Michael Spath: "Momentum building for Juwan Howard"
I personally don't get this. Being apart of the Fab 5 is not a reason to hire someone. I understand why former players are throwing their support behind him but former players also wanted Brady Hoke hired. You can't weigh that into your decision making process. Hiring a guy who has zero head coaching experience is already a huge risk but we'd also be hiring a guy who has never worked in college basketball. Can he recruit? How are is x and o's? Can he run a program? Does he know anything about putting together a staff? This seems like an unnecessary risk to take for a top 10 program. Fortune favors the bold so maybe this will work out but I have my doubts. At least with guys like Shaka we know he can get to the final 4 and recruit well. This is not a Penny Hardaway situation.
“As long as he expresses that Michigan is where he wants to be, and it’s not a fallback if an NBA job doesn’t become available I expect it to be Juwan. Lots of momentum moving in that direction both inside and outside the athletic department.” - my source
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) May 18, 2019
Advice to Warde Manuel
— Coaching Changes (@CoachingChanges) May 18, 2019
When Juwan Howard hits you with something like “you know I’ll kill it in recruiting, look at Penny” make sure you ask him to name the sneaker sponsored grassroots programs in Michigan and surrounding states and ask him who those program directors are too
You keep on acting like him being a member of the fab 5 is the only reason he’s a candidate instead of a bonus to his candidacy. Being a former Michigan player that former Michigan players support doesn’t eliminate you from contention, stop with the Hoke comparison.
What are the other reasons? I have yet to see anyone articulate anything other than "played in fab 5" "is interviewing with nba teams." If Warde thinks the answers to my questions above are "yes" then hire him. He has worked under some good coaches like Erik Spoelstra and been in basketball for a long time. It's not the craziest idea in the world but it's just my personal opinion it's a huge risk. The reason I made the Hoke comparison is because like Hoke Howard would not even be considered for this job if it weren't for his UM connections. Looking back on past searches guys like Harbaugh and Miles were good candidates regardless of their Michigan ties, that they were both former players was a bonus. I don't see the same thing here. Perhaps someone can explain what makes him such a good x and o's coach, or why he's a good recruiter, or his track record of developing players, etc. but no one has answers to that.
his Basketball IQ is known to be elite, couple that with his leadership abilities. LeBron himself has said Howard helped mentor him into that first ring. I couldn’t find too much but this article talks about his halftime speech he made, also understand he was the 12th man, got no minutes but his words meant a lot to the team.
https://thesmokingcuban.com/2013/05/31/2013-nba-playoffs-juwan-howard-miami-heat-lebron-james/amp/
If there were no Michigan ties, he would not throw his hat into the ring. All else equal, the ties matter a lot. Also, he is from Chicago which helps with recruiting.
People, including myself (possibly in response to you) have articulated the many ways he is potentially qualified for the position numerous times, in threads and in OPs. If you haven’t seen them then it’s because you haven’t wanted to, because you don’t actually want to partake in a discussion, but instead have other reasons for posting so much
i think he's having a morning maizen attack. hopefully it will pass soon.
He truly is the ultimate "change my mind" guy. Maizen doesn't care about discourse; his sole efforts on this blog have been to complain about everything. It's a weird existence to have, but so be it.
Here’s the reasons:
Six years experience as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat.
Played 18 years in the NBA where he was an All-NBA selection and All-Star. He won two championships. Seemed to be a leader his whole career.
College and high school All-American.
This tells me nothing about his ability as a coach.
More reasons have been said. Go look them up.
Also, imagine for a second there are people that have access to people, references if you will, that can tell Warde about how well he coaches? Is it important that you don’t know how well he coaches? Because you sure act like you have all the answers here, despite people in the know seemingly being high on his ability to coach. I dunno though, you may know more
So you’re saying the guy that could not stop telling us that Michigan wouldn’t ever succeed under John Beilein, now in the NBA because he did so well here, might not know as much as college athletic directors and NBA GMs? Weird
RIP your username
Yeah, they kept him for six years on staff for shots and giggles. Oh, and him getting NBA HC interviews is just because he was part of the Fab Five. You are one of those folks who ignore the negatives of other candidates while you also overstate their abilities to coach, as you use criticize JH. I get it—he’s unknown as a college head coach—but where the fuck is your imaginative ability to see him transfer his work as a star player and stellar career into success at college level? When people like you hire candidates ole ty of great candidates probably get dismissed early for your own failings as an evaluator.
