“He’s always going to have things that you weren’t prepared for, so you almost have to put yourself in his head. … there’s a little bit different angst in your stomach when you’re coaching against him. There’s no doubt about it.”

When Indiana coach Tom Crean said this at Big Ten Media Day, he wasn’t talking about esteemed Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, the coach six Final Four teams, nor was he referring to other household coaching names like Ohio State's Thad Matta, or Minnesota's Tubby Smith.

He wasn't even referring to coaching against tough Big Ten players as Spartans guard Kalin Lucas, who was chosen as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season, or other stars like Purdue center JuJuan Johnson and Illinois guard Demetri McCamey.

No, Crean was talking about a man set to lead a team that is nothing more than an afterthought in most analysts' minds for the upcoming basketball season: John Beilein.

Everyone has the same question for the Wolverines as they are set to embark on what almost promises to be a rough year: how is Michigan, which lost its two best players, supposed to outperform last year’s disappointing 15-17 team?

If the Wolverines couldn’t compete in the Big Ten with all-conference athletes like Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, how are they supposed to do better without them?

The short answer is simply that they won’t.

It’s a harsh reality, but it’s a reality nonetheless. The Wolverines are too inexperienced and too unskilled (at least in terms of experienced talent) to realistically compete for an NCAA berth. Even the NIT could be a stretch as far as any possibility of postseason play.

It’s never a good thing for a team to not have any seniors, and in Michigan’s case, even the two upperclassmen they do have — juniors Stu Douglass and Zack Novak — certainly aren't, by definition, stars.

The Wolverines will be forced to rely on many players who haven't played in a single collegiate basketball game. Beilein has already said that all six of his true and redshirt freshmen will get significant playing time, and at least two will likely be in the starting lineup. All in all, those yearning for the days of the Fab Five or even the 2008-09 NCAA tournament team will have to wait at least another season.

But it won’t be all doom and gloom for this team. There’s a refreshing energy surrounding this group of players. They will tell you that chemistry problems on last year’s squad are overblown, but it’s clear that this team is much tighter and more cohesive than the last edition — perhaps the only benefit of losing Harris, who didn't always seem to buy in to the "team concept."

And the fact that they are young and that they won’t know any better could actually be a positive — they aren’t experienced enough to realize that they’re “supposed” to lose games. They’ll make plenty of mistakes, sure, but it won’t stop them from getting right back up and fighting some more.

Most important, Michigan has Beilein. The coach enters his 33rd season as a head man for a reason — as Crean and all his other peers have recognized, Beilein’s a hell of a coach. Despite the struggles of his first and third seasons in Ann Arbor, his overall track record speaks for itself, and now the team is finally made up of his own players.

Beilein — "the wizard of college basketball," according to Illinois coach Bruce Weber — is widely regarded as a great teacher, and this season he has the ultimate group of pupils: young and inexperienced, but ready, willing and determined to learn.

The mistakes will be copious, but so will be the improvement. Make no mistake, these youngsters are talented — freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. might even already be the Wolverines’ best player — and they’ll show their potential plenty of times.

The Big Ten is as strong as it’s ever been, but Michigan will be scrappy enough to compete with everyone it plays, especially considering how sophisticated Beilein's schemes are. The Wolverines may be at least a year away, but they’ll progress closer to where they need to be much more than most think as the season unfolds.

So don’t expect excellence. Don’t expect the Wolverines to threaten for a conference title, and don’t expect a miracle run to the Big Dance. Expect poor play at times, perhaps a lot of the time.

But also expect plenty of improvement. Expect Michigan to get as much out of its ability as humanly possible.