Michigan Basketball: Juwan Howard will be fine without Luke Yaklich

Michigan basketball lost top assistant coach Luke Yaklich to Texas Tuesday night according to reports. But here is why Juwan Howard will be just fine.

The topic of assistant coach Luke Yaklich has been a hotly debated issue for Michigan basketball fans and after Jon Rothstein of Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday that he was leaving for Texas, the debate will continue.

Rothstein didn’t seem to have any other details such as the contract or anything like that but overall, this shouldn’t come as a shock for Michigan basketball fans.

Yaklich, who was hired by John Beilein two years ago, was an incredible success during his two years in Ann Arbor. Not only was he largely responsible for defenses that finished among the top-8 in points allowed two years running, but he was also great at recruiting.

Yaklich was a huge part of Michigan basketball’s run to the Final Four during the 2017-18 season and his defense was probably even better in 2018-19 as the Wolverines won their first 17 games.

When Beilein left for Cleveland, Yaklich was a natural fit as a candidate. Once Michigan struck out on the big names like Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens, the attention shifted to guys like Juwan Howard, Yaklich, Ed Cooley and Shaka Smart — the guy who reportedly just hired Yaklich.

Yaklich did receive an interview for the job but was passed over for Howard, a former Michigan basketball star and 19-year NBA player. Howard also spent the last six seasons as an assistant for the Miami Heat and he is credited with being the Heat’s defensive coordinator just as Yaklich was for Beilein and Michigan basketball.

While losing Yaklich will hurt on the recruiting trail, retaining him may not have been the best move, despite what some fans think.

The bottom line is that anytime you have someone working for you that wanted your job, it can be an interesting dynamic. Howard and Yaklich also had never worked together, so who knows how that relationship would have worked. There may not be resentment now but down the road, we have no idea.

Beyond that, if fans wanted Howard to add an assistant with head coaching experience, one of the three assistants would have to go. Saddi Washington and DeAndre Haynes have yet to have their fate decided, but their return is more likely with Yaklich out of the picture.

You figured that at least one assistant coach was going to have to go and in the end, it may be two or all three, although keeping one assistant would be a good idea.

If I had a voice, which I don’t, I would try to add someone like Mike Miller (the coach that coaches in the G-League). He has been a head coach at Texas State and Eastern Illinois, in addition to coaching in the G-Leauge and being an assistant at Kansas State.

If you brought in a coach with his experience and paired him with the current assistants, Howard would have a great staff in place, as well as one ready to transition to the new regime.