The Michigan basketball program is in want of a brand new head coach, after Juwan Howard was relieved of his duties Friday by athletic director Warde Manuel.
Michigan went 87-72 in 5 years underneath Howard and he led the Wolverines to a 2021 Large Ten championship after which Elite Eight earlier than he was named AP Coach of the Yr, however after that it was a gentle decline. U-M made the Candy 16 as an 11-seed the next season, however Howard missed 5 video games serving a suspension for smacking Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft within the face.
Final yr, Michigan missed the event for the second time in additional than a decade regardless of having an All-American and two top-15 NBA draft picks on the roster earlier than the wheels fully fell off this season.
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Michigan (8-24, 3-17 Large Ten) misplaced essentially the most video games in program historical past, completed within the Large Ten basement for the primary time since 1966-67 and did not win a sport away from Crisler Middle for the ultimate three months of the yr.
Now, it will likely be as much as another person to wash up the mess. Here is an inventory of candidates who might be on Manuel’s record to try to reverse that course.
Nate Oats, Alabama
Circle, star, underline and daring this one. It actually feels prefer it’s received to be the primary name, primarily for his Midwest roots and native ties to southeast Michigan. Born and raised in Whitewater Wisconsin, he received his begin as an assistant at Maranatha Baptist, then at his hometown Wisconsin-Whitewater.
From there, Oats moved to a city simply west of Detroit, the place he took a job as an algebra trainer and highschool basketball coach at Romulus Excessive, and stayed for greater than 10 years from 2002-13 and completed on prime as Division I state champion.
After being named 2013 Free Press boys basketball coach of the yr, he turned an assistant at Buffalo underneath Bobby Hurley, then took over the Bulls’ program for 5 years, the place he led Buffalo to a few MAC convention championships and three NCAA event appearances. In 2018, his 13-seed Buffalo hammered 4-seed Arizona, 89-68.
He is been at Alabama since 2019 and has emerged as one of many prime coaches within the SEC, having led the Crimson Tide to a few consecutive NCAA event appearances and two journeys to the second weekend. Nevertheless, information broke late Friday that Alabama is ready to provide Oats a elevate that locations him among the many prime 5 coaches within the nation.
Oats is 209-95 (96-43 at Buffalo, 113-52 at Alabama) in his profession.
ANALYSIS:Michigan had no alternative however to let Juwan Howard go. Now comes the more durable half.
Dusty Could, Florida Atlantic
He is already emerged as one of many prime names on Ohio State’s wishlist, per reviews out of Columbus, so it would not be a shock within the least if the U-M brass gave a name to kick the tires on a younger, up-and-coming coach with Midwest ties.
Could, 47, was born in Illinois and went to varsity at Indiana, the place he was a supervisor for the late, legendary coach Bobby Knight from 1996-2000. Nevertheless, the Hoosiers elected to maintain Mike Woodson for no less than yet another season, so the query stays if Could tries to attend out a job at his alma mater or strike whereas the iron is scorching and bounce from FAU to a giant title, power-five job.
Could’s most notable tie to Michigan is when he was an assistant up the road at Japanese Michigan (2005-06), the primary of 5 separate stops as an assistant as he spent practically 15 years climbing the teaching ranks from Murray State and UAB (he labored underneath former coach of Detroit Mercy, Mike Davis), to Louisiana Tech and Florida earlier than he took over the job with the Owls in 2018.
Could is 125-67 at FAU and actually put himself on the map final season when FAU went 35-3 en path to the varsity’s first Remaining 4 in program historical past.
Brian Dutcher, San Diego State
On the opposite finish of his teaching profession arc, Brian Dutcher, one other acquainted face round Ann Arbor who’s gone on to have quite a lot of success elsewhere.
Despite the fact that he has sturdy ties to Michigan’s program − he was an assistant for 9 years underneath Steve Fisher starting within the 1989 championship season and thru the Fab 5 days till 1998 − this is not so simple as saying it is a no-brainer for a coach going from a mid-major job to one of many 10 to twenty most excessive profile in America.
For starters, San Diego State was within the nationwide championship final season, which earned him a brand new 5-year contract. Nevertheless, it is reported to be $2.3 million per yr, which U-M might double if it wished to. Additionally, he is 64, which is on the later aspect when making an attempt to revive a program, however not remarkable.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt, he is a confirmed winner. Dutcher was an 18-year assistant at SDSU earlier than he took over for Fisher in 2017. He’ll make it 5 NCAA event appearances in seven years with the Aztecs when their title known as on Choice Sunday.
WHO’S BACK:Juwan Howard is gone. What about Michigan basketball’s roster?
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
Here is one other scorching title within the teaching cycle.
He is climbed the ranks the old school manner, profitable a number of Summit League championships with South Dakota State, then taking up a job with some cache at UNLV earlier than lastly touchdown a Energy 5 gig in Ames. He did one of many nation’s extra outstanding teaching jobs in 2022, when he took a two-win Iowa State group from the yr earlier than and led them to a Candy 16 look, nevertheless, his 2-4 NCAA event file represents three different one-and-done exits.
Iowa State, which must be at worst a 4-seed this March, is hoping to make one other deep event run.
A Milwaukee native, there are some Midwest roots, however they’re notably not as sturdy as a number of the different candidates, nevertheless as a confirmed recruiter at simply 46 years outdated, there’s loads of upside in a younger rent so long as these across the athletic division permit him the required time to construct issues in his picture.
John Beilein
Snigger all you need, nevertheless it’s value a telephone name, proper? Simply to see if that itch is left or if there’s any likelihood he has one thing like a three-year run in him to maybe function a springboard for this system to get again to the place, nicely, he left it.
At the very least make him say no.
John Beilein might have a statue in Ann Arbor for what he did for the Wolverines. He took over a program in 2008 that hadn’t gone to the NCAA event in a decade and he made it an expectation. After a 10-22 season in his first yr, Beilien solely completed under .500 (15-17) as soon as in his tenure in Ann Arbor.
After that season, U-M made the massive dance in eight of the following 9 years, which included two journeys to the nationwide championship sport, an Elite Eight and two Candy 16s. Michigan basketball received two Large Ten titles (2012, 2014) and two Large Ten event titles (2017, 2018), which helped Beilein get inducted into the 2022 Faculty Basketball Corridor of Fame.
At 71, and already having endured coronary heart surgical procedure, Beilein seemingly would not be lengthy for the place. Nevertheless, Michigan basketball has by no means been near as secure and revered because the decade-plus underneath Beilein, which is precisely what this system is making an attempt to emulate.
So, why not begin with him?
Beilein could not have been a head coach since leaving the Cavaliers in 2020, however he hasn’t been away from the sport that entire time. The Detroit Pistons employed him because the senior adviser of participant improvement, a task he served from 2021-23, working carefully on taking pictures strategies with gamers. He has labored as a studio analyst for the Large Ten Community this season.