Wisconsin vs. Michigan - 2017 Big Ten Men"s Basketball Tournament
If weve heard it once, weve heard it a thousand times. Michigan is a football school. They dont give a hoot about basketball in Ann Arbor.
Its simply not true. The Wolverines have a long and storied basketball tradition.
For those of you who may not realize it, heres a history lesson.
Cazzie Russell and Michigans teams in the mid-1960s reached the Final Four twice, and lost an NCAA Championship Game to UCLA. It was legendary UCLA coach John Woodens second NCAA title.
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Rudy Tomjonavich was recently elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a truly dominant player for Michigan during the late 1960s and early 1970s, averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Clarkstons Dan Fife captained the 1971 Wolverines to a 12-2 Big Ten record. In 1974, Pontiacs Campy Russell was the Big Ten Player of the Year as Michigan won the conference and advanced to the Elite Eight.
In the mid-1970s, Rickey Green and Phil Hubbard were fantastic as Michigan lost to Bobby Knights undefeated Indiana title team in the NCAA Championship Game.
There were many terrific players that played at Michigan during the 1980s, including Roy Tarpley, Clarkstons Tim McCormick and Gary Grant..
In 1989, Glen Rice led the Wolverines to the NCAA title. Then there was the Fab 5...
However, you feel about Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, coach Steve Fisher and the Ed Martin scandal, their impact on college basketball was huge - and unforgettable.
Even to some of Michigans legendary football players, basketball mattered. Bennie Oosterbaan was a basketball All-American, and coached the Wolverines in both sports. East Detroits Ron Kramer averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game for the UM basketball team in 1950s. And Tom Harmon started two seasons for the Michigan basketball team. Yes, he wore No.98.
Its just there was a lull after the Fab 5, and it was a long one. But obviously, that time is over.
While Michigans run to the Sweet 16 of NCAA tournament this year was unexpected, it continued a recent trend.
The Wolverines advanced to the NCAA championship game in 2013 before losing to Louisville.
A year later, Michigan won the Big Ten regular season title before getting to the Elite Eight and losing to a close decision to Kentucky.
The Wolverines had a couple relatively down seasons. They were 4-6 to begin the Big Ten season this year. Crisler Center was sometimes not full.
Basketball was kind of lost in the Jim Harbaugh-football shuffle. Yet, while the basketball team has emerged from the shadows, its not necessarily the shock as often portrayed.
Zak Irvin was a 5-star recruit, Derrick Walton Jr. a 4-star. They are both outstanding senior leaders, who have emerged as extraordinarily clutch players late their senior campaigns. They are proof experience still counts in college basketball.
Think Moe Wagner just showed up one day in Ann Arbor from Germany unannounced and walked on? Hardly, he was a well-known, 4-star recruit.
Coach John Beilein is not exactly an unproven commodity. If the Wolverines beat Oregon Thursday, it will be his fourth trip to the Elite Eight. He also took West Virginia there. He is an exceptionally experienced head coach, who has won at pretty much every level of college basketball.
there is a perception Michigan State is ahead of the Wolverines in regard to the overall strength of their respective basketball programs, and it may very well be true considering the Spartans freshman class was much stronger.
Yet, if you look over the track record of the two programs the last five years, its been relatively even.
What weve discovered about Michigan basketball is to underestimate Beilein and his program at your own risk.
Its not a mistake the Wolverines have come this far. Its become more a norm than an aberration.
Just like it used to be at Michigan.
Source: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/sports/20170322/pat-caputo-football-school-michigan-basketball-tradition-restored
