WASHINGTON D.C. -- First, there were the phone calls.

Out in the expanse of a windswept open field, John Beilein told his players to call their parents immediately. Trembling hands reached for phones. Not too far away, the engine of the downed McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Aircraft smoldered. It was hard to hear. Zak Irvin tried to explain to his mother what happened. Gusts distorted the call.

The Michigan basketball team spent the following three hours Wednesday in an airline hangar at Willow Run Airport. Eventually, a bus took the 109-person travel party back to campus.

That's where this story begins.

Beilein gave his players the choice of whether they'd travel to Washington D.C. on Thursday for the Big Ten Tournament. A game against Illinois was scheduled for noon, but those particular details didn't particularly matter. All that mattered was whether they wanted to get back in an airplane and drive down a runway. On Wednesday, that simple maneuver resulted in an aborted takeoff and plane skidding the length of four football fields, stopping just short of a ravine.

They could've died.

And that's real life.

When the team buses reached campus, team members congregated in the locker room. According to Beilein, "I said, 'We have two choices and I'm with you either way.'" Those options: Forfeit Thursday's game or fly into Washington the next morning.

Players spoke to counselors. Then they had a team meeting.

It was the second noteworthy team meeting of the season.

In early January, Michigan dropped a humbling 85-69 loss at Illinois. It was an embarrassing effort. After the game, Illinois senior Maverick Morgan sat in a press conference and pointed out: "They are more of a white-collar team traditionally and at Illinois we're about toughness and together."

It was a quote that not only was accurate, but that cut through the core of Michigan.

Derrick Walton Jr. called a players-only meeting the next day. The senior captain said some words. Irvin said some words. The floor was open for everyone else to share their thoughts.

The main point being explored: What does this team want to be?

Two months later, that meeting stands as the day Michigan's season was saved. The Wolverines won 10 of the next 15 games. Walton emerged as perhaps the best point guard in the Big Ten.

"Guys became accountable," U-M senior Sean Lonergan said Thursday, thinking back. "Guys started taking things personally. Frankly, we got tougher."

"I think this all epitomized that."

There were honest moments, again, in Wednesday's meeting. It was an open forum. Some players did not want to get back on a plane. They voiced their fears.

"Everyone is connected enough that no one felt uncomfortable expressing doubts or hesitation," Lonergan said.

They decided the old-fashioned way.

"Majority rule, pretty much," Walton said.

The star point guard was among those feeling apprehensive. In the wreck, he sustained a cut near his thigh that required stitches. He couldn't quite imagine getting back on a plane. An unquestioned team leader, Walton didn't speak in the meeting.

"I didn't know what to say to them," he said Thursday. "I was focused on what just happened. Basketball was the last thing on my mind. I didn't really care."

As a team, the Michigan players decided that they would indeed fly to Washington on Thursday morning. Walton convinced himself: "It had to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, right?"

They reconvened on campus at 6 a.m. Thursday morning. In the dark, they took a half-hour bus ride to Detroit Metro Airport. Duncan Robinson recalled: "Not a lot of conversation going on in there."

The plane rumbled down the runway around 7:30 a.m. Players glanced at one another. Nervous smirks. There was turbulence. Some armrests were clenched.

This time, the plane took off and the plane landed.

And roughly three hours later, the Wolverines unleashed the fury on Illinois.

Michigan, wearing practice uniforms, was up by 20 just 13 minutes in. Twelve of the first 18 shots went in. The Illini never led.

In the end: Michigan 75, Illinois 55.

Walton, his thigh bandaged, scored 19 points. Irvin scored 18. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 17. D.J. Wilson added 11. Without any time to really game plan, the Wolverines went the simplest gameplan -- kicking tail.

Walton took all the nerves and emotion and let loose a brilliant performance. His apprehension gave way to an eagerness to play. After the plane landed Thursday morning and the team bus maneuvered through the mare's nest that is Washington traffic, he put on headphones and silenced the previous 24 hours.

"Do what I do," he said. "Got ready to play."

Everyone did. Everyone was ready. A team of amateurs showed up like pros.

"It wasn't about Xs and Os," Moritz Wagner said. "It was about ..." -- he patted his chest -- "the heart and the toughness and the willingness of this group to stick together."



As Wagner spoke, an inconspicuous piece of paper sat over his right shoulder. Upon closer inspection, it read: "They are more of a white-collar team traditionally and at Illinois we're about toughness and together. -- Maverick Morgan"

A student staffer soon pulled the paper down, crumpling it up and tossing it in a waste basket. The poetic justice was unintentional, but it was there, nonetheless.

On Friday, Michigan will play top-seeded Purdue for a chance to reach the Big Ten semifinals.

They won't need to hold another team meeting beforehand.

At this point, everyone knows what this team is.