SIAP: Great article on 89 team
Really a great read about the 89 team and the coaching change. Quotes from many former players, dynamics between Bo and Frieder, etc...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/twenty-five-years-ago--t…
25 year anniversary of that team. Time flies.
"Leaving Big Ten power Michigan for Pac-10 lightweight Arizona State wasn't a career move many coaches would make, but Frieder's decision stemmed from his deteriorating relationship with Schembechler."
They didn't mention it for more than moment, but I was intrigued that the football team actually looked at the basketball team with what appears to be a little envy due to the structure - never really thought about that before. I know the tension between Frieder and Schembechler has been discussed at length on this blog, but I always find the severe contrast between the program cultures at the time a fascinating study.
didn't have a lot to do with Frieder leaving too. Don Canham, who Schembechler replaced was notoriously frugal when it came to most things including salaries. So, the personality difference between Frieder and Bo could easily be the deciding factor for Frieder to bolt. But whatever happened, I still think Bill Frieder is a good man. He absolutely loved Michigan when he was here and worked for much less money than he could have in a corporate job. Many people don't know he had an MBA from Michigan and was arguably the smartest guy we've ever had in the job. That being said, I still think he ran a loose ship which led to bad things for the program years later. But he had to have been the most relentless recruiter we've ever had. The 1989 team was supremely talented. As the article said though, it was a challenge to meld the group into a strong team. It seems the coaching change was the catalyst they needed.
My son was only in elementary when Frieder was recruiting Hughes from Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Vaught from E. Kentwood, roughly 40-45 minutes apart and all the way across the state from AA. However, just prior to the second qtr. during a Puffer vs. Fremont game in walked Freider looking every bit as disheveled as he was known for. The AD offered him a chair in the SRO section, but he politely declined. Don't think he really wanted the attention on him that a solo seat among that many fans would have brought. He was there for two reasons only; to have Mark Hughes and Dan Wright, the then HC at Puffer both see him. This, of course, was accomplished within minutes due to his stature as the UM HC and all the fan fuss during a season where very few took their eyes of Mark Hughes. He stayed for about ten minutes after his mission was accomplished then set off to GR so he could attend Loy's game the same evening. He was definitely a tireless recruiter, as you say. As to coaching, I don't think he was that great, but just like many great players have ultimately been the reason for good to great coaches gaining such standing, his ability to put extremely talented players on the court on an annual basis definitely gained him respect on a national scale. He did a hell of a lot for UM basketball. That is, imo, inarguable. And again, as you mentioned, I think he was a genuinely nice guy. Unlike Orr, who had no qualms about proclaiming himself among the top two conference coaches along with that guy from IN, I can never recall Freider intentionally drawing attention to himself. ^And to original poster; thanks for sharing. Good read.
I was at the Frieder 1988 summer hoops camp in A2, and in retrospect had a number of crazy memories of him and that team.
---talking to Steve Fisher for at least 15 minutes, including him lamenting not being able to recruit Clay Buckley out of my area (Duke got him, I would say UM did better). Really nice and humble guy
---Getting lifting tips from Mike Gittleson while Rob Pelinka (of Fab 5 supporting cast and now Kobe agent fame) was complaining about the lack of weight room equipment nearby
---Asking Coach Frieder his thoughts on Bobby Knight during the camp Q+A. His response? "Bobby Knight is the nicest guy in the world to you when he beats you"
---Being awestruck when watching an open practice with the 88-89 team. Rumeal Robinson and Glen Rice were jumping higher than anything I had ever seen before.
I know, I know, cool stories bro.....
Once in a lifetime run under once in a lifetime circumstances.
That team was so stacked, but players like Mark Hughes and Mike Griffin played key roles to move that team forward. Loved those guys.
I was a first year in law school that year. A fellow student, big hoops fan (Gtown grad, as I recall), came up to me the Thursday morning the tourney started, and he was like - "Michigan is either gonna lose first round or win it all, they're the ultimate wildcard now."
I was watching the final game w/ a roomful of fellow law students, 95% of whom were rooting for the Hall. Sweet, sweet victory.
March 19th, 2014 at 11:02 PM ^
I met Loy Vaught at a basketball camp in 1990. Didn't really get to talk to him much but he did sign my '89 title t-shirt. I was in high school at the time. He was pretty nice about it--seemed like a good guy.
"Frieder note the hypocrisy of Schembechler firing him but accepting a position as president of the Detroit Tigers one week after coaching the Rose Bowl a year later."
The two situations were very different. The whole world, not least the UM community and administration, knew that Bo was retiring and that the Rose Bowl was his last game as HC. He didn't try to keep it a secret from anybody. In addition, Bo wasn't taking a job with a potential collegiate competitor in the sport he had worked while at Michigan; he was taking a job with a professional franchise in a completely different sport.
The only analogous situation to what Frieder did would have been for Bo to take a head coaching job at another program after the end of a regular season but then expect to coach Michigan in the Rose Bowl. This is something Schembechler would never have done.
The only time he was a serious candidate for the head coaching job at another school was in the early 80s when TA&M was trying to throw money at him, but Bo didn't keep it a secret anyhow.
The fact that Frieder can't or won't see the fundamental difference in his situation and Bo's is consistent with what I know about Frieder.