John Beilein dishes assist during Michigan basketball's coaching search

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel enlisted help from various sources during his search for the university’s next men’s head basketball coach.

He used TurnkeyZRG, an executive search firm that specializes in sports and entertainment, as a consultant. He talked to 10 to 12 former basketball players to get their thoughts on the type of coach the Wolverines needed.

And he also received an assist from the program’s all-time winningest coach, John Beilein.

According to Beilein, Manuel reached out to him early last week and asked if he would be available to look at some of the candidates that Manuel had identified. Beilein, 71, didn’t hesitate to offer his input.

“At my age, you’re trying to give back as much as you can,” Beilein said on “The HUGE Show” Tuesday, hours after Dusty May was formally introduced as the 18th head coach in Michigan basketball history.

“When (Manuel) reached out, I said, 'Obviously.' I got emotional about it, actually. … It's emotional for me to get this program back to where we worked so hard to achieve it to be.”

There were several coaches Beilein and Manuel both liked, whose teams were playing in the NCAA Tournament. It was just a matter of when those targets were going to be available to speak with Michigan.

May’s Florida Atlantic team was bounced in the first round on Friday night. Michigan wasted no time contacting May’s agent, Andy Miller with Klutch Sports, to set something up. By the time the logistics were worked out, an in-person meeting was scheduled for Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

It just so happens, Beilein was already in Naples, Fla. He made the drive across Alligator Alley to join Manuel and the rest of the Michigan contingent at the meeting, where he provided insight on what it’s like to be Michigan’s head coach and answered any questions May had.

Beilein recalled May asking why the program has been so up and down over the years and about admissions, which became a hurdle, at times, during former coach Juwan Howard’s tenure. Beilein gave his opinion on the former — “We just had bad facilities after the ‘90s,” he said — and his experiences with the latter.

“Admissions was never one time a problem with us getting guys into school,” Beilein said. “I think those two things were very comforting to him, that he knew this was a proud university. … If you are selective in who you recruit, admissions has worked really well with us. I think that was key.”

Added May: “I asked (Beilein) questions about how he was able to sustain the success that he did and how they built it and what their recruiting philosophy was. The academic components and all those things. We just talked basketball and what we thought was the best way to win here.”

Beilein also turned the tables and asked May questions about his coaching style and what his practices would look like.

“Every answer was perfect,” Beilein said.

Little did Beilein know, his two-hour conversation with May helped seal the deal. By the time Beilein left the room to let the two sides negotiate, it didn’t take long for a five-year contract to be hammered out and signed.

Make no mistake, Beilein acknowledged May has a tough job ahead, but getting the right staff and roster in place are vital. It’s entirely possible Beilein could even have a role in some capacity, an idea that May was open to and “going to embrace.”

“Now he's at the bottom of the bottom,” Beilein said. “To get it all back, it's going to be really hard, but just grind away day by day.”

That last part shouldn’t be an issue. When Manuel sought Beilein’s counsel, Beilein conducted some research of his own. One of Beilein’s former point guards at West Virginia, Darris Nichols, worked alongside May on coaching staffs at Louisiana Tech and Florida.

The first thing Nichols said about May is “he’s a grinder.” Nichols then told Beilein everything he wanted to know, from how closely May follows NCAA rules to what the academic requirements were like at Florida.

By the end of it, Beilein was on board with endorsing May.

“I said, ‘Darris, if I'm gonna recommend that they take a strong look at him, you've got to tell me the truth,’” Beilein said. “He answered all the questions. That helped (May’s) credibility with me, definitely.

“I am very optimistic about what Dusty can bring to the Michigan basketball program and the university.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins