by Jeff Goodman

2009-10 preview

Can't wait for the college hoops season to start? We get you ready for 2009-10 with our preseason guide.

"People were saying Beilein's system was for white boys," Sims said.

"I heard he didn't even like players that dunk," added the athletic Harris.

The charismatic Amaker had difficulty keeping the top kids from Detroit. How in the world would Beilein, a white coach from upstate New York in his mid 50s, be able to sell the elite Detroit public school players and get plugged into the summer programs?

"That was certainly the perception," said Durand "Speedy" Walker, who runs The Family, which produced both Harris and Sims.

However, the image has changed in Beilein's two seasons in Ann Arbor.

Harris and Sims have made dramatic strides over the past two years, and maybe even more importantly, the Wolverines have once again become relevant on the national landscape after a decade of virtual obscurity.

Harris and Sims averaged a combined 32.3 points and 13.6 rebounds last season as Michigan won 21 games and ended an 11-year NCAA tournament drought.

While both of his star local kids questioned their new coach at the outset, both have now become full-fledged Beilein advocates for those coming out of Detroit.

John Beilein and Manny Harris. (Jamie Squire / Associated Press)

"He makes you better," Harris said. "And it's a great system.

"People think it's a Princeton offense, but it's not. It's just a system where you need to know how to play."

Not only have Harris and Sims bought into Beilein's philosophy, but Harris was a key reason that Beilein and his staff landed one of the elite in-state players last month in junior guard Carlton Brundidge out of Southfield High.

"I grew up with Manny since I was little," Brundidge said. "He told me how great a coach Beilein is."

"Don't get me wrong. There were some reservations at first," said Brundidge's father, Clennie. "People were saying it wasn't the right fit, but we feel it's the right fit and Coach Beilein is someone I really trust with my son."

So Brundidge chose Michigan over that other program down the road. You know, the one in East Lansing that has won a national title and gone to a handful of Final Fours since Tom Izzo came on board.

"People were surprised, but I felt it was the best fit for me at Michigan," Brundidge said. "And Coach Beilein is the main reason."

The Brundidge commitment was just a small blip on the national recruiting landscape, but those around Detroit were well aware of the significance.

It wasn't just Brundidge's commitment, but also Walker's blessing.

"I was at the airport the other day and saw Manny on the cover of a national magazine," Walker said. "It's not like he and DeShawn are averaging seven points a game. NBA scouts are at all of their games. I just don't see where these kids aren't going to make it."

At first, both Harris and Sims were turned off when their new coach wanted to know everything.

"At first, I fought him on it," Sims admitted. "It's one thing to coach basketball; it's another to start asking me all about my personal life."

Beilein sat down and spoke to both kids about the potential pitfalls of credit cards. He wanted to know about every facet of their lives from what they were eating to their sleep habits.

But gradually, both came around.

"He wants to be in your personal life as much as possible," Harris said. "Because he doesn't want you to make mistakes. You feel like Coach really cares about you. He wants you to be successful."

"He cares about more than just basketball," Sims added.

But the basketball is what has those in Ann Arbor excited these days. Four starters return from a team that lost to Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the Big Dance last March.

That includes two — Harris and Sims — that few expected to still be in Ann Arbor two years into the Beilein regime.

"If he can win, he'll bring Detroit kids to the program," Clennie Brundidge said. "I know the tide will turn."

It already has.