Fab-ulous News For Michigan, Howard Staying Put

Fab-fiver Juwan Howard won’t be leaving Ann Arbor anytime soon. The University of Michigan’s AP Coach of the Year is not interested in leaving his alma mater for an NBA gig. Several NBA teams with head coaching vacancies were reportedly interested in Howard. And there was some thought that he may want to return to the pro game, where he spent six seasons as a Heat assistant before taking over as Michigan’s head coach in 2019.

Adrian Wojnarowski quickly fanned the flames on a potential Howard departure from UM.

Sources: Michigan’s Juwan Howard continues to tell NBA teams he's not interested in even a discussion on leaving Ann Arbor. Teams are also calling to gather intel on Memphis coach Penny Hardaway's work. He's going to get offers to interview for openings in this NBA job cycle.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2021

Michigan must be breathing a sigh of relief. Howard’s been a big success since returning to the maize and blue. The Wolverines won 19 games in his first season and followed that with 23 wins and elite eight appearance in 2021. His incoming recruiting class has Fab Five Vibes, consistently being ranked as the top one or two class in the nation.

Following their season-ending loss to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, Howard discussed the upcoming 2021 season with 247 Sports: “Our goal is to be better next year. We understand they are going to be, you know — some guys moving on because they are seniors. We are going to truly miss them. Whoever is returning, we are going to welcome. Newcomers that we are going to do our best to develop, which we pride ourselves on player development and growing guys in our culture. Our goal is to be prepared for next year, and this summer we are going to work extremely hard in preparing our guys, and then also in the fall so we can play for next season.”

Prior to the 2019 season Howard signed a five-year deal to coach the Wolverines. If his third year in Ann Arbor is anything like his first two seasons, he can expect NBA teams to come calling again next summer.