Where is Beilein among Michigan BB coaches?
I've been thinking about this potential MGoBoard topic since last year but told myself that I wouldn't write this until the current season ended fearing that somehow I would jinx the outcome. My question/topic is -- where does John Beilein rank among Michigan basketball coaches? In my mind he's number one.
I'll admit I'm biased toward JB. While I'd gone to games off and on as a student in the late 80s/early 90s I started getting season tickets in 2000-2001. My initial seasons were during the Ellerbe era (timing is everything), which makes the current success all the more sweet. When you rank Michigan basketball coaches there aren't nationally iconic names like Yost, Schembechler and Crisler to consider, but there are more individually accomplished coaches than you'd expect at a "football" school. Strack, Orr, Frieder and Fisher all have significant achievements -- in some cases continuing after Michigan.
While obviously Fisher has a national championship plus two NCAA finals it's hard to know how to weigh the fact that the championship was one he didn't coach through the season and the Fab Five teams had the Ed Martin cloud over them (with the caveat that only Webber was cited)..
Here's my rankings, which are admittedly not based on advanced stats:
1. Beilein -- He took over a program that had been reeling from sanctions, problems with players (Crawford, Gaines, Ingeson etc.) and hadn't made a tournament in 10 years. Tom Izzo was winning NCAA championships and leading teams to final fours up the road. In his 2nd year we were in the tournament. In his 5th year we tied for the B10 title, 6th year we made the national finals, and in his 7th the elite eight and a B10 title.
2. Fisher -- I can't really say how to evaluate a guy who can obviously coach (see SDSU) but who had at least enough of a cloud over his head to set things back a decade with some help from Fred Girard of the DetNews and Louis Bullock. While he made two finals I feel that making one with last year's team (as opposed to the Five Fab) was more impressive. Also, Fisher didn't face a home state team as strong as Izzo's program.
3. Strack -- He may have a claim on 2nd or 1st on this list. He built Michigan basketball from the gound up with the Cazzie era leading to the NCAA finals. That said, I can't evaluate the strengthen of the Big Ten from that era or of college basketball in general back then. And his last couple of teams struggled. Given that he was before my time I'm open to reevaluate.
4. Orr - his mid-70s teams with Hubbard and Green were incredible. He's here because, like Strack, his time was short and was bracketed by so so teams in the early and late 70s. I was in New York this weekend, and the Iowa State fans I met loved him for what that's worth
5. Frieder -- This is a tough one. Frieder brought in the level of player (Grant, Rice, Tarpley etc.) that I think made Michigan the kind of schools that the Fab Five would want to come to. That said, his tournament record involved one sweet sixteen finish and otherwise early exits.
but he did have fantastic talent.
but as a total package, I don't know what more you could want from Beilein. He wins a lot with guys who are a) so very likeable and b) develop tremendously under his coaching staff. He represents the program incredibly well and you just can't not like him.
As a coach maybe he isn't the best ever, but as the more modern position of Coach-University Ambassador he's got to be #1
Steve Fisher and Tommy Amaker have done well since leaving Michigan,as did Johnny Orr and Bill Frieder. Even Brian Ellerbee had a virtually-impossible task of building a winning program under the circumstances. But John Beilein stands out.
While John Beilein's offensive genius in clear, the turning point of his time at Michigan appears to have been replacing his entire coaching staff after the 2010 season. The quality of the recruits and player development improved dramatically after that. That had to have been an incredibly difficult decision personally, but Beilein did what was best for the program. He selected the perfect coaches to build the program and help him implement the Beilein system.
There is not another coach in America that I would want over Beilein to coach Michigan going forward -- although the prospects of recruiting 5 of the country's best 10 players every year is appealing, even if all are one-and-dones.
Beilein brought this program back from the dead and made it top-notch. Recruits want to come play here. He coaches an exciting brand of basketball, and his players get better each game.
I'm sure this can be disputed, but if Beilein gets another Final Four or two under his belt, and that elusive national title, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind where he falls on this list.
I started a reply that became Hokepoints this morning instead of the Spring thing I was writing. Nice going.
http://mgoblog.com/content/hokepoints-beilein-vs-all-time-old-guys
6 Michigan coaches I've actually seen coach (Orr, Frieder, Fisher, Ellerbe, Amaker, and Coach B). Michigan basketball suffered for many of those years with teams lacking fundamental skills. At many times, it seemed like the players weren't following any obvious strategy and mainly freelancing most plays. With Beilein, it seems there's ALWAYS a strategy behind what's going on. You also see the players clearly getting better. That didn't always occur with the other coaches.
Although Beilein is getting very good at recruiting, Frieder was the king in my opinion in that arena. Granted he did so in a less-regulated environment of recruiting. Although Fisher brought in great players, to me it was partially from riding Frieder's coattails somewhat and clouded by the whole Ed Martin thing. I do believe that Fisher is definitely a better coach today than he was at Michigan. It may simply because, like Beilein, he has all those more years of experience now.