Everything Juwan Howard said about Michigan's European trip to reporters

On what he wants to see from the European trip

We would love to see improvements where we try to gain with this team from where we were last year to where we're trying to go this upcoming season. I think it's great to have a chance to go to—not only use it as an educational trip, which, in my opinion, but some of the best education is also in travel. You go to a place like France, Greece, you get a chance to explore and learn a lot about the cultures. We also get an opportunity to play three games, which I feel is a wonderful opportunity for our guys to get a chance to measure where we are at this moment in time of our team. See what areas we can improve on as we look forward to this upcoming season.

On what he told the football team

That's a situation of brotherhood. A brotherhood where you have an amazing coach in Coach Harbaugh, his staff and all the hard work they put in this summer leading up to where they are now. Knowing that the main goal is a championship, that's what we all try to compete for and win. It's nice to see a great staff, the players bought into the staff, seeing that connection. I've always been one of those people who has been a big fan of football and a Michigan football fan.

On how he will treat exhibition games

Everyone will get a chance to play. That's what the beauty of this summer. We've been working hard. Guys have been putting in the time, whether it's on their own when we're not allowed to be together as a team or when we are together as a team, seeing whether it's in the weight room, getting stronger and faster. Whether it's hitting the gym and getting extra work on their offense. When they're with us, developing what is asked of them and what their roles will be. It's nice to see that this summer, all the different lineups we'll throw at, all the rotations and everyone getting a chance to play, I could see how this team could look like. Hopefully, as we come back from this three-game trip, you have September to get a little four-hour work in per week before we have our first practice.

On whether he knows anything about the teams Michigan is playing

I know the first that we play in France, I don't want to say the name and mispronounce it, but I will say this. I know they have four players that played in the NBA and I think that's great. It's great to get a chance to play against experienced guys that are professional men, which pretty much in college we faced last season in the collegiate level a lot of older men with the young team we had last year. I'm sure you guys know this by looking at our roster, we have a lot of younger guys on this year's team, too. Five incoming freshmen. I think that's why this summer is a very critical time for us to add to our culture. What our culture is is family being first, when you're away from your main family members that you have spent your lives with and get a chance to be with guys that you call your extended families, your brothers, for 10 days, I think this is the best buy-in you could ever get.

On how many players he can work with in the summer

Thank God we passed those COVID restrictions that we had before, last two years we were limited with how many guys we could have in the gym at one time. Now that we've progressed, I don't know what phase of COVID this is but now we can have our entire team on the court at one time. Unfortunately, we haven't had Youssef here but, I will tell you this, Youssef will be joining us very soon. Very soon.

On the freshmen

When we identify in recruiting, yes, we are looking at skillsets and how they present themselves from a skill-level standpoint. I also look at the character piece which is huge with me. Character extends as far academics as well as their family. I don't recruit the player, I recruit the families, too. Each of those guys was chosen and they have committed to buying into the culture. The culture has been explained to them before they step foot on campus. You have a choice. You bought in from the beginning, you signed up for this, now it's time to get uncomfortable.

On Youssef Khayat

Youssef is a very dynamic, bigger wing. I say bigger because he's about 6'9-ish, closer to 6'10. Very athletic, can shoot the ball from the outside, can stretch (the floor). Can play him at multiple positions because of his versatility. Did I say athletic? I'm excited about his athleticism so I'll say it again. He is also a high-IQ player, too, and I think that's very valuable to have a guy who—we didn't get a chance to watch him in person, the tape, and what I mean by tape is his games. I watch games, I don't just watch highlights because you could make a highlight tape, so can I. I watch the games. The games give me what type of player he really is. I started recruiting him when Caleb and Moussa decided to keep their name in the NBA Draft and knowing we would have two available scholarships right away. I identified that Youssef is our guy that fits. All hands on deck with recruiting him. We were behind, which was fine, that's how it goes sometimes in recruiting. You see a guy that can be a huge valuable part of this group, the team was all in.

