News is breaking this morning that John Beilein has been hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers to a five-year contract. NBA speculation was rampant last season when Beilein was on a short list for the Detroit Pistons job, however Beilein was never actually offered the job itself. Beilein is very close with Mike Gansey, who played on Beilein's two Sweet Sixteen-appearing West Virginia sides and now serves as assistant general manager for the Cavs. As has been reported by several outlets, the reason for moving seems to be the desire for a challenge for John Beilein, and that is certainly what he's going to get.
What's Next for Michigan:
The first move would figure to be damage control and getting something into place to keep guys like Jalen Wilson, Cole Bajema, and Zeb Jackson committed to Michigan. Additional attrition needs to be avoided, and the hope is surely that with connections from Saddi Washington that Jaevin Cumberland is still attainable, even if Franz Wagner is no longer. Staff attrition would also figure to be important. Michigan fans likely don't want to lose Washington, Luke Yaklich, or Deandre Haynes, all of whom have been important in their various ways of building these teams that have gone on to three straight Sweet Sixteens.
That said, this fear doesn't mean you promote Washington or Yaklich if they are not ready for the job. Michigan now faces a massive conundrum where you need to find a really good coach, in May after most jobs have been filled. The question of if the staff is going to remain in place is likely going to be unsolved until an actual coaching hire is made. Surely Washington will at least get an interview, and Yaklich seems likely to as well, but with a job that was already seeming like a tall task for the Beilein led Wolverines, a more-proven name would figure to be on the cards. That is the same for the player personnel, but I would figure that at least for this season, that is more likely given the opportunity playing at Michigan remains to present -- a Big Ten school with national eyes on them.
The obvious next question is who are the candidates. The most obvious, not in-house, name would have to be LaVall Jordan. An ex-Michigan basketball assistant coach, he spent a year at Milwaukee before jumping to Butler where he won an NCAA Tournament game two seasons ago, but would get eliminated in the first round of the NIT last season. He still remains unproven at the head coaching level, though, and whether making a move for a coach that is not proven seems to be a risk for Michigan. One of the coaches in the proven category is Wichita State's Gregg Marshall. Marshall seems to be brought up in nearly any non-blueblood yet big name coaching search, but this would be one that it seems to be very real. Marshall turned WSU into a premier-name mid-major before they made the jump to the AAC where even despite a rebuilding year they advance to an NIT semifinal. Steve Prohm from Iowa State is a final, slightly larger-named, option. Prohm is just 44 and has won a game in the NCAA Tournament in three of the four seasons he's been at ISU, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. These are three coaches that have experience at a high-level, have won a game, at least, in the NCAA Tournament, and all have been talked about previously in making a move or have indeed done so (Prohm's name was discussed in the Alabama coaching search). Whether or not they'll be contacted is another story.
You could, of course, swing for the fences and try to see if Brad Stevens is tired of Boston yet, or if Billy Donovan wants out of OKC, but there is the question of how probable are either of them coming over to Michigan. Looking at more practical names within the sphere of the NCAA seems most likely, but a call never hurts, and the worst they can do is hang up. Juwan Howard is another name, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, but he has never coached at the collegiate level and his interest could be questionable. You certainly want to be smart and time-efficient, but placing some calls to names like Stevens might be worth it if not for the chance he does pick up. Another thought I have had is Nate Oats, which would well-and-truly pull the rug out from underneath Alabama, but having coached in the area, he could be a name. This happened with Chris Beard, where UNLV hired him from Little Rock but Texas Tech came calling. I file this under the slightly less-realistic realm, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
The Beilein Perspective:
John Beilein will be walking into a Cleveland team that does have a guaranteed top-six pick as well as a 14% chance for the number one pick overall, and thus winning the Zion Sweepstakes. Collin Sexton was the only player to play all 82 games for Cleveland while Cedi Osman started the most games with 75. This was a team that dealt with plenty of injury issues as their most played starting line-up took the floor together just nine times. Kevin Love played just 22 games this season, Tristan Thompson played 43, Brandon Knight played 27 for the Cavs after being acquired from Houston, so there were talented players that just weren't able to see the floor. It will be a tough task to rebuild this Cleveland squad, but with most of his personnel already in place, Beilein will have a good idea of what exactly he's getting into.
