Juwan Howard is only in his second year at Michigan, but the awards and accolades are already piling up.

It was announced this week that Howard was voted National Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The writers give out the Henry Iba award annually. Howard is only the second Michigan coach to win the award. Howard will have to slide his Big 10 Coach of the Year award over a little bit to make room for this latest honor.

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I don't think anyone would dispute Howard's Coach of the Year credentials, especially now that he has lead Michigan deep into the tournament.

This might not be the end of the award train for Howard though, as he is one of the four finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year award. The winner of the prestigious Naismith award will be named on April 4th. Right now Howard is one of four finalists contending for the award.

I can't think of a better way for this to have unfolded for Howard at Michigan. When he was first hired, many people questioned if he was ready for such a big job. Howard had worked his way through the coaching ranks, but there were always detractors. I think Michigan fans were still a little leery about hiring a former star athlete after the way that Harbaugh's tenure has gone.

It was obvious from day one though that Howard's reign over Ann Arbor would be much different. In only his second season, Howard has lead Michigan into the Sweet 16, and is obviously considered one of the top college coaches in the country. With all that recognition comes the temptation to take the next big job. Howard made it very clear in the video below that he was going to be at Michigan for the long haul.

Howard will lead the Wolverines against Florida State on Sunday March 28th at 5pm on CBS.

 

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