Beilein to Cavs as new HC

Average Reds

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I am absolutely in shock.

Beilein is a coaches' coach, and had the perfect situation in Ann Arbor. At the same time, this must have been something he really felt the need to do - to see if he could do it at the pro level. And he won't get another crack at it.

Godspeed and good luck. (You'll need it with the Cavs.)
 

Zososoxfan

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Oh man, this is some rough news to wake up to a Monday morning. Coach B deserves the chance to challenge himself and make some serious money (likely close to retirement too), but there had to be better opportunities out there. I wish the man nothing but luck, as long as he doesn't take Luke Yaklich with him.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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I think it's a situation where the NBA has always appealed to Beilein, and knows this is his last chance. Either do this now or plan on retiring when done at Michigan. Although everyone close to the situation is optimistic, this is also a case where their statuses align. Cleveland is not in a good position to attract the hotshot younger candidates like for example Philly would if Brown were to be fired, and Beilein is looking to cross this off his bucket list and this position is a softer landing spot as opposed to a high pressure situation.

This feels like the stable coach before the winning coach situation/understanding between the parties, a "Jim O'Brien" you can call it. But Beilein is such a good coach I could see the Cavs compete level going up quicker than people think...
 

kenneycb

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They generally don't get 5 star recruits so I can't imagine there is a Robert Traylor/Chris Webber-esque scandal coming up the pike.
 

HomeRunBaker

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That’s a shock. That’s a job with no upside moving forward with a terrible owner, and giving up a huge college job.
The collegiate coaching scandals are just beginning and nobody is safe. I expect others to get out of that shztstorm before their reputations (unfairly) get tarnished as well.

They generally don't get 5 star recruits so I can't imagine there is a Robert Traylor/Chris Webber-esque scandal coming up the pike.
Illegal benefits to players aren’t restricted to only the best of the best. I personally know of a player who transferred to Gardner-Webb because they paid him with the thickest envelope ($10k back in the 80’s).
 

thehitcat

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I think Coach B's style will work well in the NBA pace and space era. I'm sad for Michigan but I agree with the above that if he wanted to take the chance that he should go for it.
 

cheech13

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Beilein is one of the college guys that everyone seems to think will be a successful NBA coach. It's not crazy that he'd jump especially with the commitment of a five-year deal. What is surprising is that he'd go to Cleveland. They don't exactly have the best ownership/front office reputation and there were rumors that he could have had the Lakers job due to the Pelinka-Michigan connection. Sexton and a top five pick is a decent start but they are many years from competing.
 
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Soxfan in Fla

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Probably got sick of actually winning conference titles and making a couple final fours only to sit in the shadows of a clown who is overpaid, revered by the media and won absolutely nothing.
 

Average Reds

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The reporting on this is pretty consistent - he was growing tired of the changes to the college game, and the need to constantly bring in top recruits simply didn't mesh with the way he liked to operate, which is to develop players over time. He also wanted to test himself at the top level and if he didn't do it now, it was never happening.

I loved watching Beilein's teams and am saddened that he's leaving. I wish him the best and hope they find someone who can live up to his record.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The reporting on this is pretty consistent - he was growing tired of the changes to the college game, and the need to constantly bring in top recruits simply didn't mesh with the way he liked to operate, which is to develop players over time. He also wanted to test himself at the top level and if he didn't do it now, it was never happening.

I loved watching Beilein's teams and am saddened that he's leaving. I wish him the best and hope they find someone who can live up to his record.
Didn’t he interview with an NBA team around 4-5 years ago too? It seems like this was a direction he’s always wanted to pursue. I’m more surprised an organization would invest in a 66-yr old who is new to the league

Everyone at that level is involved in shady recruiting.
I wouldn’t even call it “shady”......it’s just how business is conducted throughout the business.
 
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Captaincoop

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Didn’t he interview with an NBA team around 4-5 years ago too? It seems like this was a direction he’s always wanted to pursue. I’m more surprised an organization would invest in a 66-yr old who is new to the league


I wouldn’t even call it “shady”......it’s just how business is conducted throughout the business.
It's done illicitly, it's against the rules of the governing body they compete for, and it involves lying to their employers and usually committing some form of financial fraud/tax evasion.

I know coaches like to tell themselves that it's just business and everyone does it, but at the end of the day, it's also really fucking shady.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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Makes sense. Take a shot on coaching in the NBA. Make some real good money. If it works, great. If not, you get paid well for 5 years and wait out the scandals and/or the changes to the system resulting from the same. If reputation remains somewhat intact, he can get another college job.
 

Soxfan in Fla

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Didn’t he interview with an NBA team around 4-5 years ago too? It seems like this was a direction he’s always wanted to pursue. I’m more surprised an organization would invest in a 66-yr old who is new to the league


I wouldn’t even call it “shady”......it’s just how business is conducted throughout the business.
No. Interviewed with Pistons when Casey was ultimately offered the job after last season.
 

bosockboy

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Makes sense. Take a shot on coaching in the NBA. Make some real good money. If it works, great. If not, you get paid well for 5 years and wait out the scandals and/or the changes to the system resulting from the same. If reputation remains somewhat intact, he can get another college job.
The Mike Montgomery model. Almost identical situation.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The Mike Montgomery model. Almost identical situation.
The two differences I see is that Montgomery was 56 when he left Stanford for the NBA while Beilein is 66 along with the college scandals many of which likely haven’t even hit yet. I’d be surprised if he returned to the college game at least at a high level.
 

