I think the roster management issue was the biggest factor. He just couldn’t get his top targets into the school, and when that failed, he had no Plan B. YoYo was a late add, IIRC. We thought that was a good pickup at the time, but after 2 seasons of not being able to see the court, that looks more like a desperation move. Tray Jackson was a backup plan (I hope,) who couldn’t make the transition to the Big10. Aaliya was another late, desperation attempt to get to 12 (not even 13) scholarship players. I watched the Ivy League tournament this weekend. Sure, there are some good players there, but not many that can play at the B10 level. Dipping his feet into that well turned out badly when Llewellyn got hurt. But even before his injury, it was obvious he didn’t have the quickness to guard B10 athletes.

So, in summary, poor planning combined with bad luck and an inability to motivate his team to play defense (or provide a plan on defense that didn’t rely on Reed chasing PGs 30 feet from the basket) were the reasons why we’re looking for a new coach. 

Michigan basketball program needs a hard reset. There was no other way around it. The new coach would get at least 2 year grace period because Michigan would not be good within the first two year so we'll pretty much treat it like JB's early Michigan team. 

The NIL, portal transfer and other things has changed the calculus of basketball recruiting that it's possible to rebuild faster than expected, but with Michigan's systematic issues, I think it'll be slower than most would like it to be. 

Great points all around. The only thing I'll disagree with is the premise that building a basketball roster is harder than football. There are so fewer players on a basketball team, that if you hit on one or two players, yiu can be good to very good. 3 and you're elite.

I like Devries too, but am open with some of the other names already mentioned (Medved).

I'm totally prepared for patience if we start seeing some coaching skills put in action on the court. On another thread, someone mentioned Tom Crean's experience rebuilding a totally devastated IU roster after Sampson got them in trouble. Crean was and is a real dick but he did a good job getting them from 6-25 in his 1st season to 27-9 in Year 4. 

Even when JB had a losing season in Year 3, the culture wasn't a tire fire. There is absolutely nothing positive about this year's team, on or off the court. 

Warde put the lever and flushed the coach out. Time for the new guy to flush out the locker room (keep Reed and Will). Goodbye, Jace!

He went 8-24 at Michigan 

I don't feel good about it, from a personal level because of his Fab Five history. But in no way could I see him rebuilding this program. He's better off back in the NBA as an assistant and maybe later get a HC job. Will root for him to be successful wherever he ends up. 

Hoke wasn't a UM grad but was considered to be a Michigan Man from his assistant days. Sad to see him go too in 2014 but knew it was the right thing. Both Brady and Juwan loved Michigan. I give them credit for showing the hard work and love. Things just didn't work out. 

The new coach is going to have to put up with small crowds (except when rivals take over Crysler) in the early days. I've been a fan since the mid 70s under Johnny Orr. I was a FR in 81-82 when we started 0-13 and finished 7-20. Fan support was sparse that year but went to some games on 5 dollar student tickets. At least that team was young and played hard. Mistakes made were really rookie/FR variety but you could see the growth happening when we upset a ranked Iowa team and gave defending champ IU a big scare. This team got worse and worse as the year rolled on.

I pitty Juwan somewhat because it's very unlikely that he would've been fired had he just sat out the season on medical leave.

That said, I don't believe Michigan was in a position to give him the kind of support he needed to thrive here. He needs NIL support and a more flexible admissions department, which would allow him to build a more talented roster. Whereas Beilein's was more of a developmental program, Howard's was more of a showcase program (in a similar vein to Calipari's UK). Developmental coaches can and have thrived at big-time programs like UNC, Duke and UK, but Michigan simply lacks the infrasture to support the showcase coaches.

That's not to say Howard is not a good coach. Just that he's one of those coaches who makes his bones by getting elite talents to play well together (a skill which is nothing to sneeze at).

He hit another coach during the post game handshake. I loved Juwan as a player but he should have been fired after that incident. There should be zero tolerance for that type of behavior from a head coach. Unfortunately, that’s what I’ll remember about Juwan Howard as the head coach of Michigan.

Alford's best work has been done at the Group of Five level. I think that's his happy place.

You could do worse for a Power Five coach, but a 59-year-old guy who's known to be difficult wouldn't be among my top picks for UM.

Sure, he can recruit and coach, but he is an asshole to everyone he meets. I have not heard one good thing about Alford as a person. 

I know a guy who went to Illinois undergrad and UofM grad school. He explained to me why Illinois hates us. It boils down to they hate us because they ain’t us. 

Background:  I went to a massive high school in Cook County (~1000 kids in my graduating class).  Several of my close friends went of UofI.  I was the only person in my graduating class to go to Michigan.  So I know this "rivalry".  It is defined by a handful of instances:

1. We constantly beat the shit out of them in football, and after they fired Gary Moeller, we took it out on them even worse.  This is what older Illinois fans remember.

2. We derailed the best Illinois basketball team ever and went on to win the NC in 1989

3. Illinois should have won the 2000 football game, but some bad officiating benefited Michigan

4. They are a "safety school" academically compared to Michigan and they hate that.  Illinois engineering program is arguably better than Michigan's, but they never get the credit for it.