Michigan Basketball: Timeline of the Wolverines chaotic offseason

It has been a crazy few months for Michigan basketball and here is a look at the timeline of the Wolverines crazy offseason.

John Beilein is now the head coach of the Cavs, Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis are NBA Draft Picks, Juwan Howard is the new head coach of Michigan basketball and Franz Wagner is a  Wolverine.

These are just some of the headlines that dominated Michigan Basketball the past few months.

Without a doubt, it has been the most dramatic off-season for the Michigan Basketball program, with numerous changes to the team and many familiar faces now gone. Now with all that drama finally resolved, it feels that it is a good time to reflect on how the off-season panned out.

Something that Michigan Basketball fans have been wishing for.

In a matter of months, Michigan’s Basketball program has changed drastically, rooting from John Beilein’s shocking decision to accept the Head Coach position with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not to mention the departures of Charles Matthews, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Jordan Poole; three starters from the starting lineup.

March 23: #2 Michigan basketball loses to #3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16.

In a frustrating contest, to say the least, the Wolverines would fall to the #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders (who would later make it to the championship game), by a score of 63-44 in the Sweet 16 game.

With two of the top defensive teams in the country are in a dog fight, it was evident that every basket meant even more valuable. With that being said, it was a disastrous night for the Wolverines offensively, shooting a horrid 32% from the field and went 1-for-19 from beyond the arc.

Many said that Michigan’s inconsistent offense would be their Achilles heel, and unfortunately for Michigan, they were exposed.

April: Michigan is top 10 in numerous pre-season rankings

Once the college basketball season came to a close, many analysts were already creating their “way-too-early” pre-season rankings for the upcoming season, with most of them having Michigan basketball in the top 5 of their rankings, if, everyone stayed.

On paper, Michigan was only expecting Charles Matthews to declare for the draft, meaning that four out of the five starters were projected to return to Ann Arbor, which gives the impression that with the core remained intact, Michigan would be primed for another deep tournament run.

As an example, The Athletic’s Seth Davis had the Wolverines only behind Michigan State in his ‘way-too-early’ ranking, while NCAA.com’s and Big Ten Analyst Andy Katz had Michigan at #7 in his early ‘Power 36’ rankings.

Needless to say, with these rankings, there will always be a huge asterisk beside each team, as these rankings took place prior to the events that transpired within the program, which meant that pre-season rankings were subject to change regardless, and it all came crashing down when the tides began to shift into the other direction.

April 9: Ignas Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole, and Charles Matthews enter the draft with agents.

While it wasn’t a shocker that Ignas Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole, and Charles Matthews would all test the waters for the NBA Draft, it was surprising that Poole and Brazdeikis would declare, in particular, Jordan Poole, who seemed to be the most likely to return to Michigan.

Poole had his peaks and valleys in his second season with the Wolverines, highlighted by numerous hot-streaks, but also inefficient at times as well. The former La Lumiere product faced harsh scrutiny from the fans due to his poor shot selections down the stretch, so maybe it was time for a fresh start for the sophomore.

Due to the inconsistencies of all three players in certain aspects of their game, the mock drafts were all over the place in regards to John Beilein’s players. Some mock drafts had all three of them going in the second round, but also had all of them going undrafted. However, testing the waters through working out with teams ultimately decides one’s draft stock, something that they were hoping to change.

May 13: John Beilein accepts head coaching position with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Feeling shocked was an understatement when Michigan basketball fans woke up to the news on the morning of May 13th that John Beilein had accepted the head coaching gig with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In what was a decision that came out of nowhere, Michigan was forced to say goodbye to the most decorated coach in program history after two National Championship game appearances in two Final Fours, nine NCAA Tournaments, two Big Ten Regular-Season titles, and two Big Ten Tournament titles.

The whirlwind of emotions as some felt upset that Beilein packed his bags, while some were happy that he elected to take the next step in his career. Regardless, for the first time in 12 years, Michigan was without their face of the program.

May 16: Jalen Wilson de-commits, later commits to Kansas.

The dominos began to fall recruiting wise once Beilein’s departure became official.

Michigan’s top recruit for the 2019 class and 4-star Jalen Wilson elected to re-open his recruiting process, choosing to de-commit from the program. Although he kept Michigan in the process, it was a tough pill to swallow for Wolverines fans, losing a player with Wilson’s caliber.

Wilson’s ability to score on all three levels would have made him an instant starter for the Wolverines, now with him out of the fold, Michigan’s rotation began to look like a shell of its former self with yet another player leaving the program.

On June 12th, Wilson committed to Kansas, choosing the Jayhawks over the North Carolina and Michigan.

May 22: Michigan name Juwan Howard as their head coach, becoming the 17th head coach in program history.

Amid all the drama that surrounded Beilein’s departure, Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel still had a ton of work to do; Hire a new head coach.

While many were begging for coaches such as Billy Donovan or Brad Stevens, Manuel had to search for head coaches that were realistically going to be interested in coaching in Ann Arbor. The only other candidate out-of-school that was known to the public was Providence College’s head coach Ed Cooley, who ended up signing an extension with the Friars following the interview.

Juwan Howard was the guy that many were pushing to become the next leader of the program.

Players such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were publically praising their former coach, claiming that it was a perfect fit, however, it was in fact the influence of his ‘Fab Five’ teammates that seemed to be the missing piece that convinced Wolverine fans to hire a coach without any previous head coaching experience.

Only time will tell.

May 22: Zeb Jackson and Cole Bajema re-commit

In his press conference, Howard stated that 4-star Cole Bajema (who committed to the Wolverines during Beilein’s tenure) was technically his first recruit, signing his letter of intent just prior to his introductory press conference.

