That’s how much we believed.
What we eventually came to learn was that when Mitch
Albom authored “Fab Five” in 1993, Brian
Dutcher played a HUGE ROLE in getting the “key” player in that group to
Michigan. Dutcher realized that if he
could get the first domino to fall, the rest would follow. And Dutcher knew exactly who that was:
Juwan
Howard
Juwan was the key as he was the most mature and Dutcher knew
that Juwan would assist in recruiting the rest of the Fab 5. Dutcher paid more attention to him than any
of the other 4. He ate at Juwan’s
Grandma’s house. Had fried greens for
the first time. When Juwan came to
Michigan’s Hoops Camp, Dutcher made sure Jimmy King attended Michigan’s Camp at
the same time and made them roommates. Dutcher knew that Howard was the most
important piece.
And Guess what? Juwan signed first. If you don’t remember or need to recall, read
the first couple of chapters for free on Amazon…
.
And right after Juwan signed, Jimmy King followed. And Ray Jackson soon followed after that. However, it wasn’t until those three worked on Webber and Rose for a couple of months that those two decided to come along and make Michigan history as one of the greatest recruiting classes to ever go to one university. Granted, Rose’s coach ended up on the bench at Michigan, also, sort of securing the Rose commitment. But at the time, there was nothing illegal about that.
But before I get to far ahead of myself and why I think
Juwan would be the “Fit” Michigan is looking for: A Defining Moment: On
the same day that Howard had signed his LOI, Juwan’s grandmother died
unexpectedly and both Dutcher and Fisher showed up to her funeral a few days
later. Howard realized at that
moment that Michigan was more than just a school or a university…
Michigan
is Family.
So, if you’re asking me what I think about Juwan Howard, I’ll
say this: I don’t know if he can be a head
coach. I don’t have a clue (same as
everyone else) as to whether or not he can recruit. I know he came “THIS CLOSE” to winning a
National Title in College. I
know he won an NBA Title with the Miami Heat and LeBron James. And I know he was on the NBA All Star team
several times and has interviewed for several NBA head coaching positions. But he has either turned them down or they’ve
turned him down for whatever reasons.
Jalen
Rose seems to agree with me. And wouldn’t it be great to see Rose as an assistant
at Michigan? I think so!!!
At the same time, do you go with a guy with absolutely no
head coaching experience but a lot of love for his alma mater? Decisions like this can only really be
summarized and judged in the sometimes long aftermath that follows this type of
decision. Nobody had a clue as to whether
or not a deeply devoted Jesuit coach from WVU would be any good at
Michigan. Bill Martin decided he WOULD
be good for Michigan and would get Michigan back on the map.
Looking back, it was probably one of Bill Martin’s Greatest
Decisions in all of his tenure as Michigan’s AD. But we
needed time and perspective to get to this point. But not ever decision Bill made paid off like
this one.
Because Sailboat Bill also hired Rich Rod. From WVU.
And that looked like a better hire, at the time, then
Beilein. And I’m pretty sure we all know exactly how
that worked out.
Bottom Line: Warde
Manuel might be making a good or a bad decision with whomever he hires. We simply won’t know until there’s time
behind the decision as to whether or not it was good or bad. And that’s all there is to it.
Make the best decision you can, support the individual and
keep things moving.
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