John Beilein on challenges ahead for Dusty May: 'Find guys that fit Michigan'

Former Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach John Beilein, the winningest head man in program history, was a part of the interview and search process that ended up with Dusty May taking over the program. While meeting alongside athletic director Warde Manuel, Beilein provided his insight on helming the ship in Ann Arbor, and asked May some of his own questions.

Now, May has work to do. He told WXYZ’s Brad Galli that he won’t have a chance to reflect on the whirlwind of his Florida Atlantic season ending and taking over at Michigan until he has a roster and staff built. Those will be tough tasks in the days and weeks ahead, but he’s looking forward to the work.

May has referenced getting the right people on the bus and the right people in the right seats, which comes from Jim Collins‘ famous business book, Good to Great. Appearing on ‘The HUGE Show,’ Beilein provided some insight on the path May has to doing that.

“I think to slowly build both a roster and a staff — and I mean slowly,” the former Michigan coach said. “Now, he has I-don’t-know-how-many days of the transfer portal.”

May has a trio of starters from Florida Atlantic with one year of eligibility left that could graduate and join him at Michigan — guards Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis and big man Vladislav Goldin. That would be a good start in constructing the roster, Beilein noted.

“When I left West Virginia, there were a couple of really good West Virginia players that wanted to go with me to Michigan, and I said, ‘No. That’s not the right thing. I’m not going to leave a program where they’re rebuilding again after I leave because I took their players.’ And today is a whole different day,” Beilein said. “And Dusty, if he has the good fortune to have a few players join him from his former team, he already knows them. Getting a few of those guys on board would really be helpful for him.

“And then same thing with staff — get a couple of guys you really know that you coached with for years, and just keep them in place to help you. And then with your staff, make sure that you find guys that fit Michigan or have experienced in the Big Ten or at Michigan. Hiring staff is so important. Getting the right roster.”

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May said he and the staff he builds will evaluate all options when it comes to retaining and adding players to the Michigan roster, and that the athletes will do the same. If both sides share a common vision and the fit is right, they’ll make the necessary moves. Beilein noted how important ‘fit’ is for both players and staff.

“Our mantra was, ‘Don’t care who you don’t get. Care who we get,'” Beilein said. “And take your time to hire the right guy, because if you hire the wrong guy or get the wrong guy on the roster, he beats you 35 times a year. And you’d rather have him go somewhere and beat you once or twice a year. I believe that’s going to be Dusty’s approach.”

‘It’s tough’

Michigan hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1998 when Beilein took over in 2007. He brought the Wolverines back to the Big Dance in his second season, and wound up winning 20 NCAA Tournament games and appearing in two title games over his 12 seasons. Winning at that rate — which included four Big Ten championships — wasn’t easy, however.

“It’s tough. Make no mistake about it, he’s got a tough job,” the former Michigan coach said. “It’s hard to hang on to being at the top like we were. That was hard, and we had our down years, too, that we weren’t competing for the one or two spot, we were competing for the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth spot. But that’s going to happen. As long as you can play in the tournament.

“But now, it’s a whole new thing. Now, he’s the bottom of the bottom [with Michigan finishing 8-24 and last in the Big Ten last season], and to get it all back is going to be really hard, but just grind away, day by day. We were 10-22 my first year and played the 8-9 game or the 9-10 game with Iowa. Meanwhile, my West Virginia team was in the Sweet 16. So, it’s a tough thing.”

The Michigan brand and how success is defined

Times have changed, though. Michigan learned three years ago when it made the Elite Eight that it wasn’t that far from being at the bottom of the Big Ten. It can also learn in short order that it’s not that far away from competing at the top of the league, if the Wolverines can have some good fortunes early.

“But with the transfer portal, he can get guys in,” Beilein continued. “Michigan’s brand — there are a lot of people that have grown up with from ‘08 to ‘18, they watched a decade of Michigan basketball that was special. And they watched it on TV, and that’s what they recall Michigan basketball as.

“They’re going to be very interested in taking Dusty and his assistants’ calls, because of the brand that I knew, with Cazzie Russell and Glen Rice and these guys, that I had watched these great, great players play over time, that brand now is back. That brand, we got it back. Now it’s up to him to use that brand going forward.”

May and Beilein have the same philosophy on what defines success. May said in his press conference that late former Indiana coach Bob Knight, whom he worked for as a student manager, said, “If you’re competing for Big Ten championships, then you’re competing for national championships.” Beilein shared a similar sentiment.

“I said, if we can perennially compete for the Big Ten championship, we are perennially competing for the national championship,” the former Michigan head man said. “It means, if we’re in the top four or five every year in the Big Ten, when March comes, we can win it all — and we almost did twice.”