Michigan has tabbed former Fab Five member and current Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard as its next basketball coach, signing him to a five-year deal.
The hire has drawn plenty of reaction from all over the college basketball world, with seemingly everyone chiming in to give their take on whether or not they think he'll be successful in Ann Arbor.
Though Howard has never been a head coach, there is a general consensus that he’ll be a dynamite recruiter, thanks to the reputation and persona he has created since his Fab Five days, along with his outgoing and charismatic personality.
Rivals.com national college basketball analyst Corey Evans gave his take on how he thinks Howard will recruit during his time at Michigan, discussing the qualities the new U-M head man possesses that high schoolers will instantly be drawn to.
“Juwan certainly has the name and the proper backing, evidenced by how [Los Angeles Lakers forward] LeBron James, [former NBA shooting guard] Dwayne Wade, [ESPN basketball analyst] Jalen Rose and [NBA color announcer] Chris Webber supported him publicly,” Evans began.
“Juwan certainly has some cache about him, but you just never know what you’re going to get with NBA guys in college, whether it be [Georgetown’s] Patrick Ewing, [former St. John’s head coach] Chris Mullin, [Memphis’] Penny Hardaway or [Denver Nuggets assistant coach] Mark Price [who coached the Charlotte 49ers in college].
“You see so many ups and downs — guys like Penny Hardaway and Patrick Ewing are killing it, while others haven’t done so well. I think Juwan will do well, because he understands the fabric of what Michigan basketball is about.
“As an NBA coach the past few years, he understands who these kids he’ll be recruiting are, and he’ll know about the process thanks to his two young sons.”
Evans noted that high school recruits nowadays want to play for coaches who have NBA experience on their resumes, and actually put more stock into that aspect than perhaps ever before.
“It’s an immense factor,” the analyst admitted. “As recently as 15 or 20 years ago, it was all about finding a school where recruits could go to win a National Title, because they’d likely be there for three or four years.
“Now it’s about finding a school that will get them ready for the NBA, and who better to do that than Juwan Howard?”
