I love Beilein as much as any Sparty loves Izzo, but it wouldn’t move the program forward to bring him back as head coach. I’d prefer a “Dan Campbell” type hire, someone who isn’t necessarily a name, but with a solid resume. I was thinking the coach at Iowa State, but now that he’s won the Big XII title this year I wonder if he’d even be available.
Yep, and what Michigan needs to do is hire the next John Beilein -- somebody who has proven he can build winners and is able to take it up to the highest level at a place like Michigan.
Thanks for the insight, Steve! I re-read Mitch Albom’s Fab Five (1993) at least every other year (usually around tournament time), and have been silently campaigning for a Brian Dutcher reunion since the Ellerbe days. Albom details how Dutcher understood the intricacies of how to recruit better than anyone in the staff - he made personal connections with Juwan and Jimmy (“Think of my daughters as your baby sisters. You come here, you’ll watch them grow.), built up Ray’s confidence when he needed it the most, and understood that they needed to bring in Perry Watson to show Chris and Jalen they would be taken care of and heard. I’m happy he’s found success in San Diego but J think it’d be great for the program if he came back to Ann Arbor.
Great observations, Adam. You're right about Dutcher. He's a winner in every way and, most importantly, he knows people and relates. He knows when to be firm with players, when to put an arm around them, and how to run a consistently winning program.
I am just heartbroken about JH not working out. We all want the fairy tale ending, right?
I'm with you, Jill. It sure looked like everything was headed toward that fairy tale ending just three years ago. Sad that it won't happen.
I love Beilein as much as any Sparty loves Izzo, but it wouldn’t move the program forward to bring him back as head coach. I’d prefer a “Dan Campbell” type hire, someone who isn’t necessarily a name, but with a solid resume. I was thinking the coach at Iowa State, but now that he’s won the Big XII title this year I wonder if he’d even be available.
Yep, and what Michigan needs to do is hire the next John Beilein -- somebody who has proven he can build winners and is able to take it up to the highest level at a place like Michigan.
Thanks for the insight, Steve! I re-read Mitch Albom’s Fab Five (1993) at least every other year (usually around tournament time), and have been silently campaigning for a Brian Dutcher reunion since the Ellerbe days. Albom details how Dutcher understood the intricacies of how to recruit better than anyone in the staff - he made personal connections with Juwan and Jimmy (“Think of my daughters as your baby sisters. You come here, you’ll watch them grow.), built up Ray’s confidence when he needed it the most, and understood that they needed to bring in Perry Watson to show Chris and Jalen they would be taken care of and heard. I’m happy he’s found success in San Diego but J think it’d be great for the program if he came back to Ann Arbor.
Great observations, Adam. You're right about Dutcher. He's a winner in every way and, most importantly, he knows people and relates. He knows when to be firm with players, when to put an arm around them, and how to run a consistently winning program.
I just don’t see Warde Manuel hiring someone the age of Beilein, Dutcher, etc. One coach to keep an eye on, USF Bulls coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
Amir has done wonders at USF, which had struggled mightily for years. One to watch.