2B — January 26, 2015
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

asked Hatch about his 
relationship with Beilein, 
the man who honored his 
scholarship knowing full well 
he might never contribute on 
the court. Hatch didn’t mince 
words.

“Obviously, he’s a great 

coach,” he said. “But I would say 
he’s 10 times the man that he is a 
basketball coach.”

Saturday morning, John 

Beilein the man was on full 
display. Saturday night, it was 
John Beilein the coach’s turn. He 
didn’t disappoint.

In his eighth year at 

Michigan, Beilein has become 
a fan of the mix-and-match 
lineup, especially in light of 
junior guard Caris LeVert’s 
season-ending injury. He can 
use both of his point guards at 
once. He can play the hot hand. 
He can go big, or he can go 
small.

He can even use the players 

nobody expects him to use. 
Sometimes he’ll even do it in 
the first half of one of the most 
important games of the season, 
because he wants to send a 
message.

“I want to make a point,” 

Beilein said. “I think it’s really 
good for our team and for 
chemistry for those guys who 
work so hard to see playing time. 
Even if it’s short.”

Sophomore guard Andrew 

Dakich had never played a 
meaningful minute for Michigan 
before Tuesday’s 54-50 win over 
Rutgers. Sophomore forward 
Sean Lonergan’s career high in 
scoring is two points.

That didn’t stop either from 

appearing on ESPN in the first 
half of a back-and-forth clash 
against the No. 6 team in the 
country.

“I want to get them in there,” 

Beilein said. “Those two guys are 
so respected by their peers and 
everybody wants them to do so 
well, it could be a catalyst for us 
in some games.”

Hatch’s presence and his 

energy are catalysts in and of 
themselves. But Hatch, of course, 

isn’t nearly ready to see the 
floor against Wisconsin. For the 
time being, that doesn’t seem to 
bother him or Beilein.

“I’m a part of a miracle right 

now,” Beilein said of Hatch, his 
career, his very presence on 
planet Earth.

Beilein’s 

role in that 
miracle is 
made obvious 
by his tears, 
his sighs, his 
reassuring 
squeeze of 
Hatch’s arm. 
And the 
reason he 
played a role 
in that miracle is evidenced 
by his confidence in a pair of 
players in whom he has been 
given little objective, in-game 
reason to be confident.

Andrew Dakich and Sean 

Lonergan were on the floor with 
the game tied against Bo Ryan’s 
juggernaut Wisconsin team. And 
that says everything about John 
Beilein, the man who has stuck 
with Hatch every step of the 
way and the coach who believes 
as steadfastly as anybody in the 
world that hard work, effort 
and sheer desire deserve to be 
rewarded.

John Beilein the man and 

John Beilein the coach are 
obviously not separate entities.

Both of them have the 

unlikely trio of Ricky Doyle, 
Mark Donnal and Max Bielfeldt 
containing Wisconsin’s Frank 

Kaminsky, one of the country’s 
premier big men, for 45 minutes. 
Both of them sat alone at a 
table until they were sure there 
wasn’t an NBA draft selection 
to accept on Jordan Morgan’s 
behalf. Both trusted Derrick 
Walton Jr. with the improbable 

game-tying 
3-point shot 
that sent 
Saturday’s 
game to 
overtime.

With LeVert 

gone, the 
man and the 
coach might 
be reaching 
a limit. One 

has to keep an inexperienced 
group of teenagers emotionally 
intact as they face the pressure 
of living up to consecutive 
Final Four and Elite Eight 
appearances. The other has to 
coax as much production as he 
possibly can out of the same 
group.

Beilein has proved time 

and time again the two aren’t 
mutually exclusive. He wore 
both hats Saturday, and he wore 
them well. In Austin Hatch, in 
Andrew Dakich and in Derrick 
Walton Jr., everything that is 
good about Michigan basketball 
was on full display.

Five-point loss aside, you can’t 

ask for much more.

Facher can be reached 

at lfacher@umich.edu or 

on Twitter @levfacher.

BEILEIN
From Page 1B

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

John Beilein’s contributions run far deeper than the product on the floor.

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

A quiz on the state of 
Michigan athletics

I 

have a midterm in a class 
already next week, and 
sorry mom, but I have yet to 

study. Maybe it’s because I’m a 
Communication Studies major, 
but I haven’t 
exactly had 
a ton of 
practice with 
this whole 
exam thing.

Perhaps 

I could use 
Michigan 
athletics to 
help with 
“studying,” 
though. With so much going on 
around the world of Michigan 
sports, sometimes it’s hard to 
keep track of everything.

So here’s a test on the state of 

Michigan athletics to begin the 
year 2015, to see how well you 
can keep up with the changes. 
The answer key is at the bottom, 
and there can be more than one 
right answer.

But you won’t receive a grade 

if you get them all correct. You 
may reward yourself by going to 
Rick’s. And if you fail, you may 
still go to Rick’s.

1: MAAR is an acronym 

for… 

A. … Michigan Alien 

Abduction Research, the newest 
concentration at the University 
for students.

B. … Muhammad Ali Abdur-

Rahkman, a freshman guard for 
the Michigan men’s basketball 
team, vying for starting time in 
Caris LeVert’s absence.

