Ben Howland

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Reports are he is on the verge of taking the Marquette job. The question is: should the Wolves be talking to him?

Howland is maligned by some, but the fact of the matter is he is a hard-nosed defensive coach who overachieved at Pittsburgh, getting to the Sweet Sixteen twice (I think) with teams that were not highly regarded. And he took UCLA to three consecutive final fours, and Izzo and Krzyzewski are the only active coaches who have done that.

The biggest knock on Howland is an odd one to me...it's commonly said that the players he coached always perform better in the pros. I guess the logic behind this knock is he must not be a very good coach if his players have to leave the program to show what they have. I see it differently. Howland insists on discipline and wants his players to play within a system, something that leads more to team success than individual glory. And yet most of his star players still loved him...look up some quotes from Kevin Love about him.

And that gets me to the most obvious reason to consider Howland. Love loves him. If hiring a defensive-minded college coach like Ben Howland was the one thing that would guarantee Love staying, wouldn't it be worth considering?

I'm not saying it would guarantee Love staying, but if you were Flip Saunders, wouldn't you be testing the waters on this one? Even if you don't think that Howland is the best coach for this team, in which scenario are we better...the right coach without Love, or Howland with Love?

In addition to his defensive coaching acumen and relationship with Love, the other reason to consider Howland is his relationship with Muhammad. I always felt it was very good when he was at UCLA. And Barreiro's interview with Howland just after the draft last summer was very telling to me. He positively gushed about Muhammad and was certain that Shabazz would be an NBA star. It would be nice to have a coach that believes in this offensively-gifted player.

And finally there's Mbah a Moute. Okay...I'm done :)

[AbeVigodaLive]

Sold the moment you mentioned Mbah a Moute. You do whatever you can to make him happy.

[Lipoli390]

I'm sold!! Seriously, excellent post. Definitely something to consider for all the reasons you mentioned, Long.

[thedoper]

If he is considering Marquette then Minneapolis should at least have a chance. I love the idea, maybe we can steal the Lakers logo back too and have California in the Midwest.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Howland didn't get the Marquette job, as they chose the Duke assistant coach instead. Despite Howland's unquestioned coaching success, I suspect his mercurial personality may make it difficult for many teams to pull the trigger on him...he is an odd guy. Maybe that's why he got along so well with Muhammad, who also seems a little odd. Because of his defensive reputation and relationship with Love, I hope Flip still has him on his radar.