First-year Michigan Wolverines basketball coach Juwan Howard had a lot to prove heading into his first year, but most agree he got off to a great start. U-M only finished 10-10 in conference play, but an injury to junior Isaiah Livers slowed the progress and still didn’t prevent what would have been a solid NCAA Tournament seed.
Assistant coach Saddi Washington, the lone holdover from former head coach John Beilein's staff, had a front row seat for Howard’s first season. From winning the Battle for Atlantis Tournament in November to big wins over Michigan State and others, Howard remained even keeled.
He’s as genuine as he appeared to be, Washington said recently.
“What you see is what you get, and that’s one thing I really appreciate about coach is just his consistency and his personality; who he is as a person,” Washington said. “It was great to be able to stay on and work for him this season, really watch him up close kind of go through this thing together.”
There was no panic when things started to go poorly in Big Ten play, Washington continued, a testament to his first-year boss.
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