On how ready he could be to play in college

We haven't had a practice yet but I will say this. What he presents with his skill level, which I just touched on earlier, we need him. We need him. It's that simple. It's a difference between need and want.

On anyone stepping up in a leadership role

The obvious is Mr. Hunter. He's stepped up and taken on more of that leadership role. That's leadership as far as being vocal and also leadership when it comes to how he goes about his work. That work involves with how he steps foot in this gym, he's dialed into getting better. He comes in, he works hard. He wants to add more to his game, prove that he's improved each year and each year he has added more to his game. That's what I've been so impressed with Hunter, first year as a freshman when he got his opportunity, he came in and delivered off the bench and proved he could play with his back to the basket. He got into the starting lineup and just took off from there. He got more comfortable and confident in himself, always had a basketball mind. Second year he came in wanting to stretch the floor out facing the bigs, showed that he could add outside shooting for the team. He put in the work in and was one of our guys who scored inside and outside. That extended all the way to three-point land. This year, stronger, leaner, quicker. Added more lateral quickness, and explosive jumping. High motor. Those are the things you have to admire and respect. As a teammate, when you see a guy that is getting himself more comfortable and he's doing it a level to help his team be a winning team, everyone else can follow suit. Doesn't mean you're doing the same thing but making sure they're doing their part but upping their game.

On Kobe Bufkin

I've seen a ton of growth in Kobe. Kobe knows there's been a ton of guys in our league, and I'm speaking of the Big Ten, that have made second-year jumps. We've also had a guy on our team that has made a huge second-year jump and that was Franz Wagner. Kobe looks at this as an opportunity for him and he knows that he's getting more of an opportunity to get more minutes. Not only just his offensive production but his defensive production. It's nice to see a young man that's not coach-driven. This is Kobe-driven. He's been in here in spring and summer. He could've been jet-setting all over the country like some guys would do. Have a workout guy in California, some guys have a workout guy in Florida. That's the new way. I'm not mocking it, it's just how it is. Kobe has spent a vast majority of his time here in the summer working out in our building with our strength coach, Jon Sanderson and his staff. Also, getting extra work in with our managers, Zavier Simpson, he's been in there with him. He's been in there with Franz Wagner. He's been, which I've always known, a gym rat. He does it when it makes sense. We can always come in to get work in. Kobe is like, I want to get better, I need to get better, I want to get stronger. The kid has put on extra pounds of muscle but the extra pounds of muscle where it's just fat. It's lean muscle where it won't prohibit him from being faster and athletic. It's athletic muscle that will be able to move and still knock you off your route. Being able to defend, a two-way player. That's his goal, to be a two-way player. That speaks for a lot of other guys, since we're talking about Kobe. Terrence Williams will have a bigger role. If you look at Terrence's freshmen year to where he is now, you're like, whoa, this kid has reinvented himself. Leaner, faster by the numbers. Shot 39%, which I rounded off, from three. He's going to be another guy who has a larger role. Look at Jace, Jace is Jace. Steady as they come. I've seen his midrange shot become a little more consistent instead of just laying it in and a guy that shoots spot-up threes. A guy that can be comfortable with the ball is in his hands and make good decisions with the ball. So many guys I can name off, just guys who were here last year. Will, Will Tschetter. Having a redshirt year with Isaiah Barnes. Two guys like Kobe, they stayed here for the spring and summer. They have made drastic jumps. The game has slowed down for them. They know the task, the offensive and defensive identity as far as how we play has really become comfortable to them. They have done very well. We're at practice 8 and a half because we're only allowed 10 practices before we take off for Europe. We have a few more left and we go again on Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.

On Frankie Collins' departure

It came as a surprise to me. It happened so fast. When Jaelin decided to commit, all of the sudden I looked up and Frankie was in the transfer portal. Wish Frankie all the best. Very, very thankful for Frankie for what he has done for this team last year. Came in, another young man that's been one of the hardest workers on the team. Never had to beg him to come to the gym, he did it on his own. Guys in the locker room enjoyed playing with him, enjoyed being around him. The staff enjoyed coaching him. Beautiful family. We're going to miss him. Whenever family decides to move on and they move all the way out West, it's like you have a brother or sister get married and move out West with their family, it hurts a little bit. I just want to see him be successful. I am going to be one of his biggest fans.

