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June 16-22, 2010


By Leland Stein III I cannot watch television without new


In the Game By Leland Stein III


Alexander: A dream fulfilled


Former PSL star now assistant at UM


By Leland Stein III The University of Michigan is on a somewhat


downswing concerning its basketball and football programs. In particular, the men’s basketball team has been trying mightily to find its way back to competing for Big Ten titles. That task will be even harder in the upcoming campaign considering the loss of the team’s best two players, Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims.


Is Izzo for real?


speculation concerning whether or not Tom Izzo will bolt Michigan State University for the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Izzo is either Machiavellian and shrewd, or calculating and crafty, or tired of the recruiting grind.


I would not blame him if he is using this


opportunity to enhance his status and the Spartans’ basketball visibility. Through this ordeal people all over the country are talking about MSU basketball, while revisiting the recent successes of the team and Izzo. You could not pay a million dollars for the kind of national PR he and MSU are getting for free.


COMMENTARY I would not blame him if the money and a


new challenge is what he needs after spending over three decades in East Lansing. Surely he is a very competitive person and the possibil- ity of coaching the NBA’s best young player, LeBron James, is enticing indeed. Unofficial reports note that the Cavs owner Dan Gilbert offered him $6 million per year and use of a private jet.


I do not blame him if the recruiting pro-


cess is getting trying. Imagine having to sit in front of 16- to 18-year-olds selling oneself and program every year to youth that do not have enough life experience to honestly make life-changing decisions. Or worse, having to deal with bad parents that believe the hype concerning handouts.


Izzo recently arrived at Lansing’s Capital


City Airport in a private jet and with him were wife Lupe, daughter Raquel and son Steven. During the trip to Cleveland it is reported he met with Gilbert and other Cavs executives.


When talk UM COACH Bacari Alexander. The incoming class features the sons of two


former NBA players (Tim Hardaway and Tito Hor- ford) and the younger brother of a current one (Al Horford). The freshmen will be joined by redshirt freshmen Jordan Morgan and Blake McLimans who sat out last season as Michigan finished 15-17.


To offset the loss of its two best players, while


trying to have a positive impact on the freshmen, University of Michigan head basketball coach John Beilein, has added Detroit native Bacari Alexander, 33, as one of his assistant coaches.


Being a Detroiter, my guess is Alexander will be


charged with reconnecting the Wolverines with the Detroit area basketball student/athletes, and bring- ing more athletes like Harris and Sims to the Ann Arbor campus.


“I think this position is about more than the re-


cruiting piece,” Alexander told me in a phone inter- view. “Beilein has just signed an extension through 2016 and the new player development center that will be the state of the art. It is like a new beginning. You need a woo factor the way things are happing in the recruiting process.”


Said Beilein: “He (Alexander) really fits the crite-


ria of a guy that can mentor young men; he is really a teacher. There are guys that know how to coach and there are guys that you have to project in the gym and be a teacher, and that’s what we wanted to see from him.”


The ex-Detroit Southwestern High player is


surely qualified as a teacher and coach. He has put work in as a player and coach. In his collegiate play- ing career, Alexander played two seasons at Robert Morris, where he was named to the Northeast Con- ference All-Newcomer Team in 1995, before transfer- ring to the University of Detroit where he played for Detroit icon coach Perry Watson.


Alexander comes to Michigan after putting in


work over nine years coaching at the Division I level. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Western Michigan (2008-10). Prior to that job he spent one season (2007-08) in the MAC at Ohio. He began his coaching career spending six seasons at his alma mater, the University of Detroit, under head coach Watson.


“I received a phone call from Beilein a few months


ago,” Alexander said. “I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. I really did not have any real prior relationship with him. It was like the moon and stars aligned and it was meant to be. This is my dream job.


“Of course I had to go through the interviewing


process and present myself as the person that could help this program move forward. I was honest and straightforward and sincere about what I could bring to the process. Thankfully they chose me.”


