Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for Juwan Howard’s his first season

Michigan basketball officially announced the hiring of Juwan Howard Wednesday and here are three predictions for his first season.

A little more than a week ago, Michigan basketball fans were shocked by the news that John Beilein was leaving the Wolverines to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But now, after nine days, a hectic coaching search and what felt like constant rumors, Juwan Howard has been officially named the head coach of Michigan basketball.

Media reports started coming out Tuesday night, with Five Reasons Sports first reporting the news after his interview with Warde Manuel Tuesday. Then, Wednesday afternoon, the Michigan basketball Twitter account released this:

Not everyone is on board with the Hire of Howard, who agreed to a five-year deal with Michigan that according to Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press, will pay him $2-2.5 million annually.

Of course, since this will be Howard’s first head coaching job, there are questions about his experience, especially as he transitions from the NBA to college basketball. A key thing will be building an experienced staff.

Hopefully, for the sake of a smooth transition and to help to recruit, Howard can retain one or more of the current assistants. Keeping Luke Yaklich might be tough, however, Saddi Washington could probably be convinced to stick around along with DeAndre Haynes. If that is what Howard wants.

While it will take time and years to evaluate this move, in terms of what it means for next season here are three predictions for Howard’s first year as head coach.