Michigan Wolverines Basketball

The University of Michigan basketball team was involved in a plane crash on its way to the Big Ten tournament back in 2017, but if not for the captain's last-second decision to abort the takeoff, the outcome could have been tragically different.

"These two pilots did everything right after things started to go very wrong," National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt said Thursday, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN).

The team plane crashed through a chain-link fence at Willow Run Airport on March 8, 2017, as the Wolverines were on their way to Washington, D.C., for the conference tournament. While the plane was damaged in the accident, none of the 110 passengers or six crew members suffered any serious injuries. One passenger did suffer minor injuries, though.

Per the AP, the pilots initially came under fire for choosing to remain grounded even after reaching a critical speed that would cause the vehicle to overshoot the runway. However, the NTSB's recent report backed the pilot's decision.

Captain Mark Radloff told investigators that there was a heavy feeling to the plane as he prepared for takeoff. As it turns out, the investigation discovered a mechanical problem with the plane:

"The NTSB said the plane was properly maintained, but components in an elevator—a part that pilots adjust to change the pitch or nose direction—jammed because the plane was parked outside a hangar for two days during windy weather."

"With a different pilot on this airplane, there might have been people hurt or even killed," Ameristar Vice president Stacy Muth, per the AP. "All we lost was the airplane."

John Beilein and Co. were able to take a different plane to the nation's capital, where the eighth-seeded Wolverines would win four games in four days to capture the Big Ten tournament crown.

The University of Michigan announced Tuesday that head men's basketball coach John Beilein underwent successful double bypass heart surgery Monday.

While the 65-year-old Beilein recovers, assistant coach Saddi Washington will serve as Michigan's interim head coach during its trip to Spain from Aug. 17 through Aug. 26.

Beilein is set to leave the hospital in a few days, and he is expected to be "fully active" by the start of the 2018-19 regular season.

Michigan Medicine's Francis D. Pagani released the following statement regarding the procedure and Beilein's status:

"Coach Beilein underwent a two-vessel coronary bypass graft surgery Monday morning. The procedure is designed to improve blood flow to the heart, by taking a healthy artery or vein from another part of the body and grafting it to the obstructed coronary artery. The operation went well, and we expect him to make a full recovery and be back to his usual activities within a few weeks."

Beilein is set to enter his 12th season as head coach of the Wolverines after previous stints at Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia.

During his time at Michigan, Beilein is 248-143 with eight trips to the NCAA tournament. He has led the Wolverines to the Final Four twice, including last season when they reached the national championship game, where they fell to Villanova.

Michigan will open its 2018-19 regular-season slate Nov. 6 when it hosts the Norfolk State Spartans.

After reportedly being a candidate for the Detroit Pistons' vacant head coaching job, John Beilein will return to the University of Michigan next season. 

Beilein announced his decision to remain with the Wolverines on Twitter:

I love the University of Michigan and I am excited about coaching our Men’s Basketball Team next season and in the years to come ! Let’s go hang some more banners at “THE GREATEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD “#GoBlue

— John Beilein (@JohnBeilein) June 6, 2018

Per The Athletic's Brendan Quinn, Beilein and Michigan are nearing a contract extension that will be worth close to $4 million per year over five years. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Beilein was one of three coaching candidates that Pistons ownership was scheduled to meet with for a second time. Former Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and San Antonio Spurs assistant Ime Udoka are the others. 

The Pistons have been searching for a new head coach after parting ways with Stan Van Gundy in early May. They have missed the playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons and haven't won a postseason series since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008. 

Beilein has been at Michigan since April 2007, when he took over for Tommy Amaker. The 65-year-old has a 248-143 record in 11 seasons with the Wolverines.

He's led Michigan to eight NCAA tournament appearances and two trips to the national championship game in 2013 and 2018. 

Michigan guard Charles Matthews announced his intention to withdraw his name from the 2018 NBA draft and return to school for his senior season Wednesday.

"I am thankful for the assistance Coach Beilein and the staff have given me in order to gain as much information as possible before making this decision. They showed great confidence and patience with me while I sorted this all out," Matthews said in a statement. "After much prayer and discussions with my family and the staff, I am excited to be returning to Michigan next year. I learned a lot throughout this process, but my main focus will now be completing my education at Michigan and leading my teammates to more success next season."

Matthews averaged 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 2017-18, his first at Michigan. He previously played a year at Kentucky before transferring. 

