Big Ten Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)
By Joey Loose
2. Big Ten Basketball coach – John Beilein (Michigan, 2007-2019)
By the time Michigan brought Beilein aboard in 2007, the coach already had 15 years of experience at the D1 level. After five years apiece at Canisius, Richmond, and West Virginia, Beilein accepted what was a certain challenge to rebuild Michigan. The program had floundered since the days of the Fab Five, struggling for the past decade after violations and failed rebuilding efforts. Fortunately, Beilein put all of that behind them.
Simply put, Beilein built a series of national title contenders, leading his Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament championship game in both 2013 and 2018. There were 9 total NCAA Tournament bids, with three others entering the second weekend, but nothing could top that success. They won a pair of Big Ten regular-season titles and in his final three years in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines were 89-27.
Beilein did what predecessors Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker clearly failed to do in rebuilding this program to national prominence. Michigan was in terrible shape when Beilein arrived and he has truly performed a transformative effort. While Beilein mistakenly left for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he left this Michigan program in impressive shape. It won’t be a surprise to see Michigan do great things in the future.