On whether Collins spoke to the coaches before entering the portal

I'm saying his name entered the portal right away.

On weighing the pros and cons of bringing in freshmen or transfer portal with open scholarship spots

I fit with my needs. I needed someone and Youssef was available. Youssef is going to be a freshman, too. Think about it, I have five freshmen next year. Looking forward to it.

On Joey Baker

It's going to be great for us, we need Joey. You'll see it this year with how he'll be used. Right now, it's too early. We don't have any rotations, we don't have starters.

On Joey Baker and Jaelin Llewellyn's leadership

They brought leadership. They brought leadership of—let's call it what it is. Eli Brooks. Eli Brooks was the stabilizer, I'm getting chills right now talking about him. Amazing guy to coach and also learn from. I say learn from because he has a high IQ. Knows the game, steady leadership with the years he's been here. Those three years, we're going to miss him. To have a guy like Jaelin or Joey step right in with the experience, guys have played, Joey being from Duke, a Power Five conference. Then, you have Jaelin, who's four years in and a starting guard at Princeton.They know a lot about college basketball and it's nice to have those type of guys out there on the floor with their skillsets, not only on the offensive and defensive ends, but also great locker room guys. That's so critical. I know from the experience of being a former player. When you have guys that enjoy being around one another and things get a little out of whack, guys know how to reel it back in, another coach out there on the floor. I don't have to micromanage anything. It's good to have two guys like that. They are one of us. That's how (snaps fingers) they have adjusted to this culture right away. We're going to need them.

On what he's spent his summer working on

Cycling, man. I was out there cycling, you didn't see that? That was my 1% better. I hadn't had a chance to take a vacation, I needed to reset. That was part of my reset. I'm not going to tell you anything else, that right there is enough. I'm always trying to get better. 1%, growth mindset. Fixed mindset, fellas, I would not survive in this league, I would not survive in college basketball if I had a fixed mindset. It's that simple. I don't want to be a part of that statistic.

On Jett Howard

He's coming along very well. With freshmen, there's so much thrown at you so fast. Different terminology. Speed of the game, strength. And then, this is something that only a few had to deal with. Many of the vast majority of college basketball players have never experienced this: Playing for your father. That is not an easy transition. Not making excuses for him but he embraced it. You see a young man—like yesterday, I'm leaving and I was the last one to leave at like 6:30 yesterday and we didn't have practice. The guys had a nice little hill session. Then, I heard a ball bounce. I was like, man, who is in there? I peek in and open the door because I can't watch them work out and it was Jett. Jett is in there getting extra shots up. He's a young man, his skillset, what he has, is what we need. We need him. He's a shooter, a playmaker, big wing playmaker. He's almost up to 6'8, 6-foot-7 legit. You play with shoes on it's 6'8. Stretch the floor. The key with him, 1% better, is at times he loves to make the play. What the play is, he wants to make the play for someone else. Trying to teach him to embrace being more aggressive offensively. He wants to make a play. Hunter is going to love playing with him. He had three-straight turnovers trying to get the ball to Hunter and two of the three he could've shot the ball. That's the unselfishness of Jet.

On Jett learning from Jace about playing for their dad

I'm sure they've had their conversations. That would be one of his 1% better as far as communicating. That's not only his brother, that's his best friend. I'm sure he's going to lean on Jace a lot. I would love to give a shoutout to the McCaffery's, Connor and Patrick, what two beautiful people. They're great with helping my boys with their transition of playing with their father. I didn't put them in contact with one another and Jace was the first person to reach out to them. I thought that was so mature of him. Next-level forward thinking that I am not smart enough to do on my own. Those fellas have really helped our boys with their transition playing for their father.

