On May 30, 2019, the former 

Fab Five team member, NBA All-
Star, two-time NBA champion and 
veteran NBA assistant teared up 
in front of reporters, family and 
friends as he was announced as the 
17th head coach of the Michigan 
men’s basketball team.

His raw emotion revealed the 

magnitude of the situation. Juwan 
Howard joined a small group of 
Black coaches in college basketball, 
becoming one of 14 Black head 
coaches in basketball’s six major 
conferences, as of 2019, and the only 
Black head coach in the Big Ten. 

The lack of Black representation 

in leadership roles in college 
basketball is especially striking in a 
sport where the majority of players 
are Black — 53.6% of all men’s DI 
players. 

“I am the only Black head coach 

in the Big Ten, which I’m very 
proud of,” Howard told The Daily. 
“I don’t understand why there isn’t 
more but … I’m just gonna try and 
do the best job I possibly can for the 
University of Michigan to help spear 
our student-athletes to become 
successful within basketball, but 
more importantly successful in life.”

It was his desire to do more than 

just win but also to make an impact 
on his players and the community 
that appealed to athletic director 
Warde Manuel — one of 12 Black 
athletic directors in the Power 5 
Conferences. 

“I just thought he was a genuine 

person,” Manuel said on the ‘In 
the Trenches’ podcast in 2019. 
“Just a down-to-earth, very smart 
(person). (He) had really educated 
himself about the college game. He 
knew about me. … What struck me 
was how genuine and how humble 
he was as a person. He didn’t 
walk in wearing either one of his 
championship rings.”

Critics hinged on Howard’s 

lack of experience as a head coach, 
but that did not matter to Manuel. 
He just wanted the most capable 
candidate and the person who 

wanted the job the most. 

“If I’m going to take a risk with 

somebody,” Warde said during 
Howard’s 
introductory 
press 

conference last year, “I’m going to 
take that risk with Juwan Howard.”

Manuel’s confidence in Howard 

gave him the comfort to go ahead 
and do his job to the greatest ability 
he could. 

Looking back after the first year 

under Howard’s reign, the “gamble” 
paid off as the Wolverines finished 
with a 19-12 winning record and a 
top-15 recruiting class. 

However, there was another 

explanation for the controversy over 
Howard’s hire bubbling beneath the 
surface.

“(There’s) this perception out 

here when you are a Black coach 
(that) you’re not as qualified as 
some of the other coaches who are 
from a different race,” Howard said. 
“I think that’s so sad that folks have 
that narrow-minded and (are) so 
ignorant, in a way.”

The lack of Black leaders in sports 

— like basketball, where a majority 
of the actual athletes are Black — 
proves that discrimination still 
plays a huge part in hiring decisions. 

In an idealized world, that 

representation 
among 
players 

would translate to coaching staffs. 
Players, logic should dictate, have 
the requisite eye and experience 
to truly understand the game. 
However, as is well-documented, 
that is not the case. 

In the NFL, for example, a 

majority of players are Black, but in 
the past three years, only two of 19 
open head coaching positions have 
been filled by Black coaches. Many 
of the new hires were first time head 
coaches, jumping straight from 
coordinator roles or other assistant 
roles or even making their first NFL 
appearances coming straight from 
the college-level. 

Candidates hired with a lack of 

experience is odd considering the 
wealth of potential Black candidates 
with plenty of experience. Consider 
Kansas 
City 
Chiefs 
offensive 

coordinator Eric Bieniemy — who 
has over 20 years of experience 
in the NFL as a player and a coach 
— coming off one of the greatest 
offensive seasons in NFL history 
and a Super Bowl win. Bieniemy, 
like many others, was overlooked. 
It’s hard to say if race is a main 
reason in these decisions, but it’s 
hard to deny that it plays a role. 

Returning to the hiring of Juwan 

Howard, it becomes more complex 
considering he was pitched as a 
candidate with a lack of experience 
and received a lot more criticism 
than some of those white NFL head 
coaches. 

“Why not me?” Howard said. 