Please give me a reason to care about your opinion. So far you’ve simply created a username on a Michigan blog and posted a question that has been answered.
In the meantime please wring your hands and mumble to yourself in the corner about why nobody listens to you.
I don’t like feeding trolls, but I’m a bit tired of this mantra. We complain because other programs get “lucky” with unproven hires. We complain because proven coaches don’t get it done in Michigan’s unique culture... etc. I don’t know if Juwan is the answer, but with this opinion of 1201 we will never be “Leaders and Best”. Leaders take risks and stick to what is right even when the going gets tough.
Juwan has shown himself to be a leader, recruiter, to be wise and to stay above the fray when others around you are pushing the rules. If Juwan is ready to coach, that is for others to decide, but when it comes to leadership capacity and experience he seems like the right type. W/L is virtually a complete and total crap shoot and we all know it.
You're such a disingenuous asshole. You have certainly read many times, on this here site, the reasons that Juwan is being considered. None of them have fuck all to do with being a member of the Fab Five. None. Yet you persist with your stupid fucking schtick that you cling to again and again. You're fucking tiresome, annoying, and a cancer on this blog. You don't want "discussion", or for anyone to actually answer the nitwit questions you pose. You just want to spout your bile, as you did about Beilein for years.
You finally got what you have been asking for, now go away.
This whole exchange is an indictment on this site for not figuring out a way to ban people permanently. You poison every conversation possible. You are 100% the worst poster this board has ever seen. I loathe you.
timmmaay,
i have just about had it with you being so timid.
xm
My song for Maizen
listened to the start. seems apropo. good choice.
Yikes imagine getting this upset over some dude in the comments section of a sports blog. You poor little cupcake.
I don’t care about the hate you get for multi aliases but this is a terrible take.
Your realize people are sick of your crap opinions. You haven't given Warde a chance, constantly blasting any rumor you see. If your opinions actually mattered why aren't you the AD at UofM? In my opinion you suck at life.
Conversely, you could say that Howard, being a hot commodity in the nba, probably wouldn’t consider many college jobs beyond this one.
Is Michigan a legit top 10 program? Clearly elite coaches aren’t dying to coach here.
It’s much easier to win when your players can rape without consiquneces, and don’t need to take classes. That will never be Michigan.
Michigan is probably a top 20ish job? Maybe top 30ish? We have a pretty good history and a general expectation that things should be done relatively cleanly which means 5* recruits aren't just going to be lining up at the front door. It's not Michigan football
Michigan job is now open. It is one of the most desirable in all of basketball. Rare combination of being capable of winning a national title (proximity to talent, resources) with reasonable fan expectations and moderate pressure (due to focus on football). UofM should get a star
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) May 13, 2019
Michigan is a GREAT basketball job. And Beilein found success there in the one and done era. I don’t care if your favorite coach just signed an extension. If Michigan calls, he will, at a minimum, listen.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) May 13, 2019
Warde was asked about whether he views Michigan as a top-10 job. He does. The rest of his answer is interesting, too pic.twitter.com/6tvlEAEZ2Y
— Orion Sang (@orion_sang) May 13, 2019
And the college coaching carousel just got going again. Michigan is clearly one of the best jobs in the Big Ten. Will be interesting to see who they target
— Brian Snow (@BSnow247) May 13, 2019
Yet people think Smart, who has sucked ass at Texas, is a leading candidate for the super desirable Michigan job?
You posts clears up a lot. Cognitive dissonance explains your negative response to everything.
Obviously Dan Wetsel is unfamiliar with your prior work, Maizen.
Top 30ish? Cmon.
Basketball is a bit of a different animal though when 2-3 kids can change a season and jump start a program. It’s much tougher to change the fortunes of a football program.
