Juwan Howard vs James Franklin
For all we poke fun at James Franklin, Juwan Howard’s timeout management is just as poor.
Time after time he waits too long to call them. MSU and Minnesota we’re blatantly bad. Today he has 3 with less than 1 minute left. WHY???? He had a chance to call one with 0:50 left to set up an offense and ensure we got 2 possessions at the end of the game, instead he opted not to. Teske missed the layup with 30 seconds to go, then Illinois called a timeout to set up an offense. Illinois also called one with about 1:40 left to set up an offense. But hey at least Juwan took 2 to figure our what to do with 0.5 on the clock.
We missed too many FTs today, and this may not have directly costed us any of these games or others, but it is a glaring issue.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:16 PM ^
Could set a watch to when this post would appear
January 25th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
There’s a faction of this fan base that despised the Juwan Howard hire bc they never liked BBall and only tolerated it bc of Beilein’s pristine image. Now that it’s gone and the early success is waning the fangs are out. It’s quite comical.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:25 PM ^
The fan base really loved Juwan after the Battle for Atlantis and how great the team looked. What amazes me is how much the pendulum has swung the other way. We now have a 4 game losing streak and 2 in row at home. I say we're NIT bound, unless the team can rekindle the fantastic start of the season they had. All the Mojo is gone.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:35 PM ^
A team that lost its 2 best players (both underclassmen) to the NBA, without bringing in a strong recruiting class, with a new coach, and who is missing arguably its best player (undoubtedly their best shooter) for a significant portion of the season is having struggles?
The team overachieved early on and beat some teams that aren't looking as good now as they were at the time. NIT is likely at this point but if they can manage to pick up some big wins the tourney is still in reach.
These are kids playing a game. I hope they win, it sucks when they lose. But damn, some of yall on this board are absolutely out of your minds.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:30 PM ^
I loved the hire and hate how he’s been coaching the last 2 months. Horrible in-game coach and the team has been regressing in almost every facet since the Bahamas. Get your head out of your ass and stop burning straw men.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:43 PM ^
Well here is a guy who hated the hire because Warde was too cheap to go out and get a proven college coach instead settled on a NBA guy with no head coaching experience at any level because he was an alum. Felt the program was in a better spot than that but he didn’t see it that way.
Juwan and staff has been over his head since B1G play started and this team lacks discipline or IQ on who should shoot when and overall IQ on what possessions are weighted just even more important through the game.
I really hope Juwan can sign these talented kids because if they fall through he is in some serious trouble
January 25th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
C'mon man. Who is this elusive "proven college coach" we turned away to hire Juwan? Beilein left in May, after the ink on all the hottest coaching candidate's new contracts had already dried. The other name rumored at the time was Ed Cooley, who is currently 11-9 on the year.
Not to make it seem like I'm resigned to accept the Howard hire, I love it. We keep framing it as "They only hired him bc he's an alum" I frame it (along with Harbaugh) as "He only considered Michigan bc he's an alum"
Howard is a first time coach, with a roster that isn't Michigan's best compared to the some of Beilein's most recent teams. There's a learning curve, and mistakes yet to be made, but let's be clear, Howard was the best hire Michigan could have made at the time.
Look at some of the plays Howard's drawn up, and look at the recruiting classes he's got lined up. Everybody chill lol
January 25th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
who fucking cares!!!
January 25th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
You hate life. So what. Livers was injured and Juwan doesn’t and cannot go attempt free throws you over distended imbecile.
January 25th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
I've said for years there is a very vocal number of posters here with zero knowledge of basketball. It goes back to the "Fire Beilein!" days. Everyone has an opinion, and when it comes to basketball, the people offering their are the ones who should be quietly learning
January 25th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
Harbaugh is at least as bad as Franklin in clock management.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
Bunch of lemmings on this site when it comes to critiquing coaches.
Brian says Franklin sucks so everybody is on board.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:31 PM ^
Dude took a timeout to prevent a delay of game when his team was punting from their own 2 yard line. He is an idiot.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:36 PM ^
Right, he's a real buffoon.
Took Vanderbilt from a laughing stock to a bowl team then won the Big Ten in his 3rd year with Penn State.
January 25th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
Recruiting and gameplanning are different than clock management. You can manage a clock poorly and still win.
January 25th, 2020 at 8:04 PM ^
Ask Andy Reid!
