Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate win all American honors
squeeeeeee
Don't get your hopes up rcmb said neither are coming!!! We're just placeholders !!! since that Enoch there 4 star center decommitted thou! Lol
Oh Yeah!
There's a joke in there somewhere about a Canadian and Frenchman being "All-American."
an embarrassment of riches. give juwan a lifetime contract.
as an aside, from one the board's resident wbb nerds: i looked at the women's version of the list, and there are zero big ten commits on the first, second or third teams or honorable mention. none. 25 seniors, none of them coming to the big ten.
http://naismithtrophy.com/2021-jersey-mikes-naismith-national-high-school-all-america-girls-teams/
1. Re: Coach Juwan Howard
I'm not *quite* ready to give Coach Juwan Howard a lifetime contract. If he wins the 2021 Big Ten Tournament *and* reaches the 2021 Final Four, then perhaps I'll join that camp. A 2021 National Championship would absolutely add even greater credibility.
(I remember the sentiment around Harbaugh during the 2016 season and the incoming 2017 class. Given the number of people that wanted Harbaugh fired after 2020, it's clear sentiment changed. So right now, I'm just taking a wait-and-see approach.)
2. Re: WBB's recruiting
Wow. Not even one to Maryland? That surprises me...
Maryland is in the dominant program in WBB's in the Big Ten. It's in the tier below UConn, Baylor, South Carolina, and Stanford. Even Brenda Freese couldn't snag one or two? I'm surprised.
yes, i expected to see at least one, probably to maryland. there were at least three last year - i'm sure angel reese (maryland), caitlin clark (iowa) and diamond reese (rutgers) were all top-10 recruits.
i get what you're saying as far as juwan's on-court results...and i honestly don't think anyone should get a lifetime contract anywhere. that's how you end up with coaches lasting long into their dotage. on the other hand - even if he never wins a national championship, we can be fairly certain that juwan will always represent u of m with dignity and pride and will bring in players that match that standard. if his ceiling is sweet 16s and a final four here and there i'm okay with that.
"if his ceiling is sweet 16s and a final four here and there i'm okay with that."
I'm not ok with that. We should expect and demand more. I don't want to see basketball play 2nd fiddle to football when basketball has historically overachieved.
(Weird how basketball can compete in the dirty environment but football can't? Plz. Great coaches find a way. Water finds its level.)
Coach Howard is the rare person that excelled as a player and seems to be a great coach based on early results. (Most great coaches were average or mediocre players. So it seems Coach Howard is one of those remarkable exceptions.) Furthermore, Coach Howard is intelligent, thoughtful, charismatic, articulate, experienced, engaging, personable, friendly, etc. All that should add up to elite recruiting and clever Xs/Os. Play the odds long enough, that should lead to a National Championship or two or three. (Yes, I realize that the nature of the NCAAT increases variance. Once bad night against a quality opponent may ruin a potentially dream season. History is filled with examples of great teams falling short of even the Final Four much less the National Championship. But great programs and great coaches generally persevere given long enough time.)
Michigan can become a dominant program. Coach Howard can be what Duke was under Coach K. Does that mean I expect 12 Final Fours, 5 National Championships? No.
But do I expect a few National Championships like Jay Wright has delivered at Villanova? Yes. That said, I realize that Jay Wight didn't win a conference title until year 5, didn't reach a Final Four until year 8, didn't win a National Championship year 15 and that was after multiple seasons of losing early in the NCAAT where Nova developed a bad rep as overrated chokers in the early-to-mid 2010s. (People have forgotten about Nova's tournament struggles. Remember crying Villanova flute girl? Most don't. 2 National Championships in 3 years have erased those memories.)
I'm hopeful Coach Howard will experience success similar to the success Roy Williams experienced at UNC (re: winning a National Championship in year 2) and being a contender most years.
Will Coach Howard stay 10+ years? I don't know. No one but he and perhaps his loved ones can say.
But back to Duke for a sec...from 1960-1997, Duke and Michigan were very similar programs. Michigan actually won its first National Championship before Duke won its first. But Coach K's greatness took over while Michigan had a lost decade plus after Steve Fisher.
Just as Tony Bennett has built a strong program despite going up against Hall of Famers in Coach K, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino in the ACC, Coach Howard has an opportunity to build an equally strong program here at Michigan by establishing himself as a premier coach.
Re: Lifetime Contract
Yeah, I'm not in favor of a lifetime contract for anyone. That invites complacency. But if someone establishes himself as a top 3 coach, then I'm in favor of a rolling contract provided stipulations are met on a regular basis.
Yup.
Someone downvoted my long post.
<shrug>
But thank you for agreeing with my post.
I think it was a excellent breakdown!!! And upvoted you!!!so he can take that!! Lol
i'll never understand downvotes for (apparently) simple disagreement. i kinda wish we didn't have them at all.
in any case...i don't know, man. would i LOVE a national championship? absolutely. the loss to louisville still pisses me off, on several levels. i want national championships every bit as much as anyone.
but take tom izzo (please!)...25 years, a national championship, 8 final fours, a whole pile of sweet 16s...and a complete and total turd. if you tell me juwan gets essentially half that: 4 final fours, a pile of sweet 16s, makes the tournament just about every year and maybe wins one...and carries himself with dignity, clearly loves his players, and gets great kids that love playing for him? yes please.
Woman basketball is just like men's in that they have their versions of Duke, NC, Kansas, Kentucky, and Arizona, and there aren't as many high quality female players to go around. UConn, Baylor, ND, Louisville and Stanford.
Our recruits win all of the American honors.
The Diabeetus.