Is there any head hoops coach who’s gotten a rawer deal than Bill Frieder? In 1989, after the University of Michigan grad led his alma mater to its fifth straight NCAA men’s basketball tournament — where they’d advanced to the Sweet 16 the year prior — Frieder announced that he’d be leaving Ann Arbor to take the head coaching job at Arizona State University.
Frieder figured he’d be afforded the opportunity to coach the Wolverines in one last tourney. He figured wrong: Michigan Athletic Director Bo Schembechler fired Frieder immediately, labeling him a turncoat and handing the postseason clipboard to top assistant Steve Fisher — who promptly went out and won the NCAA title.
