ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -Michigan lost a school-record 22 games in John Beilein’s first year. He’s not discouraged and neither is his boss
“We had so many significant gains,” Beilein told The Associated Press by phone Friday night after the season ended with a 51-34 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament. “I remain very upbeat about the future.”
Athletic director Bill Martin stressed that rebuilding takes time.
“I knew this was going to take a few years,” he told the AP. “But I feel confident in the program’s direction because John Beilein is a very sound teacher, a great bench coach and the kids have really taken to him. I’m very pleased with him and the progress he’s made.”
The Wolverines have failed to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament in a decade and their last Big Ten title was in 1986.
This season, Michigan’s bottom line shows just 10 wins and 22 losses – two more than the school’s previous high during the 1959-60 season.
“We did a good job of not quitting and letting those losses become contagious,” DeShawn Sims said. “And every game we went out trying to fight and trying to get better every day.”
Players such as Ekpe Udoh quietly provided hope. As a freshman last year under Tommy Amaker, Udoh was a defensive specialist.
With Beilein, he struggled to find a niche. But toward the end of the season he had enough confidence to take and make jump shots – even 3-pointers – while maintaining his rebounding and shot-blocking.
“How a player develops, like Ekpe did, is way underrated when compared to what the kid was rated as a recruit,” Beilein said.
Freshman Manny Harris stuck with Beilein and Michigan after Amaker was fired. He averaged a team-high 16 points and was a consensus All-Big Ten second team. Sims scored 12 points a game after averaging just 3.4 as a freshman.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said last week the duo of Harris and Sims gives Michigan a better chance to turn things around.
Beilein plans to hold his last team meeting Sunday night, when his players will watch the NCAA tournament selection show.
“I grew up on an apple farm and we got pruned many times this year so the apples will grow bigger and better every year,” Beilein said. “So we’ve gone through that process and we embraced it as much as we could, as hard as it was. Now we just move forward with a similar plan, with a few additions and a great group of young men.”
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