Juwan Howard has been an NBA assistant coach since 2013 after a playing career that spanned nearly 20 years. After six years as an assistant with the Miami Heat, Howard has moved on to become Michigan’s next head coach. Howard signed a five-year deal on Wednesday to replace John Beilein after his wildly successful 12 years in Ann Arbor.
Howard, a former member of Michigan’s famed Fab Five was apart of two national runner-ups in his three years at Michigan. He along with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson made up the Fab Five during those first two years at school. Years later many of the games the Fab Five played in were vacated after violations surfaced in regards to money received. These violations and the consequences that followed led to a rift between members of the group with Chris Webber not communicating with the others in recent years.
"It squashes any drama or any beef. Because we're not going to bring that to Ann Arbor's campus with Juwan Howard as our head coach."
—@JalenRose pic.twitter.com/qswW9cSQT8
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 23, 2019
Howard has yet to coach in the college game and will need to learn the ins and outs of recruiting. Watching for the staff he puts together will be key in terms of helping out the beginning of his tenure. Replacing such a wildly successful coach like John Beilein will be no easy task especially for a coach that has yet to sit in the head position. The team itself lost three of its best players and scorers in Charles Matthews, Jordan Poole, and Iggy Brazdeikis. Watching whether the school can bring back top-50 recruit Jalen Wilson who de-committed following Beilein’s departure will be something else to watch. Wilson was the school’s only top 50 recruit in the 2019 class.