Final Thoughts:
This is not the news I was expecting when getting up this morning. Michigan fans will surely be rattled, but Beilein seems to have grown tired of the scandals surrounding the collegiate game and wanted a new challenge. Beilein is, for my money, the best men's basketball coach in program history. He has turned around a program that was floundering for years before him, and has left them in a better place than when he found it. The onus is now on Warde Manuel as the AD to make a home run hire that sets Michigan up for future success while keeping in place the morality that is so tough to hold on to in the college basketball sphere of influence.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
What's Next for Michigan:
The first move would figure to be damage control and getting something into place to keep guys like Jalen Wilson, Cole Bajema, and Zeb Jackson committed to Michigan. Additional attrition needs to be avoided, and the hope is surely that with connections from Saddi Washington that Jaevin Cumberland is still attainable, even if Franz Wagner is no longer. Staff attrition would also figure to be important. Michigan fans likely don't want to lose Washington, Luke Yaklich, or Deandre Haynes, all of whom have been important in their various ways of building these teams that have gone on to three straight Sweet Sixteens.
That said, this fear doesn't mean you promote Washington or Yaklich if they are not ready for the job. Michigan now faces a massive conundrum where you need to find a really good coach, in May after most jobs have been filled. The question of if the staff is going to remain in place is likely going to be unsolved until an actual coaching hire is made. Surely Washington will at least get an interview, and Yaklich seems likely to as well, but with a job that was already seeming like a tall task for the Beilein led Wolverines, a more-proven name would figure to be on the cards. That is the same for the player personnel, but I would figure that at least for this season, that is more likely given the opportunity playing at Michigan remains to present -- a Big Ten school with national eyes on them.
The obvious next question is who are the candidates. The most obvious, not in-house, name would have to be LaVall Jordan. An ex-Michigan basketball assistant coach, he spent a year at Milwaukee before jumping to Butler where he won an NCAA Tournament game two seasons ago, but would get eliminated in the first round of the NIT last season. He still remains unproven at the head coaching level, though, and whether making a move for a coach that is not proven seems to be a risk for Michigan. One of the coaches in the proven category is Wichita State's Gregg Marshall. Marshall seems to be brought up in nearly any non-blueblood yet big name coaching search, but this would be one that it seems to be very real. Marshall turned WSU into a premier-name mid-major before they made the jump to the AAC where even despite a rebuilding year they advance to an NIT semifinal. Steve Prohm from Iowa State is a final, slightly larger-named, option. Prohm is just 44 and has won a game in the NCAA Tournament in three of the four seasons he's been at ISU, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. These are three coaches that have experience at a high-level, have won a game, at least, in the NCAA Tournament, and all have been talked about previously in making a move or have indeed done so (Prohm's name was discussed in the Alabama coaching search). Whether or not they'll be contacted is another story.
You could, of course, swing for the fences and try to see if Brad Stevens is tired of Boston yet, or if Billy Donovan wants out of OKC, but there is the question of how probable are either of them coming over to Michigan. Looking at more practical names within the sphere of the NCAA seems most likely, but a call never hurts, and the worst they can do is hang up. Juwan Howard is another name, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, but he has never coached at the collegiate level and his interest could be questionable. You certainly want to be smart and time-efficient, but placing some calls to names like Stevens might be worth it if not for the chance he does pick up. Another thought I have had is Nate Oats, which would well-and-truly pull the rug out from underneath Alabama, but having coached in the area, he could be a name. This happened with Chris Beard, where UNLV hired him from Little Rock but Texas Tech came calling. I file this under the slightly less-realistic realm, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
The Beilein Perspective:
John Beilein will be walking into a Cleveland team that does have a guaranteed top-six pick as well as a 14% chance for the number one pick overall, and thus winning the Zion Sweepstakes. Collin Sexton was the only player to play all 82 games for Cleveland while Cedi Osman started the most games with 75. This was a team that dealt with plenty of injury issues as their most played starting line-up took the floor together just nine times. Kevin Love played just 22 games this season, Tristan Thompson played 43, Brandon Knight played 27 for the Cavs after being acquired from Houston, so there were talented players that just weren't able to see the floor. It will be a tough task to rebuild this Cleveland squad, but with most of his personnel already in place, Beilein will have a good idea of what exactly he's getting into.
Final Thoughts:
This is not the news I was expecting when getting up this morning. Michigan fans will surely be rattled, but Beilein seems to have grown tired of the scandals surrounding the collegiate game and wanted a new challenge. Beilein is, for my money, the best men's basketball coach in program history. He has turned around a program that was floundering for years before him, and has left them in a better place than when he found it. The onus is now on Warde Manuel as the AD to make a home run hire that sets Michigan up for future success while keeping in place the morality that is so tough to hold on to in the college basketball sphere of influence.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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