After receiving the stunning news that John Beilein was bolting for the NBA, Michigan should try and poach Billy Donovan back from the pro ranks to succeed him.
The best replacement for John Beilein at Michigan is a former college coach with a pair of NCAA championships on his resume who is perennially on the hot seat in the NBA. Billy Donovan should be the man for the Wolverines.
The Michigan Wolverines are still in shock after watching coach Beilein leave to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Beilein had done nothing but win at Michigan, guiding the school to four Big Ten titles, nine trips to the NCAA Tournament, and two appearances in the national title game so filling his shoes will be a tall order.
There are a number of candidates rumored to be potential fits for this vacancy, with former Wolverines’ star Juwan Howard the current favorite according to oddsmakers.
The one name that really jumps out on the list is Donovan, the Oklahoma City Thunder head coach, and a guy who the oddsmakers place as the second favorite to land the gig after Howard. Donovan has been an okay head coach with the Thunder since 2015, but he was a legendary college coach, building Florida into a powerhouse program that remains the last school to win consecutive national championships.
For a Michigan program that has been knocking on the door of a title for a few years now, Donovan would be the perfect hire for the school. Getting a coach to jump back to college from the NBA isn’t easy, but Donovan would have to be at least tempted since it might be easier for him to win again at Michigan than it is to get the Thunder through a Western Conference that features the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and rising squads like the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Adding a coach of Donovan’s caliber would help Michigan’s chances of convincing some of their talented players exploring the draft, like Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole, to consider returning to school. Michigan’s recruiting class is a bit light since the program has a lot of scholarships tied to returning players, but adding Donovan would bring some sincere legitimacy to the process.
At this point in the game, the most likely pick is probably Howard, which could be a good fit if Michigan wants to embrace a new era approach of hiring a former star to serve as the head coach. While it didn’t work out for Mullin at St. John’s, Penny Hardaway is off to a tremendous start at Memphis, securing an outstanding recruiting class in his second year at the helm.
It’s too early to say where Howard would fall on the Mullin to Hardaway scale, but it is far more likely he ends up with this job than it is to expect Donovan to bolt from a cushy NBA gig this late in the recruiting game.