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John Beilein will be next coach of Cavaliers

Holy Cross v Michigan

ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 10: Michigan Wolverines Head Basketball Coach John Beilein shouts out instructions during the second half of the game against the Holy Cross Crusaders at Crisler Center on November 10, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan defeated Holy Cross Crusaders 56-37. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

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John Beilein is leaving Michigan to become the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he announced on Monday. He reportedly is receiving a five-year deal.

“I want to thank the University of Michigan for what has been a truly special home and remarkable place for my family and I for the last 12 years. We have achieved great success together and we could not have done it without the incredible support of our administration, coaches, players, staff, students, fans and the entire university community. We shared some of the best moments of my life together and I will always be grateful for that,” Beilein said in a statement released by the Cavs. “At the same time, I felt very strongly about this new and exciting opportunity with the Cavaliers. I am very thankful to Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman and honored to be the head coach of the Cavaliers. I love the position the team is in to build and grow and this was something I felt was the perfect fit for me. With hard work and dedication by all of us, we will grow this team day by day and reinforce a culture of success that sustains itself with strong core values. Cleveland is a great city with amazing fans and I am really looking forward to calling Cleveland home for years to come.”

Beilein has spent the last 12 seasons as the head coach of the Wolverines, after working his way up from the high school ranks. He led the program to a pair of national title games -- in 2013 and 2018 -- and was in advanced talks with the Detroit Pistons to take over their head coaching position last summer.

The Wolverines are expected to lose a number of key pieces off of this year’s roster, as Charles Matthews and Jordan Poole have already made their intention of keeping their names in the NBA draft known while the prevailing thinking is that leading scorer Ignas Brazdeikis will likely remain in the draft as well.

Beilein is known for being one of the brightest offensive minds in college hoops, and his style of coaching -- ball-screen heavy sets that rely on spacing and shooting to be effective -- should work in the NBA.