4E - Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Michigan Daily - mihanivco

4E -Tueday Sepembr 8 200 Th Mihiaa Daly miciaadaivc.

I

Minor uses reckless

Beilein has made Michigan

abandon on the field a Tournament-caliber team

By DAN FELDMAN
Daily SportsEditor
NOVEMBER 12TH, 2008 -
Junior running back Brandon
Minor has taken three direct snaps
in the Michigan football team's last
two games. Each time he lowered
his head and ran.
But will he ever throw when he
lines up under center?
"I loverunningtheballtoomuch
to pass it," Minor said. "I doubt it."
Although Michigan football
coach Rich Rodriguez said Minor
was always considered the start-
er, the Richmond, Va., native had
just 13 carries in the Wolverines'
first six games as he dealt with an
assortment of injuries.
Minor sulked during the early
part of the season with his reduced
role. Thoughts of never getting his
chance to show what he can do and
even transferring crossed his mind.
His sense of humor didn't show as
often as it normally did.
"I just zoned out," Minor said.
"I wasn't joking around in practice
like I usually do. I wasn't talking
much at all. I was just trying to
affect the plays."
He tried talking to his coaches,
but that didn't get anywhere. Then
he turned to his mom, brother and
old coaches.
"They was like, 'Stay with it.
Fight it out,' " Minor said. "They
was saying they know me better
than that."
Minor said his attitude improved
in the week leading up to Michi-
gan's Sept. 27 game against Wis-

consin. The results weren't evident
until Minor started at Penn State
four games later. Minor has had
more carries in each of the last
four games than the first six games
combined.
In the three-game stretch start-
ing with the Nittany Lions, Minor
accounted for 41 percent of Michi-
gan's offense, 63 percent of its
touchdowns and 53 percent of its
scoring.
Duringthat run, Minor returned
to his old form - having no regard.
NO REGARD FOR HIS BODY
Minor was knocked out of the
Wolverines' game at Minnesota
in the third quarter with what
Rodriguez initially thought was a
separated shoulder. Rodriguez was
asked about Minor's status Mon-
day.
"He's got sore ribs," Rodriguez
said. "He's got a sore shoulder. He's
got a sore wrist."
And that doesn't even include
the hamstring injury that nagged
him earlier this season.
Rodriguez said Minor didn't
practice Tuesday and is "very
questionable" for Saturday's game
against Northwestern.
"He's a tough guy," Rodriguez
said. "And I'm sure if he's able to go
at all during practice this week, he
will."
The coach added that Minor has
picked up the schemes well enough
that he could miss practice for most
of the week and still play against
Northwestern.
See MINOR, Page 7E

By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
MARCH 16TH, 2008 - John Beil-
ein jumped out of his large leather
chair, embraced his wife and chil-
dren to his right and ran on to his
jubilant players.
The man who had just been hid-
ing his inevitable nerves, sitting
calmly, with his legs crossed and
left hand sitting reassuringly on
the back of redshirt freshman Laval
Lucas-Perry's chair, was ecstatic.
With hundreds of screaming
fans in Crisler Arena, Michigan's
men's basketball coach had just
led his team to something huge -
its first NCAA Tournament berth
since 1998.
When Beilein first met with his
players in April 2007, he brought
the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight
rings he earned at West Virginia to
share. As each player slid the rings
on and off, Beilein's message was
clear:
"We're going to put these on
as soon as we can," Beilein said
through the Athletic Department
in 2007. "NCAA rings, we're going
to go after it as soon as we can.
There's no timetable. Just do your
best, and our coaching staff and
everyone will do the best they can,
as well."
That was 534 days ago. It has
been 11 years since Michigan's
last Tournament appearance. On
Thursday at 7:10 p.m., that will
change.
Yesterday, Michigan became a

Michigan coach John Beilein addresses the crowd at Crisler Arena yesterday before the NCAA Selection Show began.

legitimate Tournament team. And
Beilein deserves a lot of the credit.
HE'S BEEN EVERYWHERE
Thirty years of head coaching
experience speaks pretty loudly,
and 26 winning seasons is even
clearer.
Never as an assistant, Beilein has
learned how to win as a head coach
at all levels - community college,
NCAA Division II, and for the last
17 years, Division I.
In April 2007, after six seasons
under former-Michigan coach
Tommy Amaker and no NCAA
Tournament bids, Michigan Ath-
letic Director Bill Martin brought in
someone with a winner's resume.
Known as a true teacher, Beilein
directed his programs to greatness
with a quirky offensive system and
an ability to make seemingly aver-
age players into household names.
"John Beilein can win at what-
ever level you put him at and still
maintain the integrity of the insti-
tution and the integrity of his pro-
gram," said John Maddock, an
associate athletic director at Cani-
sius who served on the Canisius
search committee that helped hire
Beilein. "He finds a way. ... He's got
a track record that if you buy into
what he's selling, you're going to
win."
Beilein has sold his system well
with 10 postseason appearances.
But he also shows loyalty to his
players.
In 2006, Beilein's West Virginia
squad dropped its final regular-
season contest by three points to
Cincinnati on the road.
More than 400 miles away, in
Buffalo, N.Y., two of Beilein's for-
mer players, Michael Meeks and
Daryl Barley, were being induct-
ed into the Canisius Sports Hall
of Fame. Immediately after the
Mountaineers' game ended, Beilein
boarded a plane bound for Buffalo.
He made Meeks and Barley's after-
noon ceremony and then took the
two out for dinner. A few chicken
wings and another plane ride later,
he was back to Morgantown.
"That's why he's a special guy,"
Maddock said. "That's why he's so
successful and why players play
hard for him and people work for
him. He's extremely loyal, extreme-
ly passionate about what he does
and he cares about people."
In his six seasons, Amaker was
known as a class act. His integ-
rity and straight-laced recruiting
brought Michigan out of a dark
sanction period. He led the Wolver-
ines to two NIT Finals and won the
title in 2004.
But his teams could never quite
make it to the Big Dance.
"It was good with both guys,"
said assistant coach Mike Jackson,
who also worked under Amaker.
"But it's been really good to just
learn from someone who's won so
many games, done so many things
and been in this situation a lot of
times."

