Unverified Voracity Is Making A... Nah

I'll keep my streak of headlines without a Beilein pun intact in honor of Big Ten Wonk, which shuffles off this mortal coil today.

Of course we won't pay anyone any money because we are sooooo cheap. The Ann Arbor News has a quote from Martin announcing the signing and contract details:

New Michigan basketball coach John Beilein will be paid $1.3 million per season, as part of a six-year contract he signed with the university today, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal.

The salary has a $200,000 annual base, with $1.1 million in other compensation from various sources, including speaking engagements and television and radio deals. There are a series of bonuses for advancing to the NCAA Tournament, including $150,000 for winning the national championship.

The contract doesn't include any language about Beilein's $2.5 million buyout with West Virginia and the source said Michigan won't be responsible for the sum.

When Beilein retires in ten years after fourteen national titles, Terry Foster will write a column citing Beilein's $200k base and claim that Michigan won't pay a competitive salary for their new coach. God willing, he will show it to the editor of paper at the junior high school he's teaching gym at and will be laughed out of the office.

The last paragraph is interesting. Is Beilein really paying the entire buyout himself? That would make his contract worth less than one million per year over its duration and would mean that Beilein is taking far less money at Michigan than he was offered at West Virginia. Some WVA fans are claiming that very thing. Maybe a donor stepped forth to wave it away.

I called him "Corky" once, and even he realizes that Terry Foster has Down's Syndrome. Jim Carty calls out Foster's idiocy, though he doesn't drop his name:

At some point during Wednesday's press conference at the University of Michigan, new basketball coach John Beilein is going to be asked whether he'll shy away from recruiting Detroit and Flint.

It's a silly question, of course.

Seriously, what basketball coach wouldn't recruit talent-rich areas in their own backyard?

I have no idea. Also... why is Beilein coming to Michigan? West Virginia made him an offer of nearly $1.4 million earlier this week. If it was about the money he'd still be in West Virginia. Beilein wants to win a national championship and he thinks he's got a better chance of that at Michigan. Why? Recruiting. And Michigan's main recruiting advantage is Detroit.

Carty's also got a killer quote from Dave Telep:

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in America who sees more basketball, or knows more about college basketball recruiting, than Telep. The North Carolina-based Scout.com recruiting analyst has seen Legion play dozens, if not hundreds of times. He knows Beilein's system and recruiting tendencies as well.

So, is the sharp-shooting Legion a match with Beilein's system?

"Are you kidding me?" Telep said via phone Tuesday, laughing. "It would be difficult to draw up a system that's going to get Alex Legion more great looks at the basket. John Beilein will be better for him than he could ever fathom."

Open looks! Think of the looks! Rumors are flying about Legion formally requesting to be let out of his LOI, but the Free Press talked to him and it appears he'll meet with Beilein before deciding:

But at least one of Michigan’s incoming players is doing research on Beilein.

Recruit Alex Legion said he asked around about Beilein's offense at the Roundball Classic in Chicago this morning. Legion said he was encouraged by what he heard. But he said he still wants to meet the coach — eventually — and make a decision personally, not based on what he’s told by others.

I want Dave Telep in that room.

Dance. Maize 'n' Brew has a hefty post of its own worth checking out. One note:

On the other side of the coin was the enthusiatic response of Reed "Thank God It's Not Dusty" Baker. (this kid needs a nickname, please help me.)

Reed Baker has a nickname. It is "Rainmaker." As in "Reed Baker, Rainmaker."