Juwan Howard may or may not be the head basketball coach at the University of Michigan by the end of March. He could easily be fired after one of the program’s worst seasons in recent history.
The Wolverines will have a difficult decision to make about their beloved member of the Fab Five. Does he deserve another year to try and figure things out or are the current struggles too much to move past?
Barring a miraculous undefeated run during the last nine games of the year, Michigan will finish below .500 for the first time since 2009/10. It will likely miss out on the postseason (not including the Big Ten tournament) for the first time in a decade.
The Wolverines have been on a steady decline since their Elite Eight appearance on the heels of a 23-5 record in 2020/21. They went 19-15 in 2021/22 en route to the Sweet Sixteen. They settled for an NIT bid after going 18-16 last season. They’re currently on pace to finish no better than 16-15 this season, though it is probable that they will endure at least three more losses between now and their final game of the regular season March 10. At least.
Juwan Howard doesn’t think it’s him.
Juwan Howard did not blame himself for the struggles after dropping a game to Rutgers at home by double digits on Saturday. He seemingly put fault back on the players for not buying in.
We have a great staff. We’ve done this before and had success while doing it. But the buy-in has to be reciprocated on the other end, as well. When you have the buy-in that you’re gonna do what we practice and apply it, it works.
— Juwan Howard
The 50-year-old head coach, who was named AP Coach of the Year in 2021, is valid in some of his claims. Michigan has had major success under his direction. It is fair to point to those wins.
One year there was Covid, but that team got healthy, they were gonna make the tournament. And how far, we really don’t know because the season stopped. The second year that team made it to what? The Elite Eight. Then the third year the team went to the Sweet Sixteen. This s— works. It does.
— Juwan Howard
However, that Elite Eight run was three seasons ago…
The Sweet Sixteen was followed-up by the NIT…
The Wolverines are currently last place in the Big Ten…
If Howard’s system works, he needs to prove it now. His job is on the line. Michigan needs to finish this current college basketball season very strong for any hope for future success to exist and that seems unlikely.