Should Beilein be a coach of the year candidate?
I was just reading an article by Jason King over at the WWL about the strength of the Big Ten this year. Toward the end of the article, King discussed some random things about the season so far, and this was one of them:
4. Random thought here, but the race for National Coach of the Year is going to be an interesting one. Lots of good candidates but no hands-down favorites. At least not yet. Here are some guys who may be considered: Dana Altman (Oregon), Brad Stevens (Butler), Bruce Weber (Kansas State), Tubby Smith (Minnesota), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Larry Shyatt (Wyoming) and Larry Eustachy (Colorado State).
And for the record, I tend to favor coaches who have surpassed expectations set forth during the preseason, which tends to put guys like Mike Krzyzewski and Bill Self at a disadvantage. But I would have no problem if the coach of a top-five-caliber team ended up winning the award. Staying at the top is often as difficult as getting there.
To be honest, I was surprised that he didn't mention Beilein with those other coaches. Granted, I'm sure he wasn't trying to provide an exhaustive list, but I still feel like Beilein has to be on a short list of coaches in the running.
Your thoughts? I'll hang up and listen.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
Beilein should definitely be in the conversation.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
I guess it just depends on what you think Michigan's expectations were. I think if we're still #1 after our next 4-5 games, you'd want Beilein in the discussion.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:48 AM ^
But don't you think getting those expectations in the first place should be part of the criteria? Why does COY have to be from a team we thought would suck but didn't actually suck?
I don't get the Tubby Smith or Bruce Weber ideas - if Weber was such a great coach, why did Illinois fire him? If Tubby is such a great coach, then why has it taken them so long to get good at Minnesota (and now it appears they aren't really that good anyway)?
It just seems like an excuse not to give the award to the handful of guys who really are the best coaches every year.
January 28th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
Coach of the Year usually boils down to which coaches team "overachieved" the most- with the implication being the coaches influence is what helped that team overcome their preseason expectations.
Because UM was so highly ranked going in it makes it harder to get credit for such an improvement- even if his coaching job is top-notch.
If there were an award for coach of the last two years or best coach over the last three years- instead of coach of this one year then its hard to think of anyone better- if you had told fans two years ago today or three years ago today we would be here you'd be laughed at (btw I loved Brian's whiplash entry)- but since it is just this year and we were so highly thought of it'll be hard for him to win.
Plus with Burke as a POTY candidate he gets a lot of credit- making it harder for a coach to get an award that depends on voters giving the coach credit for a teams success.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^
He doesn't have a "big" personality. He doesn't wear flashy suits. He doesn't butter up Dick Vitale. He doesn't name-drop NBA players. He doesn't describe himself as less a basketball coach and more a "leader of men." ...He just doesn't make for good TV.
And the above is how one judges a college coach, right? That's at least what ESPN has taught me.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^
And the best part is that when you ask people who actually have some idea of who can really coach - fellow NCAA coaches - they consistently say Beilein is among the best in the profession. That's what counts, and now that he has real talent, our success isn't a surprise to anyone who was informed in the first place.
I can't say I miss the days when people with no idea about basketball were ripping Beilein on this board a couple of years ago because MOAR REBOUNDZ. Now someone just convince GRIII to stick for another year and we'll be all set.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
I judge a good coach based on wheather he has his own basketball or not. In this case Coach Beilien wins my vote.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
Like the article mentions there is going to be so many candidates, it's hard to tell at this point who will win it. Beilein has a leg up for sure.
I don't want to take anything away from Johnny Basketball but literally none of this, the number one ranking, the elite recruits coming in, the brighter outlook for the future, none of it would be possible without Dave Brandon. His oversight of the PDC and Crisler renovation changed the course of Michigan basketball forever. I think he's just as likely to win some awards in the near future.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
Hard to disagree with you there; do they do awards for AD's though? And don't ask me who "they" is.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
You make good points re: the PDC and renovation of Crisler. Clearly Beilein is the biggest reason Michigan basketball is nationally relevant again, but these factors have helped him finally bring in the talent he needed to make UM a top-ten program again. Brandon gets a lot of grief around these parts (and deservedly so) for stuff like UNIFORMZ and the "wow" experience, so we should be willing to give him credit when he's earned it.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 11:13 AM ^
Maybe this is something that ought to be decided at, like, the end of the year.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
If we win the Big Ten - I think Beilein is a unanimous choice.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^
But don't you think the fact that nobody is surprised to see us at #1 is a testament to how great a coach Beilein is?
January 28th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 12:24 PM ^
Then call it Most Improved Coach of the Year or something, because yes, I think the best coaches should win COY just like I think the best players should win POY.
No one says that Jamal Crawford should be NBA MVP because he has exceeded expectations and that otherwise guys like Lebron and Kobe would win it every year.
Why should these be treated any differently?
January 28th, 2013 at 12:48 PM ^
If "coach" means getting the most out of a player on the court and/or in practice, then expectations should be taken into account.
If it means running a whole program (recruiting, hiring assistants, coaching in games and practice), then preseason expectations should not matter.
When naming coach of the year, "coach" traditionally has been defined more or less as the former. I tend to agree with that. Part of what made Hoke's coaching job so spectacular last year was the lowered expectations he faced.