Average Reds

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The two differences I see is that Montgomery was 56 when he left Stanford for the NBA while Beilein is 66 along with the college scandals many of which likely haven’t even hit yet. I’d be surprised if he returned to the college game at least at a high level.
I get that being the cynical is your shtick. I also understand that college athletics is an inherently corrupt activity.

That said. you have a track record of making outlandish predictions to be edgy without anything to back it up. Do better.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I get that being the cynical is your shtick. I also understand that college athletics is an inherently corrupt activity.

That said. you have a track record of making outlandish predictions to be edgy without anything to back it up. Do better.
It is that outlandish to feel that this isn’t the last of these scandals that finally change the state of college athletics? You admit yourself that the game is corrupt. It isn’t nuts to feel a 70-year old wouldn’t want to return to that.
 

128

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I'm not sure there's ever been another coach who's followed Beilein's career path.

He's never been an assistant, at any level. He went from high school JV to high school varsity to junior college to Division III to Division II to low-major Division I to mid-major Division I to high-major Division I to, now, the NBA.

Amazing.
 

Captaincoop

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I get that being the cynical is your shtick. I also understand that college athletics is an inherently corrupt activity.

That said. you have a track record of making outlandish predictions to be edgy without anything to back it up. Do better.
What is outlandish about that statement? The NCAA itself has said publicly it is looking to dig into the information transpiring from the FBI investigation - which included a bunch of college coaches talking about how much and how to pay elite recruits. The NCAA's incompetence and likely inability to prove the cases aside, it's not crazy to say that there is more public scandal coming.
 

Average Reds

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It is that outlandish to feel that this isn’t the last of these scandals that finally change the state of college athletics? You admit yourself that the game is corrupt. It isn’t nuts to feel a 70-year old wouldn’t want to return to that.
Let me rewind - the speculation up thread was not about “the state of the college game,” it was about whether Beilein was leaving to get ahead of a scandal about to break at Michigan.

Michigan does not have a pristine history; they had one of the worst scandals in college basketball in the 90s. But there’s no evidence that Beilein has ever been a part of that. To the contrary, he has walked into two programs with dodgy reputations (West Virginia and Michigan) and, by all accounts, run them as honestly as possible. (And yes, I’m aware that may be damming him with faint praise.)

If the post I originally quoted was not about Beilein, but about the college game in general, then I misunderstood. I do agree with your post above.
 

Average Reds

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If he wants, Beilein will be back as a college coach next year. Whether he wants it or not remains to be seen. My understanding is that Texas is a potential landing spot, but that's just media speculation and not based on anything concrete.
 

joe dokes

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Seems like the answer is "Stevens and Billy Donovan are the only success stories, and it's a long way down to 3rd place, which might be Rick Pitino".
I suppose that since the 20th century is ancient history, Chuck Daly doesn't get a mention.
 

CreightonGubanich

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Snyder’s a clear success and it’s not even close imo. He might be the best of all the recent college-to-pro guys.
He was the first guy I thought of, and I didn't realize how long Snyder had been away from college basketball before coaching Utah. I thought he had a quick stint as an NBA assistant, but he had actually been out of the NCAA since leaving Missouri in 2006, with a bunch of NBA assistant gigs along the way. ESPN's list is limited to coaches who went straight from college head coach to NBA head coach. I would imagine that's a much tougher transition.
 

lovegtm

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He was the first guy I thought of, and I didn't realize how long Snyder had been away from college basketball before coaching Utah. I thought he had a quick stint as an NBA assistant, but he had actually been out of the NCAA since leaving Missouri in 2006, with a bunch of NBA assistant gigs along the way. ESPN's list is limited to coaches who went straight from college head coach to NBA head coach. I would imagine that's a much tougher transition.
Interesting, yeah, my memory on that was wrong as well.
 

HomeRunBaker

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My thoughts on the college to pro coach and why they fail:

1. College coaches primary job is to recruit talent and to construct the roster based on his system. Pro coaches do not control their personnel and may be tasked with awkward rosters to fit into his system. You have two different skillsets required here. Look no further than the last two years in Boston. Coach Brad with dysfunctional roster due to contract situations and redundancy vs. Coach Brad without dysfunctional roster due to elimination of contract situations and redundancy. His system hasn't changed but he's thought by some to be awesome this year and awful last year. Doesn't pass the smell test.

2. Pro teams looking to replace their coach are typically lottery teams looking to shake things up. The college coach now has no say in his roster or his personnel while taking over likely a bad team while often not having any experience at the pro level which is a completely different game than college. Not surprising they are often fired within a couple of years.

