The Associated Press announced this afternoon it had named Michigan Wolverines basketball coach Juwan Howard as its National Coach of the Year.
He is the first Wolverine head man to receive the AP honor since Bill Frieder in 1985, with Howard and Freider residing as the only two Michigan coaches who have ever took home the accolade.
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The honor represents even more hardware for Howard this season, who had already been given the USBWA (United States Basketball Writers Association) Henry Iba Award, along with The Athletic's and Sporting News' National Coach of the Year accolades as well.
The Big Ten also recognized the 48-year old as the conference's Coach of the Year by both the league's coaches and media last month, after he led his Maize and Blue squad to the program's 15th outright Big Ten regular-season championship in school history.
U-M finished the campaign with a 23-5 record and a 14-3 mark in Big Ten play, before grabbing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The No. 1 seed was the third for U-M in school history, with 1985 and 1993 standing as the other two.
While coaching in his first-ever NCAA Tournament, Howard led the Wolverines to their fourth consecutive Sweet Sixteen (an active streak that only Gonzaga can match), and eventually the Elite Eight.
Michigan's season came to an end, however, Tuesday night with a 51-49 loss to UCLA in the regional finals.
Howard's record of 42-17 during his first two years on the job has made him the winningest coach in school history through a coach's first two years, with Steve Fisher's 37 victories having stood as the previous record.
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