Bill Frieder.
Steve Fisher.
Tommy Amaker.
Juwan Howard?
Michigan has no shortage of history on the hardwood. Few programs have won multiple NIT titles, especially in the modern era, and even fewer have vacated one of those titles (though it did happen three times in a seven-year stretch in which the NCAA was particularly petty about teams gaining glory in tournaments not named for the oppressive body). And as is so often is with historic programs, the coaches who brought them glory remain beloved legends long after they’ve either been fired or left the university on bad terms to coach at Arizona State. Walk the streets of Ann Arbor today. Look a local in the eye. Say, “Steve Fisher?” Wait for the tears of nostalgia to fall.
But enough about the past. We’re here to talk about the present. And the present state of things is that in Juwan Howard’s first year at Michigan, he’s got the Wolverines peeking around the corner at the NIT.
Of course, Michigan’s bid is a long shot. They damaged themselves significantly by beating Gonzaga in the Bahamas. But Iowa State and North Carolina turned out to be fine wins, the Wolverines have no regulation victories since New Year’s, and the team is just half a game out of 13th in the Big Ten race. It’s been, to say the least, a remarkable job by Howard in his debut campaign, and the fact we’re even talking about Michigan at this point speaks volumes about his innate talent.
More likely than not, Michigan will keep the status quo intact. They’ll beat Nebraska, split with Rutgers and Ohio State, grab a couple more wins over Northwestern and Indiana, and let everyone forget about them as they wind their way into another NIT miss.
But what if they don’t? What if Howard has bigger plans? What if Michigan’s about to lose to Nebraska tonight?
We all know how emotional Pinnacle Bank Arena can get, having watched the Johnny Trueblood game in last year’s first round. We all know how Michigan’s yet to win on the road. We all know how Fred Hoiberg likes to start his tenure at schools by losing ten straight at one point in his first season, and how there are ten conference games remaining after Nebraska plays Michigan tonight, giving the Huskers room to win tonight, check off those losses, then beat Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament to enthuse the locals with talk of momentum and progress.
Again, it’s not particularly likely. Michigan will probably keep their feet out of the NIT pool. But if they don’t. If they lose tonight. Don’t be surprised if twenty years from now, when Juwan Howard’s coaching Loyola after the Bulls fire him because Gar Forman and John Paxson have finally stepped down, some dad pulls his son close, points, and whispers: “That guy won an NIT.”
