CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – When the final buzzer sounded Saturday night it became obvious – firing Tommy Amaker was the worst decision Michigan’s Athletic Department could’ve made.
In eight games – which is plenty of time for one man to completely turn around a struggling program – Michigan coach John Beilein has failed to do that.
Just look at what happened Saturday. Amaker’s Harvard squad, which has established itself as a juggernaut with four wins in eight games, defeated Beilein’s Wolverines.
This clearly means the Crimson and Amaker are destined to become a greater program than Beilein’s Michigan squad.
If you couldn’t watch the game, trust me. The Wolverines were simply out-coached.
Remember the finger twirl? With several swift spins of his index finger, Amaker’s infinite coaching wisdom was on display for all to see.
Amaker, now Harvard’s coach, used it against Michigan. He twirled it up on four consecutive possessions near the end of the game, and Harvard proceeded to finish the contest on an 11-0 run.
Figures. Even when he’s the opposing coach, Michigan loses when Amaker begins relying on the finger twirl.
Now the “Tommy Twirl” is giving another school reason to hope. The Crimson faithful stormed the court Things are looking up for the Harvard program, and the sky’s the limit. The Harvard has already sold out the rest of its home games. Dickie V. has already sworn off Duke and has anointed Harvard as his new favorite team. ESPN has already promised to show the rest of the Crimson’s home games on national TV. Everyone is catching the fever.
So as the court flooded with elated students thrilled to be proud of something other than their SAT scores, I pulled aside a student to find out just how big this win was.
“We don’t get many Division I big-time programs to our house,” Harvard freshman Anthony Spadafino said. “To be able to upset a team like that at home is huge.”
I envy you Mr. Spadafino. Without a single senior starter, Amaker will mold your team into an Ivy League powerhouse. With Amaker’s reputation of developing talent, not only are conference championships in your future, but NCAA Tournament berths are as well.
As for Wolverine Nation, it’s panic time in Ann Arbor.
Hey, Beilein is a great guy, but I don’t think he’s quite up to the task of developing talent. Winning at least 20 games in a season with six different teams is no sign of progress. How about losing one game at Harvard? Isn’t that bad enough to erase 30 season of work?
And it’s great he can draw up 17,000 different plays for his offense, including ones that can score a basket off an inbound.
Amaker needs just one play – the finger twirl.
That’s it.
And that will be the lasting image from Saturday.
The Crimson storming down the court, led by their fearless leader and his index finger, delivering a knockout blow to the Wolverines.
– Bosch knows this was just one game. It’s called sarcasm. He can be reached at hectobos @ umich.edu.