wisest thing, especially when you’ve got a passionate and capable guy at the helm.
The same applies to football. It’s taken longer than some had hoped, but Harbaugh will get there sooner or later. We just hope it’s sooner, for the good of all of us, because the biggest detriment to a program isn't another loss to a hated rival in an otherwise solid season. It's constant turnover and starting over when a little (sometimes a lot) of patience is in order.
But here we are in 2018, 14 years removed from Michigan’s last Big Ten Championship in football. The Wolverines haven’t been to the conference title game since its inception (2011 or something. We haven’t tracked it since U-M has only been a serious contender a few times).
Meanwhile, Michigan basketball coach John Beilein has become as “Michigan Man” as it gets. He’s the Bo Schembechler of his time, albeit in a few different ways.
For one, he didn’t inherit a loaded roster. He had to rebuild, and while the football culture was a bit lax under Bump Elliott, there was more tweaking than complete overhaul for Schembechler.
Schembechler had more in-conference success, while Beilein has done more on the national stage. Their accomplishments, however, are both admirable. These are guys who at the top of their profession when it comes to doing things the right way. There are and always will be filthy programs — Oklahoma, some SEC schools and SMU were among them when Schembechler was coaching, and in hoops we’ve found there’s Beilein and then just about everyone else when it comes to doing it the right way — but there’s a satisfaction that comes with winning at a high level while doing it the right way.
Beilein might be a unicorn in that sense. Jim Harbaugh’s going to have his shot, though, and sometimes it just takes a bit longer to get there.
The dumb thing to do would be to panic and say, “He’s never going to get there” after four seasons in which he’s No. 7 nationally in total wins since he arrived at U-M and inherited a 5-7 team. Yes, there was some talent there, obviously, but there were a lot of missing pieces and a lot of guys who didn’t know how to win in the biggest of big games.
That’s still the case, but assuming Harbaugh can’t get it there is foolish. He’ll have to adapt like Beilein did, and he’s already taken steps to do it. The Ed Warinner hire is one example. If you said after the Notre Dame game you thought Jon Runyan Jr. was an All-Big Ten caliber offensive tackle, you’re a liar.
Also, the talk of the offense being out of the 1980s is stupid. Harbaugh has continued to add to the arsenal and change, but there are principles he’s going to stick to and he’ll continue to tweak until he gets it right.
That’s what Beilein’s done since he arrived, and it’s worked well. There are things he’s scrapped completely, like the 1-3-1 defense, and he’s turned his assistants over a few times (some by making hard decisions). It’s a process, and it’s going to take time, made harder by the fact that Ohio State is a different animal now, too, having proven to be a “by any means necessary” program under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.
As the saying goes, too, it’s harder to stay at the top than get there. We were thinking about that last night in watching Michigan dismantle North Carolina, 84-67, in front of one of the most raucous crowds we’ve ever heard (perhaps the Fab Five’s first encounter with Duke was the only one louder).
Ticket sales were incredible after the Trey Burke/Nik Stauskas years, but turnover on that first team after their departure — and some key injuries — derailed the season. Losses to NJIT and Eastern Michigan deflated the fickle fan base, and it took time again to regain their trust.
Season ticket sales were through the roof again this year, and we were curious at the beginning of the year to see what the crowds would be like. They’ve been fantastic, and anyone who was there last night … well, we’d bet on them renewing their tickets for next year if things keep going like they are.
We fully expect them to. This team is jelling early, and its ceiling on offense is much higher. Defense travels, so even on off nights they’ll have a chance to win every game.
Someone asked on the boards last night, “how can elite kids not be lining up to be playing for Beilein?” And it’s simple. One, elite kids aren’t usually in charge of their own recruitments, and there are usually (if you don’t believe it now, you aren’t paying attention and never will) some looking for something.
Two, it takes a different kind of player to want to play for Beilein. His system isn’t “gimmicky” as some have said. It just requires the sacrifice of playing for something bigger than you. This isn’t going to be the place to showcase yourself unless you’re a point guard like Trey Burke, for example, who is forced to become scoring option No. 1 the second you get on campus.
“The team, the team, the team” mantra Schembechler coined sounded gimmicky when Tom Crean used it at Indiana, but it’s so perfect for Beilein’s teams. Like Schembechler, Beilein recruits pieces to work together in complete selflessness. If you’re out to get yours, you’d be best going somewhere else.
But when it works, it leads to games so good (like last night’s) that leave fans so giddy they can’t sleep afterward. UNC had a handful of pros on the roster that allegedly may or may not be required to go to real classes. Michigan had one surefire NBA guy in Ignas Brazdeikis, and he’s a frosh.
Charles Matthews initially picked Kentucky and was skeptical about U-M when approached during his transfer. As recently as two weeks ago he said people always told him Michigan was “soft.”
There’s not that impression anymore. Far from it.
These are great kids off the court, but they are you-know-whaters on it, and it’s incredible to watch. Just think if Big Jon Teske becomes a little bit more of the latter (for the record, he’s got a cousin who’s a D-III sniper and has been in his ear in recent weeks about this. It showed up a bit more last night).
Harbaugh’s had a few stumbles along the way, some of it in offensive line and skill position recruiting. Beilein had his, too. People were calling for Beilein’s head and calling him overrated at that time, but most of them have come around and seen why trashing everything and starting over when there’s adversity probably isn’t the wisest thing, especially when you’ve got a passionate and capable guy at the helm.
The same applies to football. It’s taken longer than some had hoped, but Harbaugh will get there sooner or later. We just hope it’s sooner, for the good of all of us, because the biggest detriment to a program isn't another loss to a hated rival in an otherwise solid season. It's constant turnover and starting over when a little (sometimes a lot) of patience is in order.
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