Unfortunately for your theory, JB’s teams have been historically bad on the defensive side of the ball.
I do agree to an extent that the type of player you target and recruit plays into the poor team defense. Overal philosophy plays a much bigger part IMO.
And yet after nearly 40 years of running an offense his way, he changed how his offense ran and incorporated new ideas with major input from assistants.
I am skeptical as well. But he has given defense plenty of talking time in interviews since the season ended. And if he hires a guy that is a defensive specialist, it starts going from words to actions.
We will see what happens. I’ll criticize JB as much as anyone if we still aren’t putting more effort into defense. But you’re being far too absolute about it IMO.
Admittedly, I am being pretty absolute about it. I hope Donlon gets the job and I hope defense becomes more of a priority.
We are all going to find out together.
We will save the discussion on how much JB has actually tweaked his offense for another day. 
Windsor: Beilein ‘remodeling’ U-M for return to success
I read that this morning and it made me chuckle about how so many UM fans say things like “He is going to play a lot of 1-3-1 zone” or “He never plays two bigs together”, etc. As if he doesn’t ever change how he does things. Give the man credit for not being stuck in a rut or afraid to try new and different things.
I guess we will find out how willing he is to adapt his system when Wagner picks up 2 fouls in the first half.
I find it interesting that seemingly everyone on this board criticizes JB for the two foul “rule”, yet it has been around for quite some time and was utilized long ago by the late great Al Maguire as well as other very good coaches over the years. I’m not saying whether I necessarily agree with the “rule” the way Coach B uses it, although he certainly knows more about his team and players than I do, but what I find interesting is that so many people on here talk as if THEY know what’s best as it relates to coaching philosophy, and Coach B doesn’t. I find THAT laughable.
i don’t agree with this at all. There are times when auto benching makes little sense to me (veteran perimeter players without a fouling history and no depth at the position), but with bigs, where there is contact on every possession, it generally does make sense, and with Wagner, who is extremely foul prone, and will be rotated with a guy who averaged 10 and 5 in the BT regular season (Donnal), it would seem mandatory to me.
So you really have no opinion on the matter but want to criticize the ones that don’t like the autobench. What’s next “if you didn’t play or coach the game you can’t have an opinion” line? You should just say you trust Beilein.
So you would at least agree that applying the auto bench 100% of the time, as in the past, would not constitute “adapting”, right?
There are a lot of places to adapt. This is not an all or nothing proposition. I’d like him to make some changes on auto benching, but if, for examples, we make changes in defensive philosophy, ways we approach certain recruiting situations, rotations, etc, or even some of those, I’m not going to call JB unadative simply because he doesn’t change in one area.
And even on auto benching, there’s a difference between taking a guy out when he gets his second foul and keeping him out for the remainder of the half, and taking him out and reinserting him late in the half especially if things are going badly. I’d venture to say that the overwhelming majority of coaches at least do the second, and that doesn’t bother me at all.
Oh, I DO have an opinion. I just don’t care to share it with those who really don’t care about that opinion. However, I will say I think there are nuances to the “rule” which perhaps preclude it being a hard and fast rule. And, yes, I do trust Coach Beilein. Oh, and I do think if you’ve never coached it’s pretty presumptuous of you to think your opinion really has much credibility. I do, however, believe you have the right to express that opinion just as I believe I have the right to laugh at it. Finally, and I’ve certainly made this point before, I get really tired of the criticism of our players and Coach B that seems to pervade this and other message boards. I know, I know…I don’t have to read it. Thanks, and GO BLUE!!!
I get what your saying but just because you haven’t coached before doesn’t mean you don’t know what your talking about. It just means you didn’t pursue a career in coaching.
Sly, I agree, and I may seem a bit arrogant at times. OK, sometimes I may seem very arrogant, but I feel that if one hasn’t actually called the shots he probably doesn’t really get it. That’s probably unfair but it is how I feel. And, while I do trust Coach B, believe me there are some philosophical differences I have with him. He is, however, our coach and he does know much more about our kids, the current state of our program, and the rigors of Division I coaching in 2016 than I know. Besides that, I’ve never attained the stature in coaching that he has. So, I don’t air those differences, in the rare instances when they exist, in a critical manner on a public forum. That may also be due to the fact that I am an old man and am fairly new to this social media thing where people feel they can say whatever they want whenever they want. But I do hear what you are saying. Just because one has not made basketball coaching his profession doesn’t mean one can’t have an opinion about basketball coaching. I will say this, however, I will almost always pay more attention to the opinions of those who are professionals, who have been in the arena so to speak, than those who are not professionals. Sorry I brought any of this up…again.
