When John Beilein entered his 60's, he began thinking about how he would step away from Michigan. And he decided one thing -- he wouldn't stay too long.
So when the Cleveland Cavaliers came calling, Beilein, now 66, knew it was time to move on.
"I thought a lot about it as I got into my 60's -- what's the exit strategy? How do you leave when you just walk away? And I made the conscious decision that I was never going to leave too late," Beilein told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket. "Whether I retired or I went somewhere, it wasn't going to be too late. It was going to have to be either early or on time, and you never really can have a good time for change."
Beilein leaves Michigan basketball as the winningest coach in school history. He put the program back on the map, and he did so with class. If the changing culture of college basketball pushed him out, Beilein wouldn't say. But Michigan did lose three more players to the NBA this year, a trend that seemed to take a toll on Beilein over the years.
He admitted, "It hasn't always been a bowl of cherries. We've had to rebuild, like, three times and we were about to have to rebuild again."
On the matter of players leaving early for the NBA, Beilein said, "It is nice to sign Kevin Love to a four-year contract and know you have him for four years. That's something that, I wouldn't say it wears on you. If you have other options, let's just say that. There's other options where you can draft people, you can actually follow them for two years -- not necessarily recruit them, but follow them -- and then draft them if you have the opportunity.
"There were some really appealing things about continuity with (the Cavs) roster going forward."
Beilein joined the Jamie and Stoney Show to discuss the Chad Tough Foundation and the third annual Champions for Change Gala, which takes place Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Beilein and his wife Kathleen are co-chairs of this year's event. The foundation -- named after Chad Carr, grandson of former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr -- fights pediatric brain cancer.
"When you make a commitment to do something of this magnitude, these are the big things in life," Beilein said. "Forget about all the big games you think you have. These are the big things in life, when you can have a purpose like this."
While many believed Beilein had been waiting his whole career to coach in the NBA, he said reaching that level wasn't the end goal.
"That is not part of this motivation at all. If I ended up (finishing my career) at Michigan, it wasn't like, 'Hey, I didn't check that box.' It's just an opportunity to do something really special, to stay in this general area of the country and with people that I know a little bit," he said.
Cavaliers assistant GM Mike Gansey played for Beilein at West Virginia and was a big part of his decision to join Cleveland.
"He's like a son. I have three sons, he would be my fourth," Beilein said. "He and I began talking a little bit once they went down the search, and then I got to meet the rest of their staff. It was an opportunity to do something really special, like when I saw the same opportunity at Michigan. 'Wow, this is the University of Michigan. This is an opportunity to do something special.'"
As his dedication to the Chad Tough Foundation illustrates, Beilein said he will stay connected with the school where he coached for the past 12 years.
"This relationship will not end, that's for sure. When you're around the Michigan people and this whole world of the greatest university of the world, the relationship's not ending. It was a tremendous dozen years here, especially the last decade," he said. "It's not like I'm going to coach at another school. My last college coaching stop I can say is the University of Michigan
"It's been so incredible that I plan to be a Michigan guy the rest of my life, without question."
