Nine months into his tenure at Michigan, Juwan Howard's impact is stretching well beyond just what goes on between the lines on the hardwood.

Howard’s hiring as U-M’s head basketball coach was a homecoming. The 19-year NBA veteran and iconic former U-M player came back to the place where he made two historic national title game runs, as a part of the famed ‘Fab Five.’ In addition to what he did on the court, as a two-time All-American, Howard was entrenched in the U-M culture and community as much as any student athlete could be.

He’s spoken numerous times about how his identity, for much of his life after college, has been closely tied to his experience at U-M. In ESPN’s 30 For 30 documentary on the Fab Five, Howard was interviewed during the tail end of his playing days with the Miami Heat, where he won two NBA championships.

“I’m playing with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh,” Howard said in 2011. “People don’t say, ‘Hey, that’s Juwan Howard from the Miami Heat.’ They say, ‘Hey, that’s Juwan Howard from the Michigan Fab Five.’”