2019-2020 B1G Basketball Thread

[MaximumSam]

Sounds like they interviewed Ed Cooley but he's staying at Providence.  Seems obviously Juwan Howard now?  

[MichiFan87]

Well, that's a relief. Cooley's offenses are almost as bad as Amaker's. His best offensive teams weren't even close to Beilein's worst, despite having some future pros on those teams.

I'm not particularly enthused about any of Michigan's options, but at this point I'll accept Howard, Jordan, or Smart, especially if they keep Yaklich and find a similar offensive-minded assistant.

[ELA]

It sounds more and more like Juwan Howard heads the list. The biggest hurdle - aside from somehow retaining Yaklich, of course - may be that Juwan is one of four finalists for the Minnesota Timberwolves job. Ryan Saunders sounds like the front runner there, at least for now.

Timberwolves officially going with Flip's kid, so that takes Howard out of the running there.

[ELA]

Jordan Bohannon may miss the whole season following hip surgery

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a nice piece about Juwan's coaching habits and what he excels at (emphasizing precision and personability). It was written a month back when he Vegas's favorite to take over for Luke Walton as HC of the Lakers. Author goes as far as hoping he stays on as the successor to Spoelstra.

https://www.fivereasonssports.com/voices/heat-cant-afford-to-lose-juwan-howard-twice/

[MichiFan87]

All but official that Howard will be hired. Considering the realistic alternatives, he arguably has the most potential though also riskier. Hopefully he can decide on his assistants quickly and pursue whatever some of the decent graduate transfers that are still out there (I believe Cumberland from Oakland is still undecided).

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm excited for that. He's a super funny guy. Will be a treat to follow more closely. But yeah, the definition of high variance for risk/reward. Honestly though, absent the Stevens and Donovan tier, this was close to my best case scenario. Still pending the official announcement and the status of one Yaklich, of course.

[Hawkinole]

Hawkeye senior Jordan Bohanan is having hip labrum surgery in 5/2019. (My understanding is not everyone recovers to full duty from this type of injury). Most prolific Hawkeye 3-point shooter in program hx. Recovery time is 5-10 months. Not certain he can play in 2019-20. May redshirt.

[FearlessF]

that Dude can shoot with one hip

just get him the ball

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like it's done. Not a Donovan/Prohm home run. Not a train wreck. And as a fast ascender in Miami with the charisma of a natural recruiter, there's potential that he could be great. I'm happy.


https://twitter.com/aaronkaplann/status/1131260723982684160

[CatsbyAZ]

“Here’s what I said it’s simple you can’t hand the keys to a job that you told me was a top ten job in this country and at a minimum as a top 20 job in this country you can’t turn the keys over to someone who’s never coached a game in their life! Never coached a college and never coached a pro game and when Eric Spoelstra was suspended Juwan Howard did not coach for that team. The second-in-command in Miami did. Juwan Howard has never recruited. Juwan Howard has never fundraiser, has never been the CEO of a college program. John Beilein was objectively one of the top 10 to 15 best coaches in college basketball. You’re going from that to this and the only defense you have is but, but, but he played here. Nobody cares. This absolutely to me is a dud of a hire.”

Mike Valenti 97.1 The Ticket


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iBKdP9eeGWk

[Anonymous Coward]

(...) It's late May.

In a cycle where, during peak hiring season, freaking UCLA was passed over by countless worse candidates. If Howard can keep Yaklich (a crown jewel still in play), then Warde accomplished his realistic best case scenario in terms of the speed of the search, kicking the tires on Donovan and not getting stuck with someone who is known to be mediocre. With some gusto, I disagree with the argument that favors hiring a guy that's low variance mediocre over a high variance guy.

Put another way: In May these were the three tiers available:

Unrealistic NBA home runs.
High variance unknowns.
Low variance mediocres.

When the top lane closes, you pick the middle every day if you know what's good for you.

[MaximumSam]

Would Howard want Yaklich? These types of "defensive coordinators" are fairly rare in basketball, and Howard seems like a defensive oriented coach himself.

[Hawkeye0111]

In much less prominent B1G hires today, Iowa hired Billy Taylor from his position as head coach at Division II Belmont Abbey College for the open assistant job.  He has prior experience as the head coach at Lehigh (with NCAA tournament appearance) and at Ball State, as well as being the video coordinator at Iowa for several years under McCaffery. 

All three Iowa assistant coaches now have prior head coaching experience at lower levels with at least once conference championship.  The amount of experience on the staff is at least interesting.