John Beilein shares observations from Michigan practice, why Wolverines are 'such a special team'

Former Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach John Beilein will be in the house Friday night for the program’s game against Michigan State, and he swung by Wednesday practice as the Maize and Blue prepare for the in-state foe.

Michigan is in its first year under head man Dusty May, and Beilein helped athletic director Warde Manuel reel him in from Florida Atlantic by attending a meeting in Fort Lauderdale last March.

Beilein won Big Ten championships and is most known for his NCAA Tournament success, not just at Michigan but elsewhere. May has made a Final Four at Florida Atlantic but just getting started with the Wolverines, and Friday’s game is one of his first big ones at the helm, considering it has major Big Ten title implications.

From Beilein’s vantage point, May and Co. are preparing the right way.

“I thought it was very positive,” Beilein said of Wednesday practice on ‘The HUGE Show’ with host Bill Simonson. “It was all teaching, and they certainly were very, very conscious of the tendencies of Michigan State throughout the practice. There are certain details that you have to address before you play Michigan State — their physicality, their tempo, the way they guard, the way they’re in the gaps.”

The staples of the MSU program are running in transition, make or miss, and crashing the offensive glass. The Spartans are also No. 1 in the Big Ten in adjusted defensive efficiency during league play.

“You have to pay attention to that, because every team is unique, but it’s a little bit more unique than others. Yearly, their defense is as good as anybody in the country, and on offense, you have to be ready to really execute — really execute. 

“And then defensively, you have to be ready to get back in transition, and they were working at that, as well. And then make sure you’re blocking out every time, because they could send five guys to the boards, you don’t know.

“They really pride themselves in out-toughing other teams, so you better bring your hard hat for this game.”

Beilein spoke to the Michigan staff at a retreat near Charlevoix, Mich., last summer and remains impressed with May’s staff.

“I think he’s delegated very well,” Beilein said of May. “Mike Boynton [Jr.], first of all, was a very good head coach at Oklahoma State. It didn’t work out, and now he’s there. And Mike really is that assistant coach who coaches the other coaches and has this, when Mike comes in and fires in there and talks, everybody listens.

“But then all of his other staff, they’re teaching. I observed practice yesterday. They’re just teachers. They just teach and teach and teach and teach.

“There are assistant coaches that recruit and recruit and recruit. There are some staffs that do not have guys who are ever at practice — they’re always just recruiting. That was never our template. No recruit was ever more important than our next game. But he’s got teachers. He’s got the ones that you want in that gym every day with your players.”

Michigan is ‘such a special team’

While the Spartans play physical basketball on the inside and rotation in a lot of bigs, Michigan has the advantage with starpower on the block. Junior forward/center Danny Wolf and graduate center Vladislav Goldin have teamed up to become one of the most formidable front courts in the nation.

“I think right now this is such a special team, because of the talent level,” Beilein said.

“All of the sudden, Vlad Goldin shows up on your doorstep because he’s of association with Dusty. This is a seven-foot true center who finishes everything. He’s got great hands. Not good hands, great hands.

“You know what Dusty told me? When he transferred to him from Texas Tech and he went to Florida Atlantic, he couldn’t catch the ball, and dropped everything. And now, I’m telling you, that guy has incredible hands. He’s so efficient with the way he plays.

“And then Danny Wolf just happens to … he’s a Michigan fan his whole life because his dad’s a graduate, wanted to go there out of high school but he hadn’t demonstrated that skill set. And then all of the sudden at Yale, develops it, and here he is, an NBA player just shows up, too.

“They have a unique set of players. [Graduate guard] Nimari Burnett has been waiting to win. I mean, the kid won eight games last year, they were last place. Him and [redshirt junior forward] Will Tschetter don’t get enough credit for sticking around, staying with the new coach and then taking their role on that team. Put that in with [junior guard] Tre Donaldson, and he’s as good as any of the point guards.”

Michigan has a high ceiling, Beilein believes.

“They are certainly a tournament team,” the former Michigan coach said. “They can win the Big Ten championship, obviously. They can win the tournament. They might be able to be a Final Four team. They gotta get lucky, but they can do that.”

Beilein was asked by Simonson if May has everything in place to win championships and make deep runs in the future.

“Teams have to go away for other teams to rise up,” Beilein explained. “And everybody thought Wisconsin was going away. They’re not going away. Michigan is not going away. Purdue is not going away. I don’t know where Ohio State will go here. I believe Michigan is not gonna go away. In other words, all of the sudden they’re at the bottom of the league.

“But, if you remember our Final Four team in ‘13, we finished fourth or fifth in the league. And in ‘18, it was similar. We were fifth — we had to win four games in the [Big Ten] Tournament. So, as long as you’re in that top seven in the Big Ten, I think you have a chance to win a national championship. I really do. You just gotta get hot and get lucky.”