Michigan Basketball: Juwan Howard doesn’t have a plan B

Since taking over as the head coach of Michigan basketball, Juwan Howard has hit the ground running, recruiting the best basketball players in the country.

The John Beilein comparisons will continue for Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard up until the very day he is triumphantly awarded the Big Ten championship and makes his way deep into March Madness.

Until that moment, everything he does will be viewed under a Beilein-biased microscope.

Why are you recruiting this kid and not that one? Or, You should have run the offense this way! Those are the common complaints and questions imposed on Juwan.

When the announcement came, and Howard gave his first speech at the Crisler Center, the complaints and questions should have stopped there.

“Last time I had a press conference in this building, was 1994,”  Howard said, as he wiped away tears. “I declared that I was going to the NBA. I felt like I was letting down my teammates, because I didn’t do what I came here to do … to bring a championship to this university. A university I care so much about. I guess you can see that now. …  Now, let’s fast forward 25 years later: I’m back.”

Juwan was genuine; he was human; he had just fulfilled his lifelong dream.

“I spoke to him after his press conference last week and I said, ‘Juwan, I know it was genuine and it was real, but the fact that you cried at your press conference you grabbed me because you know that I’m an emotional guy and you grabbed every mother of every recruit in this country,” said assistant coach Phil Martelli. “We can now go into every living room in this country because you’re the real deal. You’re not an NBA two-time champion. You’re not a guy who played in two Final Fours. You’re not a guy who played 19 years in the NBA. You’re a real human being.’ ”

Howard listened to the long-time former head coach and he’s not going to just any living room, he is sitting in the living rooms of future NBA legends, and they’re listening.

“I am still very interested in Michigan. I have talked to Coach Howard a lot,” Walker Kessler told Brian Snow of 247 sports ($). “Obviously, with him being a big man who played 15 years in the NBA who was a stretch big who could do it all, it is very appealing for a player like me.”

Kessler is the No. 3 center and No. 15 player in the nation. A dominating big man from Georgia, and a future first-round draft pick.

“Now that they’ve hired Juwan Howard, I’d say my interest is if not the same, probably a little more,” Hunter Dickinson told the Detroit Free Press. “Because I feel like he’s like a 6-10 big man, he says he can get me to the league. He’s got the connections and the abilities to get me there. I feel like that’s a really good option for me.”

Dickinson is ranked 29th in the nation and the No. 5 center. Hunter broke down his top five schools with Stockrisers and Michigan was one of them.

Hunter isn’t the only one with a narrowed list that includes the Wolverines. Day-after-day recruit-after-recruit is dropping UM into their top ten, top five, or top schools in general.

https://twitter.com/zaytodd/status/1157373525340184576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1157373525340184576&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgbmwolverine.com%2F2019%2F08%2F18%2Fmichigan-basketball-the-potential-future-of-wolverines-hoops%2F

https://twitter.com/Jaemyn1/status/1163556102879031303

Isaiah Todd (10th nationally),  Jaemyn Brakefield (33rd nationally), Nimari Burnett (22nd nationally), and Henry Coleman III (40th nationally) all publicly announced Michigan basketball made it as one of their favorite schools, one of the schools they will attend for the 2020-21 season.

These are not good basketball players, they’re great. Top 50 in the nation type great, according to 247 sports. And it’s a great day for the Wolverines when they see they were one of the select few schools of these top athletes.

The problem

The complaints, comparisons, and questions surrounding this exciting new recruiting strategy will continue.

Only targeting top 50 athletes works for some schools but what happens when some of those prospects don’t announce UM as their final choice? Or, what happens if they all go elsewhere?

On the 2020 target recruiting board sits precisely zero targets outside the top 50 whose wooing began during the Howard era. Juwan does have a security blanket in Zeb Jackson; although, more than one scholarship player will be needed as time passes. He needs quality players to fill his roster, and so far, no one has taken that next step to commit to the Howard program. Not a single Howard target has pledged to play at one of the most excellent universities in the world under one of the most genuine coaches.

Juwan came in with one plan, find the best and brightest and mentor them to the utmost of his abilities; maybe turn them pro if they’re lucky enough. Plan A works in theory; not in reality, at least so far.

The solution

Right now, there isn’t any. Time will play a significant factor as next year’s recruiting cycle will be Juwan’s first full dive into the college basketball offseason as a head coach. But then again, as time goes by, so will the chance to snag the Isaiah Todd’s and the Walker Kessler’s of the world.

So Juwan, if you’re reading this, work on a plan B… just in case.