Former Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Praises Michigan Wolverines Head Coach Juwan Howard

The Michigan Wolverines are off to a flying start in the 2020/21 college basketball season. Their performances have simply been stunning, and the credit goes to the players as well as their head coach, Juwan Howard. Former Wolverines’ HC John Beilein praised Howard, his successor, for carrying an incredible attitude, both as a player and a coach. 

Beilein took over coaching duties at Michigan in 2007 and left the job in 2019. His career spanned more than a decade, and it earned him several accolades as well. Beilein then handed over his position to Juwan Howard, who took it coming off a coaching stint (assistant) with the Miami Heat. 

Michigan Wolverines HC Juwan Howard stands out with his incredible personality

Beilein, who spent a year coaching the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, recently joined the ‘Go Blue With Stu’ podcast, where he mentioned why he’s personally impressed with Juwan Howard. 

“He [Juwan Howard]  has no ego and if you watched him on the Miami Heat bench, he was at the backside of his career, and LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and everybody was winning championships. He was on the bench cheering everybody on as a player and that’s why he got heard at Miami,” Beilein mentioned. 

As John Beilein put it, Howard got very little playing time towards the end of his career. But it never threw his confidence away, and he was always a cheerful and motivating presence on the court.

“Truthfully, if you’re sort of malcontent when you’re playing at the end of your career, you don’t get to be the assistant coach with the Miami Heat, and that happened because of his attitude. It’s the same attitude right now,” Beilein further added. 

The Wolverines are thriving under Howard’s leadership

The Michigan Wolverines are unbeaten so far in the college basketball season, and they’re aiming for more. The team wants to go big in 2021, after finishing with a 19-12 record last season.

John Beilein put forth how Juwan Howard has assembled a team of coaching staff according to his preference, which has indeed worked out in his favor. 

The former Wolverines’ coach could not stop praising Howard’s “great attitude” and he also added how he’s keeping the team well connected during games. “If a team is playing connected, every practice must show that same connection. They must be emphasizing that in practice,” said Beilein. 

Michigan has got special talents on its roster, and they’ve already topped their conference. They finished as the runners-up in the championship game in 2018 under Beilein, but can they go all the way under Juwan Howard?