Immediately following the press conference, 2020 4-star recruit Zeb Jackson took to Twitter and posted a picture with Howard from when he was younger, confirming that he was staying with Michigan.

Not even 24 hours into his new job, keeping Beilein’s recruits was a huge win for Howard, adding a player who could be of use for the upcoming season, but also retaining an elite guard in Jackson for the future bodes well for Howard.

May 28: Assistant Coach Luke Yaklich accepts coaching gig with Texas.

Before Luke Yaklich was ever a coach with Michigan, John Beilein’s teams were usually an offensive juggernaut with average to sub-par defense. Once Yaklich became Beilein’s right-hand man, the Wolverines’ culture shifted and became one of the top defensive teams in the country after only 2 years.

Yaklich (alongside fellow assistant Saddi Washington), were in contention for the head coaching gig, and once Howard was hired, Yaklich made the move to join Shaka Smart’s staff at Texas, leaving the program better than where he found it on a defensive aspect.

June 7: Juwan Howard officially announces his Assistant Coaches, keeps Saddi Washington, hires Phil Martelli and Howard Eisley.

When Howard finally got comfortable, he officially announced who would be on his staff for the foreseeable future.

In the weeks prior to the official announcement, it was revealed that Saddi Washington (who previously served under Beilein) and Strength and Conditioning coach Jon Sanderson would be retained. Keeping Washington and Sanderson helps maintain the player development department and relationships that Beilein helped established, something that should never be eliminated from the program.

Howard also hired Phil Martelli, the former head coach at St. Joseph’s. Martelli brings 24 seasons of head coaching experience under his belt, experience that is crucial for an inexperienced head coach such as Howard, but also the ability to have an influence in the states of Pennsylvania and New York for recruiting, as Martelli has ties due to his previous tenure.

Finally, Howard also hired his former teammate in Howard Eisley (no pun intended). Eisley’s NBA pedigree will be very influential in developing players but as well as recruiting and should be able to help solidify the state of Michigan due to his ties with his home state.

June 9: Charles Matthews tears ACL in pre-draft workout

Charles Matthews’ draft stock was at the highest point following his dominant performance defensively at the NBA Combine, with some having him selected mid-way through the second round in certain mock drafts.

In a pre-draft workout with the Boston Celtics and just days away from the draft, Matthews tore his ACL and later had surgery in Chicago, diminishing his hopes to be selected on draft night.

Matthews will experience the same process as his former teammate Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman dealt with this season. Abdur-Rahkman had surgery on a broken foot prior to the draft and was forced to wait until he fully recovered to find a contract.

Luckily, in October, Abdur-Rahkman struck a deal with the Canton Charge of the NBA G-League (Cleveland’s affiliate).

Although Matthews did have a much higher stock than Abdur-Rahkman when they both had their surgeries, it will be interesting to see where he ends up, but for now, we wait.

June 20: Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis are selected in the NBA Draft.

With Matthews sidelined, Michigan still had two more players with NBA aspirations in Poole and Brazdekis, who were still on the draft board. Many believed that Poole and Brazdeikis were projected second-round picks, however, in the draft, anything can happen and projections are considered worthless, in a sense.

Following an injury-plagued playoff run, the Golden State Warriors had the 28th pick in the first round and were looking for the best possible fit for their team. With Klay Thompson sidelined for the most of next season, the Warriors selected Poole with the intention of becoming a ‘Splash Nephew’, providing a close to perfect fit with Poole’s strengths as a catch-and-shoot player.

In the second round, the Sacramento Kings selected Brazdeikis with the 47th pick and instantly swapped with the New York Knicks for the 55th pick (Kyle Guy). If there was a city that matched Brazdeikis’ personality, it would be the Big Apple.

July 6: Franz Wagner commits to Michigan

Prior to leaving, it was reported that John Beilein had flown to Germany to visit Franz Wagner (brother of former Michigan star Moritz Wagner) to help convince him to follow in his brother’s footsteps and make the transition to Ann Arbor.

With countless rumors surrounding the potential arrival of Wagner, on July 6th, Wagner made it official, posting on Instagram that he would be joining the University of Michigan’s basketball program and moving to the United States.

It may seem like this may have been Beilein’s work, Howard’s influence was the difference-maker in the acquisition of Wagner. Knowing that a former NBA player and a ‘Michigan Man’ on top of that gives the impression that Wagner will be able to flourish under Howard’s tutelage.

Once Wagner committed to the Wolverines, 247Sports had him rated as a 4-star recruit and the 42nd ranked player in the ‘Top 247’ rankings.

July: Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis play in the NBA Summer League

It may have been a rough start for both of them, Poole and Brazdeikis proved critics wrong with their performances in the NBA Summer League.

After an inefficient first 2 games in the Sacramento summer league, Poole bounced back in Las Vegas, averaging 17.8 points and 2.3 steals while shooting 40% from the field, highlighted by a 23-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers. Poole faced the most scrutiny following his decision to enter the draft, now, few are questioning his ability.

Meanwhile, Brazdeikis out-performed fellow Canadian and teammate RJ Barrett, shocking the basketball world with his 30-point outburst against the Phoenix Suns in his second summer league game. The Oakville Ontario native finished the summer league averaging 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds while shooting an efficient 51% from the field.

Last Thoughts

It has been a rollercoaster of an off-season for Michigan basketball, and for the most part, the drama has been resolved.

While it’s never positive when a top-5 coach leaves the program alongside his defensive coordinator and 3 starters, hiring a familiar face in Howard and recruiting a high-level tier prospect in Wagner should help soften the blow.