John Beilein Should Have Been the Big Ten Coach of the Year!

But he wasn't. The media picked Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis. The Big Ten coaches' choice was Tom Izzo. Where was John B? Let's break down the choices of the media and the coaches.

Ed DeChellis is a deserving candidate. His Penn State team came back off a 16-16 2007-08 season and went 23-11 this year. His team finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten and is still alive in the second round of the NIT.

Tom Izzo: Everyone knows there is a ton of pressure to win when you're on top. You always get everyone's best game every night (see Lloyd Carr's career for further evidence). So I don't have a problem giving the award to the coach on the best team. They were expected to win the regular season Big Ten, and they did just that.

Ed's Penn State team went .500 last year. Michigan went 10-22 in the 2007-08 season. Michigan this year is 20-13 with wins over Duke, UCLA, Purdue, and Illinois, but more importantly, an invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.

The argument for Ed is a little stronger with Penn State's 10-8 Big Ten record against Michigan's 9-9, but I'm pretty sure Ed would exchange that one win for an NCAA invite.

To say the cupboard was bare in 2007 is an understatement for the Michigan basketball program. They had DeShawn Sims, a young sophomore, and a highly ranked freshman named Manny Harris. The rest of the holdovers from the Tommy Amaker days were either not buying into the new system or didn't care to.

John took close to nothing and made it into something in just a year. To me that is a huge accomplishment that deserves the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award.

John won't have any new hardware in his office this year, but he can hold his head high tonight at 7:10 when Michigan plays under the big spotlight of the NCAA tournament.