SANBORN — With typical hometown enthusiasm, more than 400 locals including hosts The Lockport Rotary Club, welcomed home University of Michigan head basketball coach John Beilein on Wednesday night at Niagara County Community College.
Beilein, a man who rose dramatically from his modest local roots at Newfane Middle School to the pinnacle of his men’s college basketball, was the special guest speaker at a dinner to benefit the Lockport Family YMCA Capital Building Campaign.
A former DeSales Catholic High School player, Beilein has previously served as men’s basketball head coach coached at Erie Community, Nazareth, Le Moyne, Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia, was one of several impressive speakers at the event.
Others included Joe Mihalich (Niagara University), Tom Parrotta (Canisius) and Reggie Witherspoon (University at Buffalo), who shared their thoughts on their upcoming seasons.
Master of Ceremonies was DeSales graduate and Lockport native John Murphy, sports director at Channel 4, WIVB-TV in Buffalo.
Beilein served as the coach of Erie Community College from 1978-82, Nazareth College for the 1982-83 school year, and Le Moyne College from 1983-92. In 1992 he arrived at Canisius College, which was also the first position in which he hired assistant coaches.
At Canisius — his first NCAA Division I coaching position — Beilein reached the NCAA Tournament once and the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) twice in his five seasons.
In 1997 Beilein moved to the University of Richmond and compiled a 100-53 record in five seasons, recording a winning record each season, and again reached the NCAA tournament once, where his 14th seeded team upset nationally ranked South Carolina and the NIT twice.
In 2002, Beilein accepted the head coaching position at West Virginia University. At WVU he posted a 104-60 record over five seasons. In 2004-05, his team went 24-11 and reached the “Elite Eight” (fourth round) of the NCAA tournament. The following year, WVU went 22-11 and reached the “Sweet Sixteen” (third round). In 2006-07, Beilein’s Mountaineers, despite losing about 80 percent of their scoring from the previous season, went 27-9 and won the NIT championship.
In April of last year, the University of Michigan hired Beilein to coach its men’s basketball team. He replaced Tommy Amaker, who was fired after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in his six seasons.
Beilein and his wife, Kathleen, reside in Ann Arbor. They have three sons, Patrick, who played for his father at WVU; Mark, a former football player and WVU grad; and Andy, who is enrolled as a freshman at the University of Michigan next fall; and a daughter (Seana Hendricks).
The YMCA’s goal for its proposed new Town of Lockport facility is $11.5 million.
Read more about Beilein’s visit in an upcoming story by reporter Jonah Bronstein.
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