Really glad to be here among true UM fans. Was on another site for awhile (operated by On3) and people were incredibly rude and obnoxious to each other, and it took away from the fun of it. And the lead moderator was a total arrogant ass. Excited to be a member of Josh's site!

- Spent 17 years as an assistant at Creighton, first under Dana Altman and then Greg McDermott.

- Took over as head coach at Drake in 2018 and in 6 seasons has finished 1st, 2nd (4x) and 8th (his second season) in the MVC.

- Won the MVC conference tourney three times.

- Will make their 3rd NCAA tourney berth in the last 4 years; Drake has made the tourney 6x in its history - 1969-71, 2008, 2021, 2023-24.

- NCAA tourney first round win in 2021 was the program’s first in 50 years.

- Widely considered a master tactician.

- The first coach to lead Drake to consecutive 20-win seasons, including a program record 18-0 start two seasons ago.

Drake men’s hoops from 1972-2018:
1 20-win season
1 NCAA tourney appearance
1 conference tourney title

Since hiring DeVries in 2018:
6 20-win seasons
3 NCAA tourney appearances
2 conference tourney titles

How about Tom Crean?

He just always finds himself in situations like this and he NEVER misses. He's one of my favorites.

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couldn't be more wrong.

The problem goes way deeper than JH. NIL is a huge problem. Why is that a problem? Warde. He is passive and leads scared. He fired Juwan to save his job. That's the kind of leader he is.

Happy St Patrick's Day !

Thank you Steve Earle (American singer-songwriter) for writing the best Irish song ever.
my grand daughter ...
"her hair was black and her eyes were blue"
has been dancing with me to this song (Galway Girl) since she could walk.

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Music to Drink Green Beer to...
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msu is now down to the last two teams in. They got comically lucky to not play ohio state in the big ten tournament because they be in the nit.

Us beating Saint John's might cost them a bid.

I wonder if they set up an elf versus vampire game.

This goes out specifically to those who are suggesting that NIL is going to be an issue moving forward for basketball.

You have to raise NIL funds to get NIL funds and that was Juwan Howard’s biggest downfall.

I’m not over exaggerating when I say that Juwan Howard did close to nothing throughout his tenure to work for NIL funds. Collectives and other groups basically begged Juwan to be involved, to open up practices for donors and other things to help raise money and he didn’t do any of that.

People were out thousands of dollars in deposit fees over last-minute cancellations with NIL appearances. All which would benefit the basketball program.

It was only until it was too late that he started caring about NIL. Asking for money to bring help the program, to secure a NIL deal for someone like Olivier Nkamhoua who was going somewhere else until the ducks were in a row.

Granted, Howard had a plan moving forward but to sit there and blame NIL rubbed people the wrong way, especially those who begged him to get involved. There’s a reason his players weren’t doing any in-season signing events, either.

This Intel is not from the last year, it’s a collection over time.

So, for those who sit there and say NIL is an issue for the basketball program. No, it was a Juwan issue. You have to get someone who is willing to kiss a little ass to get funds, that’s the way it is. Money doesn’t fall into your lap, you have to work to get it.

I know this won’t convince the majority of those who speak ill of Michigan’s NIL dealings but just wait and see what Sherrone Moore and the next head coach can do.

Michigan scores early 1-0

Innocent enough rush with a long shot that left a rebound in the slot that Kieman Draper buried.

Did some digging around about the aftermath of this week and Michigan moving on from Juwan Howard.

Things seemed to take a turn during the week from a possibility of Howard staying to the momentum quickly shifting to Howard being let go around the midweek point.

Turns out, Manuel didn't waste any time meeting with Howard to discuss the direction the program was headed. I think the chances that Manuel wanted to keep Howard for another year were legitimate but things started to turn once the plan was laid out that wasn't deemed satisfactory.

Heading into the end of the season, Howard had come up with a plan to help fix NIL with basketball and, to most, it was a pretty good plan but no one was really sure how successful it would be knowing the state of the program is what it is right now. We are told that during the meeting, Howard made NIL his main point of fixing the problems and made it out to be the biggest issue that needed to be fixed.

That plan was not satisfactory as much larger issues loomed, with culture being one of the main ones.

It was there that Manuel decided to move on with a national search being done immediately.

---

Elsewhere, I am told that there's a "99.99%" chance that Beilein would not come back and get the job. It doesn't seem like there's much interest in coming out of retirement but the .01 was left open if there's an itch both Beilein and Manuel can scratch. I'm not going to consider him in this search moving forward unless things change.

I’ve been looking for the last hour. Asking for https links. Tried 4 websites but can’t figure it out. I know some will bust my balls about it but any quick help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Colston Loveland is already being called the best tight end in the country for 2024, but did we underrate him in 2023?
He leads a talented but inexperienced group fighting for reps behind him. Also, Michigan's not so secret weapon could take a leap.
🔗🔽

Joking. But OSU heads would explode and it would be hilarious.