Beilein is now one of just seven
coaches to lead four different teams
to the NCAA Tournament.
He has done it with a variety
of players, some he recruited and
some he didn't. But before he even
conducted his first practice in Ann
Arbor, he needed to get Michigan's
best on board.
WINNING THEM OVER
Like he had done at his previous
stops, Beilein made a phone call
shortly after earning the head job.
DeShawn Sims had just finished
his freshman season. Sims came
in as a highly touted big man with
potential for a good outside shot,
but Amaker limited his playing
time.
Beilein was new coach and want-
ed the most from Sims.
Beilein called and Sims was all
ears.
"Ihadadelightful10-minutecon-
versation with him," Beilein said.
"And what I was most impressed
of ... I said, listen, we gotta address
this issue. Areyou in with this thing
as you get a new coach?
"And there was never any doubt
in his mind or my mind, showed no
wavering at all. 'Coach, I came to
Michigan to help turn the program
around.'And it was great chemistry
from the beginning."
In the Wolverines' marquee wins
this season - UCLA, Duke and Pur-
due - it was Sims who dominated
the stat sheets.
Since his freshman season, Sims
has blossomed as an agile post pres-
ence and crashed the boards as the
Big Ten's fourth-leading rebounder.
He can also hit outside shots with
some of the Wolverines' best sharp
shooters.
And as Sims jumped from his
chair as he heard Michigan's name
called yesterday as the South
Region's No. 10 seed, he had one
person to thank.
"Coach Beilein deserves 90 per-
cent of the credit," Sims said. "He's
done a great job of getting us to
believe. Believing has been lost in
Ann Arbor since probably the last
time we went to the Tournament
Once you teach people to believe,
it's very easy from there."
It's easy to believe now. Amaker
recruited players many thought
would return the program to great-
ness during his tenure. When Bei-
lein took the helm, he inherited
Amaker's highly touted recruiting
class. And Beilein had to make a
few more phone calls.
One was to Manny Harris.
Harris, Michigan's 2007 Mr.
Basketball, was set on becoming a
Wolverine.
When Amaker was fired, the
then-high school senior told report-
ers his plans were still intact. But
then his classmate Alex Legion
decommitted and Harris was faced
with a difficult decision.
"I told (Harris) that the reason
why he should stay is if he turns
that program around, which he's

doing now, and come back to the
Dance, put up'good numbers over
four years, he has a good chance
to go down as one of the greats,"
Ken Flowers, Harris's high school
coach, said.
In high school, Harris would
slash to the basket and draw fouls
with ease - not exactly a charac-
teristic of Beilein's previous sharp
shooters like Kevin Pittsnogle and
Joe Alexander.
"Beilein is more of jump shoot-
ing, and it really wasn't much of his
game," Flowers said of Harris. "But
working out this summer with me
and all year last year with Coach
Beilein, he really understands the
system right now and it's working."
Now, Harris still mesmerizes
with his drives but can also drain a
game-changing 3-pointer.
Within Beilein's system, Harris
has 93 more rebounds and 56 more
assists than at this point in his
freshman season.
Flowers said Harris has always
been very headstrong and com-
petitive, putting in extra effort
to improve. Harris has become a
complete player and is considered a
leader on his team.
"He came in and went straight to
business and didn't let up one bit on
me or my teammates," Harris said
of Beilein. "It was a lot himshowing
me the ropes. But I was able tontake
it - don't argue with him, don't
fight with him, and just want to get
better."
Harris and Sims wanted it, and
Beilein has shown them the way.
THE FUTURE
Beilein said he's going to enjoy
a cold beer and savor his team's
NCAA Tournament bid, but just for
one night.
It's not enough to have Michigan
simply make the Tournament. He
expects more.
"We had to get to this point to
have people believe," Beilein said.
"You know about recruiting, what
this does to people saying,'Are they
going to get it done there? Is that
style going to work, are those type
of recruits going to work, is this
going to work?'
"Okay, it worked so far ... now
we've got to continue with the pro-
gram so we can not just be happy
to be in, but to be in and advance,
which is obviously what we're try-
ing to do on Thursday."
Unlike Beilein's previous stops,
Michiganhas the namerecognition
to attract the country's top talent.
But Beilein has made a name for
himself by fitting players into his
system and maximizing their abil-
ity. Will he need top talent to grow
the program?
Beilein brought in freshmen
guards Stu Douglass and Zack
Novak this season. Two of the
team's best sharp shooters, the
duo has taken away playing time
from Amaker's original recruits
like sophomore point guard Kelvin
See BEILEIN, Page 7E

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