Warde Manuel stepped to the podium after introducing Juwan Howard on Thursday waiting for a specific question. Thirsting for it, in fact. So much so that he seemed to go out of his way to provoke it.
Before the questions even began, Manuel said he read all the stories knocking the hire, the ones that called it "a risk" and "a gamble" and "all the things you all say about what could possibly happen." Howard, after all, has no head coaching experience and no college coaching experience of any kind.
No surprise that it was the first question Manuel got.
What was the biggest thing you had to get past? Obviously you know that Juwan wanted to be here. What did you have to get past to convince you that he could lead the program?
"I just had to sit and talk to him about his plan," Manuel said.
To Manuel, Howard's lack of head coaching experience is inconsequential. In their face-to-face meeting in Miami before Manuel made the offer -- Manuel joked that he positioned Howard with his back to the ocean lest he have second thoughts about leaving -- Michigan's athletic director came to feel that Howard was the right man for the job.
He extended a five-year contract shortly thereafter.
"Listen, I can't coach. We talked about that. I don't understand all the pick-and-rolls and the movements to the basket and everything (the players) learn every day on this court. What I do know is people," Manuel said. "And what I wanted to hear is what I heard: 'I care about them as people first. I want them to be great students and great athletes.' He's competitive. He wants to win because they want to win. He had a plan of what he would like his staff to look like. He's still working through that to solidify. He talked about his family, which is also important."
"We talked about a lot of different stuff, most of which didn't include the X's and O's on this court. I knew he knew it. I knew he had that particular piece in him, but I just wanted to hear from him and get to know each other as men, as people. Talking about how he envisions his head coach responsibilities and his plan. At the end of the day – and I half-joke about the gamble and the risk and what you all wrote – it wasn't something I thought of. In my mind, it wasn't a risk I'm taking. It was that I'm bringing in a great person and someone who will be a great head coach on day one here."
Manuel then referenced all the schools that have changed basketball coaches in the past two years, more than 100 of them, and how a good deal of those departing coaches arrived with a "great deal of experience." The question Howard must answer is whether he can become the rare head coach to find success with very little experience. History doesn't give him much of a shot.
One thing he will get, it's safe to say, is time.
"Let him evolve, let him develop into a head coach of his own. That's what I'm going to do," Manuel said. "Support him, answer questions, put people around him and let him evolve. All these things about, 'He hasn't coached a game' and, 'What's Warde doing?' and, 'Oh my God! He's taking a risk and a gamble' – I'm going to gamble with people who love this place the way he does. That gets emotional when he looks at his family and talks to those kids. I'm going to take that risk. I'm going to take that challenge. Put it on me. Let him evolve."
By now, Manuel was 3:30 minutes into his answer. He closed by echoing something Howard said earlier, that every head coach has to start somewhere.
"We all have a place to start. He started six years ago (with) two of the greatest minds in basketball in Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. He's played for some of the greatest coaches in NBA history. He played for Steve Fisher here, a national championship coach," Manuel said. "I know it's long-winded, but I was waiting for that question because, for me, I'll take it. But let him evolve. He will, in my opinion, evolve into a great head coach, because he's already a great man."
