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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Michigan coach John Beilein has been cleared of the effect of anesthesia and examined his phone for the first time a few days after a heart operation at double derivation last summer.
As Beilein scanned hundreds of texts sent by supporters, he noticed that Michigan state coach Tom Izzo was one of the first to make contact.
"He actually suggested," I would like to come and visit, "" recalled Beilein in an interview with The Associated Press. "I've somehow quelled that right now. No, I will not visit for a long time. I appreciate it.
"But it was our relationship, a lot of respect."
Izzo simply shrugged, saying that Beilein would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
"At the time when he was having heart problems, the human side of myself was feeling bad because I know he's a good man who lives his life properly," Izzo said at l & # 39; AP. "I could not believe when it happened."
Beilein and Izzo are friendly rivals whose top ranked teams will play for the first time this season on Sunday at the Crisler Arena, with the title Big Ten and the consequences of seeding for NCAA tournaments.
The Wolverines, seventh in the standings (24-3, 13-3, Big Ten) will host the first of their two scheduled games against the Spartans in tenth place (22-5, 13-3) before ending the regular season on March 9 in Breslin. Center in East Lansing.
Even if Beilein and Izzo appreciate each other and respect each other, that does not hurt the competition.
"I would be shocked if either side does not want to defeat the brains of the other," said Izzo. "But I think it's in a very respectful way."
Izzo did not always have a warm and fuzzy relationship with the Michigan coaches in his 24 seasons as head coach, after 12 years as Jud Heathcote's assistant. Izzo spent countless hours recruiting players who ended up playing for the Wolverines, including Chris Webber, and felt like he was wasting his time in some cases because a federal investigation revealed that Ed Martin, the Michigan rapper, who died today, had given Webber and other Wolverines over $ 600,000.
"There were tough times there," said Izzo.
Recently, however, Izzo and Beilein have publicly stated that they are not worried about the NCAA's violation of recruitment rules, while federal prosecutors are at the heart of one of the biggest crackdowns on the NCAA. role of money corruption in college basketball.
The Izzo program was positively evoked in a federal lawsuit that began in New York last fall about the recruitment of high school star Brian Bowen Jr. L & # 39; Former sports agent Christian Dawkins pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting in exchange for Bowen's father. the son's promise to hire Louisville. Dawkins' attorney, defense attorney, Steve Haney, said that the state of Michigan was one of the only schools not to have paid Bowen, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
"It never crossed my mind, either with us or with the state of Michigan, in any way," Beilein said. "We just do not work that way. You do not have that level of success all these years without some integrity in your program. This will manifest, it will eventually appear, if you take shortcuts. "
Izzo, 64, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, won a national championship in 2000 and coached in a Big Ten-record seven Final Fours. The Michigan State coach, who has won the all-time best, is 596-230 and won his eighth Big Ten title in the regular season last season. He will be aiming for his sixth tournament championship next month. Izzo will then lead the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd consecutive year, a series that has only two coaches: the late coach Dean North Dean and Duke Mike Krzyzewski.
Beilein, 66, could also be celebrated with the greatest basketball players in Springfield, Massachusetts. He led the Wolverines to the national championship game last season for the second time in six years. Beilein won 272 games, two regular season records and two conference tournament championships. He has won more than 800 basketball games in 43 seasons, including his first job as a junior college coach near his hometown at Newfane High School in 1975, in a career that did not include being an assistant coach.
Izzo grew up in Iron Mountain, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula state, and ranks first in the series since he was a part-time assistant to Heathcote in 1983. Beilein hails from Burt , in the state of New York. near the shores of Lake Erie and is in its 12th season in Michigan.
"I always tell John that I hate Michigan because you have to do it," Izzo said. "He did not understand that at first. I said, "You have not been here long enough." I say it with a chuckle. I have a lot of respect for the University of Michigan. I probably have even more respect for John Beilein.
Both coaches say they rarely compete for the same prospects, but they talk about their common interests when they recruit from gyms from coast to coast.
"We are still at the same events," said Izzo. "When we're here, he's talking about his cottage. I'm talking about mine. The place that neither one nor the other of us ever happens to be, but we kind of love it. Talk about his new pontoon boat.
And they laugh together.
Beilein told a story of 2015 after the state of Michigan beat Michigan twice and went to the Final Four, sending Beilein home to northern Michigan, to escape and relieve the stress. After a training session, he tried in vain to relax.
"As soon as I finished putting on the TV, Tom was advertising for a boat," Beilein recalls with a chuckle. "It was like the first face I saw. I also told him the story. That's all I needed to see.
"When we talk, it's one of our relationships. We love going out with our families and being kind of just a father and a husband – and a boater – and someone who just likes to look at the water. It takes you away from coaching. "
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Follow Larry Lage to https://twitter.com/LarryLage
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