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‘That should be a no brainer’: Jalen Rose talks about Michigan targeting Juwan Howard
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There are plenty of candidates who could fill the head coaching vacancy at Michigan and have a successful run, but former Fab Five member Jalen Rose thinks one guy is a no brainer.
Juwan Howard.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jay Williams tweeted that Howard would be an excellent fit at Michigan, having been a member of the Fab Five and spending the last six years as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Miami Heat. He would bring credibility, knowledge and experience to Ann Arbor.
Rose, a former teammate of Howard and a current ESPN analyst, believes Williams is onto something.
“Congratulations to John Beilein,” Rose said on ESPN’s Get Up!. “He did a terrific job of helping to put Michigan basketball back on the map. We know about the NCAA title appearances. We know about the Final Fours. The Big Ten, he won it a few times. I have nothing but admiration for what he did for my alma mater. However, we didn’t know he was leaving. We did not realize he was going to get a five-year contract. Now that there’s a vacant job in Ann Arbor, let’s do a blank canvas as to who should be the No. 1 candidate. To me, that should be a no brainer.
“There’s a guy named Juwan Howard that’s from Chicago. He’s going to be able to help recruit that market. All-American in high school, came to the University of Michigan and was a member of the Fab Five. He was the first person to sign their Letter of Intent. In theory, he also helped recruit each one of us. He was always the adult in the room amongst us.”
Beilein set a high standard at Michigan, winning 274 games, a pair of B1G regular season titles and back-t0-back B1G Tournament titles. He also led the Wolverines to two Final Four appearances. So Howard would have some big shoes to fill. But Rose still believes he’d be the right guy for the job.
“I think Juwan Howard is the guy to bring that back,” Rose said. “He is a terrific coach. He would be terrific at developing young talent. He would own the Michigan market.”
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB