John Beilein, master of video
Posted: Sunday, November 01, 2009 3:45 PM
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Big Ten
Sounds like John Beilein is college basketball’s version of Roger Ebert. Michigan’s coach is always watching tape
When he started coaching in 1976, Beilein poured over game tapes, which morphed from Super 8 to Beta and VHS as he advanced through the coaching ranks. By the time he reached West Virginia, his laptop was his own personal movie theater.
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John Beilein
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Now, there’s not a day that goes by when he’s not showing a Wolverine something on the computer. From Andy Katz’s fun story detailing Beilein’s computer ways:
"He's obsessed with it," says junior guard Manny Harris. "We watch it every day. You come from class, walk by his office and he'll say, 'Come in; I want to show you something.' I honestly think he wakes up at 5 a.m. and looks at tape -- probably earlier than that."
Beilein uses a computer program to have every practice and game on his laptop almost as soon as it finishes. From there, he’s editing it into 20- or 30-minute segments. And it’s always to make his players better.
As Beilein was watching last Tuesday's practice, he was cutting a sequence in which freshman Eso Akunne moved toward the top of the key and then correctly bounced a pass toward the streaking Blake McLimans, a fellow freshman. But the timing was off. So he cut the video to show the movement first, which was correct, and then the timing of the pass, which was not. The spacing was off during the possession from other players, too, and that was made as a cut as well.
Redshirt freshman Ben Cronin was closing out on Zack Novak, who was shooting a 3-pointer. Cronin went out to guard him with his arms down. Cronin is 7 feet tall. He was playing small on the play. Click. Cut.
Cronin was also bringing the ball down when he would get a rebound before an outlet pass. So Beilein got Duprey to get him some grainy Wes Unseld video to put on the laptop. With a click of the mouse, Cronin was watching Unseld in his Washington Bullets jersey corralling rebounds and sending over-the-head, two-handed passes upcourt.
Coaches and tape sessions are the norm in sports. But Beilein’s bringing it to another level most don’t go. Part of that’s because he’s embraced ways to cut and review video that others don’t. And part of it’s because he’s had to adapt at the various levels he’s coached.
Then again, there’s no going back at this point. But I don’t think Beilein minds that much.
"I miss the days when I didn't have the computer because I could escape on a two-hour plane flight or a three-hour bus ride when I'd read a novel or do something else," Beilein said. "Now it's all-consuming. I have to do a good job with the balance of it. It's the battle we're in."
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