It was announced today that Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Juwan Howard had been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award, which is given annually to, well, the nation's best college basketball coach.
Howard's inclusion comes as no surprise, with his Wolverines having won the Big Ten regular-season championship last night with a 69-50 beatdown of Michigan State. U-M improved its overall record to 19-2 with the win and 14-2 in Big Ten play.
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The list of 10 will be narrowed down to four finalists in mid-March, before the winner is revealed during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch April 4. The accolade was first presented in 1987 (Indiana's Bob Knight took home the inaugural award) and no Michigan coach has ever won it.
What's most impressive about the success Howard has had at his alma mater is how quickly it has come. This year is just his second season as a head coach, with no coach in Michigan history ever having won more games through his first two years on the job than Howard (38, and counting).
The list of nine other semifinalists contains plenty of familiar names in the sport, but also a few youngsters, like Howard, in the profession. At 48 years old, the Michigan head man is the third youngest coach on the list below, behind only Drake's Darian DeVries (45) and Alabama's Nate Oats (46).
• Darian DeVries (Drake) … 45 years old … 24-3 overall, 15-3 in Missouri Valley play
• Scott Drew (Baylor) … 50 years old … 20-1 overall, 12-1 in Big 12 play
• Mark Few (Gonzaga) … 58 years old … 24-0 overall, 15-0 in West Coast Conference play
• Leonard Hamilton (Florida State) … 72 years old … 15-4 overall, 11-3 in ACC play
• Chris Holtmann (Ohio State) … 49 years old … 18-7 overall, 12-7 in Big Ten play
• Juwan Howard (Michigan) … 48 years old … 19-2 overall, 14-2 in Big Ten play
• Bob Huggins (West Virginia) … 67 years old … 18-7 overall, 11-5 in Big 12 play
• Porter Moser (Loyola-Chicago) … 52 years old … 21-4 overall, 16-2 in Missouri Valley play
• Eric Musselman (Arkansas) … 56 years old … 20-5 overall, 12-4 in SEC play
• Nate Oats (Alabama) … 46 years old … 20-6 overall, 15-2 in SEC play
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