Abysmal as Michigan football looks right now, in the early 2000s men’s basketball looked even worse. The Ed Martin scandal had wiped out the wins of the Fab Five era, and after years of losses two successive coaches, Brian Ellerbee and Tommy Amaker, were fired. Yet, just eight years after his hiring, John Beilein has the program back in national contention. In 2012, the Wolverines barely lost in the NCAA title game. Last year, a loaded Kentucky team edged Michigan in a regional final at the buzzer.
The Wolverines lost major league talent this year as Nick Stauskus, Mitch McGary, and Glenn Robinson left early for the NBA. But a solid core returns, and Beilein has half a dozen promising first-year players.
Experts predict the Wolverines will be good (top 25) despite the losses because, well, Beilein. The coach downplays great expectations, pointing out that a half-dozen first-year guys in the rotation is not a recipe for success. But a middle-of-the-pack finish in the Big Ten and an NCAA invite are reasonable goals. Privately, some close to the program expect more.
