COLUMN: Family is more than blood for Juwan Howard at Michigan
To say that Juwan Howard only wants to stay at Michigan because he wants to coach his sons, Jace and Jett, is using the low-hanging fruit as the basis of your argument.
Sure, coaching your sons is any basketball dad's dream, but it's not the only dream that Howard has during his time in Ann Arbor. His dream is to win a national championship with the Wolverines, a dream that can't be achieved with just his two sons.
It takes a group to win championships. It takes a village.
That's why family is more than blood for Howard, it's about every member that puts in the work for him. The players, the assistants, the trainers, the academic side, it's everyone.
If you're for Michigan, you're family to Juwan Howard.
This is why there's so much more to the story when it comes to the latest reports of him turning down NBA overtures. This time, the Los Angeles Lakers came calling and, like so many other franchises, were turned away at the door.
The general argument is that Howard's preference is to stay in Ann Arbor to coach his sons. Sure, that's one reason, but that doesn't explain the whole story.
He wants to win championships in Ann Arbor. As a team, as one collective unit, and as a family. It takes every single player to put in a winning effort to become champions.
This is who he is doing it for. For every single player on his roster that puts on the Michigan uniform, not just for Jace and Jett.
Howard's wife said it best.
That's not to say that Howard's stay in Ann Arbor will be a permanent one. There will be a time when the NBA comes calling with an offer that he won't be able to refuse. Maybe that is when Jace and Jett have moved on.
For the immediate future, though, his focus is on every single player on the roster. Not just his son.
His love for Michigan is obvious, what he means to the program as a player and a coach doesn't need to be said.
A family goes beyond blood for Howard and he's paying it forward by being all-in to the Wolverines program.
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