There was some question about whether Juwan Howard was a good hire for Michigan. The Mayor had success at Iowa State but Chris Mullin was a bust at St. John’s. Patrick Ewing at Georgetown is still a work in progress. Clyde Drexler bombed years ago at Houston. The comparisons were unfair. Howard, like Ewing, had cut his teeth as an assistant for some time in the NBA. The legitimate concerns were recruiting and the different rules in college. Well, we can say early on, those concerns were for naught.
Howard has gotten Michigan involved with quite a few 5 star recruits and landed Isaiah Todd. He’s big game hunting and if the results on the court are any indication, he won’t have to sell his program very hard.
They rolled through Atlantis, beating three top-40 KenPom teams in Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga. They blew out UNC early in the 2nd half and held on. They smoked the Zags. That’s two potential Final 4 squads. Michigan had been without freshman Franz Wagner who is expected to be a major contributor until Atlantis.
Howard has changed the tempo, as the play faster than they did under John Beilein but they’re still 25th in offensive efficiency. They are 2nd in the nation in effective fg%, 10th in 3pt% and 4th in 2pt%. That looks like the team of the last decade. On defense, they remain as tough as they were the last few seasons when Luke Yaklich came aboard and turned them into one of the nations best defensive squads. They have the 12th best defensive efficiency in KenPom.
Caveats, of course, but I’d buy stock in Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball. They have a game at Louisville on Tuesday and get Oregon at home in two weeks. There will be stumbles but this is a good squad with a good future