“Why, how (am) I not considered 
to be qualified for a position like 
this? Especially someone who (has) 
loads of experience as a player, 
played the game of basketball since 
he was six years old, played on the 
professional level for 19 years, and 
also coached on the NBA level for 
six years. … I have also played here 
at the University of Michigan and 
played three years and been very 
successful all three years, been to 
the championship game two years 
in a row, been to the Final Four two 
years in a row. I am very qualified.”

Someone with the resume of 

Howard’s should be on the top of 
the list when it comes to a head 
coaching role. He is someone who 
has played with and been around 
some basketball’s greatest minds 
and players: LeBron James, Pat 
Riley, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, 
Dirk Nowitzki, Jeff Van Gundy, 
Tracy McGrady and Doc Rivers. 

Despite 
all 
Howard 
has 

accomplished, doubt still circled 
around his hire and still does, 
even in the face of the success he 
accomplished last year. 

“As a Black skin, some folks think 

that you’re not qualified enough,” 
Howard said. “I think that’s the 
ignorance that we have to ignore 
and continue to keep driving and 
doing whatever to be the best 
person of ourselves no matter what 
people may say or think.”

These opinion-driven stigmas 

about Black leaders serve as a brutal 
reminder of how much more work 
needs to be done for the fight against 
racial injustice. And as protests and 
marches over the past few months 
have shown, that change is being 
fought for right now.

Howard 
understands 
the 

gravity of this moment and will 
continue to support his players and 
the messaging that he believes in.

“Listening in has been great,” 

Howard said. “To know that 
where we are as a country, we have 
a lot of work to do, but knowing 
the fact that our future is in great 
hands 
with 
student-athletes 

that are fighting to help promote 
change. There are great ideas that 

are being said out there that I truly 
support.”

That ability to relate to the 

struggles some of his players face 
in this country is what makes it 
so vital to have more diversity in 
leadership roles. 

Howard described a situation 

where a player of his heard some 
deeply upsetting comments. While 
he wouldn’t share specifics out of 
respect for his player’s “respect 
and privacy,” it was a situation 
where many head coaches could 
have felt overwhelmed.

Not Howard.
Howard and other Black head 

coaches are able to fathom some 
of that adversity because they have 
personally experienced it. Not 
to mention more diverse leaders 
also bring fresh perspectives and 
different viewpoints. 

“It’s important for me,” Howard 

said, “that knowing that I am a 
public, national figure, that when 
people hear me speak, especially 
the young ones who can identify 
and look just like me, to be inspired 
by someone like myself, ... (to show) 
if I did it, they could do it too.”

For becoming a leader to be 

a tangible goal, people need to 
see others in those roles that 
look like themselves. In this way, 
Howard serves as a role model for 
hundreds of thousands of young 
Black individuals. He knows that 
he has to set a good example and 
encourage them to chase their 
dream no matter what people tell 
them, especially in a job where he 
represents a small minority.

The lack of Black representation 

in leadership roles, specifically 
coaching, is one that will not be 
solved overnight. But, Howard 
says, 
the 
magnitude 
of 
this 

problem can’t serve as a deterrent. 
Change needs to happen, whether 
it’s by implementing affirmative 
action rules like the Rooney Rule 
in the NFL or simply giving others 
a chance. 

As Howard has shown, there 

are many capable individuals out 
there. And sometimes, that chance 
is all they need.

Wolverines making progress physically 

and mentally as practice start looms

While 
its 
season 
is 
not 

scheduled to begin until Nov. 25, 
the Michigan men’s basketball 
team has been hard at work for 
months.

Official practices won’t begin 

until Oct. 14, but teams have 
been permitted to work out 
together. 

“It’s been great to get guys 

back into the gym,” Michigan 
coach Juwan Howard said. 
“They’re looking forward to the 
opportunity of getting better.”