January 25th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
Well said. Three 11 win seasons out of the last four and people here love to bang on Franklin. ?♂️
January 25th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
Don’t forget about all the hazing and players references to Sanduskying other players. Just because he has won some games doesn’t take away from the fact I wouldn’t want him in Ann Arbor becasue he is a shady piece of shit
January 25th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
Clock management, sure.
Frames is also terrible at in-game decisions (forced to punt late at Michigan in 2014. Calls timeout to avoid delay of game penalty, then intentionally takes safety on the next play), math (famous short fg against Michigan in 2016 to go from trailing by 4 scores to trailing by 4 scores), and putting his players in positions to succeed in crunch time (called for a inside hand off on 4 down right at Chase Young against OSU in 2018 in a nationally ridiculed play call). Oh and hey let's do one more. Lost the rose bowl because he had McSorley throw a hail mary from his own 35 with less than a minute to go in a tie game. Easily intercepted and returned deep for a game winning fg. Penn state was up 7 with a minute to go and blew it
James Franklin has 0 wins in Ann Arbor, Columbus, and Madison combined. He's 2-4 against MSU all time. The ONLY difference between him and Harbaugh is that OSU got their fg blocked at Penn State and OSU got the first down call against Michigan. Identical resumes otherwise
January 25th, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
Franklin is an elite recruiter and average in game time decisions. That's good enough for 10 wins. Harbaugh is a marginally lesser recruiter and marginally better in game time decisions. Also good enough for 10 wins.
Both are elite at hiring assistants.
January 25th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
How many games has Franklin coached in Madison? What’s his record against Wisconsin? How is Harbaugh’s record in Columbus and Madison by the way?
January 25th, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
Franklin has never had to play Wisconsin in any setting worse than a neutral site game. So he has zero wins in that scenario, same as Harbaugh. Franklin has two wins over Wisconsin, one at home and one in Indianapolis. Harbaugh has two wins over Wisconsin, both at home.
Harbaugh has zero wins in Columbus and Madison, the same number that James Franklin has. Thank you for reiterating my point. And for the record, even Harbaugh won a game in Happy Valley, Franklin has yet to win in Ann Arbor and that's including the game he coached against BRADY HOKE
January 25th, 2020 at 3:21 PM ^
Yes, completely fair to equate Franklin’s lack of wins in Madison to Harbaugh’s. How dare Franklin have zero wins in zero opportunities.
Harbaugh’s 2016 choke job in Iowa City is always chalked up to “Night Kinnick,” yet Franklin is 2-0 at Iowa in night games.
Given Harbaugh’s expectations when he was hired, and the constant derision of Franklin, it’s quite a comedown to be arguing vociferously in support of the idea that their coaching records are essentially equal.
January 25th, 2020 at 4:09 PM ^
The only reason that James Franklin is derided is that he's an idiot.
He has benefitted from good luck, and he seems to be an excellent recruiter. But... he's an idiot. He is demonstrably a poor football coach. However, since some members of the board have decided that recruiting is all that matters, he'll always have people like you to defend him. Nevertheless, he is an idiot.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:21 PM ^
Can't compare football to BB. The point about missed all those FT, 6 in a row near the end of the game is on the mark. That's where the game was lost. Not too mention their very poor 3 pt percentage really sucks.
What can you do with 0.5 left and a full court pass play?
January 25th, 2020 at 2:45 PM ^
Franz would have at least gotten a long shot if he'd caught the ball. I wonder if his wrist still affects him a bit.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^
Let's not go overboard. Juwan's coaching a team he didn't recruit and it can't seem to catch a break right now. One of our best players finally returns from injury and then reinjures himself in the first game. Our 87% Ft shooter goes 0-2 in the clutch. X plays really good D on that last possession and he hits a tough, contested shot. Don't know what you can do about it.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^
You could make this post strictly about timeout management without mentioning a comparison to a rival coach in a completely different sport. The negative nancies here suck. This is Juwan's first year and every game people make several posts about what he needs to do differently. This team sucks at shooting and sucks at FT. I see a bigger weakness in those areas than anything our coach is doing wrong.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:24 PM ^
Franklin won the Big 10. We haven't since 2003 in football.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:27 PM ^
That doesn't equate to being a good coach. It could, but it could also be luck.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:40 PM ^
Kevin Ollie and Gene Chizik both won NATIONAL TITLES
How are their careers going?
January 25th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
Dude you are grasping at straws here. There were so many opportunities to win this game it’s absurd.
