Beilein stays with Illinois State, fills second assistant coaching void with Luke Yaklich, per reports

John Beilein didn't take long to get his second assistant coach hired after acquiring DeAndre Haynes this past Thursday.

Like Haynes who was with Illinois State, the Michigan Insider confirmed that the Wolverines will fill the second coaching vacancy with Illinois State associate head coach Luke Yaklich.

Unlike Haynes who was with Illinois State since just May, Yaklich has been with the program since 2013. He was promoted to be the associate head coach last summer.

Last year the Redbirds finished 28-7 overall and went nearly perfect in the Missouri Valley Conference, finishing at 17-1 in the regular season. Nationally, they checked in at fifth in field goal percentage allowed and fourth in 2-point FG percentage.

The Redbirds continued their impressive defense with a 14.3 percent block rate which was one of the best in the country a season ago. Overall as a defense, Illinois State was ranked No. 19 in the nation. Michigan has struggled in that area along with keeping field goal percentages low.

When Michigan lost Billy Donlon, a concern was losing help on the defensive end. Throughout all of his coaching years, that is what Yaklich has excelled at and will be what most likely Michigan’s intentions of obtaining him are.

Yaklich started his coaching career in high school basketball for Joliet West (Illinois). He was a high school coach and teacher for 14 years. When he made it to the collegiate level with Illinois State, he assisted in the following areas according to a Illinois State press release: academics, recruiting, scheduling, scouting and skill development.

To go along with Haynes and Yaklich, Dean Oliver (now with Wisconsin) was the third coach to be taken away from Illinois State this offseason.

Waleed Samaha, who left Michigan this past week, was the Director of Basketball Operations for the Wolverines. They are still looking to fill that gap.