"This process allows young men to gather so much valuable information and make the most informed decision they can," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "Charles has an incredible personality and confidence. His work habits and desire to reach his potential are terrific. He is more focused than ever to improve in all areas of his game. Like others before him, Charles will be a great senior leader for us and we are excited to have this opportunity to coach him again next season."

Matthews declared for the draft following Michigan's run to the national championship game but did not hire an agent. Wednesday is the deadline for players who declared but did not hire representation to withdraw their names.

Matthews scored in double figures in five of Michigan's six NCAA tournament games and will be the team's leading returning scorer. Because he used a redshirt season when transferring, Matthews will have two years of potential eligibility remaining.

Matthews was considered a late second-round or undrafted free agent had he kept his name in the draft. 

Michigan center Moritz Wagner was feeling good after a hot start to Monday's NCAA national championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The Wolverines were up 11-8 on Villanova at the first timeout, with Wagner scoring nine of his team's points. He showed his excitement as the game went into commercial:

Another Wagner layup gave Michigan a 21-14 lead, although the Wildcats woke up from there. The big man didn't score again the rest of the half as Villanova went up 37-28 at intermission.

However, it's tough to blame Wagner for his excitement after a great start to the game on a national stage.

While the University of Michigan officially disavowed one of the most successful eras of Michigan Wolverines basketball, head coach John Beilein said the team has been working to get the members of the "Fab Five" back together.

ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf shared Beilein's comments on the matter:

"We love the Fab Five, and we continue to reach out to the Fab Five and that team. It wasn't just five guys on that team, now. That was a team of champions as well. ... When you have the NCAA violations in there, that's a time that it takes some time to heal. But I'm looking forward to the times when we get everybody in that group together and all of that isn't under our control, if you understand that."

For many basketball fans, the Fab Five remain a cultural touchstone, and those Michigan teams left a legacy that is still felt today.

Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and Chris Webber also helped to lead the Wolverines to back-to-back national championship appearances in 1992 and 1993. Michigan lost the 1992 national title to Duke by 20 points, but the 1993 title game is remembered for Webber's timeout with the Wolverines down two points in the final seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-4f1fT0tK8

Officially, though, much of the Fab Five era never happened. The NCAA accepted Michigan's decision to vacate the team's trip to the 1992 Final Four and the entire 1993 season following improper benefits tied to booster Ed Martin. As a result, the university brought down the banners commemorating the Wolverines' success over those two years.

Medcalf noted the university's punishment also included a 10-year period in which Michigan had to disassociate from any player tied to the violations, a list that included Webber. 

Rose told Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch in October 2014 the renovated Crisler Center included a photo of the Fab Five, which was the first formal acknowledgement by the university since the scandal.

SAN ANTONIO — It's Friday afternoon, two days after Charles Matthews and the Michigan Wolverines landed here to prepare for the Final Four and one day before Michigan will beat Loyola of Chicago to reach Monday night's national title game against Villanova in the 2018 NCAA men's tournament. Right now, Matthews ambles into a media session and settles into a seat behind a raised table.

Like so many others with big basketball dreams, he grew up imagining not only sinking buzzer-beaters but also recounting his heroics in interviews. But as he faces the reporters and hears the first question about Kentucky, he can't help but let out a sigh.       

"I spoke with my media department and my coaching staff," he responded politely, "and I'm not answering any more questions about the Kentucky transfer process. It's so far removed now. I've been at Michigan two years now. If it's not about Michigan or the Final Four, I don't really want to talk about it."

It's easy to understand his frustration. Yes, Matthews started his college career at Kentucky. And yes, at one point, he considered himself a potential one-and-done player. But he left Lexington after nine months, and he's been with Michigan for almost two years. One of the biggest lessons he's learned is not to worry about the past and not to obsess over the future. Instead, he focuses with laser-like precision on the present.

Working with Greg Harden—the University of Michigan associate athletic director and life coach who has helped mold the minds of Tom Brady, Desmond Howard, Michael Phelps and many others—Matthews has learned to become a man of the moment. And this is his moment with Michigan.

In the most important month on the college basketball calendar, Matthews has been the Wolverines' most consistently stellar two-way star. He was the West Regional's Most Outstanding Player, and he's averaging 16.6 points per game in his team's tournament run. "He changed his color blue," assistant coach Saddi Washington said. "He's a maize man now."

---

Charles Matthews likes to introduce himself to people.

In the past two seasons, head coach John Beilein and his basketball program have endured an incredible amount of coaching turnover, which means Matthews has had plenty of new people to meet in his short time with the team. 