Maybe they should have two awards, one for coach of the year that celebrates getting the most out of a team in one season, and another for coaching excellence (winning that year, but also running a top notch program on a consistent basis). Then again, coaching excellence would just be awarded to Coach K every year.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
If Michigan wins the regular season big ten and NC, then I do not see how anyone could get it over him.
If Michigan wins the regular season big ten and is upset in the tourney, then I still think there is a strong argument considering the strength of the B1G and the number of underclassmen seeing quality playing time on this team.
He's a great coach who has produced quality teams at every stop.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
most definitely
January 28th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
Without a doubt.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
HALOL!!!
January 28th, 2013 at 11:31 AM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
Exactly. Les halt all conversation regarding basketball until after the tournament is over, lest we get ahead of ourselves, and you know what happens then...
January 28th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
When fans speculate about future games? I'm hardly convinced that has an impact on the result.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
Nope. If we start looking ahead, we'll lose focus on the task at hand, and that's beating Northwestern. I hear anyone talking tourney and they're running suicides for the rest of practice.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
I would bet every penny to my name that he was being sarcastic. I think you missed the joke dude.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:32 AM ^
Beilein is great every year. The fact that he has the freshmen playing the way they are is an indicator of how good a coach he is (and speaks well for the kids too). But as has been mentioned, he doesn't have a huge media personality and the team was expected to be good. I think if he couldn't win the award last year after winning the Big Ten with that roster, maybe he never will. The nice thing is that he will never care.
January 28th, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^
Excellent? They have a signature win over Florida, which is big, but outside of that, they've lost to all of the good teams they've played, plus Iowa State. And outside of @ KU, they don't have another big game left on their schedule, and I don't see them winning that one.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 2:10 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 12:32 PM ^
Definitely. Yes, we were highly ranked in the preseason, but quite a few people were skeptical and thought we might be overrated. There was a lot of talk about us not being able to overcome the loss of leadership from last year. I don't think anyone expected us to be quite this good.
(BTW, it's Beilein, not Beilien.)
January 28th, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
I'd like JB to get the Program Of The Year Award. As stated, COY seems to be taking something irrelevant and making it relevant in one season. JB has taken Michigan from despair to ecstasy during his tenure.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
Long answer: hell yes
January 28th, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^
I think that when you contrast the case Beilein would have to win Coach Of The Year with some of the other coaches who have one in the past five or six years, it puts Beilein's achievement with this program - culminating in this phenomenal run - in an even more interesting light.
Some of the recent past winners of AP Coach Of The Year (as opposed to the Naismith award) are interesting choices - Keno Davis won for his only season as head coach at Drake, taking them from a middling team to 28-5 and the NCAA Tournament in one season. Frank Haith - last year's AP winner - took over an already decent Missouri team and has kept them at level basically. Mike Brey of Notre Dame won in a year when he got Notre Dame a couple rounds deeper into the Tournament than the previous year. It hasn't necessarily been taking someone from barely something to relevant, if you will, especially lately.
John Beilein, for the continous improvement of the Wolverines under his watch in addition to this breakout year that not many seemed to think was coming back in the fall, really should at least be considered this year, I think.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
Of course he should be, but plenty of things don't go how they 'ought' to.
His biggest obstacles are:
- This team isn't overperforming (seems to be a huge criteria for COY honors)
- Not a particularly media-type; doesn't have the 'Big' personality
- The basketball team doesn't have star-power**
Not that these are legitimate criticisms, nor are they reasons that should hinder his ability to receive the award. I think if we win the Big Ten/Big Ten Tournament and couple that with a deep run into the tournament (think Elite 8 or better) then he will truly be in contention.
And while it would be nice, he doesn't need the hardware to know that he's a great coach, one only needs to look at his time at Michigan to see that.
*Well, yes, actually, it does. We all know Burke is a contender (leader?) for POY honors, so he's there, and THJ is pretty noticable, but plenty of the contribution to the team is coming from people who aren't known outside the Michigan fanbase -- Stauskas, Morgan, GRIII, etc. [yet, hopefully they will be]. So, it's not star-power in the traditional sense. Clear as mud, I know.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 12:38 PM ^
Yes. Yes he should.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^
I think Beilein definitely exceeded expectations with the caveat that expectations were too high. I am retroactively lowering expectations, so now they are exceeded.
He is playing five freshmen on a regular basis. This is a reason why expecations too high to begin with.
All of the players know their role and play it. This is exceptional considering he has superstars and freshmen. Everyone is playing team basketball and that takes great coaching.
All of the players are showing observable improvement in the season. Freshmen are understanding their place better and letting the game come to them. I don't know if a player has had consecutive bad games all year. In season development at Beilein's level is probably pretty tricky for a coach.
January 28th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
Beilein will be in the discussion as long as we keep performing at this level, but with the talent on this roster he will get overlooked by coaches doing a lot with less. I think at this point (a long way to go, obviously) it looks like Altman or Shyatt's to lose.
January 28th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^
and appalled if Coach B. is not a candidate, and disappointed if he doesn't win it. What he has done with the program through this week is simply outstanding and deserves that sort of recognition. Who would have guessed one loss at this stage in the season?
January 28th, 2013 at 2:47 PM ^
Candidate? DEFINITELY.