Exit Lavall Jordan
[Bryan Fuller]
The departures are not over for the basketball team. Michigan assistant Lavall Jordan has taken the head coaching job at UW-Milwaukee:
Milwaukee has hired Michigan LaVall Jordan, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 7, 2016
Meanwhile, Bacari Alexander is being heavily rumored as the next coach at Detroit. A coaching shakeup seemed inevitable after the last couple years, and it's probably for the best. Michigan can reset, and now they've got one, maybe two, guys who would be obvious candidates for the head job when Beilein retires.
We'll see what direction Beilein goes in with the new assistant slots. If I was king of the universe I'd suggest he hires someone who's been around the Wisconsin or Virginia programs to be a de-facto "defensive coordinator" for one of the spots. The other one is like whatever man, but just get some dude who's helped some real good defensive teams and get out of his way.
completely, 100% agree on the 'no thanks' comment. after the fisher years i want someone literally beyond reproach and will gladly give up perennial final four spots to get it.
BUT, i don't necessarily think that you have to get dirty to recruit well. beilein has done pretty well...
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If Beilein doesn't wanna get dirty in recruiting, than he could hire assistants that will do the job. Kind of like Izzo has done at MSU. Or at the very least, hire someone that can recruit well nationally and not just Indiana and Ohio.
PS-Jeff Meyer was an assistant during the Kelvin Sampson era at IU.
I seriously doubt that Beilein's objection to cheating is that he doesn't feel like doing it himself. He wants to run a clean program. I can't imagine him wanting assistants who will handle the rule-breaking for him.
of feel that the "clean program" thing is bordering on a cliche excuse at this point. OK, we assume certain schools are dirty, Kentucky being front and center, but we essentially rely on completely anecdotal "evidence," if it can even be called that, that most other schools are engaging in that too. Is it "other schools get good players so those schools must be dirty." Is that what we are relying on? Would it be safe to assume that we were dirty in 2012?
Having a clean program is not an "excuse." It should be a point of pride.
agree. I just don't know if I can get on board with calling other programs dirty when I don't have a shred of evidence that they actually are except for the fact that they are landing the players we want.
Especially since we have an assitant on staff (Jeff Meyer) that worked for a known dirty recruiter and might have been one himself. Crean pretty much accused him of that with the "You helped wreck our program"...
welcome to mgoblog, troll!
Well, two of the 4 FF teams were on probation/should have been on probation for major scandals. UM lost the national title to a team running a brothel off campus. I mean, it's not like UM can't recruit at all, but there is a class of recruits that Beilein won't touch because he's worried about violating rules, even those rules that aren't big flashing "stay away" ones. If anything, Beilein probably runs a slightly too clean program to consistently compete for titles unless he does amazing in recruiting lower-rated kids, which hasn't happened.
That said, there's a reason the same 5-10 teams always compete for titles, and only some of that is because they are blue-bloods, have major resources, etc.
You stated this very accurately. There's plenty of evidence, amazing because it's not easy to uncover - boosters and 3rd parties keep coaches' hands clean. Coaches/programs don't get busted unless they do something really stupid or egregious.
IMO, the worst offenders are usually "new kid on the block" teams, not the blue bloods (ok, Kentucky under Calipari is on a different level). Teams that suddenly land top talent despite little record of success, poor fan support, etc.
Lots of examples, but the first that jumps to mind is UMass in the '90's. Came out of nowhere and suddenly Marcus Camby is leading them to the heights. Coached by a young Calipari. Inevitable NCAA sanctions followed.
College basketball recruiting is ugly. Cheating almost killed the entire sport back in the 50's. The sainted John Wooden had boosters paying guys. Our beloved Michigan had a huge scandal. Now, with AAU and "handlers", it's worse than ever. Small rosters, limited pool of great players, lots of teams, buckets of money, inept policing.
I admire Beilein for running a clean program in a cesspool. I'm sure he's not the only clean guy out there, but he's our clean guy.
That said, I agree it would be great to hire an assistant who is a sharp talent evaluator and a tireless, relentless recruiter. Clean programs need to work harder to find and land talented guys.
I'm in the "a little frustrated" camp with Beilein's recruiting, but I've been kicking myself for deleting the materials I had for a diary. I grabbed the recruiting ratings for every Beilein recruit at Michigan and then created my own ratings for what they actually contributed while they were here. There was no meaningful correlation between the two. Based on Beilein's history, it's extremely hard to predict what his recruits will contribute from their recruiting ratings.
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All good points, but that "you" in "gives you a better chance for success" is a general trend that doesn't apply equally to all coaches. A Rich Rodriguez offense, for example, can get away with shifty, undersized 3 star guys in a way that most offenses can't. Beilein, who has had about 10 recruiting classes at Michigan, might just be one of those guys who sees a weaker relationship between recruiting rankings and production than most coaches.
Having said that, I'd obviously love to see some top recruits come in.
I'm in the "mild recent frustration, overall satisfaction" camp re JB.
It's seems only logical to hire assistants to stregthen your weaknesses. JB doesn't need an offensive guru, he needs help with defense and recruiting.
Hope he finds a relentless (but clean) recruiter who can teach defensive fundamentals.
Thanks to LaVall for everything, and best of luck!
No, it translates to
- someone who's willing to offer kids before they step on campus
- someone who's willing to recruit bigs based on athleticism and defensive prowess
- someone who can sense high level kids' interest before they have to verbally beg Beilein to offer them
- Offering low-level, lock-to-commit recruits later in the cycle as opposed to kicking off the recruiting class with them
Ah, the filthiness of recruiting in college basketball.
but voices/opinions/pushback are always positive in giving constructive feedback, could help JB change his ways
I'd like to see Beilein become a little more flexible with our recruiting without getting dirty. He'll never be pushing the envelope like Harbaugh, but he can move to the middle without giving up his ethical standards.
