Can Coach Beilein Survive Another Season Like This?

Submitted by MGoVoldemort on
First, I want to preface this by saying there isn't a man coaching any sport in collegiate athletics that I hold in higher regard than Coach Beilein. My son has attended basketball camps in which Coach has been present, and the way he works with the kids, and the way in which he carries himself impressed me immensely. He's everything still good and pure about college basketball. That being said, I have to ask the following question: with UM's resources and built in advantages, do you think Coach Beilein can survive another season in which the team misses the NCAA tournament? Here's hoping that discussion never has to happen next year.

DJEasy12

March 7th, 2016 at 12:38 AM ^

Like, a Dave Brandon level douche. If you really hate Magnus' stuff so much, then point it out when he actually posts something that represents the "below average scouting reports" or "NSFW material". You posted this shit when all he did was reply with a one word answer to your question. In other words, you went out of your way to be an ass. You would make DB proud. 

MGoVoldemort

March 6th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^

15 people agreeing with this likely means a relatively high subset of MGoBloggers agree with me. This is nothing against you personally, I just would expect a higher degree of insight, and less NSFW material. Relying with snark to a legitimate question is actually trolling. What I did was simply voicing a complaint.

coldnjl

March 7th, 2016 at 8:27 AM ^

What you don't get is that it is what he wants...who gives a shit whether you approve of it or not. There is some good info there. IF you have such a problem with the NSFW material, don't go there. Didn't realize this was such a problem.

bluebloodedfan

March 6th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^

It would be extremely difficult to lay exclusive blame on coach when he had to deal with the injuries he's had to this year. When we talk about us having perspective then add that to the equation. Our best player was out for basically the whole year. That is a death blow in basketball terms. There is no other team sport where one player can make or break a season like basketball. The year we went to the finals if we didn't have Burke we probably make the first cut and not get out of the round of 32. And this can be in large part do to people not being ready to assume the mantle of leader. So yeah he gets a pass from me.

kscurrie2

March 6th, 2016 at 1:09 PM ^

Not being ready to assemble the mantle of leadership boils down to recruiting players that can be leaders and not just jump shooters. It's not his coaching that is the problem, it's his recruiting. He has a bed of talent with 80 miles in each direction, and he can't get any of it.

Gameboy

March 6th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^

People who believe that a coach who went to the Championship games just a few years ago (and lost to a cheater),should be fired because of a couple of mediocre season is the very reason why college sport is going to hell in a handbasket.

LSA Superstar

March 7th, 2016 at 7:52 AM ^

I sort of agree with this.  When you have three great years like Beilein did between 2012 and 2014, I think you make a substantial deposit into the "sports fan goodwill" account.  But I also think that his teams underacheived spectacularly this year and the last, and there's no sugar coating the unmitigated disaster that was the 2016 recruiting class.  Those are like withdrawals from that goodwill account.  I agree with you that fans who are ready to pull the plug now are being unrealistic and unnecessarily harsh given teh entirety of his record.  But I also feel that the account's funds are dwindling.

The question posed is whether a third straight season like 2015 and 2016 would put Beilien's job in jeopardy.  I think that it would, and I don't think that's unreasonable at that point.

Magnus

March 7th, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^

Not to sound like Tom Izzo, but basketball is largely dependent on one or two players. When your star player misses the majority of conference games for two years, that's going to have an impact on your record. Toss in the fact that Walton missed a bunch of time last year, and Albrecht has missed almost the entire season, and injuries are a big part of it. I don't think a coach should be fired because his players get injured. However, if I were the A.D., I would be looking into the medical care and training the players are receiving. Maybe it's just a freak coincidence of injuries, but it's something that needs to be addressed in some way.

lbpeley

March 6th, 2016 at 10:34 AM ^

I agree with your statements about the man. It's hard to want him gone but we are a tire fire with no hope in sight.

turd ferguson

March 6th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^

Come on, I'm frustrated too, but we aren't anything close to a tire fire.  We finished 10-8 in the Big Ten and are just two years removed from our last Big Ten title.  And we haven't had anything resembling the extracurricular stuff that a lot of other programs are dealing with now.  We're just boring, and we look like a program that might continue to be boring for awhile.

JonnyHintz

March 6th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^

And after two average seasons, you're willing to fire the coach that just recently brought us big ten titles and a national title appearance.

Talk about needing perspective.

Actions like that are what doesn't allow a program to develop any kind of consistency. It drives away both potential coaches and potential recruits. Seasons where you win 20 games and 10 wins in conference get you fired? Nobody in their right mind wants to be a part of that. So you fire Belein and are forced to go with a subpar candidate, which sets the program back even farther.

Two average big ten seasons isn't nearly enough to call for a coaches head. Look at where we were prior to Belein. He has done wonders for the program, and you would call for his job after a 20 win season?

JonnyHintz

March 6th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^

I keep saying 20 wins because 20 wins is the number of wins we have. That's what it means. 20 wins isn't a bad total. Not by any means. Is it where we want to be as a program? No. But as a program we also don't want to unexpectedly lose our top two players every year. You have to figure that with both LeVert and Spike, we would have had a much better season. They are, without a doubt, better than their replacements.

Injuries happen. Unexpected departures happen. But when they do, and your team still manages to win over 60% of their games and finish above .500 in the Big Ten, you shouldn't be calling for your coach's head. 20-11 isn't a record where you should be considering firing your coach when you lost your top two players. That's what I'm saying. Just two years ago, we won 28 games. The year before that, we won 31. 20 wins isn't the norm under Belein.

WorldwideTJRob

March 6th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^

But look deeper into the numbers. All of our losses except one was by double-digits. We feasted on weak teams this year and really haven't looked competitive against squads with decent talent. Spike and Caris are good players but they were on the floor when we got beat by UCONN, SMU and Xavier too.




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pescadero

March 7th, 2016 at 10:39 AM ^

But as a program we also don't want to unexpectedly lose our top two players every year.

 

1) If Spike is one of your "top two players" - you're already screwed.

2) It's pretty hard to call the loss of Spike "unexpected". He had TWO hip surgeries before the season. Him actually playing any significant amount this season would have been "unexpected"

3) You should recruit expecting to lose players regularly - either to injury or the NBA.