After having the rug pulled 

out 
from 
underneath 
them 

just moments before their first 
Big 
Ten 
Tournament 
game 

against Rutgers, the Wolverines 
have been anxious to have an 
opportunity to make some noise 
in the postseason. Assistant 
coach Phil Martelli admitted 
that the uncertainty over this 
season 
prevented 
the 
team 

from fully locking into summer 
workouts, but the NCAA’s mid-
September 
announcement 

confirming a season would be 
played has flipped a switch. 

“There’s a vibe, there’s an 

excitement (now), about having 
a chance to pursue a Big Ten 
championship,” Martelli said. 

According to Martelli, the 

improvements made by the team 

in workouts have been evident. 
He remarked that senior guard 
Adrien Nuñez has become a more 
physical and confident presence 
on the court, and senior guard 
Eli Brooks has significantly 
improved his basketball IQ. 
Martelli also added that senior 
forward Isaiah Livers has been a 
stabilizing presence for the team 
as it prepares for the season, 
both due to his ability to mentor 
younger players and perform 
well himself on the floor during 
team scrimmages.

While they may not be big 

names, 
Martelli 
made 
sure 

to mention that Howard has 
routinely taken a chance to 
break down plays and game 
film with his walk-ons, often 
going into the same amount of 
time and detail with them as he 
does with the team’s scholarship 
players. 

“I told him that’s why he’s 

gonna be great at this (job),” 
Martelli said. “His care and 
concern for each individual, 
person first, player second, is 
why I’m convinced he’s a star.”

Howard’s 
attention 
to 

walk-ons is reflective of his 
commitment to caring for his 
players. During quarantine, he 
kept in touch with the team over 
Zoom to check in on the well-
being of his players on a weekly 
basis. Howard and Martelli also 
coordinated with strength coach 

Jon Sanderson to help curate 
workout plans for the players to 
do while in quarantine.

Martelli 
stressed, 
though, 

that until they were cleared to 
workout in June, almost every 
conversation between coaches 
and their players focused on 
mental health, believing that it 
was their utmost priority during 
an unprecedented time.

“Everything 
during 
the 

pandemic was centered on their 
mental and physical well-being,” 
Martelli said. “It just wasn’t the 
time to talk basketball.”

With the season’s tipoff just 

over one month away, Martelli 
looks forward to having a 
chance to put the team’s hard 
work and mental preparation on 
display on the court. While he 
felt that the adjustment period 
during and after the pandemic 
was a difficult one, Martelli says 
that he couldn’t be more excited 
to work with Howard, both 
the coach and the person, for a 
second season.

“It was different being home 

for four months,” Martelli said. 
“But the energy in recruiting 
and the energy of teaching on 
the floor is laser vision for me in 
that I wanna be by his side when 
he coaches on a Monday night 
in April. No one is destined to 
do that, but if someone has the 
ability to do it, I know for sure 
that I’m in the right place.”

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily

The Wolverines celebrate after scoring a crucial basket against the Michigan State Spartans last season.

‘Why not me?’: For Juwan Howard, lack of Black coaches is personal

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard is one of just 14 Black head coaches in college basketball’s six major conferences.

BRANDON TRACHTENBERG

Daily Sports Writer

John Beilein is back at home in Ann Arbor

John Beilein’s press conferences 

last January in Cleveland were 
tense, a little gruff, almost defensive. 
The NBA had not been kind to him, 
and it showed. 

That is not the John Beilein who 

spoke with The Daily on Tuesday 
afternoon, back in Michigan, where 
he became a beloved figure from 
2007-2019.

The John Beilein of Tuesday 

afternoon is relaxed. Happy. His 
excitement is measurable as he 
talks about getting to play tennis 
for the first time in seventeen years, 
gleefully adding that his golf game 
has improved like you wouldn’t 
believe. He talks about getting to 
spend time with his grandkids, his 
smile practically audible through 
the phone.

John Beilein has come home to 

Ann Arbor, and it has made a world 
of difference. 

***
If 
there’s 
one 
thing 
that 

retirement 
has 
taught 
the 

winningest men’s basketball coach 
in school history, it’s how to teach a 
dog some new tricks.

