Juwan Howard
Juwan Howard is set to interview for the open head coaching position with the Timberwolves. For everyone here who thinks this is a Hoke-level hire or some Hail Mary, it's not.
On my personal wish list, after Billy Donovan (obviously), Juwan Howard coming in as the Head Coach and retaining Yaklich on the staff is the ideal scenario. Seeing a member of the Fab Five coming back and winning a national championship would be one of the happiest sporting moments I could witness. I'm more nostalgic than most, but just as I would rather see Michigan win one national championship with Harbaugh than 3 with Meyer, I'd rather see UM win 1 with a Fab Five coach than 2+ with Donovan or anyone else.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26743016/juwan-howard-interview-wolves
I'd rather see UM win 1 with a Fab Five coach than 2+ with Donovan or anyone else.
Why? This makes no sense.
None of these threads do either... if this level of chaos is how the Athletic Department were to be run, it'd be a fucking disaster!
Chaos is a ladder (for Yak)
Nostalgia. I admit it's not entirely rational, but think about the Urban/Harbaugh debate--would you really rather have an Urban/Brain Kelly win 2 or Harbaugh win 1?
I also grew up watching the Fab Five teams. I was 12-13 when they were playing at UM. Those 5 guys are as close to sporting "heroes" as I'll ever have. Seeing one of them finally win a championship would be awesome.
Also, yes I know I screwed up the title. I can't find where to edit it, though.
Urban/Brian Kelly have been coaching our rival teams for ages. The dislike on this site for them is clear. A better comparison would be would you have Harbaugh win 1 or Dabo win 2 here. Even in that scenario I go with 2 championships over 1
If we got Urban or Kelly before they started at OSU/ND and won 2 championships here, I would be ecstatic. "Hey, that's my purple face coach you're talking about!"
Commence with the NEGBOMBS!
You’re not a fan! So what sense does this make anyways?
I would just like to see either program win a title. I don't give a crap who the coach is.
Maybe it's because I was too young to really appreciate the Fab Five, but I'll take the 2+ championships option please.
I will take the scenario with most titles. But Juwan seems like the non-Donovan hire with the highest upside, also one of the lowest floors. It would be a gamble.
So now we're hiring on nostalgia? That should NEVER play into a coaching hire decision. What's next, we like someone's hairstyle or the color of their car so give them an interview?
No. That was the whole point of the link--did you look at it? Howard is seen as a legitimate option for an NBA head coaching position. The only other guy on Michigan's wish list who is seen as qualified to be an NBA head coach is Donovan.
2x NBA Champion
2 Final Fours as player
19 year NBA player
6 year assistant under Spolestra/Pat Riley
Head coach candidate for Lakers and other jobs
I'd say the resume is a bit more than nostalgia. But get its a leap of faith in some ways
i like juwan, especially if he maintains current staff
outside of maybe landing mcdaniels, juwan could recruit im sure. main issue is flight risk
donovan paid peeps at florida, so not sure if warde will look past that
Juwan has never been a head coach at any level. We need someone who we know will be dedicated to the recruiting game. That's the downfall to new coaches who don't understand the grind of recruiting. Howard is a pass for me.
If you could guarantee me he'd recruit like Penny Hardaway at Memphis and keep guys like Yaklich on staff then I would be on board with Juwan. I would also prefer him to the disaster that is Porter Moses but that isn't saying much.
I completely agree but I don't think it's worth the risk. This hire has to work out, failure is not an option.
If they hire Moser my head might actually explode. Shaka is extremely high on my 'do not want' list as well.
Since you’re comparing apples you cannot make one valid argument why Juwan Howard is not a much more viable option than Yak! And I’ll wait because I’m POSITIVE that you cannot!
While neither has been a head coach Yak has actually been part of a college coaching staff, has developed some relationships, and has some experience with recruiting. And I'm not saying Yak is super high on my list either. If I had to choose between only those two guys I'd probably flip a coin.
Howard was the first member of the Fab 5 to commit to Michigan and he recruited the rest. He has connections through his philanthropic endeavors. It would be nice to have a direct pipeline into Chicago hoops. Recruiting is the last thing I'm worried about.
If you think Juwan couldn't recruit with the cache of the Fab Five behind him. . . and don't tell me that was some time ago because I can promise you that he would still be treated as a god walking into thousands of living rooms.
