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.
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.
I am just heartbroken about JH not working out. We all want the fairy tale ending, right?
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.
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.
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.