EDIT: by Harbaugh "pushing the envelope," I mean doing things like the satellite camps, the spring break trip, sleepovers, etc. It could have been read above as pushing the envelope on ethics, which I don't think JH is doing.
No it doesn't translate to being dirty. That is a cliche excuse. One can recruit well and not be dirty.
having to "recruit dirty" to be more successful. It's other issues like the "no visit, no offer" policy and the obvious preference of Beilein to emphasize mostly wing and guard players. Talented bigs don't come here for a reason. They look at us and correctly don't see the minutes being enough. Beilein needs to overhaul his philosophy a little too.
I think Redman could at least recruit well in Jersey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUuQwFvhSpk
Curious how much input he will have. I would guess a lot. He did pretty well at Uconn so he has a clue about how to win in basketball.
Not saying he takes over for Beilein but he make help "evaluate" assistants a little more.
I like his apparent views on the fab five. Not condoing what they did, but not ignoring that no matter what they will always be associated with Michigan.
I would love to see an assistant who has great contacts and can bring a few recruits in withoiut cheating.
Jordan was a solid recruiter.
Yes we need the defensive guy...but we can't "whatever man" the other hire. We need someone who's a top 5* recruiter in the country. PERIOD.
*clean recruiter...as in may pushes the limits, but never crosses them (like the 4-5 guys we have on the football staff who fit this mold, Harbaugh, Fisch, Wheatley, Harbaugh, and formerly Jackson**).
**before someone jumps my shit on Mattison, he doesn't need to be borderline or pushing the envelope with recruiting. Yes he's a great recruiter, but all he has to do is show his resume and clip of Ngata, Suggs, Lewis and Reed and kids instantly pay attention.
Best of luck to LaVall!
The first response should be "Congratulations, LaVall!"
I'd say Chauncy Billups (Why not aim for the top?), but rumor has it that he wants to be in a front office role.
$10 says that if Bacari leaves too he brings on Patrick Beilein as an asst.
Also wouldn't be shocked if he gave CJ Lee a shot. A bit risky, but Beilein loved him as a player and he'd bring a lot of defensive enthusiasm.
That's not a rhetorical question. I don't know.
I would take someone like Thibedeau in a heart beat. He's a great defensive coach and look what's happened to Chicago since they got rid of him.
That is exactly the kind of innovation this team needs. It is what Harbaugh would do. Do it. Beilein has some strengths, but when it comes to defense, his approach is a total failure. It needs to be gutted, full stop. Nothing good about it, whatsoever. Defensive coordinator is exactly what we need.
One of the assisant coaches was in charge of installing defensive sets and teaching technique when I worked for the USC basketball team. That was the case at many other schools--but not all--as well. Although the head coach would call the sets out, the assistants had a ton of input during the game.
Thanks!
I disagree about hiring someone becuase they have a history of being on teams with good defensives. Almost all teams play combinations and variations of zone and man during a season or game, even often times switching things up play to play. Playing good defense in basketball is as much about the people you recruit as it is about general philosophy and coaching ability. I don't think that will mix well with Beilein's recruiting strategy which focuses more on offensive skill set. No reason to bring someone in who is not going to be on the same page as the head coach when it comes to recruits.
I agree with you truebluetx from a recruiting standpoint, but good defense at the college level is also about technique, effort, and emphasis.
IMO we need an assistant that can complement JB's strengths. The good news is that defense is teachable, especially if a player has raw athletic skills and quickness.
I completely agree defensive technique and execution can be taught, but you have to have players who want to learn and are motivated to perform. That's were I see the big disconnect in who Beilein favors as a recruit. If you can play great defensive while being a great offensive player Beilein will be happy, but in general Beilein is more likely to pick the higher upside offensive player with defensive "weaknesses" than the defensive stalwart who needs to learn offense.
a hard-nosed defensive specialist assistant comes in. I think it's part the personality/mindset of the guys JB recruits, but maybe even more the mindset/emphasis instilled in players once they're on the team.
Beilein is unquestionably a teacher type of coach. In all the years I've watched Michigan basketball, his offenses are far more structured and complex than any of our preceding coaches. He/his coaches teach shooting technique too.
It's probably easier to teach defense than offense. I think Beilein is intelligent and open-minded enough to embrace new ideas. If he can hire a good defensive mind and teacher, and give him the authority to coach guys up, our defense can improve.
JB is always going to be an offene-minded coach, it's unlikely defense will ever be the team's strength while he's coach. We don't need that, we just need it to stop being such a weakness. An average defense with his offense would be just fine IMO.
that guy is clearly on his way up, would be happy to see him come back around some day.
...but I don't trust JB to hire assistants, especially those that are supposed to be the next headcoach after he leaves. I hope WM has some say in this.
Why? He hired Jordan and Alexander, who are well thought-of enough to move up the coaching ladder.
As for Manuel, while the next head coach is his decision, I doubt he'll be involved in the hiring of assistants. ADs don't usually micromanage that much.
UWM and UDM = Michigan?
Look, I thought LJ and BA were decent assistants (with flashes of greatness), but major power conference teams aren't looking to these guys to fill open slots. In fact, I don't think JB has ever really had a coaching tree (I could be wrong). Having JB hire an assistant to take over for him when he's done is a huge risk IMO.
Good programs don't typically take assistants right off the bat to be the head coach. They usually have to cut their teeth as head coaches at lesser programs first.
Duke's assistants may be the exception, and their track record has been spotty, at best.
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