That said, the chances of this team making the tournament are dismal at this point, given its current trajectory. There is still a theoretical chance but it is very hard to come back from back to back home loses like this.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:28 PM ^
Dismal ? Lmao are you crazy ? They are still going to be in the tournament in most brackets after the weekend. They are now headed towards the bubble. But dismal ? I hope you don’t crumble under a little pressure so easily in your personal life !
January 25th, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^
They’re guaranteed to lose most of their remaining 6 road games (with maybe a win at Nebraska—maybe!) and can’t win at home. They’re going to miss the tournament. Better to realize this and accept it now.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:28 PM ^
Basing a season's ending on a 4-5 game trajectory (in Jan) might be a bit shortsighted.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:36 PM ^
The team is 2-8 over their last 10 (not counting the two games against 300+-ranked teams at the end of December). 1-7 over their last 8. 1-5 this calendar year. 4-straight losses. If you think the team has only been playing poorly the last 4 or 5 games, then you haven’t been paying attention.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:27 PM ^
I was surprised we didn’t take a quick shot on our last possession. I would think 2 decent shots is better than 1 good one. Although a timeout Shouldn’t be required to communicate that.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^
I don’t think time management is Howard’s biggest deficiency, to be honest. Franklin should be offended by the comparison on all other levels.
For all those who assume top tier kids look at this and say it’ll be better with me are mistaken. The poor play will undoubtedly influence their position. This is a mess of a team and one person at the head is why.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
Martelli should be time out manager
January 25th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
If only Juwan had an old friend who was great at calling timeouts.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
Man, I really don’t see how JH deserves so much criticism this early in his coaching career. Honestly, how many of Michigan’s starting 5 would making a starting 5 role on a top 15 team? Livers is probably it. Give JH a break, he does not have the talent to be an elite B1G team this year. He is already out recruiting JB, at least give him a full 2 years into his contract before you shit all over him.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
I get calling a timeout with 50 seconds left but we grabbed the lead and were playing well in the last 5 minutes. No need to call a tineout at that point and let Illinois gain back the momentum.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
He's a rookie coach. He'll learn. This is the growing pain part
January 25th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
To go two-for-one you also need somebody who can take their man off the dribble in a hurry and get a quality shot up. Who would you suggest do that? If he calls a timeout Illinois can put a rim protector in. He had a mismatch in the post and got Teske a bunny that he missed.
January 25th, 2020 at 6:28 PM ^
You absolutely do not need a quality shot to go two-for-one. As long as the shot you take is better than not shooting at all, you come out ahead.
We could have easily had DeJulius fire a long three off the dribble, and it would have nearly doubled our probability of winning.
January 25th, 2020 at 8:15 PM ^
That... isn't how the math works.
For one thing, you can't guarantee a two-for-one. If you leave too much time on the clock, the other team can two-for-one you. But, hey, let's say you get off a 10%-probability shot with 40 seconds left. The other team runs the clock down and takes a shot with 1 on the timer -- the way Dosunmu did. If he makes it, the clock stops when the ball clears the net -- that can easily be 1.5-2 seconds after the shot is released. So, now you have 8 seconds to set up your shot, with the defense having a chance to take a timeout and trap. If he misses it, you have to secure the rebound; if not, the offense can hold for the last shot anyway. Assuming you do secure the rebound, now you run your transition offense with no real opportunity to get into the half-court.
I'm in favor of smart basketball as much as the next guy, and a well-executed two-for-one makes a lot of sense. But to assert that any shot is better than not shot, because of the guarantee of the second possession, is to overlook an awful lot of variables.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:46 PM ^
Juwan Howard hire was a big BUST....thats glaring now...so...we have to wait 3 or 4 miserable seasons before we move on?
January 25th, 2020 at 2:50 PM ^
No way will Warde admit he was wrong before his contract expires.
I'm expecting his entire 5 year contract to be honored regardless of the results.
I have no idea why we signed a coach with no experience to 5 YEARS but Warde has a history of bad decision making so it's par for the course.
January 25th, 2020 at 2:53 PM ^
If the recruiting class stays as it is, do you really think next year would be miserable? That's a top 4 big ten team at minimum based on potential alone
January 25th, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
Nope, absolutely not. Let's run the coach out of town on a rail, hire the MGoBlog message board to coach, win a national title (because obv), and then hire Mike Krzyzewski.
There aren't enough eyes to roll.