Is Michigan in trouble?
A Michigan Man never sweats, but Juwan Howard faces more questions than answers
As an idea, Michigan—the state and its flagship university—has always stood alone.
What if we cut the state in half and put a hat on top of the mitten shape?
What if we created a breakfast food that also cured the urge to… take care of oneself?
What if we committed to running the football to a degree that makes Iowa blush?
What if MoTown but also Insane Clown Posse (not to mention Kid Rock)?
What if we redefined political corruption?
Whatever. You get the point. Michigan: Built Different, In All Ways.
Juwan Howard knows this. A member of the Fab Five, Howard helped bring renown to the program under Steve Fisher in the early 1990s and was tabbed to keep the program trending upward after John Beilein’s historic run, which included Final Four appearances the program actually got to keep!
It would be hard to classify Howard as having done a bad job to this point. He led the Wolverines to a Big 10 regular season title and appearances in the Elite Eight (2021) and Sweet 16 (2022) before scuffling to a second-round appearance—in the NIT—last season. But even in a down year, Howard can point to putting two Wolverines into the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft—son Jett (11th to the Magic) and Kobe Bufkin (15th to the Hawks)—as proof that whatever he’s doing in Ann Arbor is working.
Assuming he has good players. Which… is not a guarantee as 2023-24 looms on the horizon.