Did Michigan make the right choice?

Submitted by mikefromaa on

As coach Beilein came into the same conference at the same time as Tubby Smith I think it is only fair they should stand as a measuring stick to the other.

Tubby took over a team that had gone 8-22 the previous year returning no highly rated recruits. Minnesota had been to the tournament twice in the decade preceding--in 1999 and 2005. Minnesota has been recovering from one of the worst academic fraud scandals in ncaa history(Leading to the purging of Clem Haskins from coaching in 1999). Minnesota's facilities are probably the worst in the big ten. So far as I know, there are no plans for a practice facility in sight. Most would probably consider Ann Arbor to be the better college town, the University of Michigan to be a better academic institution, and Michigan to be generally a better brand name.

Beilein took over a team that had gone 22-13 the previous year and returned one recruit of note-Deshawn--maybe one and a half if you want to count Udoh. Michigan had been to the tournament once in the decade preceding--1997. Michigan has an aging stadium, plans to break ground on a practice facility in the next year, and is still said to be reeling from the Ed Martin scandal which occured well over a decade ago as well.

On to the comparison: Tubby is 58-35 at Minnesota. Beilein is 44-49 at Michigan. Tubby has brought in 4 highly rated recruits: Joseph, Sampson, R. Williams, and crackhead White. Beilein has brought in one and a half: Morris and (.5 assist from Amaker)Manny. Tubby has brought Minnesota to the tourney once with no tournament wins. Beilein has brought Michigan to the tournament once with one tournament win.

Minnesota is hardly a recruiting hotbed--however those recruits who do wish to stay close to home have few other options, whereas relatively plentiful quality recruits in the state of Michigan(and northern Ohio/Indiana) have a lot of choices nearby.

Tubby obviously has won many more games--but at the same time some would say that Clemson win is more important than regular season wins and losses. However, it does seem as if Tubby is pulling in better recruits while Minnesota has considerably less to offer. What do you all think?

GoBlogSparty

February 22nd, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^

Not trying to hate or anything, but I think the fact that a blatant emphasis on basketball as a VERY distant second to football may have hurt you guys in the long run. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't there rumblings in 2001 of Rick Pitino coming to Michigan to coach before he took the Louisville gig? And was the story that the University didn't offer him enough so he settled for Louisville?
Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not trying to be a troll or anything. I think just with the name and prestige of UofM, had the school invested in some proper facilities and paid some decent cash for a coach, UofM could have been up there with Texas and OSU (solid football and basketball programs each year).

M-Wolverine

February 22nd, 2010 at 9:39 PM ^

Pitino wanted to coach here, people like Vitale were even recommending the job here to him, but Martin refused to fire Ellerbe before the season ended "because that's not the Michigan way", so instead of a full-court press to get him, we were playing games while Louisville was offering him big bucks. Then Bo came out and laughed at the idea of a basketball coach ever making as much as the football coach at Michigan, and it was effectively dead. Then his wife got it into her head that she like Kentucky and all her friends there, only to find out when she go there that all her friends were U-K people, who wouldn't give her the time of day once she became a traitor at hated Louisville. Unfortunately for her, women at Louisville didn't feel the same way about her husband. He got hired, our season continued to crash and burn, Ellerbe was canned, we had the search committee consisting of Vitale and Jay Bilas, apparently (I kid!), and here we are. Where we could have hired a young up and comer who may be a future great or continuing to wallow in mediorcrity, or hire someone more experienced to stabilize us even if the ceiling is lower...or wallow in mediocrity. The morale of the story? Michigan Basketball has been cursed since the Time Out.

ijohnb

February 22nd, 2010 at 6:05 PM ^

can compare the two like that. Simply because they were hired at the same time does not mean that they are going head to head in any respect.

It is fair to say that JB has had a dissapointing season, but I am happy to have him, and believe the extension was the right move.

2 Walter Smith

February 22nd, 2010 at 6:28 PM ^

because you won one game in the NCAA tournament is setting the bar too low.

The jury is still out on Beilien. I don't understand the timing of the extension. Were we in any jeopardy of losing him? No. His extension should have been based on a larger body of work.

BluePants

February 22nd, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^

is one of the more respected coaches in college basketball, not to mention his unquestionable ethics (the man's in charge of the NCAA's ethics committee, after all). Though this year was disappointing, you can't question his talent and ability to lead winning teams.

The single concern I had was our inability to adapt during games. I'm not going to start an OMG SYSTEM thread, but when the shots weren't falling in big games he should've tried to work Sims inside more (he was pretty unbeatable in the paint/under the net). Beilein definitely did this more towards the end of the season, but earlier on it was frustrating to watch us work the ball around the perimeter for 33 seconds for Manny to hoist up an ugly 3.

Perhaps he just assumed his team would do what basketball teams are supposed to do...make shots.

Bando Calrissian

February 22nd, 2010 at 6:40 PM ^

I look at Beilein this way: Michigan basketball needed a stabilizer, a guy who was willing to promote the program, convince people that Michigan could win, and encourage the Athletic Department to actually start giving a shit about basketball.

In this regard, he's been a success.

Ultimately, I don't think he's the right guy for Michigan to win a championship, but I don't think anybody they could have hired in the Amaker fallout was going to be that guy. Beilein is going to leave this program better than he found it, and will provide a foundation on which someone else can build a championship contender.

Illini Boy

February 22nd, 2010 at 8:24 PM ^

Tubby has had the better record so far, but Beilein will probably do better when the two NBA talents he didn't recruit leave and he's left with three starters that wouldn't ever see the court for 7 of the ten other conference teams and the 6th best recruiting class in the Big 10.

Tim Waymen

February 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 PM ^

I originally wanted Majerus, but--as RJ might say--I'm a big Beilein guy. Beilein is a great coach but it's maybe he sometimes has trouble motivating the players. I don't know what goes on. He gets them up to play against the best teams and then we drop games to mediocre teams. Amaker definitely couldn't do that, although it's genuinely accepted that Amaker sucks big time. I think someone on ESPN explained what was going on early in the season.

PurpleStuff

February 22nd, 2010 at 9:31 PM ^

Tubby Smith hasn't done shit at Minnesota. They got knocked out of the tourney in the first round last year, didn't make it his first year, and aren't going to make it this year. Beilein has also kicked his ass head to head in big games.

John Beilein led this team to its best season nationally in over 15 years last season. This year he is the victim of dumb pundits expecting great results from a team with two good players, no size, and very little experience. Yes, just about everybody came back, but they came back from a team that finished tied for 7th in the Big Ten (right now they are essentially in the same spot in 8th place).

Can we please stop complaining about coaches that virtually any school in America would love to have.

Illini Boy

February 22nd, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^

"Tubby Smith hasn't done shit at Minnesota. They got knocked out of the tourney in the first round last year, didn't make it his first year, and aren't going to make it this year."

Thank God you won that game against Clemson, or else that comment starts to hit a little close to home, no?

Bosch

February 23rd, 2010 at 8:29 AM ^

He dares to bring up moral principles while sniping at a blog site for a program that he obviously dislikes.

And let's get to that. Why the hell is Illinois fan here anyway? Illinois is not a rival to Michigan. If we were to compile a list of every team that might be considered Michigan's rival, Northwestern would rank above Illinois. No one cares about Illinois. Illinois does not matter.

goblue1327

February 22nd, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^

The only way you can compare them is with B10 wins and losses, did you look at MInnesota's OOC the last couple of years? I mean, holy crap they played some bad teams. Their B10 record is comparable, we won a tournament game, and if we could hit an open three every once in a while we probably are on the bubble again this year.