Beilein: Master Team Builder Back on the Job

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's always interesting to watch a new team take its first steps together in games.

It's a little like the first days on a new job or in a new house.

How do you fit in?

What's this neighborhood like?

Where's the garage door opener?

I mentioned those analogies to Michigan basketball coach John Beilein Monday night (Nov. 13) after his team overcame an eight-point deficit against Central Michigan for a 72-65 win.

"It's very much like those things," said Beilein. "But I think this is more like being in the same house, but now you have all these new neighbors."

Many of the new players were highly-recruited, but most have never competed at this level when the games mattered. So, belief in the developmental process is central to Beilein's approach.

"What I am trying to get them to embrace is I'm telling them how good they can be," he said. "I think that's my job -- to lead them so they can lead themselves. We're trying to teach them how to do that, and I've got a great staff. So, every day is good. But they need to know we are going to go through wins like this and losses like this. It's all part of it."

The Wolverines are 2-0, but Thursday night's (Nov. 16) home game against Southern Mississippi is all that remains between them and what Beilein considers one of the toughest schedules any team in the country will face.

Michigan drew LSU in the opener of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational next Monday (Nov. 20) and also visits No. 9 North Carolina Nov. 29 before opening the Big Ten season here Dec. 2 with Indiana and traveling to Ohio State two days later. Then No. 23 UCLA visits Dec. 9 before the Wolverines travel to Texas Dec. 12. Four top-20 conference opponents await, too.

Beilein's team might have won the Big Ten Tournament championship last season before reaching the Sweet 16. But that was last year, and Derrick Walton Jr. and D.J. Wilson are off to the NBA. Zak Irvin is playing in Italy and Mark Donnal became a graduate transfer to Clemson. Three top players return in power forward Moritz Wagner, guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and forward Duncan Robinson.

"Those three are trying to connect all the others," said Beilein.

The starting lineup of Wagner (10 points, 11 rebounds), Abdur-Rahkman (17 points, four assists), Robinson (10 points, three assists), forward Charles Matthews (13 points, three rebounds) and point guard Zavier Simpson (13 points, three assists and zero turnovers) all scored in double-figures against CMU.

However, the fact that they were required on the court into the final minute of play against a rebuilding Mid-American Conference team speaks to the development work that remains to be done.

Beilein noted that the season-opening win two nights prior against North Florida was similar to the CMU victory. Michigan trailed by seven in that one before winning by 20.

"We've showed that we have a long way to go," said Beilein. "…It's going to be quite a journey until we mold this team and figure this thing out."

This is Beilein's 11th season at Michigan, and with 216 wins he surpassed Johnny Orr as the program's leader in victories. So, he knows how to win.

Beilein, 64, also knows how to build a new team, year after year. This is his 40th season as a college head coach.

I asked his players what makes Beilein a great team builder.

"It's just that he's always teaching," Robinson said. "Every opportunity he gets, it doesn't matter if you're the first guy on the bench of the last guy or on the scout team. As a result, he teaches us all through the year, and he sees us get better incrementally as the year goes on. And, hopefully, come the end of the season, we're playing our best basketball."

That was exactly what happened last year, when the team appeared to have fallen out of contention for an NCAA berth but rallied for a great finish.

"The key to Coach Beilein's team building is the recruiting process," said Abdur-Rahkman. "He only recruits certain kinds of guys, and they've got to jell well and everybody's going to be one big family. He recruits kids who have the right attitude."

Those players have been with Beilein for four years, while this is the second for Simpson. But he already appreciates what his coach does to mold a team.

"He teaches us from the bad things we might do," said Simpson. "He watches a lot of film and brings us together in small groups by positions. It's the QB (Quarterback) Club. He might talk to the wings or the guards, getting three or four of us together, and holds court, hands on. He teaches us the things we need to know to keep us mentally engaged, which is very important to staying fresh mentally.

"Most importantly, we stick together. We don't point fingers."

Adding to the team building challenge is the fact that, for the second consecutive year, Beilein had to replace two of his assistant coaches with Jeff Meyer and Billy Donlon departing. He's confident that DeAndre Haynes and Luke Yaklich are very able replacements to go with second-year staff member Saddi Washington. But it also takes time for a new coaching staff to jell.

"Jeff Meyer was with me for a long time," said Beilein, "and took care of a lot of game day stuff. And now I'm trying to feed that to the other guys, and then Dre's learning the nuances of our offenses and he's doing that really well. So, it's all good, but part of the process we're going through."

Robinson said, "Coach Haynes and Coach Yahk have been awesome. They're great teachers, but it'll take time."

Simpson, a sophomore whom Walton mentored closely, and Matthews, a transfer from Kentucky with three seasons of eligibility remaining, have a ton of potential.

"It was another good day for Zavier," said Beilein. "... Zavier's really gradually getting better and feeling more comfortable, and defensively he's really key for us. He's not making a lot of the silly fouls he made last year, and still playing aggressive."

Charles Matthews

Matthews' pair of two-handed dunks late in the game were the exclamation points on the victory, and real crowd-pleasers at Crisler Center.

"Don't you guys like his energy?" Beilein asked reporters. "He's flying in to get rebounds. He made a hell of a play on the fast break, he's giving us energy and playing through his mistakes. And I'm going to let him play through them. He's such an elite athlete that he doesn't get worn down as much as some other guys might get worn down."

Jon Teske, a 7-foot-1 sophomore who is backing up Wagner, hit all four free throws he took, blocked two shots and added one rebound and one steal in 10 productive minutes. He looks leaner and meaner than last season with considerably better footwork.

"That was the best he's ever played," noted Beilein. "He's got to play with that kind of intensity."

Buying into the learning process is the key.

Beilein said, "I continue to tell our guys, 'You're going to keep learning all year long because I'm continuing to learn every day. And if you're fortunate to play after college, you're going to continue to learn then.'

"We're just trying to be able to get to that point where you'll never know it all, but just reduce the amount that we don't know so we can attack correctly both offensively and defensively."

Beiliein ended his postgame talk with the team by saying, "We made the most of today. We're going to make the most of tomorrow."

Then he led them in a group chant that emphasizes if they play hard and smart while excelling on defense, they will be champions.

Last year's players know that to be true.

"We do," said Robinson, "we really do. We've experienced that first-hand, absolutely. So, we've just got to buy into it and we'll grow."

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