The Michigan basketball team recently parted ways with Juwan Howard after a historically bad season, and they have since hired Dusty May from FAU to be their new head coach. The Wolverines finished 8-24 this season and they ended up in last place in the Big Ten. It was certainly time for Michigan to move on, and before hiring May, they were thinking about going back to John Beilein, the head coach of the Wolverines before Howard.
John Beilein was the head coach of the Michigan basketball team from 2007-2019, and he had a lot of success there. The Wolverines were not in a good place when Beilein was hired, but he did a good job of quickly bringing Michigan back. Beilein finished with a 278-150 record with the Wolverines and he won two Big Ten regular season titles, two Big Ten Tournament titles, he made it to two national title games and he won Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2014. Any Michigan fan would've welcomed him back with open arms, and Athletic Director Warde Manuel did think about it.
“When John and I talked, I think he realized, ‘Do I want to get back into this NIL now, and this portal?'” Warde Manuel said, according to an article from The Athletic. “It never came up where I offered him the job or anything. We just talked. It was a great conversation.”
Michigan ended up hiring Dusty May, but it sounds like Beilein is still going to be more involved with the program. He did assist the athletic department with the hire.
“John and I will continue to talk,” Manuel said. “It was great to reconnect with him, to reestablish the strong relationship we had before. He’s definitely going to be around more.”
John Beilein wants to help the Michigan basketball program
Even though John Beilein left the Michigan basketball program after the 2019 season, he is still a Michigan man, and he wants to help the program as much as he can. There have been rumblings about him potentially taking a position on May's staff, and he did tweet out that he would be available to help May whenever he needs.
“It’s exciting to see @CoachDustyMay as the MBB coach at @umichbball,” Beilein said in a tweet. “He has had great success as a HC and assistant and has worked hard for many years for this fabulous opportunity. Anytime he asks, I will be available to help him. Congrats Dusty, Anna, and family! #goblue.”
Michigan fans will love to see this. The Wolverines found consistency in the Beilein era, and the fan base became used to it. After an up and down Juwan Howard era, that is what this program needs. Consistency. Michigan is expected to be a consistent NCAA Tournament teams and they want to compete for Big Ten and National championships. May is capable of bringing that to Ann Arbor.
A new era is here for Michigan basketball, but with the help of Beilein, there could be some old sprinkled in there as well.
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