Obviously we all know what a great coach Beilein is and he clearly loves his assistants. I thought I'd try to highlight specifically an example of the job they've done this season.
Here are the minutes from our opening NIT game against IUPUI:
- Burke - 32
- Hardaway - 30
- Vogrich - 19
- Robinson - 32
- Morgan - 27
- Stauskas - 25
- McGary - 11
- Albretch - 6
- LeVert - 0
At the time Vogrich was a starter, LeVert was on his way to a redshirt, McGary was struggling to play more than 10 minutes without fouling out, and Spike was relegated to garbage time mostly.
Let's look at what the coaches have done (with appropriate credit to the players) between then and now:
- Stauskas took the starting spot from Vogrich and became a prolific shooter
- LeVert burned his redshirt and took the bench minutes from Vogrich because he can play some defense and hit shots if needed.
- Spike is a regular part of the rotation and trusted with critical minutes against the toughest defenses in the country.
- McGary displaced a 3-year starter, is staying out of foul trouble, and is reaching his potential as a star center.
The fact that two upper classmen (Morgan, Vogrich) have lost playing time during this time and yet have maintained their solid attitude and contributions when needed is another testament to the coaches.
Even if we lose a few players to the NBA after this season I have total faith that the coaches will fit the incoming freshmen into the lineup in a way that maximizes their talent and the overall performance of the team.