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Very good news as that means that Michigan will not have to worry about OSU if they were to target Dusty May for example

For a minute there it looked like a great era was approaching one that would bridge - and serve to heal a bit - some hurt and regret from the Fab Five era.

It wasn't meant to be.

Personally I think Juwan had trouble handling his kids on his roster. Those of us who have coached our kids and or observed others do it, it is trying. I don't care what level you are at there's too much emotion there. Very few do it very well. I think this caused some chemistry issues that Juwan didn't have the capability to overcome. Once down, he dug in and isolated and the hole got deeper.

Some of this isolation showed in how far he got down the road of relying on recruits that were "never going to get in" here. Gotta be one with your village or you will be in trouble. Too much divide and isolation ultimately.

He's in my prayers - this has to hurt. Love the love that he gave us.

As for how we handled his firing, I couldn't be prouder of the institution. From keeping the focus of a potential firing with appropriate statements of "my thoughts are with how I can support Juwan" (or something to that effect), to the hiring of an independent assessor to round out the assesment, to the perfectly crafted statement, to the timing that of it. Less than 40 hours after the season ended, in the friday news dump window on Conference Championship weekend - which will minimize coverage and embarrasment for Juwan. All of it was the stuff of pros. Fast, efficient and empathetic.

For all the focus on the things we've done wrong, the "rights" are starting to add up. Don't get sucked into somebody's else's business model (at best, I won't even go to the worst) and drag down one of our own in the process.

Juwan was a bad hire that at one point looked ballsy and brilliant. They happen - was once told that when hiring you do all the research you can to get yourself to a 50% success rate. Inevitably about half won't work out. Since hearing that and looking across different industries and cases, I'm amazed and how much that tends to hold.

Bill Martin hired John Beilein and Rich Rodriguez.

Onward and upward, with some sadness but even more hope and pride in how we do business around here.

Thoughts? Swing for the fences...this is Michigan damn it!

2025s
DE Javeon Campbell
OT Darius Gray
LB Luke Metz
TE Marshall Pritchett
DE Jayden Woods

I know he’s on the list. Sounds like the reincarnation of John Belein. Can’t be all bad.

The Athletic — Iowa State operates with a militaristic clinicality. Play defense. Create turnovers. Take care of the ball. It’s a style embodied by Otzelberger, right down to his high-and-tight crew cut and form-fitting polos.

Maybe?

Been told money won’t be a problem bringing in the next hire.

I spent time as a manager in a D1 program and have seen first hand the turnover of a coaching staff. It’s easy to think about the head coach, but the true dark side to this business is the impact to the assistants and support staff.

This is a brutal business and can completely upend families and lives - it’s sometimes easy to forget that.

Most of these guys will land on their feet, as being an assistant at UM is the equivalent of “making it” in the assistant coach world. So they will be valuable commodities. The hard part, will be finding jobs that pay the same. And it’s almost a certainty that they will have to move out of state and completely rip their families from their lives.

Imagine being in a profession where you have to accept a job making half of what you used to. That’s what some of these guys are going to face. Imagine being Jay Smith, one of the all time great human beings (I know him somewhat personally) and having to decide between early retirement or moving his life away from his family to keep earning a paycheck. And likely not one at the same amount of money.

The support staff will almost assuredly be in a tough spot. Some will land another job. Most will have to take a step backwards and work for a mid-major. Others will struggle to find a solid paycheck they have adapted to and will be forced to find other professions altogether to make ends meet.

So, I understand the disdain for coaches that don’t perform. And it’s so easy to scream “fire him”. But knowing what the many people impacted by this will have to go through, makes me feel for them. Howard will be fine. He made millions. It’s only his ego that’s hurt.

But there are many people that are in a panic right now trying to figure out what’s next in their lives and careers, and don’t have the benefit of a deep bank account to rely on.

So, prayers to those folks and here’s to hoping everyone finds a soft landing.

A name I mentioned early on when Chip Kelly left UCLA was former top recruit, Kyle Ford.
Ford stayed at UCLA for the spring, and has graduated. Today he entered the portal as grad transfer.
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Michigan recruited Ford but did not receive an OV. He's from California and favored the west, ultimately committing to USC.

Ford's production has not met expectations, with only 40 receptions in 4 years at USC. He transferred to UCLA last season and had 22 receptions for 236 yards and 1 touchdown.
At 6'2" 220lbs is the exact type of receiver Michigan wants to add in the portal. His lower production may mean pass-happy teams won't be as interested, and even a rotational role at X receiver in Ann Arbor could yield results.

Michigan may not be in a hurry until the spring window opens up, but with grad transfers able to enter at any time, I think this is the kind of player we will see more of than anything else.

A quick list from Trevor

I like him as much or more than those I have seen offered here and elsewhere.