CLEVELAND _ John Beilein wore a blue tie Tuesday night, but was almost oblivious to the fact that Michigan, the team he coached for the previous 12 seasons, was taking on No. 1 Louisville.
"I didn't even know ... I know they're playing," Beilein said. "It's very hard for me. I love those kids so much. I've got to concentrate on what's really important now and follow them from afar."
Making the leap to the NBA at age 66 after 41 seasons as a college coach, Beilein has plenty to disrupt that concentration. His Cavaliers (5-15) were about to fall to the Detroit Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, suffering their fourth consecutive defeat and 10th in their last 11 games.
The Cavs have shown tremendous fight against some of the league's elite, but can't get over the hump.
Two 19-year-olds and a 20-year-old are playing heavy minutes. Defensive issues continue to arise, especially against bigger teams. Five-time All-Star forward Kevin Love has lost his place as the focal point and foes are paying more attention to center Tristan Thompson after his hot start.
Recording 35 winning seasons in his college career, Beilein joked when reminded that he'd lost just 15 games the previous two campaigns at Michigan. Hours later, the Cavs reached that number.
"Thanks for reminding me," he said.
But Beilein's unwavering commitment to building a winning team in Cleveland stood out as the Cavs reached the quarter pole of his first season.
"I'm not flinching," he said more than once, the vow accompanied by a steely-eyed look and a determined, no-nonsense tone.
Beilein admitted there have been a couple low moments when he had to remind himself to look at the big picture.
"You've got to have a really good perspective. I've said that to myself a couple times, but it wasn't like, 'This is the end of the world here,' " he said. "I really knew what I was getting into and I expected this. Just like when we came to Michigan, when I went to West Virginia, when I went to Canisius, Richmond all those places it was, 'Coach, you're in for a long, long first year.'
"I look back at those times and say that's probably where I learned more about coaching and were some of the most rewarding years we had, the small victories we had."
Even in the ugliest of losses, Beilein finds those nuggets. He cuts up video of the games and said if he spots a good clip, he'll hit 8 to indicate a great moment to save.
"I'll be amazed sometimes, I thought it was a really bad game and maybe I saw 15 to 18," he said. "It may not have been something so great, but to me it was great because some guy made the one more pass.
"You have to have some positive things. If you just show 'em what they're doing wrong, they'll keep doing it wrong. You've got to show 'em what they're doing right so they'll get better."
When Boston visited Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Nov. 5, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of the Cavs, whom he had also seen in preseason, "I can't imagine a more improved team in a month." At that point, the Cavs were 2-5. They went on to beat the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, and were 4-5 on Nov. 10.
Since then, the Cavs have won only once, that Nov. 23 at home against the Portland Trail Blazers. But Beilein said he still sees success ahead.
"Somewhere along the line, like we did in that third quarter the other day against Milwaukee, we're just going to win a game and we're going to say, 'All this stuff is really going in,' " Beilein said Tuesday. "We might have another game where you're playing against a monster team that could win the NBA championship and you may play a monster game and not even win it, but you may feel it's a win in some ways.
"Then you're going to get in a situation where you learn from those two games, you don't give in and all of a sudden you're able to beat the teams, whether you're home or away, that people don't think you can beat. Based on your October, November, December, you don't think you should win games, you start winning 'em."
On Tuesday, Cavs center John Henson interpreted Beilein's "I'm not flinching" mantra.
"We are going to keep trekking this path," Henson said. "We're not where we want to be, but the way the East is setting up, especially with the sixth, seventh, eighth seeds, a three or four-game win streak can put you right back in the mix.
"We can't stop fighting and give up, it's too early. You've got to keep pushing forward, stay positive, hold onto the rope and don't flinch, as coach says."
The Cavs host the Magic on Friday. They went into Thursday's action with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only the Atlanta Hawks (5-17) and Knicks (4-17).
Beilein wouldn't give a timetable for when the Cavs might put it all together, but his confidence remains high. He pointed to a "growth mindset" he developed during his college days and fine-tuned with some help from leadership at Michigan.
"We will just keep working really hard at growing the team with every practice, with every film session, with every weight training session," Beilein said. "We're not getting C's, we're going to get A's every time we do that. That's one thing we can really control.
"I can't tell you when it's going to happen. All I know is I'm not flinching."
