John Beilein: Why Can’t It Be Done Again?

New Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein has described the project as a renaissance rather than a rebuild.

John Beilein has spent the last 12 years coaching at college level in Michigan. He’s the somewhat surprising choice to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers back to glory. The Cavs fired two coaches as they went 19 – 63 last season.

While many eyebrows have been raised at the unproven-in-the-NBA coach, those who’ve met him can’t speak highly enough of him.

“He’s all the things you would want in a head coach,” Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said.

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“Rebuild is not a word we’re going to use here, I saw it more as a renaissance,” John Beilein said.

“Let’s just change and let’s see what we can through different trial and error. It was one (job) that was appealing to me. Every single time that we’ve decided to do this, some people would say with every job, and probably with this one, `What are you crazy? Why are you doing that? And I say exactly that, opportunity and challenges go hand in hand.”

The fact that the 66 year old has spent so much time coaching young players means he’s had to adapt with the times, even in a college context. He said that his philosophy combines old-school values with modern practices.

“You can get too analytical as well,” he said.

“I want to find the sweet spot, the ones that have been important to me for years and the ones that are important to NBA basketball and try to blend those two.”

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At his inaugural press conference, Beilein pointed towards the banners depicting previous Cleveland Cavaliers titles.

“Look at all those banners up there,” he said.

“It’s been done before. Why can’t it be done again?”