Beilein: 'Future is Bright'
March 13, 2003 01:17 PM | General
March 13, 2003
NEW YORK – West Virginia University basketball coach John Beilein was unfazed with the prospect of going into the 2003 basketball season without a proven post player and very little depth.
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| Freshman Kevin Pittsnogle is one of several players who will benefit from West Virginia's offseason strength program. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
After all, he’s made a coaching career out of making do. In 24 seasons prior to this year Beilein had none of the carnal delights enjoyed by coaches raised on big-time Division I basketball.
He’s often talked about driving vans to away games while coaching at Erie Community College, eating at cafeterias, or doing more with less at Nazareth, LeMoyne, Canisius and Richmond.
It isn’t where you’re at right now – it’s where you’re going. It has always been about the journey for John Beilein.
That’s why he made it clear to all of those in the program when he took the WVU job that he wasn’t forcing anyone to stay. If you want to play somewhere else: fine.
Before preseason practice was even underway, proven guard Tim Lyles and 6-foot-10 center Chris Garnett chose not to return. Lyles remained in school and Garnett transferred to Indiana University Southeast, an NAIA school in Jeffersonville, Ind.
A few practices into the preseason guard Tobias Seldon decided to leave, and a few weeks later guard Jay Hewitt followed suit.
By the time the Big East season rolled around in January, Beilein had just seven scholarship players on his roster, only two seniors, and a starting lineup consisting of three freshmen and two sophomores.
Coaches always talk about the difficulty of starting a freshman point guard in the dog-eat-dog world of the Big East conference.
How about a freshman point guard, a freshman off-guard, a freshman center and his top two backcourt reserves being freshmen walk-ons? Sprinkle in with that two sophomores that came into this year with a grand total of 32 games worth of Big East experience and you’re talking about one of the youngest lineups in college basketball.
“He’s done more with less than anyone I’ve seen in a long while,” Big East analyst and former Mountaineer coach Bucky Waters was overheard saying in the press room following WVU’s 71-67 victory over Virginia Tech to return to the Big East tournament.
“I thought John Beilein has done one of the best jobs not only in our league but in the country,” Providence coach Tim Welsh said on Monday. “He was coming into a program that had lost some kids and had been down last year.”
That’s putting it mildly.
The situation Beilein inherited at WVU was very fragile to say the least. At no point in the 93 seasons of basketball at West Virginia University had the program been on more unsettling ground.
Once Bob Huggins turned down the job, Dan Dakich quickly snatched it up only to decide eight days later to leave and head back to Bowling Green where he takes his team’s 13-15 record into tonight’s MAC tournament game against Central Michigan.
It was only when the dust settled that John Beilein appeared. Like the Carpathia rescuing the Titanic’s survivors, Beilein was here to pull the West Virginia University basketball program out of some very deep water.
Remember, just 11 months ago Mountaineer basketball fans were hoping the team could keep contests close and win maybe 10 games. Today, fans are talking about next year returning to the Big East tournament with the prospect of going to postseason play.
His 14-15, first year at WVU was that remarkable.
“I’m just so enthused and so pleased with the group I’ve got to work with,” said Beilein. “In this past year we’ve gone from a rather chaotic situation to really having a bright future. I think the state is excited and next year’s expectations will probably be too high, but we have five new players coming in and we only had two seniors on this year’s team.”
“No one thought we were supposed to be any good this year. We got a good coach in Coach Beilein so the program is going up now,” added sophomore Drew Schifino.
Wrote Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl after West Virginia’s loss to Seton Hall a few weeks ago: “Handed a cupboard that wasn’t just bare but was being burned for fuel after an apocalyptic offseason, Beilein somehow engineered wins over Florida, Tennessee and Villanova. For those who follow the game, the Mountaineers’ 13-11 mark might be the most jaw-dropping record in the country.”
Pitt’s Ben Howland, no stranger to program building, offered the highest praise to Beilein after his Panthers beat West Virginia, 80-61 in Morgantown.
“I look back to my first year and compare it to his and he has done so much more for his team,” said Howland.
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| Patrick Beilein was one of two freshman walk-ons who played a prominent role on this year's team. (Blue & Gold News Photo/Kevin Kinder) |
In addition to having all five starters back, Beilein can also count on the return of key reserves Patrick Beilein and Nick Patella. Six-eleven shot blocker D’or Fischer is sitting out this year after transferring from Northwestern State and will get the attention of other Big East coaches once they get their hands on West Virginia’s 2004 game tapes.
Beilein managed to land four outstanding prospects during the early signing period. One was named “Mr. Basketball” in his state and another was voted his city’s player of the year. A third is playing in a national high school all-star game and the fourth had an outstanding season playing in the tough Chicago public school system.
“We’ve got freshmen coming in that are going to be good next year and we’ve got D’or Fischer as a transfer. He was number two in the country in blocked shots last year so the program is going up,” said Schifino.
“When he starts recruiting the talent he wants, watch out,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey after his game with the Mountaineers earlier this season. “I’m not sure I want to be in the league then.”
Beilein and his hardworking coaching staff managed to sign four players during the early signing period without the benefit of having played a single game at the school they were working for. They didn’t have a Big East championship or a lofty national ranking to sell these kids. They sold themselves.
Now as we begin tearing the pages off the calendar waiting for next basketball season to begin, Beilein and his assistants will be hard at work doing what they do best: developing players.
“I’m hoping that in all my years that one of our strengths is the individual improvement of our players,” said Beilein. “They have spring break next week and right after spring break we’re allowed to work with each player two hours a week. Coach Beilein will be out there on the floor with them two hours a week with the whole staff. We’ll have four players and four staff guys out there working at this thing.”
If you interested in finding Drew Schifino, Tyrone Sally, Kevin Pittsnogle, Joe Herber, Jarmon Durisseau-Collins, Patrick Beilein and the rest of the team, just walk downstairs to the weight room because that is where they will be spending most of the next six months.
“The weight training, speed training and all those things will be big,” said Beilein. “We have a great strength coach in Mike Barwis. All of our players are going to get stronger. They have made such tremendous strides all ready.
“The whole improvement area is what we think we do very well.”
Mountaineer fans stay tuned.
