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After putting together one of the more impressive seasons in Michigan basketball history, the Associated Press recognized the program’s success and named head coach Juwan Howard as National Coach of the Year.
AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) April 1, 2021
Congrats to Juwan Howard for being named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year!
First U-M coach to be selected in 36 years (1985) & first in B1G since 16 years (2005)!
Release | https://t.co/XjgMgKlYim#GoBlue 〽️ #ForCompetitorsOnly pic.twitter.com/j0y9d6dk8H
During this season, Michigan went 23-5 overall and won the Big Ten regular season title outright. The Wolverines narrowly fell short of the Final Four against UCLA earlier this week, but still made the Elite Eight after beating LSU and Florida State. The team also scored marquee wins over teams like Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.
Howard made some real history with this win, becoming just the second person to earn All-American honors as a player and win the National Coach of the Year award. Obviously, it’s a rare and remarkable achievement, and one that Howard should enjoy for years to come.
We’ll see how the rest of Howard’s tenure in Ann Arbor turns out, but things are certainly looking great after two seasons at the helm. And Michigan should enter next year with high expectations yet again after landing a loaded 2021 recruiting class.