Last Sunday Michigan beat Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament and complete 1 of the wildest weeks of their lives: I know because I was there! The Wolverines made it to the NCAA tourney in 2016 and beat Tulsa before a 7-PT loss to Notre Dame, and are back again as a #7-seed to face #10-seed Oklahoma State in a Midwest Region match-up on Friday afternoon in Indianapolis. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with 2 of Michigan coach John Beilein’s former assistant coaches (Mike MacDonald/Dave Niland) about his unconventional defense and long history of success in the postseason.
Coach Beilein is the only active college coach with 20-win seasons at 4 different levels (JC, NAIA, D-2, and D-1) and 1 of a handful of coaches to have taken 4 different D-1 schools to the NCAA tourney: how has he been able to be so successful at so many schools on so many levels? Mike McDonald: He is a great teacher who connects with the kids and knows the kind of players who will respond to his teaching. He has a great work ethic. Dave Niland: He is a great teacher of the game and is very clear in how he wants his teams to play. He can recruit to his philosophy.
He is known for using an unconventional 1–3–1 zone defense: what makes it so effective? MM: That is more personnel-driven: he used it a lot at West Virginia because his players were long/athletic but does not use it as much as Michigan. DN: He can recruit to it so he just finds players with some length and he has played it a lot throughout his career. If you understand zone offense you are going to understand zone defense. There are not a lot of different ways to attack it so if you are not a really good passing team then it is a major problem. He picks his spots with it but he never used it when I was at Canisius.
What are your memories of the 1995 NIT when he was coach at Canisius (Craig Wise scored 9 PTS and grabbed Michael Meeks’ missed 3-PT attempt and put it in with less than 1 second left in a 2-PT win over Bradley)? MM: The whole crowd was wearing red and we were a decided underdog on the road. It was a classic Beilein game where we hung around and made enough plays at the end to win the game.
In the 1998 NCAA tourney when he was coach at Richmond, Jarod Stevenson scored 24 PTS in a 1-PT win over #3-seed South Carolina: how was he able to pull off the upset? DN: His teams have always been hard to prepare for in a tourney situation. It was huge because it was his 1st NCAA tourney win as a head coach.
Take me through the 2005 NCAA tourney when he was coach at West Virginia:
Tyrone Sally blocked Nate Funk’s 3-PT attempt and then dunked the ball with 2.9 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Creighton: how was Sally able to singlehandedly win the game? DN: I was at that game and there was a lot of talent on the floor for both teams.
Mike Gansey scored 29 PTS in a 6-PT 2-OT win over Wake Forest: how does his coaching style change from regulation to overtime (if at all)? DN: I do not think that it changes that much. You might have to adjust if your roster is depleted due to foul trouble so you might do some switching on offense/defense.
His team made 18 threes and was up by 20 PTS in the 1st half of an 8-PT OT loss to Louisville: how on earth did he lose that game? DN: They got off to a great start but every team in the tourney can score so it is not as big a lead as if you were in the 2nd half. You just have to keep playing your game because the other team will start playing with some desperation and change what they do to try and get back into the game.
In the 2006 NCAA tourney Kenton Paulino scored 8 PTS including a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 3-PT win by Texas: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? DN: Just look at how many NBA guys were on Texas compared to how many were on West Virginia! The Mountaineers made a late shot to tie the game but it was still a tough ending.
Take me through the magical 2007 NIT Final 4:
Darris Nichols scored 17 PTS including a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT win over Mississippi State in the semifinals: where does that rank among the most clutch shots that you have ever seen? DN: They st up a little double-stack play down low and just ran it to perfection.
NIT MVP Frank Young scored 24 PTS (6-7 3PM) in a 5-PT win over Clemson in the title game: what did it mean to him to win the title? DN: I know that he really valued the NIT for a lot of reasons because his roots go way back: the NIT was always a big deal.
Take me through the magical 2013 NCAA tourney when he was coach at Michigan:
Trey Burke had 23 PTS/10 AST and made a long 3-PT shot with 4.2 seconds left in regulation in a 2-PT OT win over Kansas: where does Burke rank among the best players that he ever coached? DN: He has to be right up there, if not the best.
Tourney MOP Luke Hancock scored 22 PTS off the bench in a 6-PT win by Louisville: what are your memories of that title game? MM: It was gut-wrenching to get that close and lose but it was a great coaching job to get there. DN: It was an interesting game where Spike Albrecht hit a bunch of shots in the 1st half. Rick Pitino is a great coach and has proven it at many different schools because he always gets great players. It was a pretty amazing run by Michigan just to get there but then Burke got in foul trouble during the 1st half. It could have gone either way but he could not put Burke back in the game too early because if the guy picks up his 3rd foul during the 1st half then it would take away his aggressiveness in the 2nd half.