OT: Luke Yaklich out at UIC Basketball
Former Michigan assistant Luke Yaklich has been let go by the University of Illinois Chicago as head basketball coach after four years and a 47-70 (.402) overall record. In addition to the challenges of recruiting for what is, in many ways, a commuter school in Chicago, the UIC administration did him no favors in jumping from the Horizon League to the much more competitive Missouri Valley Conference.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:04 AM ^
That's a bummer, but he will bounce back and either get a different HC gig or be a top defensive coach at a top P5 school.
In fact, I can think of one P5 school that needs to be better on defense next year to save the head coach's job (if HC even makes it that long)
only if he brings back X, Matthews and Teske
March 11th, 2024 at 10:05 AM ^
If Warde is going to give Howard one more year then he will have to shake up the assistant coaching staff. Perhaps a return back to Michigan to implement some defense from Yaklich?
March 11th, 2024 at 10:14 AM ^
I think that would be smart, but feels like lipstick on a pig at this point. There is so much wrong with this team/program from top to bottom, I just don't see how a few shrewd coaching moves really move the needle. Unless our new bar is "competitive, but still bad".
Also, Beilein turned over the keys to him on defense by all accounts. Howard seems not like the type....
March 11th, 2024 at 10:52 AM ^
Agreed
Idk Howard had Martelli on his bench all these years…
I think it goes backwards. Juwan isn't teaching at all. Bringing yaklich would help but in the end we need to make a full change.
If the decision is hand over the keys or lose your job, I'm sure that will change things. We saw with football how culture can change in just one season- not saying it will happen with basketball, but it's possible.
Delete
I agree there are a lot of problems that need to be hammered out but a big one is having talented guys on the bench as well as on the court, and they've struggled to have both recently. A new defensive coach can help get the guys who are on the roster to play better and then UM and Howard can see about bringing in more talent.
I was annoying to read an article on ESPN recently about their All-American teams and see 3 guys who were at one time on, or set to be on, the team - Dickinson, Love, and Shannon - and not think that would have helped quite a bit. Probably doesn't fix all the issues but also having high-level players helps quite a bit.
I'm not sure Yaklich fixes all of UM's issues - UIC was, at best, an average defensive team even in league play - but if Howard comes back (which I still sort of doubt) there would have to be massive coaching changes for it to have any hope of success.
This. Howard is still with the mindset "this shit works" and thinking the problem is players aren't buying in. Beilein learned he needed help and addressed it. Howard hopefully has an epiphany of his own.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:13 AM ^
Wish him well on his next stop, wherever it might be.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:19 AM ^
if howard indeed gets one more shot, this would be an obvious pickup
It doesn't matter if Naismith and Wooden are assistant coaches if Howard is back.
Aren't they dead?
March 11th, 2024 at 10:31 AM ^
Going to be a challenge to get in-demand assistants (assuming that Yaklich does fit that criteria) to join a sinking ship.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:36 AM ^
So true. Unless you're getting people who are taking a big step up in their career resume by working in a P5 program for the first time.
Which makes Harbaugh's assistant upgrade in 2021 even more remarkable. The guys he got that year had to know that he was on relatively thin ice and yet he assembled a murders row of assistant coaches.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:34 AM ^
so, you are saying there's a chance?
March 11th, 2024 at 10:35 AM ^
Will our admissions office accept his transcript though?
March 11th, 2024 at 10:37 AM ^
Yaklich is not coming here nor is any other decent assistant coach knowing full well they will most likely not be retained after a year....this is a serious decision right now facing WM.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:40 AM ^
Defense, Defense, Defense!!!
March 11th, 2024 at 10:45 AM ^
At this point, I'm holding out hope that Howard steps down at the end of the season for health reasons.
I don't trust Warde to do anything and I believe that is the best face-saving way out at this point for all parties.
March 11th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
If Howard departs, this is the likely way it will happen. You don't just fire a legend and legacy when an alternate exit ramp is available.
March 11th, 2024 at 12:50 PM ^
there has been so much of this "step down for health reasons" talk, and while it's a realistic, convenient option, i haven't seen the first hint that there's any substance to it from UM/Coach Howard. Just message board daydreaming from what I can tell.
