Good podcast on UMHoops about the hiring of Howard. They echo my concerns about hiring assistants who understand the college game and have been part of successful teams (be it the current assistants at Michigan or elsewhere). It does appear that Yaklich is going to Texas, unfortunately.
Hopefully that'll be taken care of quickly, because Michigan has 3 open scholarships. It sounds like Jalen Wilson could recommit, though that's far from certain. Unless Franz Wagner will still consider Michigan, I'm not sure any of the other remaining uncommitted recruits are viable options. Hyland is still available, but supposedly he might not be on track to graduate this year due to missing time in the aftermath of the tragic housefire he went through last year. Likewise, Howard's cousin just committed to Washington, though apparently he hasn't officially signed.... Otherwise, they should go after the best graduate transfers that they can get. Jaevin Cumberland is still uncommitted, and there are a few other decent ones left if the barttorvik site is accurate.... Then focus on 2020 after finalizing next year's roster, where there will still be at least 2 openings to replace Simpson, Teske, and Davis (no way he gets or even wants a 5th year at Michigan after next season) + however many grad transfers are taken this year (fortunately 2020 recruit Zeb Jackson has already reaffirmed his commitment).
The bigger questions are how the team will play, especially on offense. For the most part I liked Beilein's style, which emphasized minimizing turnovers, good transition defense over offensive rebounding, having a high defensive rebounding percentage, playing with at least 4 decent shooters and/or drivers at all times, getting open shots/drives and avoiding fouls..... All else equal, I would like to see the team play at a somewhat higher tempo, be more effective in transition, try to draw more fouls, and even force more turnovers, but there are usually trade-offs to those approaches, as well..... Michigan has also generally played starters more heavily than most teams for better or worse.
It is encouraging to know that Miami apparently had one of the more modern offenses in the NBA, though supposedly it was executed inconsistently, and perhaps that was a personnel issue, since their roster includes a number of players who I don't recall being that skilled during their college years, with Duncan Robinson being one of their best shooters, but he wasn't getting major minutes, of course, due to his other shortcomings.