Some of our fans are way too hooked on nostalgia. Juwan will not be coaching here now as he has no college coaching experience. It's not the same as the NBA. Maybe someday.
It is not the same, but it is still basketball. If he kept a lot of the same staff in place, he would not be doing a whole lot from an Xs and Os standpoint at first, he would be primarily a recruiter. And I bet you Juwan Howard could recruit his ass off.
I don't want a primary recruiter and nobody else should either...that got us Brady Hoke.
Juwan was a great player, but in no way is he qualified to coach the University of Michigan in basketball right now. Look at Hardaway in Memphis and Ewing in Georgetown. Neither of those guys will make it past 5 years.
Lol what??? Ewing is doing fine at Georgetown. It's only been 2 years!
You would've fired Beilein before he got the ship rolling with those kind of expectations.
Belein got us to the NCAA tournament his second year did he not?
Basketball recruiting is a lot more than sitting across the table from a kid and talking about basketball. These are deeply-rooted AAU and HS coach relationships that can't be replicated overnight. It's also years of scouting and traveling all around the country watching games. This is something Juwan has no experience in. I'm not saying he couldn't get there or that he wouldn't eventually be a great recruiter, but to expect him to recruit his ass off right out of the gates is pretty silly.
You are clueless. He has forgotten more about basketball than your whole family tree! So Patrick Ewing is a failure because he had ZERO college experience? Yeah miss me with that BS!!!
Brian Ellerbe has forgotten more basketball than my family tree too...as has every single college basketball coach that has ever coached. What's your point? Ewing has done nothing at Georgetown yet.
Let’s see if you’re qualified enough to realize how stupid all of your statements are then!
1. I don’t want Juwan Howard
2. He’s not qualified.
3. Brian Ellerbe has forgotten more than I have.
4. Patrick Ewing has been coaching a total of two years and since he hasn’t won a championship he hasn’t done a thing?
I would rather see Michigan win one national championship with Harbaugh than 3 with Meyer, I'd rather see UM win 1 with a Fab Five coach than 2+ with Donovan or anyone else.
I would let the rest of the sports lose every game next year if that meant UM could beat OSU in football and win a NC. It would be nice if JH was the coach, but I don't even care anymore. I just want to see us beat OSU for the love all that is right in the world.
Juwan Howard >>>>> Tommy Amaker.
I think it's easy to love the idea of Juwan coming back, and if they were able to retain Yaklich (not sure how big of an if that is), it could make for a smooth transition. He played for some excellent coaches, assumedly learning the ins and outs of multiple systems that he played multiple positions in. That said, who knows how devoted to tactics he is. A lot of opinions on these boards will be speculation, and hopefully our interview process would include other x's and o's-savvy folks in the program who would be able to weigh in on fit in the college game, and in our existing systems.
Beyond that though, as a leader, this would be a slam-dunk. Juwan was always one of the leaders in the locker room, almost universally respected around the league. To garner that type of respect from peers in a rather fickle league would assuredly translate to the college ranks. I think we tend to overlook how important receiving buy-in and respect as a coach is in the college ranks, because we're not privy to those dynamics as we are to the plays being run.
That said, gut instinct would be for someone like Donovan due to the proven track record, but that's due to the limited info on x's and o's and collegiate track record we have. If that level of candidate is not available? I trust Warde and those he involves in the interview processes to make the evaluation on Juwan and whomever else is considered. For those quick to make the comparison that Juwan would be a "Hoke-like" hire - that is certainly not a good cross-sport reference, but at any rate, I disagree with the comparisons. Remember that we can make the same ill-based comparisons to Bo's resumé coming in - and Howard's is arguably much more favorable in terms of experience in the sport.
So now Juwan has similar experience as Bo? Bo had been at Ohio State as an assistant under one of the greatest college coaches of all time and was a college head coach winning multiple conference titles before coming here. Good god, the stupid has really come out on this board.
Your reading comprehension is below grade level!
No it is it not...he said we could make the comparison between Juwan and Bo's resumes. There is literally no comparison.
