John Beilein on the sidelines at Canisius, where he coached from 1992 to 1997.

File photo

For two days in 1996, Mack McCarthy and his staff at Tennessee-Chattanooga watched tape and constantly rewinded the film. They were still baffled by what had taken place.

McCarthy thought he had a good team. Yet here it was, completely and totally dismantled at Chattanooga’s own holiday tournament, the Dr. Pepper Classic, by Canisius. 

Chattanooga became another victim of something - or someone - coaches across the country have dealt with since the 1970s. They coached against then-Canisius coach John Beilein.

“We watched that film for two days, all day long, trying to figure out what in the world they did to just cut us up like that,” said McCarthy, now the coach at East Carolina. “When you see John’s team for the first time, it’s really a shock what they do to you.

“After you see them multiple times, you tend to catch on a little bit but it’s really difficult. I pity the teams that run into them in the postseason or the non-conference schedule where they don’t see you on a regular basis because they have no idea how sophisticated he is.”

That game changed the course of Chattanooga’s season. McCarthy tweaked everything from pace to style of play based off what Beilein’s system did to his team.

While he’s never thanked Beilein, his Chattanooga team won 11 straight games and ended up in the Sweet 16 as a 14-seed after upsetting Georgia and Illinois.

On the surface, Beilein's system seems simple. Offensively, his scheme resembles the Princeton offense with principles in smart passing, good shooting and constant movement. Defensively, he bounces between man to man and a 1-3-1 zone.

In reality, it's more nuanced. Beilein doesn't entirely enjoy the Princeton comparisons. He developed the offense from a two-guard set at Division II Le Moyne when his teams were lacking quickness and size but wanted to spread the floor for shooters.

“We always said whenever we do get more athletic players, we'd like to play the same way and just tweak it and try to simplify it," Beilein said. "We're trying to get there now with that."

Along the way, the system has been tweaked to fit personnel. It has made the looks different and problem-inducing for opponents.

His style comes from his coaching lineage, starting at the community college level in upstate New York, weaving through Division II, the lower levels of Division I to Richmond, West Virginia and now, Michigan.

Eventually, Beilein said, his teams became more athletic, citing his final year at West Virginia and some of his later teams at Richmond. This team, Beilein said, "is comparable."

Combine an athletic John Beilein team with the originality of his system and it can be a mini-nightmare for opponents.

“One of the things that’s been difficult in playing against John’s teams is that you just don’t see it very often,” former Duke assistant coach and current ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. “It is unique. They have keys with the way they pass and whether they are going back door or taking the ball the side of the cut. They are very difficult to deal with.

“Their defense is different. The 1-3-1, they play angles very well. They lay off of people they don’t want to guard. They are very smart about it and if you don’t see it very often, you can get tentative against it. And against their offense, you can get caught in the middle.”

That explains part of why Beilein has been successful at every head coaching stop, qualifying for the NCAA tournament at Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia and Michigan.

His system, in its uniqueness, also accentuates whatever skills his players may have. There are roles for shooters, drivers, dirty work players and big men. Look at Michigan’s current team as an example.

Freshman guard Darius Morris and junior guard Manny Harris are dangerous slashers. Seniors Zack Gibson and DeShawn Sims are big men who can shoot from the outside. Sophomores Zack Novak and Stu Douglass are accurate outside shooters.

All the components are there for a typical Beilein-coached team. Smart, team-oriented and familiar with his system. As McCarthy described, when a team sees something from Beilein once, it usually means they won’t see the same thing the second time.

The more experienced a team is under Beilein, the more dangerous they become because the more Beilein can tinker.

“They are very, very calm,” said St. John’s coach Norm Roberts, who faced his teams often when Beilein was at West Virginia. “When you think you’re getting them a little bit out of what they want to do, they’re not because they have so many counters and are so used to playing with one another, they just counter whatever you’re doing.”

In his system, guards can become forwards, forwards can become guards and McCarthy said  sometimes, in the middle of a possession a Beilein-coached team will switch out of what they are doing almost systematically and end up with an even better shot.

This isn’t to say teams haven’t had success against Beilein. Bilas said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, when he faced a Beilein team, took away the cuts from West Virginia and forced the Mountaineers to shoot to win.

“Boeheim basically said ‘OK, make 20 three’s and see if you can beat us,’” Bilas said. “He stayed in their zone and against the 1-3-1, he’d just throw it over the top and go on the baseline against the smaller guys that John puts in the back of that 1-3-1.”

It worked for Syracuse, which has had long, athletic frontcourts the past decade and usually attracts Top 25 recruits. Also helpful are teams that can equal the basketball knowledge and understanding of a Beilein team. 

“In terms of trying to attack that, it’s different and you need to have some guys with some high IQ because when you just think you can put your head down and get somewhere, there’s another body showing up,” said Holy Cross coach Sean Kearney, who coached against Beilein as an assistant at Notre Dame. “It’s kind of an awkward and uncomfortable defense to play against.”

That’s by design. Beilein - much like any coach - doesn’t want to make an opponent comfortable. And like any coach, Beilein seems to enjoy the strategy of the game.

He preaches team defense, which is critical considering how Beilein employs his 1-3-1 and how they move in-and-out of it in conjunction with man-to-man. And he is big on making the extra pass, looking for at least 60 percent of his team’s baskets a game having an assist attached.

“Beilein’s been doing that for years and years and years,” said ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, a former head coach at Detroit. “Eventually, that translates into winning.”

Beilein knows his system is unique. It keeps his team on its toes, keeps opponents guessing and becomes a giant mind game between coaches - a situation Beilein will win more than most.

It’s why he’ll tell freshmen not to sweat trying to pick up what his teams do before they arrive in Ann Arbor.

“Even coach B will tell you,” Morris said. “Don’t worry about that too much, I got to teach it to you.

“It’s really unique. I just took his word for it.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.