Michigan began its run before crash

Surviving a plane that skids off a runway is more than a minor miracle. Such an ordeal can change perspective, among other things.

It also makes for a good narrative. Certainly, it has for this Michigan basketball team.

It’s just not the narrative. Or shouldn’t be.

That’s a disservice to the story of these Wolverines. Their transformation began long before the plane crash two weeks ago.

Michigan Coach John Beilein thinks his team began to change the night of the Super Bowl, when New England came back to stun Atlanta. Beilein texted every player that night about the improbable catch New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman made during the comeback.

“And I said, ‘that’s what we’re talking about. There are outliers, and outlaying plays that can make a difference in a season,’ ” he told them. “You’ve got to reach for this thing [you] don’t think you can do … and do it.”

Those texts came the night after Michigan lost to Ohio State at the Crisler Center. The Buckeyes punished the Wolverines that night. Michigan had more skill; OSU had more grit. It was demoralizing. Because the Wolverines weren’t tough enough at that point, and they were wasting their talent.

Not intentionally, of course. They just didn’t believe.

Here’s how sophomore forward Moe Wagner explained it:

“Before every practice we say we’re gonna be champions. At first, you think, ‘that might be a little ridiculous to say that every day.’ But now we’re starting to understand, man, this is a mentality. Coach wants us to embrace it.”

That took a while. It wasn’t that Wagner and his teammates didn’t trust Beilein. In fact, the opposite was true before the season started. The team thought a little too much of itself, then scuffled in the first half of the season.

“We came in thinking we were gonna be good,” Beilein said. “We lost that edge.”

The low-point, of course, was that loss to Ohio State.

The next game was against Michigan State, who had beaten Michigan the week before. With two days between games, Beilein and his staff relied on psychology as much as routine game prep study. Focusing on the Edelman catch helped crystalize the message.

“We had to have an extra level of edge,” the coach said.

It helped playing a rival in the next game. Michigan throttled the Spartans, giving Tom Izzo his worst loss at Crisler. The following weekend, the Wolverines traveled to Bloomington, Ind., and beat the Hoosiers.

“That was a good team,” Beilien said. “You could see (my team) had potential.”

That week is where the season started to pivot. It wasn’t just that Michigan started winning, it was the difference in practice, the difference in huddles during games that told Beilein something might be brewing.

Before Ohio State, these Wolverines were mostly a quiet, deferential group. The only player who liked to chirp was Wagner. After Ohio State, point guard Derrick Walton Jr. started talking. D.J. Wilson did, too.

Much has been made about the level of play — and leadership — of Walton the past six weeks. Rightly so. Yet Wilson finding his voice and engaging in a running commentary with Wagner has changed the dynamic, too.

Wagner and Wilson are Michigan’s best NBA prospects. They are a nightmarish matchup duo for just about any opposing frontline to counter. Capable of attacking the rim, shooting from three and pulling up off the bounce.

Beilein knew he had the talent to make a run this season. He just didn’t know if he had the personalities. He kept telling them to reach, to push themselves beyond what they believed they could do. They did. “We’re starting to understand: this is a mentality,” Wagner said. “This is actually a plan that’s working. This man really knows what he’s talking about.”