Michigan men's basketball Head Coach John Beilein made his feelings very clear on Monday, just three days after his team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Notre Dame. He did not expect Michigan to be back in Ann Arbor without a win.
"That was a game for the taking," Beilein said in his weekly interview with WXYZ's Brad Galli. "We didn't get it. You just feel empty."
The Wolverines lost one of their best players early in the season when senior guard Caris LeVert went down with an injury. He and Spike Albrect both missed a majority of the season. Beilein said watching LeVert go down hurt him personally.
"It doesn't seem right for them," Beilein said of Levert and Albrecht. "It doesn't seem right for the guys on the team to have it happen twice, but it's part of life."
He also answered criticisms about the Wolverines performance over the last few seasons, claiming there is no team in the NCAA who has been hurt more by injuries and the NBA Draft.
This season, they lost LeVert and Albrecht due to injuries. Since 2013, they have lost players like Tim Hardaway, Jr., Trey Burket, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary and Nik Stauskas all as first-round picks in the NBA Draft.
"For us to go from 16 wins to 23 wins with everybody coming back is a great step in the right direction," Beilein said about next season.
