The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2019 THE WOLVERINE 37 newest colleagues — to recruiting at the highest college level, to NCAA rules or to Michigan. Washington has experienced Michigan basketball at its best over the past few years. The three-year assistant in Ann Arbor came up one win away from a national championship with the Wolverines in the spring of 2018. The Beilein-coached squad still posted 33 wins, the most in the history of the program. One year earlier, the Wolverines won 26 games, including the first of two straight Big Ten Tournament championships. U-M won 30 games last year and has reached the Sweet 16 in all three seasons Washington has been on hand, a first-ever achievement for the program in the NCAA Tourna- ment's present configuration. Washington coached Michigan's big men, most notably Moritz Wag- ner and D.J. Wilson, a pair of NBA Draft picks. He helped shape Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ignas Brazdei- kis over the past year as well. While Martelli can guide Howard in areas of college head coaching, Washington provides the here-and- now intel on Michigan at present — the roster, the player personali- ties, strengths and weaknesses, etc. When Beilein couldn't make the trip to Spain with the Wolverines before last season, Washington stepped in to serve as head coach. He should serve as the glue be- tween the success of what has been recently and what Howard hopes to do in the immediate future. "I'm extremely proud of the work I've been a part of here at Michi- gan, but I am also very grateful to Coach Howard for retaining me to continue," Washington commented. "There's a great and new energy around the program right now. "I'm excited to get behind his vi- sion for the program and assisting our players to be championship seek- ers on and off the court." ❏ Juwan Howard retains a long memory and no lack of loyalty. He reached all the way back to his playing days at Michigan to summon a director of player personnel and development for his first U-M staff. Former Michigan assistant Jay Smith now fills that role, re- turning to Ann Arbor some 23 years after he departed. "There are many people who have helped me throughout my career. However, Jay Smith is someone special who I have a deep connection with and the utmost respect for," Howard said in a released statement announcing the hire. "He has such an incredible passion for the game and his ability to relate with young men is going to be something invaluable for us. "We are very fortunate to have him return to Ann Arbor and join our staff." Smith coached at Michigan from 1989-96, helping bring in Howard among the "Fab Five" in 1991. After leaving Michigan, he made stops as a head coach at Grand Valley State (1996- 97) and Central Michigan (1997-2006), an assistant at Detroit (2008-16), and head coach at Kalamazoo College (2016-19). "There are always interesting twists in this game," Smith observed. "That can be said for this situation. I have been through plenty over the last few years and loved the oppor- tunity Kalamazoo trusted in me. "However, the chance to help out Juwan and return to Michigan is something my family and I are excited about and thankful for." Additionally, Howard has added two former U-M players to his staff: he retained former team captain Chris Hunter (played from 2002-06) as the director of basketball opera- tions and hired Jaaron Simmons (2017-18) as the graduate manager. Ann Arbor native and former Cornell (2014-16) and Holy Cross (2018-19) assistant David Metzendorf has also been hired, as the video analyst. — John Borton Jay Smith Added As Director Of Player Personnel And Development Saddi Washington (left) was retained from John Beilein's staff and just completed his third season at Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN