Former Michigan head men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard is joining the Brooklyn Nets staff as an assistant coach for new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Howard was fired by the Wolverines after the 2023-24 season.
Prior to coaching at Michigan, his alma mater, Howard was an assistant with the Miami Heat, where he finished his long playing career. He spent six seasons as an assistant in Miami.
He eventually took the head coaching job for the Wolverines in a celebrated move and his tenure started successfully enough, before spinning out in recent years. Michigan and Howard parted ways officially on Mar. 15, 2024.
“After a comprehensive review of the program, I have decided that Juwan will not return as our men’s basketball coach,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel at the time. “Juwan is among the greatest Wolverines to ever be associated with our basketball program. I know how much it meant, to not only Juwan, but to all of us for him to return here to lead this program. Despite his love of his alma mater and the positive experience that our student-athletes had under his leadership, it was clear to me that the program was not living up to our expectations and not trending in the right direction. I am thankful for Juwan’s dedication, passion and commitment to U-M and for all that he, and his legacy, will continue to mean to Michigan.”
Howard started relatively strong during his tenure at Michigan, his alma mater, after getting hired to replace John Beilein ahead of the 2019-20 season. Michigan went 19-12 in Howard’s first year, which was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, in 2020-21, the Wolverines turned in the best season under Howard, a 23-5 campaign and run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament after earning a No. 1 seed. He was named the AP Coach of the Year that season. The Wolverines would return to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, making a run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed, sneaking in the tournament with a 19-15 record.
Things turned the last two seasons for Howard, as Michigan went 18-16 in 2022-23 and finished under .500 for the first time under him this season.
And for whatever success he had, Howard also flirted with career disaster when he and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard sparked a postgame altercation that resulted in Howard slapping a Badgers assistant in 2021. Howard wasn’t fired for the offense, but was suspended and effectively put on a shorter leash for such incidents.
He’s also been challenged by his health lately, undergoing open heart surgery prior to this most recent season. The recovery from the surgery kept Howard off the sidelines for games until December 2023.
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