I wasn't stating that their resumés are similar. I thought the Hoke-Howard comparisons were knee-jerk and hasty. I was simply stating that if you were to make those comparisons (honestly, basketball-football coach comparisons lack in general, in my opinion, due to recruiting numbers and organization-size), someone could just as easily find some parallels between Howard and Bo. Basically positing that the "this would be another Hoke" take we've seen a good deal already is a bad one.
Being an NBA coach (or interviewing to be one) DOES NOT qualify you to be a college coach. You want Ty Lue or Luke Walton coaching at Michigan? People get jobs in the NBA just because they placate their superstars. Obviously this isn't true of all NBA coaches, but it's foolish to think that just being an NBA coach overqualifies someone for a college job
That has not been Howard's trajectory at all, though. He played for 19 years and has been an assistant coach with the same team for 6 years, he has seen superstars come and go and has stayed put and continued to learn. It does not seem like Howard panders to superstars or is just like a "hanger-on" that is "appointed" as coach by players who want to have control, he genuinely seems like he wants to coach basketball.
So if you’re a lifelong businessman could you say maybe run one of the largest corporations let’s say with absolutely,”ZERO” experience? Asking for a friend. Some of these so called forget-me-not nostalgists are a little more than,”nah I’ll pass bro’s!”
To me, this would be a home run hire. I get that he has never been a head coach before, but the list of positives is huge:
1. The obvious - nostalgia. There is a huge portion of our fan base (me, admittedly, included) that loves the Fab Five). This would be the ultimate way to bring that era back into the fold.
2. Recruiting. I know that Juwan has never coached at the college level, but with his long NBA career, and his recent 6 years as a really well-regarded NBA assistant, I have to imagine he would KILL IT on the recruiting trail. Also, if he keeps Yak on staff, the recruiting should be fine, and might actually pick up.
3. While this ties in to #2, above, the media story of Juwan coming home to take over his former program could provide an additional recruiting boost.
4. Juwan is really well regarded in NBA coaching circles. He's actually being considered for some NBA jobs.
If I am Warde, I am offernig Juwan and Donovan godfather deals to try to get one of them to take the job. The drop off after those to is huge.
When analyzing a coach, for any sport, can we please never bring up the notion of that person "bringing back the feel" of some Michigan era > 20 years ago? Finding a qualified person with a Michigan connection is great, but sports change over time and we need coaching to evolve as well, wishing for the glory days of yesteryear is a recipe for disappointment.
Thank you. I agree 1000%
More people that want Donovan need to listen to Horford's words on Stu's podcast
https://anchor.fm/athletespost/episodes/Ep--11--Jon-Horford-e398j8
Starts 13:58
Maybe it wasn't like that all the time, but I wouldn't wish this on our current/future players.
Whoa -- yeah no thanks. Donovan sounds like he has BAD CULTURAL FIT written all over him.
Dude baked in Pitino's oven at Providence you know.
That was interesting, thanks. Sounds like a miserable guy to play for. Sam Webb also hinted yesterday that Donovan isn't a clean recruiter, so there's that. But these things might be pretty much applicable across the board. Horford had some criticisms of Beilein later on in the podcast.
I will always love Juwan Howard. Saw him play with the Fab 5. Enjoyed seeing his long NBA career with different teams. But I really don't know enough about his coaching acumen and resume to have an opinion on him becoming our next head coach. I heard his name mentioned as a possible Lakers head coach candidate(before Frank Vogel was hired). So he must be seen by some as a potential good/great head coach, right?
Actually, his career arc kind of reminds me of Jim Harbaugh before his tenure at Stanford. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we seriously considered him as an HC candidate after Lloyd left. And I can't remember if we courted him after Rich Rod was fired. But he finally came home and I hope he stays until he's ready to retire.
Is Juwan the same kind of winner Harbaugh has been at every level? In six or seven years will we be wishing we didn't pass on the opportunity to hire Juwan Howard the way we passed on Harbaugh?
Anyway, from what I'm reading on the board, Billy Donovan seems to be the most desirable candidate at the moment. But I really hope the athletic department seriously considers another JH.
Howard's a good coach and, by all accounts, a thoughtful guy who has a philosophy that would work at UM. But if he was literally anybody else "career NBA assistant coach" wouldn't scream necessary hire, and at this point I'm a little bothered by "played here 2 decades ago" being a huge positive.
If offered Howard should make hanging the banners part of the deal.