Such a stupid question. Is UCLA a top 10 program? How about MSU? It is all about potential and the next coach. Can UM be a top 5 program? Sure. Can MSU become a top 30 program when Izzo retires? Sure. Even Duke could become a shitty program with the wrong hire.
Try to make sense. Michigan has a good recent run of success under coach B. That doesn’t make us a top 10 dream job - clearly, given the zero interest from top level college coaches.
How many top coaches applied for the UCLA job? When was the last time a top level coach switched to another program? Bill Self to Kansas?
^^this^^
go through all of the current top 20 programs and ask yourself where their current coach came from. maybe williams, calipari and self would be considered HR hires that switched programs. given the dozens of coaching changes each year, proven HR hires are a rarity.
Bill Self left Illinois after 3 years. Calipari went to UK from Memphis. Those weren't really lateral moves. Williams to UNC was a big time lateral move, but Roy went back to his alma mater.
It is rare for top level programs to poach each's coaches. UCLA tried. The only coach that would even talk to them was Calipari, undoubtedly just to get more from Kentucky.
Fuck off sparty
The only programs that you can say elite coaches would be dying to get to are Duke, UNC, Kansas, and Kentucky. Even those schools would run into issues being in this same position that Michigan is currently. Remember when Doherty was coaching at UNC?
Almost any of the best coaches would love to come to Michigan if they were looking for a new job, but why would any of them leave when they are already in a place where they are paid tons of cash and are winning? Michigan isn't going to offer anyone $12+ million to come coach here like some people would like, nor should they.
Completely agree. We are talking about human beings who have many reasons to either stay where they are or not. Coaches are not a product you can purchase of the shelf just because you want him or her. I imagine many people on this board have passed up job opportunities that could be perceived as better or even pay more.
I admit that I don’t know if Juwan will be a successful head coach somewhere. I don’t know if any of the other candidates would be successful if hired. I do know that Juwan was the glue of the Fab 5, always in the right position, always using fundamentals. I do know he knows the game and has displayed exceptional leadership on and off the court. I believe he can hire good people and recruit well. I hope for the right person for the program and would be happy with Juwan as the hire.
At the end of the day, everything will be OK.
Michigan is a very good program. We've made eight Final Fours since 1964. It's just hard to land an established coach.
Have you ever heard of Tom Izzo?
This. When Izzo was hired he was just an assistant coach with no head coaching experience. That seemed to work out pretty well for Sparty.
The main issue is that Izzo was an assistant for like 15 years before he got the job. He was groomed for the job.
I'm not sure Saddi or Yaklich really fit that, but I am definitely in support of it.
Never mind Juwan for just a few seconds.
In retrospect, Shaka's sole Final 4 run looks like lightning in a bottle rather than the start of a trend.
Porter Moser made it to the Final 4, too. Does that get him on the short list?
Brady Hoke had one great season at Ball State.
See?
I’m all for the idea that different programs are right for different coaches. Rich Rod probably could have kept it up at West Virginia. Some coaches are right for some programs and wrong for others.
That said, there are few programs as similar to Michigan than Texas. If Smart is relatively mediocre there, he’d likely be that at Michigan. To pay his buy out and accept low ceiling doesn’t make a ton of sense
That's what I don't get either. Smart at Texas is what Smart would be at Michigan - barely above .500. He's got a world of resources, local talent, strong academics, a city people want to be in. There's no reason to think he'd be better at Michigan.
He's also had horrible luck with the injury bug. We saw firsthand how that affected Beilein when Caris and Walton were hurt.
You mean the timeframe that you wanted him fired for?
That’ll leave a mark. Well, it would leave a mark if he actually cared what anybody else thought.
Link to me saying I wanted him fired?
That's what I fucking thought.
Yeah and people like you wanted to fire him then too
Shaka got VCU to the tourney every year after that Final Four, twice winning a game.
Don't compare him to Porter Moser.
He's not anything close to a slam dunk...he's not Porter Moser either.
Sure getting to the Final 4 was lightning on a bottle, it's fucking VCU! Shaka's resume is actually better than Beilein when he took over...
The difference is the program is in a MUCH higher place than when Beilein took over.