I don’t say old dog, because 

Beilein and his wife Kathleen have 
recently adopted a puppy. In his 
spare time, Beilein’s been reading up 
on dog training strategies — by my 
estimate, the puppy will be barking 
at pick-and-rolls by Thanksgiving.

But Beilein has picked up some 

new tricks, too. He’s teaching a class 
at Michigan this semester, and, as a 
result of the coronavirus pandemic, 
it’s all online. So Beilein has learned 
how to use Zoom, with some 
help from his graduate student 
instructor. 

But even with the technology 

challenges, Beilein, who hasn’t 
taught since he was a high school 
coach in 1978, is thrilled to get back 
in the classroom.

“I’ve loved it,” he said. “I have a 

whole new respect for the faculty, 
and all the preparation that you 
have to do, and how hard it is to do 
a Zoom class of 66 students as well. 
But I’ve loved every minute of it. 
Teaching leadership, coaching, it’s 
really empowering.”

It’s a natural next step for Beilein. 

He gave a graduation address to the 
School of Education in 2019, and 
when Dean Elizabeth Moje asked 
him if he’d ever be interested in 
teaching, the answer was absolutely 
— as soon as he was done coaching. 
When things didn’t work out in 
Cleveland, Beilein called Moje, and 
in a few months’ time, he found 
himself the lead instructor of EDUC 
240.

His coaching days may be over, 

but Beilein is hoping to have as 
much impact on his students as he 
once did on his players. In his spare 
time, he’s reading everything he 
can find on how to be an effective 
leader (never mind the dozens of 
basketball players who’ll tell you in 
a heartbeat that he already is one). 

It’s clearly prescient — the course 

is titled “Coaching as Leading” — 

but it doesn’t even begin to scratch 
the surface of things Beilein wants 
to learn about with all his newfound 
time. When he’s asked what he’s 
most excited about, he pauses for 
several seconds trying to decide.

“I’m a lifetime learner,” Beilein 

says. “That will never stop. There’s 
all kinds of things. Knowledge is 
powerful. And I’m always looking 
for new ways to learn more about 
the world and how it works.”

But 
his 
excitement 
about 

learning doesn’t stop at the end of 
his lengthy reading list. Beilein is 
learning as much from the class as 
his students are, he says.

“Well, the Zoom thing is new,” he 

laughs. “But we’re reading all types 
of resources that we’re getting more 
information from, and the speakers 
that we’ve had come in — you’re 
always learning from them.”

***
It speaks volumes of Juwan 

Howard’s success in his first season 
as the Wolverines’ head coach that 
when Beilein left Cleveland, there 
was barely any talk — and none of it 
serious — of Beilein returning to his 
old role. 

It’s a good thing, too, because 

Beilein recognizes it as much as the 
rest of us: Michigan is done with the 
Beilein era. It’s Howard’s program 
now.

“I just have a lot of respect for 

Juwan and the team,” Beilein said. 
“I don’t want to do anything that 
would be a distraction.”

But that doesn’t mean Beilein 

doesn’t 
care 
about 
Michigan 

basketball 
anymore. 
COVID-19 

restrictions have prevented him 
from attending any practices with 

the team as of yet, but provided 
he’s not stepping on anybody’s toes, 
Beilein is more than ready to get 
back to work in Crisler Center.

“If and when — I’m going to do 

it whenever I can possibly do it,” 
Beilein said. 

He’s smiling through the phone 

again. Beilein clearly still cares 
deeply about Michigan basketball. 
It’s what made Ann Arbor home.

Even when he was the head 

coach in Cleveland, that was always 
the case. And eventually, no matter 
what the NBA brought, he was 
always going to come back someday.

“We never sold our house in 

Ann Arbor — we didn’t even try 
to,” Beilein said. “We were going to 
sell it in the spring, but when things 
didn’t work out in Cleveland, it was 
easy… We call Ann Arbor home. We 
have for thirteen years.”

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 — 17

FILE PHOTO/Daily

John Beilein has found an enjoyable new life in his return to Ann Arbor.