I don’t have any problem with auto-benching if a game can be kept close. A guy with two first half fouls becomes a target for the opponent and/or becomes a soft defender trying to avoid his third foul. If he picks up his third foul then he starts the second half playing softer trying to avoid his fourth.
The whole thing about needing to have played/coached to have an opinion is really silly. That’s equating basketball with professions that are beyond a layman’s comprehension, like neurosurgery. Some things meet that standard but most don’t.
Jean van de Velde can play circles around all of us, but that doesn’t mean you can’t question his thinking on that 18th hole a wee bit. To say otherwise is to say you can’t think for yourself.
Let’s just say we agree to disagree. I do think the neurosurgeon argument is a bit disingenuous, though, and a major straw man. I will say, however, that having an opinion is one thing. Setting oneself up as an expert and beating it to death on a public forum is quite another. As far as the golf analogy goes, you’re right in my wheelhouse now. I’m a pretty good player and worked as a golf professional, coach, and teacher of the game for many years, and while Arnold Palmer could certainly “play circles” around me, I’d never question decisions he made on the golf course especially as it relates to his game and the strategy he was employing at the time. Never. But again, we can agree to disagree. I would hope we can leave it at that because I don’t think Dylan would want us to continue this discussion here, and I respect that.
I look forward to this sentiment next time I cite efficiency ratings and someone says “my coaching buddies don’t care about efficiency ratings” as some sort of appeal to authority.
Glad we agree.
I think your Arnold Palmer example is dubious. Palmer made mistakes; many golf analysts noted them. Few if any of them were his peers, but what they did have were different angles on what happened, including the advantage of hindsight.
These arguments have to be made with at least a little nuance, both sides, or they’re little more than sophistry. New evidence is always being brought to the table. The two foul thing looked like coaching wisdom for several decades; now there is evidence it shouldn’t be followed to the letter every time out. (Late-game fouls and points may not have any more value than early ones, etc.) If Beilein persists in using it dogmatically he may be a bit old-fashioned. This doesn’t make him a nimbus, but some fairly limited thinkers sometimes believe this gives them an intellectual edge. . . over a highly successful coach with decades of experience who has added many of his own wrinkles to the game.
Similiarly, Beilein is often in possession of a lot more info than we are when he makes a personnel decision. That doesn’t always mean his decisions turn out for the best. Stuff happens leading up to a decision and after it, too. . .
Thank you. Hindsight IS 20/20. Although, my point with Arnold is, while he made mistakes, I, personally, would not have criticized those mistakes. As to Van de Velde, he suffered far greater than any of us did. I really was not one who criticized him (publicly) for the mistakes he made that day either, although I did have an opinion on some of his decisions, and I’m sure he questioned them in hindsight as well. The truth is, I honestly think if Coach Beilein was sitting here right now we could have an honest, straightforward discussion of what some on here refer to as Beilein’s “autobenching” rule. We could discuss whether he spends time in practice on defense and a myriad of other things, too. I think that discussion would be enlightening for everyone. For me it would be interesting to hear how many folks who criticize Coach B on here would be as vocal while looking him in the eye, AND I wonder how many of them would allow themselves to come away enlightened by what they hear from Coach B himself. To Hail, I hope you know I’ve never criticized your efficiency ratings, or cited my “coaching buddies.” However, I do admit to invoking the “I’ve been a coach for 29 years” card, but only to gain a bit of credibility. That’s probably oft putting to some and I apologize for that. I can also see that it affords me NO credibility with some of you. Fair enough. For the most part I love coming to this site, and I gain lots of valuable information on the forum. What I do find disturbing is the seemingly incessant criticism of Coach B by a few individuals on this board. I know everyone has right to their opinion. And I’m pretty sure there are those saying, “Get with the 21st century old man, that’s what happens on social media!” Fair enough…I guess. This is a thread about “A few Beilein quotes tonight” so I really am sorry I started this whole thing. I’m certain there are more than a few people who’ve come on here and thought, “Oh good, new Beilein quotes!” and then had to read my stuff. So, again, I apologize for that. Can we go on with life now? And as always, GO BLUE!!!