The Wolverine

June-July 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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16 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2019 BY CHRIS BALAS S hortly after the Wolverines' loss to eventual national runner-up Texas Tech in the Sweet 16, a re- porter asked John Beilein what he thought of Michigan basketball's immediate future. Beilein's squad had just set a record with 26 regular-season wins, captured four more postseason victories and — at the time — were set to return everyone but redshirt junior Charles Matthews. The thought was enough to bring a smile to Beilein's face. "How do you feel about it? Do you think it's okay?" the Michigan head coach asked rhetorically. "I think we've got everybody back. "So we'll see. You never know. You've got transfers, guys who will look at the NBA, that same old thing. C h a r l e s g r a d u - ates so we expect him to go pro. If we have every- body back, it's in really good shape … and we have only two juniors right now as well. " I t ' s a y o u n g team, and I'm re- ally happy about where it is." The next few months played out like one of those "life comes at you fast" Nationwide commercials. Beilein was gone only weeks later, the bomb dropping May 13 in a morn- ing announcement that shook the college basketball world. The NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers had hired U-M's coach away on a five-year deal, fol- lowing announcements from freshman Ignas Brazdeikis and sophomore Jor- dan Poole that they planned to try take their talents to the NBA, as well. That left director of athletics Warde Manuel scrambling to find a new head coach in May … not exactly the best time to be searching. Some of the nation's top young coaches, including Buffalo's Nate Oats and Virginia Tech's Buzz Williams, had already been snapped up by Alabama and Texas A&M, respectively. Manuel and Michigan hired the search firm Turnkey to identify can- didates to find, in Manuel's words, "a proven coach — someone who has a track record as a head coach. That's what I'd like to see." The Michigan fan wish list started out with the unrealistic at the top, as these things often do. Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, Jay Wright of Vil- lanova and Tony Bennett of Virginia were among the pie-in-the-sky candi- dates. Soon, a list of names emerged that included Providence head coach Ed Cooley, Butler's LaVall Jordan (a for- mer Beilein assistant), Texas head coach Shaka Smart, and U-M assistants Saddi Washington and Luke Yaklich. One of the more intriguing names on the list, though, surfaced early — Mi- ami Heat assistant coach and former Fab Five standout Juwan Howard, an up-and-comer in the coaching profes- sion. Howard had already been inter- viewing for NBA head coaching jobs, and though he didn't have any head coaching experience, he came highly recommended by some of basketball's best coaching minds. Heat president Pat Riley, head coach Erik Spoelstra and others couldn't say enough good things about him. Howard became the obvious front- runner when Cooley turned his inter- view into an extension with the Fri- ars May 21. Howard's interview with Manuel on the same day clinched it, and he was announced as the pro- gram's 17th head coach a day later. "We have found someone with high integrity, great character and a coach who has unbelievable knowledge of the game of basketball," Manuel said. "Juwan has proven himself to be a tremendous leader, a wonderful com- municator and a developer of talent. We couldn't have asked for a better role model for the young men in our program. "We are excited to welcome back a member of the family to Ann Arbor." 'AN ABSOLUTE STAR' Howard and U-M agreed to a five- year deal starting at $2 million annu- ally, though incentives could push his compensation as high as $2.5 million. Though he doesn't check the one box Manuel initially mentioned as a proven head coach, Howard has plenty of coaching experience as a Heat assistant. He retired as a player in 2013 and immediately became an as- sistant coach, serving in that role from 2013-19. The Heat brass has added to his re- sponsibilities each year. Howard spent his first season as an assistant coach/ player develop- ment coach in 2013- 14, working with the Heat's big men as well as serving as the team's de- fensive coordina- tor. He later added the role as the head coach of Miami's 2016 NBA Summer League teams in both Orlando and Las Vegas. In the 2018 NBA Africa Game, he served as the head coach of Team Africa, a squad that in- cluded players born in or with ties to the country such as league standouts Joel Embiid, Al-Farouq Aminu and Serge Ibaka. Riley and others started promoting him for NBA head coaching jobs re- cently, and Howard parlayed that sup- port into interviews with (ironically) Cleveland, Minnesota and others. Members of the Heat organization made it clear the Wolverines were getting a great one after Manuel an- nounced the hire. BIG MAN ( BACK ) ON CAMPUS Director Of Athletics Warde Manuel Hires Juwan Howard To Replace John Beilein Howard has been an assistant for the Miami Heat, helping them to one NBA finals appear- ance and three division titles, since retiring as a player following the 2012-13 season. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI HEAT

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