3. Quin Snyder wasn't a college to pro coach. He spent 3 years working up the NBA Assistant ranks after leaving Missouri in less than a blaze of glory (cheerleader rumors, cocaine rumors, etc) prior to taking over a young up-and-coming Jazz team with Hayward, Gobert, Favors, Ingles, etc.
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

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My thoughts on the college to pro coach and why they fail:

1. College coaches primary job is to recruit talent and to construct the roster based on his system. Pro coaches do not control their personnel and may be tasked with awkward rosters to fit into his system. You have two different skillsets required here. Look no further than the last two years in Boston. Coach Brad with dysfunctional roster due to contract situations and redundancy vs. Coach Brad without dysfunctional roster due to elimination of contract situations and redundancy. His system hasn't changed but he's thought by some to be awesome this year and awful last year. Doesn't pass the smell test.

2. Pro teams looking to replace their coach are typically lottery teams looking to shake things up. The college coach now has no say in his roster or his personnel while taking over likely a bad team while often not having any experience at the pro level which is a completely different game than college. Not surprising they are often fired within a couple of years.

3. Quin Snyder wasn't a college to pro coach. He spent 3 years working up the NBA Assistant ranks after leaving Missouri in less than a blaze of glory (cheerleader rumors, cocaine rumors, etc) prior to taking over a young up-and-coming Jazz team with Hayward, Gobert, Favors, Ingles, etc.
I think HRB hit the nail on the head with #2 as to why college coaches fail-they are typically getting hired by terrible teams, with terrible front offices, who are looking for some kind of miracle worker. No NBA coach from history would have made any appreciable difference with this year's Cleveland team. I cant remember who said it originally on the board, but the "shit franchises are going to be shit franchises" quote is very applicable here. The Celtics were not a shit franchise when they hired Stevens. I think Stevens is an exceptional coach, but he had the benefit of working with a good front office, who understood what needed to be done-Danny turned that roster over pretty quickly, and he did get some better players, as well as different players, which was just as important. I think Stevens' results would have been much different if he were simply brought in to try to coach up the KG/PP/Rondo group.

I suppose that since the 20th century is ancient history, Chuck Daly doesn't get a mention.
Daly was a Sixers assistant before he got the Pistons gig.

Daly once gave a quote (that I've spent far too much time trying to dig up this morning) that I think sums up the college to pro transition. The Celtics had offered Coach K. the head coaching job in 90 or 91, and someone asked Daly about it. He responded with something like "Our trainers know more about the pro game than college coaches do." Harsh, but it has played out pretty accurately. I think San Antonio hired Jerry Tarkanian a couple of years later and he lasted like three weeks.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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I feel badly for Beilein. Great coach. I thought he could succeed with a young rebuilding team. Nope. It’s a tough change, NCAA to pros.
 

Van Everyman

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I think Stevens is an exceptional coach, but he had the benefit of working with a good front office, who understood what needed to be done-Danny turned that roster over pretty quickly, and he did get some better players, as well as different players, which was just as important. I think Stevens' results would have been much different if he were simply brought in to try to coach up the KG/PP/Rondo group.
Not to go off topic but I think the suggestion that Stevens was in any way helped by Ainge’s roster construction those first few years is false and does a disservice to how good a job he did with those rosters.

Stevens inherited a tire fire of a roster when he took this job with Jeff Green as his alpha. Stevens quickly proved he was super talented at turning lemons into lemonade getting really productive minutes out of the likes of Jordan Crawford, Evan Turner and turning IT4 into an All Star.

All of which is the say, I don’t think Stevens would have the Beilein experience had he been in his position with the Cavs. I’m not saying he’d have them competing because I agree Ainge did a great job and no team is ever going to compete in the NBA with just a great coach.

But some coaches are just better at developing players – and what Brad showed the first few years here is that he is one of the best at that. I think we seem to forget this because of what happened last season and the perception that any of it was his fault. Which is dumb.
 

the moops

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Can't remember where I heard it, but apparently POR offered expiring contracts for Kevin Love and CLE turned it down. Would have jumped all over that if I am CLE
 

lovegtm

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Can't remember where I heard it, but apparently POR offered expiring contracts for Kevin Love and CLE turned it down. Would have jumped all over that if I am CLE
Wow, that’s awful if true. That’s almost the same as turning down multiple late firsts for Love, since that’s what you could get by by being a salary-dumping destination in the summer.

What a shittily-run organization.
 

benhogan

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Can't remember where I heard it, but apparently POR offered expiring contracts for Kevin Love and CLE turned it down. Would have jumped all over that if I am CLE
Heck 8 weeks ago, some poster wanted to offer Hayward + Theis + filler + picks for Love/TT.
Now that was nuts
 
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shoelace

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Can't remember where I heard it, but apparently POR offered expiring contracts for Kevin Love and CLE turned it down. Would have jumped all over that if I am CLE
I actually feel badly for Cleveland fans because that organization is clearly out of touch with reality. The extension was widely criticized and he basically seems to have stopped trying this season as well, so they may have to give up value if they ever want to move him. They've handled this about as badly as they could. It's a shame they couldn't have been slightly smarter, because an engaged Love might have helped push Portland past Memphis in the standings.