3 thoughts on Michigan basketball decision to fire Juwan Howard

It was clear that a change needed to be made within the Michigan basketball program and it was finally made on Friday as Michigan AD Warde Manuel announced that Juwan Howard would not be back as the Wolverines head coach.

This decision follows another report by The Athletic that painted Michigan basketball in a bad light. Regardless, this is more about wins and losses than anything. The Wolverines were one of the best programs in college basketball a few short years ago and it's time to aim for that standard again.

It's still a painful day for Michigan basketball fans. Juwan Howard coached his team to a Big Ten title and two Sweet 16s. He won five NCAA tournament games. He also was a legend as a player and he will always be a Wolverines legend. I wish him nothing but the best in the future, yet here are three thoughts on what this means for U-M hoops moving forward.

A disappointing end

Things started with such promise that it looked like Howard would be able to keep the great run of John Beilein going. Two years after Beilein left, the Wolverines won their first outright Big Ten championship in seven years. Beilein did that just once. The future seemed bright, but then the bottom fell out.

Michigan missed a golden opportunity to get to the Final Four and the program didn't recover. The culture that Beilein built fell apart and by the 2023-24 season, Michigan was void of talent due to roster construction failures.

It's still a bitter pill to swallow. Juwan Howard is a legend at Michigan. That won't change but it's a reminder of how difficult it is to replace a head-coaching legend.