Coach Beilein knows in Alexander he’s getting


a leader of young men with strong Michigan ties, a teacher with excellent ability to coach post players, and a hard working and honest recruiter, who can help him get the UM program back on track.


“Change is inevitable,” Alexander said. “Now we’ll


see what the UM program will be all about. We want to win, but we want to build a foundation and pro- gram. We have some exciting young players coming in and we’ve had great spring individual workouts. It will be our job to educate them and coach them up to what our expectations are for them.”


Alexander is under no illusion concerning the


task ahead of him and the incoming players. He acknowledged it is a challenge managing 18- to 20- year-olds and molding them into a cohesive unit of student/athletes.


“I’ve been blessed to be around great coaches that


I’ve learned from,” he said. “At the end of the day I’m a grassroots guy who is concerned with develop- ing the total person. I’m willing to get out there and work extra hard to help build a winner, and doing it with integrity.”


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol. com. JOHN WOODEN (right) and the Jabbar-led NCAA champions. Wooden: Best ever


By Leland Stein III I do not care if you are orange, black,


yellow, white, athletic, have two left feet, love sports or hate them, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden left a manuscript of deeds that anyone can learn from and admire.


COMMENTARY Sure, Coach will always be scanned in


the pages of history for his unbelievable basketball dynasty orchestrated at UCLA. His Bruins’ teams won 10 national champi- onships in a 12-season stretch from 1964 to 1975. From 1971 to 1974, UCLA won 88 consecutive games, still the NCAA record. Four of Wooden’s teams finished with 30-0 records.


Because of his astounding success he


earned the nickname the Wizard of West- wood. When he passed recently he was 99. One could easily change his name to the Wizard of Life. I consider myself lucky and blessed to have been in his company many times.


One memorable occasion was 1995


when I was covering UCLA basketball and we were in Seattle after UCLA had won its last NCAA title. Wooden held an impromp- tu press gathering where he recounted his coaching philosophy and the Bruins PR staff passed out copies of “Wooden’s Pyra- mid for Success.” I still have it and look at it quite regularly.


Another time I was picked to write the


main feature story, a piece on his undefeat- ed Walton Gang squad, in the NCAA Final Four Commemorative Program in 1995. I got to sit one-on-one with the legend and he was so humble and gracious.


Every time after that I made sure I went


over to him and shook his hand before or after every UCLA game. Then I was se- lected to write another lead feature for the Sixth Annual John R. Wooden Basketball


Classic program in 1999. The piece titled “Passing it On” was centered on him and his former point guard Henry Bibby, who at the time was head coach at rival USC.


During the interview Coach astounded


me by remembering the feature I wrote about his years coaching the Bill Walton and Bibby-led Bruins.


Not only was Wooden a supreme coach,


he was an even better person. I’ve sat and talked with Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamal Wilkes, Walt Hazzard and Mike Warren, just to name a few, and each one talked about his life lessons delivered in sayings interjected at them every day in practice and meetings. He was a teacher first and coach second.


Jabbar told me in a talk we had that he


and Wooden hit it off right away. He noted that Coach did not try to overwhelm him with his scholarship right. And he liked the fact Wooden was in no hurry to display his power.


Wooden showed all he could cajole and


motivate with the best coaches ever in any sport, without ever cursing and yelling and berating his players. He carried himself as a dignified, scholarly man who spoke with the precise language of an English profes- sor.


The Random House Dictionary of the


English Language defines a coach as a person who carries students through ex- aminations. Wooden epitomized the in- dispensable properties of a coach. He has turned more boys to men than anyone who has every traversed the hardwood courts. In his 40 years as a head coach (27 at UCLA) he touched more lives than a high powered evangelist minister.


Gone but never forgotten, Coach has


passed on his lessons in life to so many that his spirit will always be alive.


Leland Stein can be reached at lel- stein3@aol.com. Tom Izzo


of Izzo leav- ing surfaced I pushed it aside as nothing, but I would think if he took the entire family and actu- ally went there to meet the Cavs front office people, it must be more seri- ous than I origi- nally thought. Spartans fans deemed it seri-


ous enough to organize a rally


of 500 people in support of keeping him at Michigan State.


