Dustin Johnston
- ShotAnalytics.com: I’m blogging about other NCAA tournament teams and players at ShotAnalytics with a look at Iowa State’s disdain of mid-range jumpers, three-point specialists in the NCAA tournament and five teams that shoot the most mid-range jumpers.
- Ranking the top 25 tournament coaches – ESPN: “6. John Beilein: He hasn’t won a national title, but he’s a terrific tactician. Remember, this is a guy who has won at every level — and now he has high-caliber talent. Beilein nearly won it all a year ago, but came up short against Pitino and Louisville in the title game.”
- Hands-on assistants a key to success for John Beilein, Michigan: “Beilein has long been considered one of the great minds in college basketball. He has also become one of the game’s best CEOs. He did it by hiring some of the best assistants in the country — including at least one, LaVall Jordan, who will lead plenty of teams into the tournament himself someday. Year by year, Beilein has entrusted Jordan, Jeff Meyer and Bacari Alexander more. It has energized him, empowered them, and made Michigan one of the best programs in the country again.”
- Twenty-five years ago, the Michigan team Bill Frieder built won a title without him – Yahoo!: “I’ve never looked back,” Frieder said. “I enjoyed my time at Arizona State and now I live by the ocean in Del Mar, California. I’m happy with how things turned out. I’ve never regretted it.”
- The Maestro of March – Sports on Earth: “On the eve of the Final Four, John Beilein’s most important player was a mess. Practicing against teammates imitating Syracuse’s famed zone defense, Mitch McGary’s footwork was awful. If Beilein couldn’t correct the problem, Michigan had no chance of playing for a national title.”
- An erosion of trust between NCAA basketball players, coaches? – USA Today: “Coach has to be able to talk to you about things other than basketball, about your life, how’s your family,” Michigan sophomore Glenn Robinson III said. “You want to build it so that you have a connection with your coaches outside of the basketball world.”
- Big Ten left in cold when it comes to claiming NCAA tournament title – Yahoo!: “For decades on end now, almost without fail, the Big Ten has trotted out some of the best teams, best players and best coaches to put together thrilling seasons in some of the game’s best on-campus venues.”
- First Four: A play-in game, and insult – CBS Sports “For Mount St. Mary’s, the NCAA Tournament started in a half-empty gym and ended in a completely empty locker room. While 60 other teams will start the NCAA Tournament on Thursday or Friday in energy-filled venues featuring big-name schools and their frenzied fans, Mount St. Mary’s was one of eight teams sent to the play-in tournament, also known as the First Four, where everything is smaller: the arena, the crowd, the energy, the television network, the media throng.”
- On the road with the Terriers: “This is about to get real” – GoUpState.com: “From a well-televised send-off from Spartanburg to a history lesson in Milwaukee. Thirteen tall people wearing gray sweats with five people wearing suit jackets and more than 80 people following them tends to attract some attention at airports.
