MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL- '19-'20: Hello Coach Nook!

[Jeff Buchanan]

WM, I'd imagine there are plenty of high profile B-Ball coaches that would be interested in the M job ..... problem is always going to be the right fit. The next guy has to be squeaky clean. Any thoughts on who his replacement might be?

[Niffla]

It sucks, it does, but I'm not mad at him. He has one life to live and is in his final stages of his coaching career at his age (he's 66), and he's been a head coach at every level from high school to division 3 all the way to Michigan. There's no doubt in my mind that head coaching at the highest level of basketball that the world has to offer was unquestionably intriguing to John. He's taking his shot and now gets to cross off one final accomplishment on his professional career bucket list.

Best of luck to him and thank you for all the great runs, coach.

[Jeff Buchanan]

These are names i see floating around .........

Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens and Jay Wright. If they say no, Yaklich. It will be interesting to see how Warde Manuel handles this.

[froot loops]

This was shocking news, good luck to Beilein but he's going to one of the least attractive NBA jobs.

[froot loops]

These are names i see floating around .........

Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens and Jay Wright. If they say no, Yaklich. It will be interesting to see how Warde Manuel handles this.

So Yaklich then.

[Niffla]

These are names i see floating around .........

Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens and Jay Wright. If they say no, Yaklich. It will be interesting to see how Warde Manuel handles this.

Jay Wright? Lol

He's already at a place that's more blue blood college basketball than Michigan. Wright isn't leaving anywhere unless Coach K or Roy Williams retires whenever they decide to, and then maybe he goes to Duke or UNC, but outside of a once in a lifetime scenario such as those he isn't leaving Villanova. Certainly not for Michigan.

[Niffla]

And as for Donovan or Stevens unless they get fired they're not going to consider Michigan either.

As successful as Michigan has been since Coach B has been in Ann Arbor, they're still not recognized as a blue blood tier basketball program like the Dukes/North Carolinas/Jayhawks/etc. of the NCAA basketball world. They're on the next level beneath programs like those and Michigan basketball just isn't attractive enough to get names like that to leave where they're at to come to Ann Arbor.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Sure ....... those names are long shots (except Yaklich) but Manuel has to ask and have them say, no interest. I think, from my limited involvement with CBB, that, you're right, M isn't a b-ball blue blood but it get's plenty of visibility. Like the hot-shot coordinators in CFB, there has to be some decent underlings out there in the CBB world that would consider the M job a very good opportunity.

Nobody thought Coach B would leave AA for the NBA either but he did. Coaching jobs and movement within them in the college revenue sports are strange/unpredictable. Weird shit happens.

Again, how Manuel handles this, and especially hiring an outside, mediocre or comer coach over Yaklich from within could be problematic. For me, what happens here with M- b-ball is going to cement Manuel's M legacy.

[iam416]

So Yaklich then.

LOL. My thoughts exactly.

[Cody_Russell]

[froot loops]

If you aren't outpaying the Cavs for Beilein, you aren't outbidding for Donovan, Wright or Stevens. Its not easy to hire a big name, check out the UCLA job search.

[Niffla]

Like the hot-shot coordinators in CFB, there has to be some decent underlings out there in the CBB world that would consider the M job a very good opportunity.

Oh absolutely. I'm not saying Michigan isn't attractive -- it most certainly would be an enormous opportunity for 98% of coaches out there aspiring to move up. The program gets as much television exposure as anyone, is a top tier institution with a huge brand name.

But the the other 2 percent (or 1 percent even), the really big names -- they're already at spots that are more attractive than Michigan. Jay Wright 100% wouldn't even consider Michigan for a tenth of a second. Brad Stevens is already at one of the most storied franchises at the highest level and just one season removed from being within 1 win of an NBA Finals appearance. Donovan would only consider UM if deep down he's dying to return to the college level, but outside of that if he moves anywhere I think it would be within the NBA. I just don't think the Michigan basketball program is attractive enough to the really big names out there to move their needles. Anybody else though yes is a possibility.

[lineygoblue]

This is quite a surprise. I thought Beilein signed one of those "I'm finishing my career here" contracts last year, but I guess not. I never realized that he had the hots for the NBA. Dealing with overpaid millionaires and their egos is going to be a lot tougher than anything he's done in the NCAA.

Best of luck to him, but the Cavs may actually be a step backward, from what he's done at Michigan. I guess we'll see.

[Niffla]

I don't know, as I sit here this morning and think about it, I am not surprised at all.

John was a head coach in high school. Then at a community college. Then at division 3. Division 2. Lower tier division 1 all the way up to reviving University of Michigan basketball and getting the program to elite status. University of Michigan basketball, since 2013 has won as much as any program in the entire country.

What's the next logical step as Coach B reaches this stage of his life? At age 66? The final level for him is now the NBA. He was clear that the Pistons didn't offer him the job a season ago when he interviewed. A lot of people just assumed he was the one who turned it down. But looking back if the Pistons offered him the job I think he would've been coaching in downtown Detroit this past year. He wanted the NBA to be the final chapter in his amazing coaching career.

[paul daugherity]