In the summer of 2016, two assistants, LaVall Jordan and Bacari Alexander, leapt to fill head coaching vacancies at Butler and Detroit Mercy, respectively. Last offseason, two more (Jeff Meyer and Billy Donlon) made lateral moves to assistant coaching jobs. If you talk to any of Michigan's current assistants—Washington, DeAndre Haynes and Luke Yaklich—one constant will emerge: As soon as they got their jobs, Matthews was among the first players to find them and shake their hands.

There was one other coach who mystified Matthews: Harden, an athletics counselor at Michigan since 1986. Matthews didn't know Harden was an internationally known motivational speaker and life coach. All he knew was that this man would walk into basketball practice and hug everyone, from Beilein to the team managers.

After Harden would leave the facility, Matthews would walk up to those he'd talked with and ask a simple question, "Who is that guy?" He realized Harden could help him unlock his potential.  

"He initiated," Harden says. "And when a young person initiates, it's a very different story than when he's sent to you. It's a rare moment. Tom Brady. Desmond Howard. Those are my poster children. They're the kids who were on a mission and had a vision and were coachable. They had respect for authority figures and commitment to figure out, What can I do that the average person isn't doing? It's a rare bird that does that. Charles is a rare bird."

Over the past two seasons, Harden has hosted Matthews a couple of times a month in his cluttered office on Michigan's campus. His first mission was to remind Matthews he was more than just a basketball player. It wasn't easy. Matthews and his brothers, Dominique and Jordan, were named after NBA legends Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, respectively. As they grew, they bonded at the basketball hoop behind their grandmother's home.

For a while, Charles was able to blend basketball with his other interests. He would watch shows starring celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse with his grandmother, and they'd cook together. Once, when he was about five, he lost control of a stovetop flame while trying a new recipe and set her cabinets on fire.

He loved skateboarding video games and the X Games, so his parents bought him a board. He rode it around for a few years, going as far as mastering a kickflip.

In middle school, his band teacher saw his long arms and scouted him as a budding trombone player. "I don't think I was that good," Matthews says, "but during performances, you wouldn't have been able to single me out, so I held my own pretty well."

He also held his own pretty well on the basketball court. Although Dominique regularly dominated his younger brother in the backyard, Charles became the bigger hoops star. When he was 11, he joined Dwyane Wade's Chicago-based AAU team, Wade Elite, and he formed a friendship with the NBA superstar.

"That's my big brother," Matthews says of Wade.

By the beginning of high school, basketball was his main focus. When he committed to Kentucky as a junior in February 2014, he was the country's No. 3 shooting guard and No. 11 player overall. He was the first member of a Kentucky recruiting class that produced three first-round NBA draft picks. By the end of high school, he had fallen to 50th in the country, according to RSCIHoops.com. He believed, however, that he'd blossom at Kentucky pairing in the backcourt with former AAU teammate Tyler Ulis.

Instead, he struggled to find his footing as a freshman, averaging 1.7 points in 10.3 minutes per game. Although more than 40 schools recruited him as a transfer—the list was so long that he and his parents created a Google Doc to keep track—he still needed to rediscover his sense of self-worth at Michigan. And on that journey, Harden served as his guide.

"Everybody was Johnny Badass in high school. Everybody on their team was that guy," Harden says. Pointing to his head and his heart, he continues: "The difference now is here and here. If you want an edge, you have to figure out how to manage anxiety, how to manage stress, how to manage negative self-talk. You've got to figure out how to settle yourself down. You have to stop thinking about things you can't control. You cannot control what's going to happen a year from now or six months from now. What you can control is today.

"When you can teach a young person to put a priority on the present moment, it works. The NBA won't come unless you master this moment. If you want the NBA, you have to stop thinking about the NBA."

That shift in mindset allowed Matthews to become the player he is today. Instead of sulking through his sit-out year, he decided to improve every aspect of his game that Michigan coaches viewed as a weakness.

He stayed after practices with Beilein to rebuild his shot from the wrist up. His offensive rating went from a dismal 95.9 as a freshman at Kentucky to a respectable 107.1 with Michigan, according to Basketball Reference. And although Beilein relentlessly labeled him "Turnover Matthews" for his frequent miscues in practice, he reversed his assist-to-turnover ratio from a negative with the Wildcats to a positive for the Wolverines.

