[To listen to the audio version, please click here: Bacon Final 3.21.14 for web]
On Sunday, the Michigan Wolverines faced the Michigan State Spartans in the final of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament. After a decade of domination by the Spartans, John Beilein’s Wolverines held the upper hand the past four years. After losing two stars to the NBA and one to back surgery, they surprised just about everyone when they won the regular season Big Ten title this year by three games. Now they had the rare chance to beat the Spartans three times in one season.
Well, they say beating your arch-rival three times is almost impossible, and that proved true. There was no debating this one. The Spartans beat the Wolverines by 14 points. Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo is doing what Tom Izzo does: Getting his team ready at just the right time for a good run in the NCAA tournament.
But Sunday’s game might have given both teams what they needed for the tournament: a spark of confidence for the Spartans, and a wake-up call for the Wolverines. I’ll bet both Izzo and Beilein are smart enough to use the Big Ten final game to motivate their players.
But, whatever happens in the NCAA tournament, both teams have elevated basketball in the state of Michigan — and with it, the rivalry between them. And they’ve done it the right way, too. Since Izzo took over in 1995, he has graduated about 80-percent of his players – higher than the average of the student body at large.
Izzo grew up in the Upper Peninsula, and he’s proud of it. “People work hard up there,” he told me. “They’re straight with you. Kids are brought up that way, and that’s the only way they know. It’s in their blood. Remember this: All kids want to be disciplined — doesn’t matter where they’re from or who their parents are. I believe that. Discipline is a form of love.”
By that definition, Izzo’s players get a lot of love – and Beilein loves his players just as much. The year after Beilein took over in 2007, his players notched the most improved grade point average of any Michigan team. His players either go to the NBA, or graduate on time.
When I was watching Michigan beat Indiana two weeks ago, I looked out on the court and realized all but one of the starters had taken my class on the history of college athletics. (And no, despite the name, it’s not a blow-off. I’m a tyrant.) But why hadn’t the fifth player on the court, center Jordan Morgan, taken my class? Because I don’t teach master’s-level courses in engineering. That’s how you do it.
For decades, the rivalry between these two basketball teams never peaked, because one team was always riding high, while the other usually trailed far behind. But now, finally, both teams are performing at the game’s highest level, on and off the court.
In 2001, Izzo told me, “It should be a Duke-North Carolina thing around here, because there are too many good players in this state for one school to get them all.” 13 years later, the success of both teams has proved Izzo right: There’s more than enough talent in the state to fuel two top teams.
To equal the Duke-North Carolina rivalry would take a few decades, of course, but so long as Beilein and Izzo are coaching, that’s the direction Michigan-Michigan State is going.
The big winner here is college basketball. For all those who say the term “Student-athlete” is an oxymoron – and at too many schools, it is — these two programs stand as solid proof that you can do it the right way, and still beat the guys who don’t.
* * * * *
Please join the conversation, but remember: I run only those letters from those who are not profane or insane, and who include their FULL name.
Radio stuff: On Friday mornings, these commentaries run at 8:50 on Michigan Radio (91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit and Flint, and 104.1 Grand Rapids), and a few minutes later, I join Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub LIVE from 9:05 to 9:25 on WTKA.com, 1050 AM.
On Sunday mornings, from the start of football season to the end of March Madness, I co-host “Off the Field” with the legendary Jamie Morris on WTKA from 10-11 a.m. And yes, there will be a quiz, so “stop what you’re doing, and listen!”
Like this story? Please feed the blog, and keep ’em coming!
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnubacon. Almost 10,000. THANK YOU!
great article John … recognizing two fine coaches.
GO BLUE !
Hi John, Can non students get a peek at your reading list for your class?
There you go again, making sense of what college athletics should be. And “Yes” there should be a great rivalry between these two Great Schools, but not just one sport. This state is too good.
I forgot to add that I have already read all your books. My fav was ‘Bo’s Lasting Lessons’, kept me company on a long flight from Mexico City.
Connie and I can’t wait to see you & your parents George & Grace in FL next wk; Hopefully we’ll see a Detroit Tigers victory over the Miami Rays on Fri…
P S TAMPA BAY RAYS
Hi Prof. Bacon,
I just finished your new book, Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football, given me by son, Ben as a Christmas present. It’s a terrific read but too bad that David Brandon didn’t see fit to allow you access to any of Michigan’s Athletic Dept. staff. Sadly I must strongly agree with you about the excessive proliferation of college football bowl games, and the profit motive/business model followed by the NCAA and big time collegiate athletic programs and their CEO’s, formerly known as Athletic Directors.
Loved this! As a Yooper and Michigan Women’s Basketball alumna I respect both coaches and basketball programs. It is very exciting to see Michigan Basketball have such great success under Jon Beilein. He’s the real deal!
I would also like to confirm that John’s classes are certainly not a blow-off. In fact, it was one of the most challenging and enjoyable classes I took as a student at Michigan. You were expected to know the material and to come to class prepared. To keep us on our toes John would randomly call on students for their take on the stories, and to confirm they had completed their assigned readings. It was a nurturing learning environment from which I learned many lessons.
Thanks for all you do for Michigan fans! Go Blue!