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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.