C. … Meerkat Attack and 

Assault Report, the only 
report completed by this year’s 
Congress.

2: After starting the season 

2-5, the Michigan hockey 
team…

A. … Has won 12 of its last 14 

games, now sitting alone at first 
in the Big Ten standings.

B. … Is the No. 1 offense in the 

country, having scored at least 
six goals in the last four games.

C. … Is on track to return to 

the NCAA Tournament after 
missing the last two years.

3: In the last week, 

Michigan football coach Jim 
Harbaugh… 

A. … Played the piccolo with 

an enthusiasm unknown to 
mankind.

B. … Picked up three 

commitments with enthusiasm 
unknown to mankind.

C. … Finally filled out the 

rest of his coaching staff 
with enthusiasm unknown to 
mankind.

4: Awarded to the best 

college hockey player in the 
nation each season, the Hobey 
Baker Award… 

A. … Has the most legendary 

name. Seriously, Hobey? There 
are probably seven guys in the 
world with that name still.

B. … Has been given to two 

players in Michigan program 

history, Brendan Morrison and 
Kevin Porter, both of whom 
carried their teams into the 
NCAA Tournament.

C. … Is poised to go to senior 

forward Zach Hyman, who is 
exceeding Porter’s scoring pace 
after bringing his season total to 
16 goals and 19 assists in a series 
sweep of Wisconsin.

5: The number 19.5 is…. 
A. … The average age of the 

Michigan men’s basketball team, 
struggling with experience this 
season.

B. ... The amount of time, in 

minutes, I have spent exercising 
this year.

C. … The over/under on the 

number of readers for this story.

6: John Beilein is… 
A. … A mastermind of a 

basketball coach, nearly leading 
a team of inexperienced players 
to an upset of the No. 6 team in 
the country.

B. … Vigilant about the PSI of 

his balls.

C. … A coach who believes 

in his players so much that he 
played two walk-ons, Andrew 
Dakich and Sean Lonergan, 
even when his team trailed the 
Badgers.

7: Sitting at 12-6, the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team… 

A. … Still has a better record 

than the men’s team.

B. … Is on track to qualify for 

the NCAA Tournament, having 
beaten the likes of Michigan 
State, Ohio State and Penn State.

C. … Plays two games at 

Crisler Center this week, where 
it has lost just once this season 
and is worth your attention.

8: Without LeVert, the 

Michigan men’s basketball 
team’s biggest offensive 
threat now… 

A. … Scored fewer points on 

Saturday than the hockey team 
did goals this weekend.

B. … Is sophomore forward 

Zak Irvin, who is struggling to 
stay consistent, according to 
Beilein.

C. … Would be Jim Harbaugh, 

if he had a year of eligibility left, 
who said on College GameDay 
that he averaged 19.8 points per 
game in high school.

9: Wrestling in the 

heavyweight class, captain 

Adam Coon… 

A. … Has pinned four of his 

last five opponents in the Big 
Ten conference as a sophomore.

B. … Might be the only man 

who could defeat Jim Harbaugh 
in a match, but would never get 
him to fall (Get it?).

C. … Is ranked No. 7 in the 

country according to InterMat 
Wrestling, suffering just his 
third loss of the season Friday to 
the No. 3 wrestler in his class.

10: Michigan hockey coach 

Red Berenson, having won 
two national championships 
in his 31 years at the helm, 
said Saturday after his team 
scored 13 goals over the 
weekend… 

A. … “Right now in recent 

weeks, we’ve looked like the 
team we had in 1997. But we’ve 
got a long way to go. Right now 
it’s good.”

B. … “Bill Belichick doesn’t 

quite understand how funny he 
sounds when he uses the word 
balls so frequently.”

C. … “Jim Harbaugh averaged 

just 19.8 points per game? That’s 
cute.”

11: Athletic Director Jim 

Hackett… 

A. … Hasn’t publicly spoken 

in nearly a month, a welcome 
change from statements and 
controversies involving the 
athletic director from the fall.

B. … Has to be smiling with 

the direction his department is 
heading.

C. … Is still celebrating the 

hiring of Jim Harbaugh.

ANSWERS: 1) B. But how 

awesome would it be if A were 
true? 2) A, B and C. 3) A, B and 
C with enthusiasm unknown 
to mankind. 4) B and C. But I’m 
still curious about A. 5) A. And 
unfortunately, B. 6) A and C. 7) 
A, B and C. You can watch the 
team play Illinois on Monday 
and Maryland on Thursday. 
8) A and B. Irvin scored 12 
points on Saturday, shooting 33 
percent from beyond the arc. 9) 
A and C. Though B would also 
be accepted. 10) A. High praise 
from the man who recently 
won his 800th game earlier in 
January. 11) A, B and definitely 
C.

Garno can be reached at 

ggarno@umich.edu or on Twitter 

@G_Garno. He’ll see you at Rick’s.

GREG
GARNO
JAMES COLLER/Daily

Jim Harbaugh made an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday.

“I would say 

he’s 10 times the 
man that he is a 
basketball coach.”

