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Thursday, July 25, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Howard moving at a fast pace, acclimating to the new job

On Monday, Michigan coach 
Juwan Howard sat at the front of 
four rectangular tables, pieced 
together to form a square. He 
invited Michigan basketball beat 
writers from around the area for 
lunch, his first interaction with 
media since his introductory 
press conference a month ago, 
hoping to break the ice well 
ahead of the season. Taking only 
a couple bites from his sandwich 
the 
entire 
time, 
he 
fielded 
questions, slightly reserved at 
first but opening up about his 
kids, favorite sports, and first 
impressions. 
Some 
questions 
he struggled to address during 
his introduction came back into 
light, and this time, he gave more 
concrete answers. 
After 
giving 
a 
somewhat 
ambiguous answer regarding his 
recruiting philosophy in May, 
claiming that he had no strategy 
planned out then, Howard has 
made a splash in the recruiting 
scene — of his nine offers thus 
far, seven have been to five-star 
recruits. And for the most part, 
they haven’t stepped foot onto 
campus yet, a stark contrast from 
John Beilein, who never offered 
players until they visited Ann 
Arbor.
But with no head coaching 
experience and little to show 
on tape as a result, Howard is 
keeping his sales pitch close to 
the vest. 
“I don’t wanna give everybody 
out there our style of play,” 
Howard said. “You guys have a 
job to do and one thing I say is 
going to go running. And I have 
a lot of competition out there 
and I got a lot of competition 
that’s basically saying, ‘Hey, this 
guy has never coached before’ 
or ‘This is their style so do you 
wanna go there?’ I’d rather bring 
them to campus, show them the 
film, and maybe see a practice or 
workout, and then we’ll go from 
there.”
His name and pedigree as a 
player and assistant coach with 
the Miami Heat have gotten the 
Wolverines in the doors with 
recruits 
Beilein 
might 
have 
never even considered.

His greatest selling point? 
Family.
Howard 
often 
described 
his teammates from his Fab 
Five times as his brothers. 
Overwhelmed by emotion at 
his 
introduction, 
reminiscing 
over 
his 
days 
as 
an 
athlete, 
he 
emphasized 
bringing 
that 
same 
love 
and 
brotherhood 
back to Michigan 
basketball.
He’s 
already 
showing 
his 
commitment 
to 
the 
concept 
of 
family with his 
incoming freshmen, guard Franz 
Wagner and wing Cole Bajema.
Wagner 
committed 
to 
Michigan earlier in July without 
ever 
having 
met 
Howard. 
Representing 
Germany 
in 
the FIBA Under-18 European 
Championship, 
he’s 
been 
missing 
team 
workouts. 
But 
this weekend, Howard is finally 
getting a chance to meet his 
coveted freshman.

“(I’ve met him) via Facetime,” 
Howard said. “Flying there to go 
watch him play on the 27th. So 
I’ll be there the 27th, 28th, 29th 
to watch him in person just to let 
him know that family is coming 
to support him. Because we’re 
family, he’s a part 
of my family.”
Not 
only 
is 
he 
traveling 
to 
Greece to watch 
Wagner but the 
team’s 
workouts 
this 
summer 
are 
centered 
around Bajema’s 
schedule, 
who’s 
currently 
part 
of 
the 
Summer 
Bridge 
Scholars 
Program 
at 
Michigan, which allows him 
to enroll in and complete three 
classes for credit before the fall 
of his freshman year. 
“I do not want Cole to be 
isolated, where we workout in 
the morning and then Cole is 
busy with the Bridge Program 
and he doesn’t get a chance to 
work out and interact with his 
teammates or coaches,” Howard 

said. “We could work him out 
individually and the players can 
have their own workout in the 
afternoon, but it’s unfair to an 
incoming freshman. 
“We’re 
talking 
about 
brotherhood, family and building 
a connection. I 
do it when Cole 
is available and 
we 
all 
can 
be 
participating.”
The 
veterans 
are 
starting 
to 
buy into Howard’s 
culture as well 
— an adjustment 
for players like 
Zavier 
Simpson, 
Isaiah 
Livers 
and Jon Teske who were very 
comfortable with the way Beilein 
operated. But just like the players 
are learning Howard, he is also 
learning them.
“(Simpson’s) 
been 
an 
extension of the coaching staff 
and why I say that is because 
his leadership, his work ethic is 
off the charts,” Howard said. “I 
do not know how the message 
delivered but I heard he was 

doing 
three-a-days 
which 
I 
respect to him. That shows that 
he’s committed, he wants to get 
better … So this summer, I had 
a meeting with him about ‘You 
have the best work ethic. You can 
work hard, but the key is to work 
smart. 
Three-a-
days is not what 
we’re looking for, 
it’s not good for 
your body.’
“You 
know, 
I looked at him 
and he gave me 
that look, thought 
he was about to 
chew 
my 
head 
off. But he’s been 
phenomenal, 
man. Wish I had him more than 
one year, he’s a coach’s dream.”
This is just the beginning 
for Howard, who continues to 
get acclimated to his new job 
while putting his methods up 
for trial-and-error as a first-year 
head coach. But for how much 
Howard has been doing in his 
first two months, he doesn’t just 
have a start. 
He’s hit the ground running.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has emphasized creating a culture of family and brotherhood among his team, early on in his tenure.

AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Summer Managing Sports Editor

Michigan coach Juwan Howard holds informal lunch with local beat writers at Crisler Center, talks 
recruiting, freshmen and building a family with current players amidst limited practice availability

I don’t wanna 
give everybody 
out there our 
style of play.

Because we’re 
family, he’s 
a part of my 
family.

