'He Fights For Us': Thorough Backgrounder on the Beilein Ejection
Good interview with several players and details about the whys and wherefores of Beilein's ejection against PSU. Upshot: he wasn't trying to get ejected, and remained unhappy in the aftermath:
“There's going to be missed calls. If there's egregious ones, then they have to be addressed in a different manner. The coaches always have to answer this, the officials don't. That's a difficult thing, but the officials are doing the best they can.”
Officiating in Big Ten basketball needs to improve, and become more transparent. Refs will remain fallible, but the league should recognize its strong stake in credible outcomes.
[Mod Edit to add link: He Fights for Us - Detroit NewsFebruary 17th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
Link?
February 17th, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
So annoying that you can't get back into your posts to fix them--people used to go back and insert an EDIT comment about some issue they'd forgotten or where the conversation has drifted. Not sure why Brian wouldn't see that fix as a priority:
February 17th, 2019 at 11:23 AM ^
Because he expects perfection.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
That Niyo article is good, but I don’t think it’s the one you meant. I think this is it:
February 17th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
Thank you; I fixed it. Damaramalamtam.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Because whoever he paid to make this 'site sucks.
February 17th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
Brian doesn't start threads on this board, then need to go back and edit. If he did, they would fix it. One of the IT nerds on this board would probably fix it for free.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
Did you conduct the interview? Nice work
February 17th, 2019 at 11:07 AM ^
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/columnists/john-niyo/2019/02/16/niyo-defense-helps-wolverines-make-grade/2893078002/
February 17th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
The Big Ten admins will get right on this, I'm sure.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:25 AM ^
The issue I always had with the Big Ten is the lack of consistency among different officiating teams. Some call all the hand checking and bumping while some let all that happen. Michigan since Beilein has been here has been a flow team. If refs allow the hand checking and bumping Michigan is screwed because it disrupts Beilein’s offensive flow. Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue have been the grind teams and they benefit from the “let them play” officiating. Problem is it makes for bad ugly basketball.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
I'm actually more annoyed when there is no consistency within a game. I've accepted that certain crews will call a game differently than another crew--either tighter or looser--but what's annoying is when they call the same play a different way in the same game. If you call a hand check a foul, for example, then keep calling it a foul and let the teams adjust. It's like umpiring in baseball--low strike zone or high, inside or out, just be consistent within the game.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
I actually think it's worse when nothing is called and then in the second half, every little touch is called. It's too late to adjust when that happens.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
I agree completely. The human referee element is part of the game and always has been. It's what keeps the game honest IMO and adds another element coaches need to prep for. You need to know how certain crews are going to call things and adjust. While there is still no excuse for a bad call or a missed call, referees need to just be consistent in how they perform through the entire game. If this is a foul then its always a foul, if its not then let them play.
February 17th, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
You'll never achieve consistency in that way, especially considering there's no precise definition of what constitutes a foul. Also, as shown by the Penn State game vs. the Maryland game, Michigan also benefits defensively when a bit more physical play is allowed. What is far worse is a lack of in-game consistency, again as the Penn State game shows. Crews calling the game differently depending on the half or who has the ball is a killer.
February 17th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
Traditionally, that's true. But yesterday, I think we benefitted, especially in the first half, from the officiating crew's slow whistle. Teske and Iggy were being pretty physical with Fernando and really shut him down in the first half. There were a couple times the refs could have called a foul but didn't. We know things don't go well when Teske is in foul trouble.
February 17th, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
Yes, now that Michigan has started to play tough D, too, it's a bit more ambiguous.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
Calling all Analytics gurus (I’m certainly not one...) Would it be pissible to set up a regression or predictor based on the crew assignment history, # of fouls called, and team “type”. Do the same crews stick together, are guys rotated through etc? Seems like some (relatively) simple stats/analytics could unearth some useable strategies for JB and crew...
February 17th, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
Almost anything is pissible, Bo.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
Kidney stones are pissible but it is not an enjoyable experience.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:43 PM ^
Hmmm, pissible....that might be a good one to remember for future posts...I can see it’s use expanding to describe many uncomfortable MGo thread topics...that being said, I guess I should turn on autocorrect again...
February 17th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
Someone the other day pointed out that Michigan's record with one of the Penn State refs was 1-3 while the other refs were 22-0. That is more than a coincidence.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Lewis Garrison is the ref who has officiated all of Michigan's losses. He's not a good referee.
February 17th, 2019 at 12:44 PM ^
That fucking bitch.
February 17th, 2019 at 5:30 PM ^
The fact that Garrison was on that crew is more of a footnote asterisk to the actual Beilein ejection. Because he didn't T up the coach or eject him; his partners did that. He may not be a good official, and he may have a unique record when he works Michigan assignments. But that' all it is.
We get no real insight from the Detroit News article on the ejection, nothing that we didn't already know except a little background and player response to the news of his ejection. And what we learn is that Beilein was more embarrassed about getting tossed and vowing not to do it again, then the actual reason behind it.
So, the question remains, why was Beilein ejected? And I believe, in the absence of any other explanation, which we will never get, that the coach was given a second T because the crew chief was pissed that he showed him up. There is no other good explanation for it. They never had a meaningful discussion about what Beilein was upset about, it was an emotional reaction to Beilein's objection and holding up fingers to enumerate the calls missed besides the illegal screen which set him off. That's it. I mean if they told the coach to leave the floor and he didn't, then that might be the trigger, unless he used profanity.
As an official who has worked hundreds of games as a basketball referee, at various levels, I can assure that you don't have to swear at an official to get tossed. All it takes is using the personal pronoun, YOU in a derogatory way and then fail to heed a warning to stop whatever behavior led to the interaction. Fail to do so, and you're gone. Doesn't matter how extensive the conduct is or what it entailed. If you piss off the wrong guy, and he doesn't want to deal with you anymore, you are toast.
As an official, I have been forced to eject players in different sports for ugly behavior. But never have I thrown out a coach in any sport whose team and game I managed or officiated. And not because some didn't necessarily deserve it, because some did.
But you are supposed to manage the game and deal with shit when it happens; and shit happens. I will acknowledge this, officials give wider latitude to coaches who regularly bitch about calls then those with reputations for not doing so. Why? Because they don't want to throw guys out of games, period. They tolerate the yellers, not the quiet guys. And that's why Beilein got tossed. It was behavior mixed with his character bitching to the wrong guy at the wrong time. Hardly scientific, I know, but just a little insight from an official's perspective.
February 17th, 2019 at 11:43 PM ^
I would be shocked if they weren't already doing this. I know football for sure has things like a given official's likelihood of calling pass interference and other judgement call penalties.
February 17th, 2019 at 1:22 PM ^
Can we add "and then probably my mother's Irish side comes out of me a little bit" to the "We Had Subs; It Was Crazy" pantheon of Extremely Beilein Quotables?
February 17th, 2019 at 2:54 PM ^
February 17th, 2019 at 4:35 PM ^
The B1G head of officiating drives over to the Home Depot and picks up all the guys with the "will work for food" signs.
February 17th, 2019 at 4:59 PM ^
When all of a teams losses are with one ref, the league should look really hard at that ref showing bias against a team. I think that guy should be banned from all Michigan games from here on out.
February 17th, 2019 at 5:33 PM ^
I love Coach Beilein. My favorite coach of all time, in any sport.