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John Beilein thanks University of Michigan, fans in farewell message

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

After 12 seasons serving as the head basketball coach at the University of Michigan, John Beilein is going to give the NBA a try.

On Monday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Beilein agreed to a five-year deal to become the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, replacing Larry Drew. The move came as a shock to most, as Beilein has spent nearly his entire career coaching at the college level.

Beilein totaled a 278-150 record in 12 years at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and winning two B1G regular season titles and two B1G Tournament titles. Michigan also appeared in two Final Fours.

Not long after the news broke that Beilein would be moving from Ann Arbor to Cleveland, the head coach issued a farewell statement on Twitter, thanking the University of Michigan and the fans for the support.

“Thanks to everyone at the Univ. of Michigan for their incredible support these last 12 years,” Beilein wrote. “Our fans, alums, leaders, players and students are AMAZING. It has been a heck of a ride and I hope you enjoyed our teams and staff as much as I did! Go Blue Forever!”

Beilein started his coaching career at the high school level before making a leap to junior college. He then had stops at Division III, Division II and Division I levels of the sport. He’s truly worked his way from the bottom all the way to the professional ranks.

In his career at the college level, Beilein has compiled a 754-425 record. He did well at stops at Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia, but he excelled when he arrived at Michigan.

When Beilein takes over the Cavaliers, it will be his first career job in the NBA.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB