Adam Howard

[Huskerpapa]

Thought this deserved its own thread.

 

Gonzo.

 

Heading to N.C. State

 

Not sure if this is good, bad or otherwise.  Hey, we didn't earn a NCAA Tournament bid or a NCAA Tournament win with him.  Hopefully, Fred can find someone, who is the right fit, and has a magic elixir that takes us to basketball nirvana. 

 

Good luck Adam, and thank you for your service.

Edited March 24 by Huskerpapa

[hhcmatt]

What skillset are we looking for in a replacement? 

[B-town hoopsfan]

What was Howard’s exact roll as assistant here? 

[thrasher31]

  On 3/24/2025 at 9:42 PM, hhcmatt said:

What skillset are we looking for in a replacement? 

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Probably a guy with an offensive background with guards? Just spit balling. I believe Howard worked with guards last year

[GhostOfJoeMcCray]

  On 3/24/2025 at 9:42 PM, hhcmatt said:

What skillset are we looking for in a replacement? 

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I’d like one that has an All-American type son or transfer who will follow him anywhere.

[HB]

Not a good look to lose him to NC State.   

[The Polish Rifle]

Who ran Iowas offense under Fran? Their offense was always good and we have the inside track on Sandfort? Seems like a no brainer 

[hhcmatt]

  On 3/24/2025 at 10:09 PM, HB said:

Not a good look to lose him to NC State.   

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It never is when you lose someone but it's part of the game. I guess it boils down to what his role was here and who we replace him with. I've been wondering if we had the right mix most of the second half of the season because it sure seemed some of our problem was in the locker room.

[LNKtrnsplnt]

I swear he was brought in to be a defensive guy as was his specialty at his old stop. Could be misremembering though. Obviously Nate was our defensive guy.
 

Wouldn’t worry about the NC state thing. He’s from the south, so that makes sense.

 

Only notable thing about him is that I heard when he joined the staff and saw how things were operating he said that ‘y’all need to work harder’. And that was in reference to both players and coaches. 

[The Polish Rifle]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:11 PM, LNKtrnsplnt said:

I swear he was brought in to be a defensive guy as was his specialty at his old stop. Could be misremembering though. Obviously Nate was our defensive guy.
 

Wouldn’t worry about the NC state thing. He’s from the south, so that makes sense.

 

Only notable thing about him is that I heard when he joined the staff and saw how things were operating he said that ‘y’all need to work harder’. And that was in reference to both players and coaches. 

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Well that’s concerning 

[Vinny]

  On 3/24/2025 at 9:46 PM, B-town hoopsfan said:

What was Howard’s exact roll as assistant here? 

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He brought his defensive philosophy and apparently handed it off to Loenser this season. I was very confused this year when people were blaming Loenser for our failure to contain three point shooters since defense was the only thing I knew was Howard’s.

[thrasher31]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:21 PM, Vinny said:

He brought his defensive philosophy and apparently handed it off to Loenser this season. I was very confused this year when people were blaming Loenser for our failure to contain three point shooters since defense was the only thing I knew was Howard’s.

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I think the defense was handed off last season. They ran a very similar defense, if not the exact same, as last year. Maybe he helped more last year, but loesner has had the defense for more than this year

[cozrulz]

My first thought is look at Ben Johnson.

[thrasher31]

  On 3/25/2025 at 12:13 AM, cozrulz said:

My first thought is look at Ben Johnson.

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Mine was also, but he likely wants a HC gig, or will after a season or two. 

 

There's enough staff movement going on right now that they can find someone. 

[HB]

  On 3/24/2025 at 10:39 PM, hhcmatt said:

 

It never is when you lose someone but it's part of the game. I guess it boils down to what his role was here and who we replace him with. I've been wondering if we had the right mix most of the second half of the season because it sure seemed some of our problem was in the locker room.

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I think it was the talent level on the court. 

[doc1394]

  On 3/24/2025 at 9:42 PM, hhcmatt said:

What skillset are we looking for in a replacement? 

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Recruiter, recruiter, recruiter. 

[B-town hoopsfan]

  On 3/25/2025 at 1:54 AM, doc1394 said:

Recruiter, recruiter, recruiter. 

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Recruiters are dead, be better off finding someone who’s super familiar with D2 or the lower levels of D1 to get transfers 

[Huskerpapa]

Last year, Ernie almost left for a HC gig.  So I am going to speculate he is out looking around a bit as well.

 

One hope I have is the newbie has an in  on some quality talent.  We shall see.

 

Howard was indeed brought in for his defense scheme.  He apparently learned that defense from an earlier gig.  He also was a recruiter with emphasis on the southeast region.  That never planned out.

 

I know there is some angst about losing him; but not me.  I'm not sure timing is ever right; but with him, I do not see where we were a great team.  We may just find a hidden jewel.  Let's get better...let's find better talent.  Let's find someone who will get us to the next level.

Edited March 25 by Huskerpapa

[HB]

  On 3/24/2025 at 11:18 PM, The Polish Rifle said:

Well that’s concerning 

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It was fairly obvious at the time.   Of course, Mickey Joseph said the same thing when he arrived here to coach football.  He was right also. 

[basketballjones]

So this whole Howard thing has been confusing from the start. I too have heard that he rubbed people the wrong way when he got here because he was a bit taken back by, let's call it, the laid-back-ness of the program. I also know that the defense we began playing was the defense that he brought with him. I went rounds with somebody on here that he was more of the defensive coordinator because it was his system (which is correct), but it turned out I was definitely wrong and that NL was the "defensive coordinator." But it was clearly Howard's system (match-up zone, sideline-baseline, trap baseline, reverse x-outs on backside) he was running/learned at his last stop. Wonder if that caused some riffs. He's also an in-demand guy if he's going with a dude like Will Wade to NC State. But then again he stuck around for 3 seasons - so who knows. 

[Chuck Taylor]

Will Wade has a blank check at NCSt and immediately picked him up. That says a lot about Howard's abilities, no matter how things turned out here.

[hhcmatt]

Brice had some good things to say about Adam, specifically mention his ability to draw up offensive sets and ATOs

[royalfan]

His main role here was assisting Hoiberg with the offense.  Kind of surprising as it seemed like we brought him here to help with the defense l, if not coordinate the defense.  

[hhcmatt]

  On 3/26/2025 at 4:53 PM, royalfan said:

His main role here was assisting Hoiberg with the offense.  Kind of surprising as it seemed like we brought him here to help with the defense l, if not coordinate the defense.  

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It's seems likely that he had his hands in both and that Nate was implementing his stuff on defense. Sounds like he's going to be a tough guy to replace.

[royalfan]

I didn’t think Nate scheme looked much like Howard’s on defense at his previous stop.  I think the auto post doubles etc are Nate’s thing.  I could be wring though.  I did read yesterday somewhere that Howard primarily worked with the offense.  I personally don’t think the loss is a big deal.