It’s easy to type up a laundry list of things that went wrong during Juwan Howard’s tenure as the Michigan men’s basketball team’s head coach — I would know, I wrote about it just two weeks ago. Over the past two seasons, things have gone downhill in a hurry for the program he was tasked with leading in 2019, a regression that led to his firing on Friday.
The move was warranted. The Wolverines haven’t been good enough, and it was time to find a new leader. Whether it be a historically bad 8-24 season or a third-party probe into the program’s culture, the writing was on the wall and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel read it. There will be new names on the reserved parking spots outside Crisler Center and a new face of the program. That’s how it goes in this business.
But Juwan Howard’s Michigan legacy extends far beyond the rocky past two seasons of his head coaching tenure. It even extends far beyond his five full years as head coach which includes — dare I say it — an Elite Eight appearance, a Sweet 16 appearance, a Big Ten Championship and AP Coach of the Year Honors. It extends to his days in the Fab Five, when he helped cement Michigan men’s basketball into national prominence.
As much as Howard should be remembered for how everything fell apart, he shouldn’t be defined by it. Fans called for his job all season and they got their wishes on Friday. He was the program’s figurehead, so it makes sense that he became a pariah for this season’s shit show.
But it’s over now. The season’s over and his tenure’s over, so it’s time to stop villainizing Juwan Howard. He’s moving on from this role, and so should you. Claim he ruined the program if you want. Watch YouTube highlights of your favorite John Beilein teams if you please. But you can’t claim he ruined anything if you don’t acknowledge what he had a hand in building, too.
Because the Fab Five is Michigan men’s basketball’s most storied attribute, and as quick as some are to forget about it, Howard was indeed part of that. The Fab Five is Michigan’s contribution to a crowded men’s college basketball history potluck. Michigan State brings Tom Izzo. Duke and North Carolina bring their storied rivalry, one-of-a-kind venues and longtime coaching legends who just recently passed the torch to beloved alums. UCLA brings John Wooden and a nation-leading 11 National Championships. Indiana brings its iconic Assembly Hall, roots from the state of basketball and Bob Knight controversies. And Michigan brings the Fab Five.
Not John Beilein, bless his heart. Not Trey Burke, as fun as he was to watch. And definitely not Crisler Center, that place is bland and lifeless. The Fab Five is Michigan men’s basketball.
The other four members of the Fab Five are considered Michigan legends for being part of it, as imperfect as they were. Maybe having an extra timeout would leave them in even higher standing. Regardless, they’re looked at as bright lights of the Wolverines’ storied athletics history. Juwan Howard shouldn’t be erased from that.
He shouldn’t have his legacy punished by trying to give even more to Michigan. The other four Fab Five members haven’t come back to work in Ann Arbor, leaving their Michigan legacies intact from afar. Howard came back to the Wolverines after a successful run as an NBA player and coach, trying to give even more to Michigan — and for a time, he did. The Wolverines kept winning, at one point only a shot away from the Final Four.
But then he gave less glamorous moments to his alma mater, too. He struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, he struggled to build rosters, he let Michigan slip to last place in the Big Ten. All of it, both the good and the bad from his head coaching tenure, came after he got the job in the first place because he is such an iconic Michigan figure. He tried to build more. At times he did, oftentimes he didn’t. Both can go hand in hand — you don’t need to pick one or the other when putting a label on Howard’s legacy.
“Michigan will always be a significant part of my legacy and I will always be a significant part of theirs,” Howard said in a statement posted by the team’s X account Sunday. “Michigan Man Forever. Go Blue!”
It sounds like no hard feelings from Howard, and that should be reciprocated by Michigan and its fans. As mad as anyone wants to be at Howard for what he did as a coach, they’ll have to realize that in the scope of his Michigan career from the 90s until now, he’s given the Wolverines far more than he’s taken away.
Go ahead, add his coaching tenure to his legacy. There’s no need for the shortcomings that cost Howard his job to be swept under the rug. They’re part of his story, but they aren’t the whole thing, and they shouldn’t overshadow everything else he’s done at Michigan. Because Juwan Howard is still one of Michigan athletics’ prime exports. He tried to coach, but it didn’t work out in the end. His career with the Wolverines still did. It launched his NBA career that so many top recruits were so enamored by when committing to Michigan, and it launched the program into contender status.
So don’t treat him like an ex-coach who shouldn’t show his face again in this city. Because he’s not just any ex-coach. He’s Juwan Howard. If he so chooses to come back and visit the birthplace of the Fab Five, welcome him back with open arms. Show him love. Cheer for him when he’s on the screen of the Big House. You can do that while recognizing the coaching thing didn’t work out. You can have both.
Because Juwan Howard was fired from his post as head men’s basketball coach, and rightly so. But he shouldn’t be fired from his positive standing in Michigan history.