Michigan Basketball: Juwan Howard has proven his critics wrong

It’s popular to sing the praises of Michigan basketball head coach Juwan Howard. After all, if the vote were held today, he should be the National Coach of the Year.

After all, in just his second season, Michigan is 14-1 and leads the Big Ten conference. He has the Wolverines in a position to win the Big Ten title and make another run at a Final Four.

When John Beilein left for the NBA, there was worry that Howard wouldn’t be able to win at the same level. And while it’s still early, Juwan has kept Michigan basketball among the blue bloods.

Then there is veiled criticism thrown at Howard by those that can’t, for some reason, admit he’s an elite head coach such as Doug Gottlieb, who for some reason can’t spell Juwan’s name.

It’s obvious that Juwan made great hires and those assistants have obviously been a big part of the success, but it’s like Gottlieb wants to go out of his way to not credit Howard, who has done incredible things with the team, the culture and the individual talent.

Well, Howard was asked about the critics during his press conference about Rutgers and here’s part of what he had to say via Wolverines Wire:

"“Yeah, I hear the doubters. I’m not gonna sit here like I don’t hear the noise before I got hired. And also, still to this day, I hear the backhanded compliments. Am I competitive? Of course I am! But I’m also about improving and having the growth mindset of how I can get better to be the best version of myself to help prepare this team, and more importantly to represent this fine institution the best way possible. That’s my No. 1 goal. That’s what drives me. That’s what really excites me.”"

Howard also talked about how dedicated he is to his craft, which is something that shows each week on the court.

"“And also — yeah, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about plays, thinking about defensive situations, thinking about how I can get better, how I can help prepare the team.  That’s how I’m wired. I wouldn’t have been able to last 19 years in the NBA if I didn’t have a certain edge about me. To get back into coaching, for six years as an assistant coach, the Miami Heat staff and also I took upon myself to prepare myself to become a head coach someday. I worked at this. And I’m gonna continue to keep working. I love it.”"

Michigan fans have gotten so used to this team playing so well this season that the team and Howard in particular may not be getting enough credit for winning at Wisconsin.

The Wolverines hadn’t played for 22 days and plenty of other programs have struggled after that, but Howard kept the team together. We’ll see what happens later this week against Rutgers and Ohio State, but he’s doing a special job and it’s why this team is a title contender.

Howard has pressed all the right buttons this season and even though he’s not perfect, not coach is, Michigan knocked it out of the park with this hire and it’s been obvious a long time.