Sunday’s loss to Michigan State obviously put a damper on the afternoon in Ann Arbor, but the events that unfolded before the game were incredibly special nonetheless.
Several members of the 1989 National Championship team — along with NCAA Tournament head coach Steve Fisher — were back in town for the club’s 30th anniversary, while Glen Rice, Rob Pelinka, Sean Higgins and Fisher all spoke with the media beforehand.
A reunion of that year’s team hadn’t been seen to such a degree in Ann Arbor, but current head coach John Beilein insisted tonight on his Inside Michigan Basketball radio show that he doesn’t deserve any of the credit for making it happen.
“[Administrative Assistant] Lisa Nicholson put this whole thing together and even helped get Loy Vaught here, so don’t give me any of the credit,” he laughed. “We kept texting Loy, and he finally responded one morning at 2:30 AM and said he’s coming.”
Though there were a few absences, most of the faces from the ’89 club were back in town, and Beilein explained why he felt it was so important to get as many of them back as possible.
“I got a call from one of our basketball guys a while back, and he told me how they had tried to get everyone here on a football alumni weekend,” Beilein explained.
“The football reception wound up having about 300 people there and them all singing the fight song, while the basketball side of things only had about six.
“There has been some controversy with how some of the basketball guys left here, but never any with football.
“Basketball hasn’t been connected enough, and it hit me that we have to welcome these guys back, and not stop in doing so. The number of people who have returned has risen ever since.
“It was tremendous on Sunday, even though I hated that we had to do it during a game — we used to do it at football games and that just didn’t make sense to me.
“When it’s all over, knowing everyone is welcome back will be one of the things I’m most proud of.”
Beilein insinuated how not every former basketball player/coach has left Ann Arbor on good terms over the years, and that was never more evident than during the Fab Five era and the Ed Martin scandal that ensued.
Despite that, Beilein explained that Fisher’s return was long overdue, and that he couldn’t have been happier to have the former Wolverine head man back in town.
“Everyone who came back was so happy, especially Steve and his wife,” Beilein gushed. “We’ll continue to embrace this and look forward to a brilliant future.
“As soon as I got this job, Steve, [former head coach] Johnny Orr and [former head coach] Bill Frieder all reached out to me, and they’ve all been so good to me.
“It just made a lot of sense to bring Steve back, and I hope it’s not the last time.”
While Fisher perhaps stole the headlines of the 1989 returnees, the likes of Rice, Pelinka, Higgins, Mark Hughes, etc. received plenty of deserved attention as well.
“We have continuity here now, and everyone knows where home is,” Beilein said. “Mike Griffin, Mark Hughes and Glen Rice all talked to our team after the game — they all follow us, and Rob Pelinka said follows both us and the Lakers.
“I remember watching some of these guys way back when and thinking how much I would love to be on that bench someday. When I was at LeMoyne, I never would have dreamed of coaching at Michigan with all the tradition they have.
“In the ‘60s, we had three Final Fours and had Rudy Tomjanovich and Ricky Green in the ‘70s.
“In the 80s, we had back-to-back Big Ten championships and of course the ’89 team.
“We had the Fab Five in the ‘90s and then it fell off a little bit, but this past decade has been great. Getting every decade together has been incredible.
“Michigan has been to a Final Four in every decade since the ‘50s, except from 2000-09. What other schools can say that? It’s back forever.”
Sean Higgins, Glen Rice and Rob Pelinka
Steve Fisher
Glen Rice
Sean Higgins
Mark Hughes and Glen Rice Speaking at Halftime
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