CHICAGO — Former Michigan head coach John Beilein made the rounds at the NBA Combine Thursday, welcomed to the NBA community by several different people. The new Cleveland Cavaliers head coach exchanged hugs and handshakes and looked happy and relaxed after speaking with former Michigan big man Mark Hughes, now Assistant GM with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I’m doing good,” Beilein said with a huge grin. “No, I’m not good … I’m great.”
Beilein then continued to make the rounds.
“I had a chance to chat with him just briefly. He loves it,” Hughes said. “He looks happy. He’s with some good people, has a really, really good staff there. [Assistant GM] Mike Gansey is like a son to him.
"He’s a big builder and has a good roster; young. He’s a teacher and a culture developer. He’s going to be terrific, and I thought that was a great hire.”
Beilein's challenge, Hughes said, will be adapting to coaching players making a lot of money who are now men, not boys. He believes Beilein will be up to the task.
“I hate it for us, because what a huge loss,” he said. “But I love it for him.
“Record aside, just look at what he did for the program. He brought the culture back to what it was supposed to be. He brought in former players, reached out and embraced us, had us have an impact with it. We could come to games whenever, talked to players.
“I give coach a lot of credit. He brought us national prosperity, where we are supposed to be.”
Hughes has a lot of faith in Athletic Director Warde Manuel to get it right, but admitted has has a preference on Beilein's successor.
“The guy coaching Miami by the name of Juwan Howard … I’d love to see them at least talk about it,” Hughes said. “But I don’t know. He’s getting a lot of NBA sniffs, head coaching jobs, and that could be a possibility, as well.
“Personally, as a Michigan fan and as a man, I’d love to see Juwan back in Ann Arbor. Going back home is always a big draw. I’m sure he has that same feeling; it’s just a matter of where he is in his life.”
Either way, Hughes said, he’s confident Manuel will get the right guy.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook
