dc22

February 22nd, 2013 at 3:00 PM ^

I am a huge fan of Coach Beilein and this was even prior to our success this year. He is an outstanding person, a great teacher and talent evaluator and a very good coach. He is everything you would want to lead a college basketball program and mould young men. I am not going to go as far as to say that there is no other coach in the country I would rather have (there are coaches with better win credentials though it can be argued that they were in a better position to achieve that success), but we have to remember that Michigan Basketball hasn't been elite or even good for a very long time and we can really not do any better than having a great coach like Beilein.

Joined: 07/11/2012

MGoPoints: 894

Blueroller

February 22nd, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^

I've been Michigan hoops fan since the mid-70s and John Beilein is the best coach since then. Johnny Orr had a couple of great teams and got to a national championship game in 76, but he wasn't the complete coach Beilein is. If he'd had the support from the athletic department and community Beilein has it might've been different; as it was, I don't blame him for bailing to Iowa State.

Bill Frieder was a great recruiter, a mediocre game coach, and ran a program that sometimes smelled fishy. He too bailed for lack of support, to Arizona State, leading to Steve Fisher and the 89 championship. Fisher seemed like a great fit until his failings began the Dark Ages. Beilein was the right guy at the right time. He's the best basketball mind, the best evaluator of talent, and the best fit temperamentally and ethically. There's no one I'd rather have.

If this team fades down the stretch it'll be a huge disappointment. But my faith in Beilein won't be shaken at all.

Joined: 06/08/2010

MGoPoints: 1670

nickb

February 23rd, 2013 at 11:33 AM ^

My point is until he demonstrates he can compete at the higher levels in the Big Ten or nationally I suggest we hold off placing him in the Michigan Hall of Fame. He still has a great deal to prove just as Hoke does. Will it happen? I sure hope so and I will continue to root for them. But like any informed fan, I reserve judgment until the results are in.

One finally point. If any of you believe that the majority of the athletes attend Michigan for an education you have you're heads in the sand. College athletics today is about enhancing sport careers and have little to do with education. The one exception would be the Ivy League.  

Joined: 11/03/2010

MGoPoints: 2