March 11th, 2024 at 11:04 AM ^
I'd say he deserves it but I don't believe in Yak on Yak crime.
March 11th, 2024 at 11:18 AM ^
Even if Juwan is retained as expected, it's going to be hard to attract top assistant coach talent. Up-and-comers with early-career success will be hesitant to enter a program that starts 2024-25 season on the hottest of hot seats.
March 11th, 2024 at 12:51 PM ^
not like UM ever hires a high-performing, well-respected assistant to be the next head coach.
March 11th, 2024 at 11:48 AM ^
I like the idea of bringing Luke back. If this team played any semblance of defense, this could have been, at worst, an NIT team.
MVC is the right conference for UIC long-term (it would be a nice conference for Detroit too, but that's going off on a tangent). Still a commuter school but UIC is improving in the academic metrics and that part of Chicago is becoming more appealing.
The Loyola basketball trajectory isn't easy to duplicate, of course, but that's what they're aspiring to.
Yaklich went 23-29 in his 2 years in the Horizon --- after UIC went .500+ in each of the 3 years before him. So it arguably wasn't just the conference.
Anyway, he'll land on his feet, no doubt, he still has a great resume.
Added resident halls around ‘89 but still mostly commuter. Also one of the ugliest campuses in America (although they’ve torn down the very worst parts of their Brutalist design). Even preservationalists make it sound horrible.
Come on down. Luke!
From the document (thanks):
Executed in concrete and brick, the UIC campus is the largest collection of Brutalist architecture in the city of Chicago and is considered one of the crowning achievements of Netsch’s long career.
Doesn't sound too bad. :)
One person's trash is another's treasure. I'm a fan of the UIC campus and would rate it ahead of several I've seen. Nearby Northern Illinois (one big eyesore IMO) is an example.
It has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 8 years.
Netsch also designed libraries at Northwestern and U Chicago. His most famous building is the chapel at the Air Force Academy.
If we are going to talk architecture here, it would be remiss not to mention Dan Dworsky, who designed Crisler Arena, played for Fritz Crisler, and was an All American on the 47 and 48 national championship teams.
Juwan will throw hands before he'll hand over the keys......
j/k..... n/k
It is actually impossible to succeed at UIC. Cannot be done. I was always surprised he took that job.
I would argue that it is the worst college coaching job in America because there is this perception that it should be workable because it is located in the middle of the best talent location in the country but it is still impossible.
The Chicago Public League is deep and the Chicago Catholic League is also very good The suburban leagues are strong, too. But the best CPL talent leaves town and UIC is a distant fourth relative to the three other in-city D1 schools (Loyola, DePaul even Chicago State now).
UIC has one player on their roster from the City of Chicago and he is a grad transfer. Strikes me that Yaklich is an atrocious recruiter. Nuts to me that he can't go into a single west side or west burbs school and entice someone to stay local and play literally down the street. You have Ignatius, Fenwick, Manley, Whitney Young, Marshall, Westinghouse, Orr and Farragut literally down the street.
+1 for laying out the argument well.
Not to get into an extended UIC hoops discussion - but I still disagree.
UIC went to the NCAA 3 times in the 1997-98 to 2003-04 era from the Horizon/MCC, once as an at-large #9 seed. That wasn't easy in that era, the conference was solid: Butler was in the league and always good (admittedly they weren't yet "Butler", but they were also oh-so-close to beating national runner-up Florida in the 2000 tourney), and Detroit was regularly fielding high-quality teams that won NCAA games and made NIT Final Fours.
They've had considerably more losing seasons than winning-seasons since 2009-10 ...... but that was Loyola's profile for the longest time too.
It's not easily realized potential, but I'd argue there IS potential.
This is funny all the slappy's on here saying bring Yaklich in as head coach. Dude couldn't even come close to 500 as a head coach. GTFOH with him as coach or even a defensive coach. It was all JB
Watching Championship Week you can clearly see numerous Head Coaches who know how to coach and teach the game. If Michigan moves on from Howard, hopefully they move away from any past connections and go find a program builder and a player developer that can get the program but to where it should be.