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Michigan’s decision to hire Juwan Howard has raised some eyebrows.
The former Fab Five member certainly had the coaching chops after spending six years as an assistant with the Miami Heat in the NBA. The question was whether he would be able to recruit. He had never done it before, and the list of former NBA players who have flared up as college coaches is long.
Turns out Howard can recruit and coach.
Howard was named the Associated Press’s Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year on Thursday, receiving 35 of 63 votes from a national media panel. Gonzaga’s Mark Few was second with 16 votes, and Baylor’s Scott Drew and Alabama’s Nate Oats received five each.
“Coach Howard is doing an elite job,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said before his team beat Michigan in the Elite Eight. “He’s not doing a good job. He’s doing an elite job. When your team is as organized as they are on both sides and playing as physically and hard as they do, that’s a reflection of his trainer. “
Howard, 48, returned to coaching his alma mater after John Beilein left the NBA in 2019. He led the Wolverines to 19 wins before the 2019-20 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and has taken another bigger step this season.
The Wolverines reached No.2 in the Top 25 AP and finished No.4 after a 19-3 regular season. Michigan lost starting goaltender Isaiah Livers to a foot injury in the Big Ten tournament and lost to Ohio State in the semifinals, but still had a good enough resume to earn a No.1 seed. in the NCAA tournament.
The Wolverines reached the Elite Eight, but fell just short of their second Final Four of the last three NCAA tournaments with a 51-49 loss to UCLA.
“He’s a high profile dude who treats everyone like family, so to be able to see someone like that succeed when a lot of people have doubted him – he put his name up there,” said Michigan senior guard Eli Brooks. “It’s fun playing for Juwan and he’s a great guy so I’m happy for him.”
He has also proven to be a skillful recruiter.
Howard’s first class led the Big Ten and No. 14 nationally, according to the 247 Sports composite. Its 2021 class is ranked n ° 1.
“In terms of what Coach Beilein has built, he has done a phenomenal job and built a winning culture,” said Howard. “The players he recruited were of great personality, excellent students, came from great families. The players that I recruited and that I joined the culture and my staff, which we have built until present at the beginning was magnificent.
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