John Niyo

John Beilein tells Michigan players: Stay hungry

Ann Arbor

It's hunting season in Michigan. And for Michigan men's basketball, as it turns out.

Coach John Beilein and Co. will fire their first shots Saturday in the opener against Northern Michigan at Crisler Arena.

But Beilein took aim months ago when he put pen to paper and wrote his own letter-of-intent to his players. Coming off a 21-14 record and Michigan's first NCAA Tournament spot since 1998, Beilein reminded the Wolverines that last season's long-overdue success on the hardwood was not a one-shot deal.

Or at least it doesn't have to be.

"We can't lose that hard edge, that hunger," Beilein said of his team, ranked 15th nationally in the preseason polls. "I sent them a long note before we came back: 'Guys, we are still hunters.' You see these preseason projections -- as long as I'm coaching here, we're always hunting, no matter who the opponent is."

Even if, or maybe especially when, the opponent is one's self. That's why the first order of business -- and it seems ironic against the backdrop of a floundering football program -- was to target complacency.

It's something Beilein, in his third season, understands better than you might think. He's only 20 months removed from a 10-22 finish in his first season at Michigan, but he's one of only seven coaches in Division I history to take four different programs to the NCAAs.

"And in the last 15-20 years, I've grown to understand how hard it is to handle success," he said. "You appreciate it that much more. And you also understand that it can be dangerous."

This team has more

Dangerous? That's a good word -- an aspiration as much as a warning for these Wolverines, who return four starters from a team that managed to weather a mid-winter storm and finally come in out of the cold in March.

Michigan fans watched nearly 200 other Division I schools make the Tournament during the 11-year drought, so a loss to Blake Griffin and No. 2 Oklahoma in the second round of last year's Tournament hardly spoiled the warm afterglow.

But now? It's time make it a habit, according to the team leaders, senior forward DeShawn Sims and junior guard Manny Harris, an All-Big Ten pick.

They're surrounded by a more talented supporting cast, with an intriguing new point guard in Darius Morris and an experienced sophomore class of sharpshooters and self-starters, the kind of players Beilein covets. (Guard Zack Novak already is asserting himself as one of the leaders in practice.)

But it's the holdovers from Beilein's painful first season in Ann Arbor -- "Winning is underappreciated until you've lost," he notes -- that'll set the tone for a team that still has to overcome its "small ball" limitations.

"Guys like me and DeShawn are putting in the whole team's head that we have to work harder than before," said Harris, who led the Wolverines in scoring at 16.3 points last year. "We're still hungry, we still feel like underdogs."

The schedule should help in that regard, no doubt. A year ago, Michigan built confidence with early victories over top-five programs in UCLA and Duke, and even in a loss to Connecticut.

This year, Michigan faces a tough test Thanksgiving weekend at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando. ("You could play well there and come out of it 1-2 or 0-3," Beilein said.) Before Christmas, Michigan plays at preseason No. 1 Kansas. In mid-January, Connecticut comes calling.

Spartans set tone

Oh, and there's also that looming shadow cast by the Green Giants up the road.

Michigan State, No. 2 in the preseason after last year's national runner-up finish, figures to steal most of the headlines.

And don't think Beilein won't remind his team of that.

"I reference Michigan State once a week or twice week," he said. "I may say something about how hard they're practicing up and how strong they are and how good they are. And that's always going to be a measuring stick, between the two programs."

At least now, though, that distance can be measured in something other than miles.

"Hopefully, both of us can stay where we are right now," Beilein said of the schools' top-20 rankings. "Because if you become a top-20 program, year in and year out, you have a chance at being a Final Four program. And that's where we're trying to get to now."

Ready, aim, fire.

john.niyo@detnews.com (313) 982-3810 twitter.com/JohnNiyo