The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 39 "My food doesn't taste the same, and my pillow becomes a lot harder and rough," Howard shared. "When you're winning, everything just starts feeling great. I smile at my wife, I don't have that growl on my face. When I'm winning, I'm smiling every day, and I'm joyful. When you're winning, the food tastes five-star level, and the pillow be- comes more like a Sleep Number pillow or something like that. "That was a great feeling when we won the Big Ten in 2021. Everything felt great." But nothing felt great the past couple of seasons, especially this year. Michi- gan closed out the 2023-24 campaign by losing at home to Nebraska on Senior Day, and Howard's postgame offerings blended hope, defiance and a certain wistful- ness. "It's been a very strange year, a very strange season — yes," he said. "Way back into summer, I found out I had to go in and have open-heart surgery. From there, I didn't get an opportunity to be myself and to be on the floor, teaching. Each and every day, I was thinking about when you have an aneurysm, what day is it going to burst? You're taking medicine, to hope- fully prevent it from that day ever hap- pening. "You have your surgery, and you go through not being with your team, being in the hospital and thinking about how you can get back. You're talking with the rehab and just learning how to walk again. There were a couple of setbacks, but I'm not going to get into the details. "What it helped me gain was perspec- tive. I know I'm going to keep forging ahead, because my team, as well as my staff, needs me. I'm not going to quit on them, because that's not how I operate. "I love everything about this school. I love everything about my job. I really ap- preciate Warde Manuel taking a chance on me and giving me this opportunity to be a head coach with no head coaching experience, and at the same time trusting the vision." For Howard, the vision at Michigan wasn't complete. "This season is not over — by no means," he declared. Three days later, it was over, in a 66-57 Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Days before the game, the head coach made sure to count his blessings. "I feel we have won in a lot of ways," he assessed. "I'm very appreciative of getting the opportunity to coach again. I didn't know if I was going to have the chance to coach for this year. I could have easily said, at some point, 'I've got to take care of my health,' — which I was, and I will continue to do. I could have sat the season out. That's not how I'm wired. I felt this team and this staff needs me, and I need them, too." Two days after his dismissal — NCAA Selection Sunday for 68 other teams — Howard posted a heartfelt thank-you message on social media that concluded with these sentiments: "… I want to give a special shout out to All players I coached … you guys were and will always be my EVERYTHING! "Michigan will always be a significant part of my legacy, and I will be a signifi- cant part of theirs. "Michigan Man Forever. "Go Blue!" SLAMMED FROM THE START Michigan's 2023-24 season began un- raveling long before the opening tipoff against UNC Asheville on Nov. 7. Nearly two months earlier, Howard found him- self flat on his back at the University of Michigan Hospital's cardiovascular cen- ter, undergoing heart surgery. Doctors had discovered a significant issue, and Dr. Himanshu Patel worked to resect an aortic aneurysm, repairing the head coach's aortic valve. That threw everything into change mode for Michigan basketball, with as- sistant coach Phil Martelli stepping into the interim head coaching role, assistants Saddi Washington and Howard Eisley adjusting to the change and Director of Player Personnel and Development Jay Smith getting elevated into the role as the No. 3 assistant coach. Doctors pegged Howard's full recovery landing between 6-12 weeks and his abil- ity to return to the Michigan program at a month to six weeks. For the head coach himself, the adjust- ment hit more personally. "I just love the Maize and Blue," How- ard noted, upon his eventual full return in December. "I just want to smell the en- ergy of the building, to see the fans pres- ent, and to be there yelling and shouting, and calling out plays. I remember there were times when I was sitting in my hos- pital room, thinking about whether I'd ever have that opportunity again." The journey didn't c o n t i n u e w i t h o u t some serious reflec- tion, Howard admit- ted. "Open heart surgery — I had never had a se- rious surgery before, playing in the NBA or playing in college, other than three broken noses" he mused. "After the surgery was over, I was like 'Whoa!' It felt like I got hit by a Mack truck. And it took some time — 15 days in the hospital. "In those 15 days, I had a chance to reflect on how badly do I want this, to get healthy? Am I going to put my head down, be in a puddle and just feel sorry for myself, or am I going to toughen up, roll up my sleeves and say there's no time for feeling sorry? I've just got to get healthy." Howard noted he lost more than 30 pounds in the process. Many more losses were coming — some might say like a Mack truck — and would eventually end a Michigan coaching tenure that began with great pride, hope and enthusiasm. The Wolverines went 19-10 in How- ard's first season, looking like an NCAA Tournament team prior to COVID exe- cuting a blocked shot on both the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Dance. The fol- lowing season, Michigan won the Big Ten with a 14-3 record, went 23-5 overall and advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. All the promise surrounded Howard's hiring peaked at that point, with the sense that his second-year success would open the floodgates for top recruits and ongo- ing success at Crisler Center. ❱ U-M Athletics Director Warde Manuel "Despite his love of his alma mater and the positive experience that our student-athletes had under his leadership, it was clear to me that the program was not living up to our expectations and not trending in the right direction."