Many insiders around the country are


saying Izzo may be closer to taking the Cav- aliers job than initially thought and he “is leaning toward taking the job if it is offered.”


“He tries to get the opinions of people he respects,” former MSU coach Jud Heathcote


CHRIS ALLEN (right) will be back, but will his coach? – Hassan photo


told a reporter. “He’s been talking to a lot of coaches and a lot of friends. I just told him to make the decision for himself, and not let the media make it for him.”


Why would Izzo want that job when he


is set for life at MSU? Plus, James is an un- restricted free agent and he has until the middle of July to decide what jersey he will be wearing next season. Izzo cannot string MSU along for the duration of James’ free agent tour around the country.


So, would Izzo take the money and pray


that Gilbert can keep James in Cleveland? He has to make a decision very soon or some of his incoming recruits might bolt. Word is star recruit, Brandan Kearney’s dad, has already gone to East Lansing looking for answers.


I do not see Gilbert waiting too long for Izzo


to make up his mind. He has to move forward with his franchise and put all his energy into keeping the best young player in the NBA.


Look, I might be on an island, but Cleve-


land was not that far from getting to a title. James has led the once downtrodden fran-


chise to an NBA Finals and two 60-wins sea- sons. I believe that many of the recent moves made by the Cavs were solid and they just need to be patient and keep moving forward.


I guess Izzo is looking at the situation sim-


ilar way I am as he must obviously feel that James and the Cavs have enough personnel that an NBA title is within reach.


If Izzo takes that Cleveland coaching job he


should take a hard look at what the NBA did to star college coaches like Mike Montgom- ery, Tim Floyd, Rick Pitino and John Calipari. They all made out like bandits financially, but none were able to master the professional game. I do not think Izzo’s coaching style fits the pro game.


I would have thought that Izzo at this stage


in the game was looking to create a legacy like Mike Krzyzewski’s. For now the Izzo circus is still alive and in living color on radio and tele- vision all over the country


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@ aol.com.


Women’s Resource Center to host golf outing to benefit homeless women


On Saturday, June 26, the L.I.F.T. Women’s


Resource Center will host its 9th Annual Golf Scramble at the beautiful Woodlands of Van Buren Golf Course and Banquet Facility, 39670 Ecorse Road, in Wayne.


The event will benefit the ‘Positive Change


Program’ life skills workshops for women who reside in homeless shelters. In 2009, 1,375 women successfully participated in the life skills workshops; 141 women were mentored through the women empowering women support group; 721 parents received training; 768 individuals and families received emergency referrals includ- ing donations. The 9th Annual Golf Scramble is a four-person scramble, with prizes for the top team and many on-course contests.


Registration begins at 7 a.m., followed by an


8 a.m. tee off for the 18 hole of golf-scramble format. Early registration is recommended. The event is $100.00 per golfer. Spots are also avail- able for hole sponsorships at $200, which in- clude one golfer, name displayed at designated hole and buffet lunch. Buffet lunch can be pur- chased for non-golfers at $30.


The event registration forms are available by


calling (313) 345-9065. The deadline is Thurs- day, June 24.


Annual Titan Club Open House


The Titan Club will host its 2010 Open House


on Wednesday, June 16, at the Pavilion on the south side of Calihan Hall, from 5 to 7 p.m.


Titan Club members, their families, prospec-


tive Titan Club members and former student ath- letes are invited to join the Athletic Department for a strolling dinner courtesy of the Titan Ath- letics and their corporate food partners, Buddy’s Restaurant and Pizzeria, Buffalo Wild Wings, Champps-West Bloomfield, Dino’s Lounge, Na- tional Coney Island and Qdoba Mexican Grill.


Guests will be treated to many activities


throughout the evening, including a fastest serve competition, lawn games, arts and crafts and more. The event will provide attendees the oppor- tunity to talk with Detroit Titan coaches, student athletes and other Titan fans.


For more information, call (313) 993-1700.


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