Shocking news broke early Monday morning- Michigan Wolverines basketball coach John Beilein is leaving the program to become head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to various reports, with Adrian Wojnarowski being the first, Beilein will sign a year deal with the Cavaliers.
This obviously leaves Michigan in a very tough spot, having to a find a new head coach this late in the cycle. They could do an outside coaching search, but it would have to be very quick and extremely aggressive. More likely, the Wolverines will have to go the internal route.
DAMN ~ eyes emoji ~ https://t.co/AbtrQskIZt
— Murph (@TMurph207) May 13, 2019
At this point, Michigan basketball could be led by an interim, and they may just elevate someone currently on the John Beilein staff. There are three assistant coaches in play: Saddi Washington, Luke Yaklich and Deandre Haynes.
Some have also tossed out the idea of promoting Director of Basketball Operations Chris Hunter. No matter what happens, expect things to move fast. John Beilein will truly be missed in Ann Arbor, as he brought Michigan basketball back to the high level it resided at in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
John Beilein, who is 754-425 in his collegiate career, which includes stops at West Virginia, Richmond and Canisius, took UM to two national title games. He also won two Big Ten Tournaments and two Big Ten regular season championships.
He will also be sorely missed by the media, as John Beilein was always a class act during interview opportunities.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets:Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.