John Beilein was available to speak with the media following Michigan’s 107-53 win over Houston Baptist on Saturday. The coach talked about his team bouncing back from its loss to Duke on Tuesday, the production of Glenn Robinson III and how comfortable he is with Mitch McGary running the fast break. You can watch the full interview using the embedded media player below. Notes and quotes are after the jump.
Opening statement: “I’d love to know our defensive field goal percentage after the first five or six times because it was outstanding after that and obviously that propels our run game. In practice yesterday, we were playing against zone, we were playing against man and I bet you we went 3-for-20 from three. The whole thing was, just keep shooting and if you get open shots, knock them down. We certainly had that opportunity today and we made the most of it.”
- On his team sharing the ball: “I’ve never seen an 18-to-1 assist-to-turnover rate at halftime. … So that was really good. But to make the extra pass, you have to have penetration. You got to go north south, you have to screen well and we were able to do that. Then obviously in transition, you’ve got to … have really good vision.”
- On Mitch McGary: “I wanted to leave him out there just to get that heart rate going. He’s established some trust with me on that and with our team and our coaching staff. We have a saying: When you make a play, would everyone on the team think that was a good play? Not just just you, but everyone on the team, and not just the coaching staff. He’s gained that trust by making some pretty simple plays. Some base hits. Not home runs, base hits.”
- On Nik Stauskas: “He bounced back. Obviously, they played a different defense. He got himself open. They stayed in that zone for a while and then when they ended up going man-to-man he still just ended up finding his spots. When we put him at the off guard in the last couple minutes, I think he had two assists in that short period of time. He’s sort of continuing to improve and find open spots.”
- On McGary earning trust: “It’s something we talked about in the recruiting process and also during the process of his season. I saw him in practice and I said, ‘Mitch, I’m fine with that — as long as you’re going to take care of the ball. You just have to take care of the ball. You just have to make a bunch of good plays. You don’t have to make great plays, just good plays.'”
- On looking ahead to Arizona: “Arizona’s another part of the puzzle you put together. It’s a team very much like … Michigan State, Wisconsin, when those teams come into your building, you really have to be able to play at your best. And Arizona’s played a very challenging schedule. They haven’t played just home games coming in. … They won’t come in here in awe, as well. But we’re going to have to make that jump. They’re a heck of a team and a heck of a coaching staff.”
- On Michigan’s schedule: “They haven’t had a Sunday where they haven’t had a game or a practice in a long time. We just have to be really in tune right now. They’ve got to get their bodies rested tomorrow. Monday and Tuesday will be boot camp, Michigan camp, get better. We won’t be dealing with a lot of Arizona, maybe a couple concepts, but those first few days will be trying to shore up what we think are our weaknesses with Mitch involved. Almost like what we would do on October 15th. … You’ve got to have a rest period, and then the traditional two-day prep for Arizona.”
- On Glenn Robinson III: “The whole issue is, he just hasn’t made shots. He’s working at it, but he just hasn’t made shots. You lose a little confidence here and there and it’s a major step to get your confidence back. But you look at our shot numbers, the three guys who’ve taken a boatload of our shots, Glenn’s one of them. He just hasn’t made them. So it’s a matter of getting to that point where we go into practice and he practices hard, but how can we do it efficiently, how can we get you in the right spots.”
