Michigan Basketball: 5 things to expect in Juwan Howard’s 2nd season
By Nick Popio
From the first tip until the unceremonious ending, Juwan Howard showed he is going to be a force to be reckoned with at Michigan basketball. Here are five things to expect in his second year with the Wolverines.
On May 22, 2019, Juwan Howard struck a five-year deal to return to his previous stomping grounds as Michigan basketball coach. There were some naysayers who believed he wasn’t the right man for the job after seeing John Beilein take the program to historic heights over his wildly successful tenure. After all, few knew what was in store for a roster that lost three starters and one of the nation’s top defensive minds in Luke Yaklich.
His press conference was really revealing and inspiring. With his emotions overcoming him, Howard’s true colors were on full display for everyone to see.
Howard appeared as genuine and humble as one can honestly be. Of course, there were a lot of hysterical memes that arose from that moment thanks to the internet, but for Michigan basketball, it signified that they were in good hands from the introduction.
From that point on Howard worked to keep his alma mater trending towards the upper echelon of basketball. His coaching staff hires were a collection of experience and knowledge that a first-time head coach could wisely use to hang on for advice.
Having a right-hand man like Phil Martelli is as close to a dream scenario as a brand new head man can ask for. Retaining Saadi Washington brought a little stability back and stealing Howard Eisley from the NBA was an impressive haul for a new head man.