Posted at 8:00am -- 4/26/2010Bacari Alexander Named Assistant Coach for Wolverines
GBMW Thoughts on the hire:
Some have asked for a GBMW position of the recent hiring of Bacari Alexander by Coach Beilein. A simplistic answer is that on the surface there are many positives. And so, now on we go to a short discussion.
Bacari Alexander is a very good pick-up for several reasons. Bacari has heavy/established connections within the Detroit area and throughout the state of Michigan. It is no mystery that Michigan has been fighting uphill local and state recruiting battles in the recent past. Battling Michigan State on the hardwood is tough enough and losing most recruiting challenges compounds the difficulty of Michigan ascending back to the top of the college basketball scene.
Bacari is a young, energetic coach who will be involved with recruiting in the local area and his responsibilities will obviously include selling the program to local recruits, creating strong relationships (bridge building) at local high schools and countering the stereotypical talk regarding the type of player that Coach Beilein recruits. Just like in football, it is time to start winning, and when that happens, recruits will start taking a better look at Michigan.
Last year’s results dampened some of the positive effects of two seasons ago that appeared to help recruiting and the overall image of the basketball program that received an unexpected boost from securing an NCAA berth two years ago and winning a game in the NCAA tournament as well.
Coach Alexander played most of his college ball in the state of Michigan at Detroit, and coached in the general area at Western Michigan and his alma mater, Detroit. His background and past connections should help get more high school coaches onboard and help in getting in-state kids interested in Michigan. Now, Michigan needs to win to further increase the likelihood of local player and coach support.
Coach Bacari also coached at Ohio University as well, which may help Michigan recruit a bordering state rich with basketball talent. Ohio has enough talent to sustain high-level programs such as Ohio State, Xavier, Dayton, Ohio, and Cincinnati.
Coach Alexander is purported to have strong teaching skills, a must for a program looking to rise up. His area of expertise is reported to be working with bigmen, another must for a rising program.
So, a teacher of the game who has local ties, and a solid coaching resume on the collegiate level, being hired by a teacher of the game seems pretty logical.
Written by GBMW Staff
Go Blue -- Wear Maize!
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