U-M notes: Beilein says freshmen are adjusting quickly

ROSEMONT, Ill. – John Beilein had no idea how it would be flooding half his roster with freshmen.

Spots kept opening (NBA departures, transfers) and he kept filling them.

Following a few weeks of summer prep for an Italy trip then the past two weeks in fall camp, his gamble is paying off.

"Five of the freshmen have really picked up things very quickly," U-M coach John Beilein said today at Big Ten media day, referring to expected rotation players Ricky Doyle, D.J. Wilson, Kam Chatman, Aubrey Dawkins and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman.

When he asks for them to catch the ball with two hands and pivot with the right foot, they do it.

"We look at little individual improvements and they do them," he said. "I look at the application process — you give them a task and how do they apply it? These guys are applying it at a speed I haven't seen before."

That may be the Beilein minutae, but the details have defined his career, getting the most out of players.

"Particularly Kam and D.J.," Beilein said. "Those are two frontcourt players and we need the help. … I'm really excited that they have, when given a task, they do it and are very coachable."

■ NEVER FORGET: Nebraska made its NCAA tournament push last year by dominating its home court, producing a 15-1 record at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The one loss: 71-70 to eventual Big Ten champion Michigan in the home conference opener.

"How 'bout that deal?" Nebraska coach Tim Miles said, recalling then-freshman Derrick Walton Jr. figuring in the key plays. "They make a 60-footer at halftime (by Walton), we get the charge (on Walton's go-ahead drive with 21 seconds left) — they don't call it because they have the worst block/charge rule that they threw out after one year — and then we miss a one-inch tip-in (at the buzzer)."

Miles has not let it go.

"All I remember is that we lost," he said. "I've never walked in that arena and felt like we were going to lose. Then we lost one. It made me mad."

■ FINAL FOUR: Beilein finally reached the Final Four in 2013 after 30 years waiting.

That only teased him, though.

The Wolverines finished just short last year, losing in the Elite Eight on a clutch three-pointer by Kentucky's Aaron Harrison in the Elite Eight.

"It's obviously difficult to get there," Beilein said. "At the same time, once you've been there one time… I'm probably hungrier than ever to get back. So I think it's great motivation for everybody who has experienced that run."

Contact Mark Snyder: msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark__snyder.