"He's just bought in," Beilein said. "I mean, it's incredible what a calming influence he is and what a great example he is for the Jordan Pooles and Isaiah Livers and Eli Brooks, who are looking at him, saying, 'I was highly recruited too.'"

Matthews' growth is evident in the way he has thrived even at difficult times this season. In December, he lost his grandmother, Mary Thomas, but scored 20 points in his first game after the funeral. In February, in the thick of Big Ten play, he hit a wall many players do when they have heavy minutes for the first time in a major program.

But he didn't let the eight points per game he averaged that month discourage him. Instead, he finished with a pair of impressive performances in the conference tournament against Top 10 teams in Michigan State and Purdue, and he has been Michigan's leading scorer and second-leading rebounder (6.8 per game) in the NCAA tournament.

"I feel like this is all part of life," Matthews said. "It's not even just about basketball. Life will give you ups and downs. Life will give you weird turns that you were not expecting. You have to keep it moving. I think it showed my character that I was able to fight through adversity and find a way forward through everything."

---

In August, before the season began, Matthews decided he was done with social media. He didn't do this to become more focused; Twitter and Instagram just no longer interested him. He was tired of scrolling through his mentions and wondering whether he should reply to the eggs. "I guess I'm an old soul," he said.

There have been a couple of shoutouts that have penetrated his social media shield during this NCAA tournament run, but only because freshman teammate Poole pointed them out to him.

The first was from Wade, who referred to Matthews as his "young fella" and "family" in a snap while he was watching Michigan take on Texas A&M. The second was from Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who congratulated the Wolverines for making the Final Four and called Matthews "a terrific player and a great young man."

Matthews didn't reply to Wade because they text and FaceTime frequently. But he did respond to Cal, thanking his former coach and saying he loved him.

Appreciate it Coach. Love you my guy. @UKCoachCalipari

— Charles Matthews (@1CMatthews) March 26, 2018

"It was a respect thing," Matthews said. "I wasn't going to leave it out there as a dead end. I just got out there, gave him my appreciation for what he said to me and kept it moving."

That same social media abstinence kept the Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt phenomenon from reaching Matthews' phone, and it was why he responded honestly that he'd never heard of her after Michigan won the West Regional.

On Friday, in the same press conference that began with the awkward Kentucky exchange, Matthews was asked to name the Sister Jean of Michigan basketball. He didn't hesitate. "Greg Harden," he said. "I call him Mr. Miyagi or Yoda."

Harden, who had slipped into the back of the room unnoticed, burst out laughing. On Saturday night, after Matthews turned in Michigan's only memorable performance (17 points, five rebounds) besides Moritz Wagner's in the 69-57 win over Loyola-Chicago at the Alamodome, Harden was there again to congratulate him and remind him of how he's gotten to this moment by remaining in the present through every practice, film session and game.

And now, Matthews knows he is just 40 minutes away from being remembered forever as a Michigan man.

Grant Hill played in the NBA from 1994 through 2013 and surely drew his fair share of charges during his Hall of Fame career, but that didn't stop him from looking terrified during Saturday's Final Four contest between Michigan and Loyola-Chicago.

As House of Highlights shared, Hill was broadcasting Michigan's win and looked particularly worried when Michigan big man Moritz Wagner was chasing a loose ball and went into the announcer row on the sidelines:

It was far from the only highlight for Wagner, who led the Wolverines to a 69-57 victory over Loyola-Chicago with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

As for Hill, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported he was included in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2018, which was announced during the Final Four weekend.

SAN ANTONIO — A few seconds earlier, Moe Wagner had watched his teammate Charles Matthews hammer in a dunk that increased Michigan's lead over Loyola-Chicago to 10 and all but locked in the Wolverines' Final Four win. And now, with less than two minutes remaining, and having already played 35 minutes, Wagner should have been on cruise control. Instead, Michigan's junior center accelerated once more, stretching his left hand out for a steal.

As the ball sprung loose, he chased it out of bounds but didn't stop. He stepped over broadcasters Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill but didn't stop. Only a few steps later, feet below the court, as he passed press row, did he pause. He looked for a moment at the Michigan fans assembled over his shoulder and stretched his lips into that signature smile. And then he kept moving.

It was that kind of night for Wagner: Even when he crashed, nothing could keep him down. (Raftery's glasses were the fall's only victim.) Wagner played 36 minutes in the national semifinal, shooting 62.5 percent from the field and racking up 24 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and three steals. It's not hyperbole to say that, without Wagner, the Wolverines would be booked on a flight back to Ann Arbor. Instead, they're celebrating a 69-57 win and advancing to Monday night's national championship game, where they'll face Villanova. And it's not hyperbole to say this either: Michigan will need another game like this from Wagner to take down the Wildcats and cut down the nets.

