John Beilein

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

On November 16, 2021, the University of Michigan gave a five-year extension to Men's Basketball Head Coach Juwan Howard, something your author called "a no brainer". At the time, Michigan was #4 in the country, 2-0 on the young season after knocking off Buffalo and Prairie View A&M. To that point, Howard's record as Michigan's head coach was 44-17, coming off a Big Ten regular title and an Elite Eight appearance. The team he was coaching was hyped, with sky high expectations following 2020-21's roaring success and adding a recruiting class that public scouting services loved. It all made sense. After all, Michigan Men's Basketball had established itself as a giant of the B1G over the preceding decade, winning three regular season titles and two conference tournament titles, making the Sweet 16 six times, the Elite Eight four times, and the Final Four twice. 

That night, after the extension was announced, Michigan played host to a so-so Seton Hall team that would make the NCAAs as an eight seed. They lost that game, the first sign that the 2021-22 team was perhaps not going to be what the expectations have conveyed. In hindsight, it was the beginning of a larger slide into despair for the Michigan program. Beginning with that game, the men's basketball team is 43-47 in their past 90 games, leading up to the present. They slipped into the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed, then missed the tournament the following season, culminating in this year, when Michigan is 8-16 and has a chance to be the first Michigan team to win only single digit games in four decades.

How did it all collapse so quickly? Today we will look back through the journey and perhaps glean some overarching lessons on where and how it all went wrong: 

[AFTER THE JUMP: How it all went wrong]

tenures of equal length plz [JD Scott]

Time to get irrationally mad! Lovely of Jeff Goodman to offer himself as a midsummer piñata in the aftermath of Brad Stevens exiting coaching for a head coaching job with the Celtics:

Indiana fans with long memories and an antipathy towards Goodman rushed to point out that 1) Goodman floated Chris Collins(!!!) as a potential Beilein replacement and 2) was one of the chief NBA-guy-to-college skeptics:

E24tVOOWYAA3qys (1)

Michigan fans have taken the suggestion with their usual aplomb.

I think we're good at least through Jace and Jett's respective Michigan careers.

[after THE JUMP: weird guys]

not on the floor, still in the news [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Sponsor note. Maybe you've got an idea for a small business. Maybe you've decided you can sell consultation services to LSU basketball coaches despite the fact you're a CPA and have no basketball knowledge deeper than "maybe close out sometimes?" Well, hell, that'll probably work!

hoeglaw_thumb

What you need now is a lawyer to get your small business on firm footing and review any contracts you sign with LSU's athletic department. Richard Hoeg is that lawyer. He will tell you that, yes, you could improve LSU basketball. He will make it happen. Maybe the next Shaq can get a six seed.

Juwan Howard talks to the NBA on TNT. People even like it when he swears on TV!

I'm going to up my swearing to become more popular.

Howard mentions that part of his drive at Michigan is to clear the path for other black head coaches, and it's maybe not a coincidence that the Big Ten has deviated from the coach hiring script this offseason. Before Juwan Howard, the Big Ten had not hired a black men's basketball head coach since Tubby Smith in 2008. This offseason Penn State and Minnesota have given black assistants head coaching jobs.

On the search. Brendan Quinn on the events that led Howard to the head coaching job. Nobody had to cajole Howard into reaching out to Phil Martelli:

Howard had answers. In the days leading up to the interview, he had spoken to friends throughout basketball, gathering opinions. One of them was Kentucky coach John Calipari. “No one really knew it,” Calipari said, “but Juwan was out there doing his own research all along the way.”

That’s why on the Monday before the interview, Phil Martelli, recently dismissed from Saint Joseph’s and on vacation at Disney, got a text message from Calipari saying Howard was going to call. Martelli, fairly confused, said OK. Once the two connected, Howard first asked Martelli to paint a profile of what it takes to be a great head coach at the college level. They talked through it. Then, toward the end of the conversation, Howard gauged Martelli’s interest in serving as his No. 2. “Something like, ‘Would you be interested in taking this journey with me?'” Martelli remembers. Steve Fisher called next. Howard’s former coach at Michigan and the coach of the Wolverines’ 1989 national championship team wanted to double-check that Martelli was legitimately interested in coming aboard with Howard. “Are you serious about doing this?” Fisher asked Martelli. He was.

The article also contains a quote from Grant Hill that adds to the giant pile of Everybody Loves Juwan.

[After THE JUMP: the most famous, period] 

Bad Indiana! Hire Steve Alford instead!

Basketball dad is going to be on the teevee

in which a psychedelic chess board gives birth 

we will not be having any foolishness in the comments of this post

this bag's on a hot tin roof

complaining about recruiting is a time-honored tradition

we were all so young then

we've come a long way from manny harris leading the team in pick-and-roll plays with 45.

no, not in a game. in a season.

the last question will give you nightmares

before you ask no I cannot speak good things for Michigan into existence only bad ones