Before the game, Wagner had told his roommate, sophomore center Jon Teske, that something felt different. Wagner was nervous. Normally, before leaving the hotel for the arena on a road game, Wagner will watch Friends or jam out to the soundtrack of High School Musical. But on Saturday afternoon, after getting dressed and pacing around the room aimlessly, he decided to head downstairs 10 minutes early. "I was a little restless," Wagner said. "I wanted to get out there. If you prepare for a week for a game, I hate that. I want to play basketball."

And play basketball he did. In the first half, Wagner was Michigan's man. With Loyola switching on defense, Wagner often found himself with half a foot, or more, on his defenders. He connected on five of his eight field-goal attempts, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The rest of the Wolverines combined to shoot 4-of-23 for 11 points and collectively grabbed only 10 rebounds. His teammates took notice.

"In the first half when you look up at the scoreboard and you see [11] points and 11 rebounds, that just showed how much he hustled and how hard he worked," said senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. "Then you saw how many times he went into the stands. Moe wants it so much."

In the second half, the rest of the Wolverines wanted it just as much as Wagner. They shot 16-of-28 from the field and clawed their way back from an early 10-point deficit, outscoring the Ramblers 47-28. And fittingly, it was Wagner who dealt the dagger to the Ramblers: With the Wolverines up five with 3:03 remaining, Wagner was sweating swimming pools at the top of the key when he caught a pass and calmly sunk a three-pointer. A moment later, Loyola's rockstar chaplain, Sister Jean, was being wheeled into the tunnel.

All season, Wagner has been at the top of Michigan's opponents' scouting reports. A true stretch 5, he's 6'11" and shoots 39.6 percent from three. He's a drastically improved rebounder from a season ago, particularly on the defensive end, where he finished top 50 in the nation, per KenPom.com.

"What's going to bless him in his career after he's done with college is rebounding," said Michigan coach John Beilein. "And that was not a strength with him. Now, for him to get 15 rebounds like he did, that's a great step for him. It's a work in progress."

Villanova has very few weaknesses, but among them is the fact that the Wildcats are only an average team on the glass. They ranked outside the top 100 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, and they only have one traditional big man, redshirt freshman Omari Spellman, who is just 6'8". Wagner's ability to bring in rebounds and to work as effectively in the low post as he did on Saturday night could spell the difference between Michigan finishing its season as the national runner-up or the national champion.

Against Loyola, Wagner became just the third player in tournament history to record at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Final Four. But besides a passing "Wow," he didn't dwell on his place in history. Instead, at least five times, he humbly offered that he was just "trying to do my job." From the moment the buzzer sounded, that job became winning a national championship.

"I couldn't even [enjoy] this game yet," he said. "I've been talking to you guys [the media] for the last hour. Once we get back to the hotel and see all the fans, we'll enjoy this for a day. But like I said, as weird as it sounds, I'm just trying not to lose the last game."

As he left the locker room on Saturday night, Wagner spotted an NCAA golf cart. All week, they've served to shuttle players through the tunnels of the arena and to their various non-basketball obligations. "I'm definitely getting on there," he shouted. "I'm not walking."

Later in the night he'd submerge himself in a cold tub and submit himself to a series of foam rolling and stretching exercises under the supervision of Michigan's strength and training staff. On Sunday, he'll repeat the same cycle, hoping to recover quickly enough to repeat his Saturday night performance on Monday.

"When you're at this point in the season, you can dig in and play well in a few extra minutes," said strength coach Jon Sanderson. "You have to will that. He had that will. He'll find it again one more time."

As Wagner sped away in the golf cart, he looked over the box score with Matthews. He saw all that he accomplished and let out a few little laughs before taking a turn toward serious again. Only one goal remained, and there wasn't a moment to waste. It was time to keep moving.

The Michigan Wolverines are headed back to the NCAA men's championship game for the second time in five years, and it's all thanks to Moritz Wagner.

The junior forward helped the Wolverines rally from a double-digit deficit against the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers in the Final Four on Saturday, going off for 24 points (10-of-16 from the floor), 15 rebounds and three steals in a 69-57 victory.

Michigan will face the Villanova-Kansas winner in the championship game on Monday night in San Antonio.