On whether he's spoken to other coaches who have done similar

I never talked to Beilein about it but I've talked to Phil Martelli. Talked to Fran McCaffery, and also talked to briefly Coach Bennett over at Virginia. He had some funny things to say. He said he wants to talk to Jett instead of me. He's hilarious.

On the recruiting process of Jett

It's kind of uncomfortable moments, I guess, for both sides. What I really admire and respect about Tennesee and Rick Barnes and their staff was that they went all in and they got uncomfortable. It wasn't uncomfortable to them. I never forget, one of the assistants shared that information with me. Which is true, I was going to allow Jett to make the best decision for him. At the same time, knowing in my heart that I wanted to coach him. If he decides to choose a different school, I was still going to support him. I'm his Dad, I love him and I was going to buy a t-shirt for the school that he played for and wear it proudly. Whenever we played them, we were just going to kick his ass. Saying all that, the recruiting process, my wife was the person that ran it and I trust her decision. My sister-in-law played college basketball at UAB, she went on recruiting visits joining my wife. They spent time at NC State, it was like a family reunion. There were a lot of family members that was with him to join him on his official visit. They always reported back to me. I talked to some of the head coaches. Patrick Ewing, Coach Keates obviously Coach Barnes, he called and we had some really good conversations. It was kind of weird in a way. I told him that we're not going to waste their time and, at the same time, that Jett is going to make the right decision for him. He was leaning towards that Tennessee direction, I had to recruit him a little bit. Had to rip it up a little bit. Told him like, man, we really need him.

On the challenges defensively for a young team

That's our goal. That's going to be our goal. One of the big areas that we would love to improve on. Wasn't too happy with the defensive numbers last year. That's something I take and don't give all the blame to the players. I'm the first person, that's something I can do a lot better to prepare them whether it's defensive schemes, teaching or technique and also preparation.

On whether Joey Baker will be playing during the Europe trip

We're looking at it day-by-day. He's been practicing. He hasn't played with a full load of conact. There's a slight chance that he will play but we're going to be smart about it. If he's not ready, we will listen to our trainers and our doctors. If he's not ready to go and play these three games, then we'll wait until we return from Europe. We're going to need a healthy Joey for our first exhibition game in November.

On what it was like putting the roster together after Caleb and Moussa left

I tell you this, we have a board. We already started to think about guys deciding to put their name in, for me, I started working on it. OK, if this guy decides to stay, what is our plan B option? That plan B option did not start once Moussa and Caleb said, on June first, that they would keep their name in. That plan B already started when they decided to test the NBA waters. I never want to be caught. When I say caught, I mean at the end trying to scramble. I don't operate that way.

On what stands out about Jaelin Llewellyn

One of the things that really stood out to me was the level of production with the ball in his hands. Whether it's decision-making but also his shooting. His shooting, that's something that we would love to have knowing the type of guys that we were going to be losing. That was also a need I wanted for us to improve on. Jaelin, his shooting and his decision-making along with his athleticism, I felt like that was a no-brainer. That's what made him super attractive for us.

On how different this preseason will be compared to years past

If you come here worrying about your damn shots, this is not the place for you. If anything, guys, and they've heard it, what's going to get you on the floor and how well you pick up on what's asked of you from an offensive and defensive side of the ball. If anything, what I care about the most, defensively, is how well you can guard. Offensively, our offense is based on sharing the game. If you look at our history from the time I've arrived here, each year we've had at least five guys. Last year, we had one guy, Moussa had nine points per game. First year, was five guys, second year was six guys and last year was four guys but one averaged 9 points per game. If you worry about your numbers, the unselfishness that we have on our offense, if you're a guy that wants to average 20, it's going to be tough.

On whether NIL has changed recruiting

NIL, it's one of these things where it has helped some programs and what they've done in the transfer portal. For us, NIL hasn't hurt or helped me or the team when it comes to recruiting from the transfer portal. Have the conversations about NIL been brought up in recruiting? Yes, it has. Would I like to see more done for the program, in the sense of some of the things happening in other basketball programs? Yes. I know this is going to be a storyline, and that's OK. Do we have a collective here? No. Do other programs have collectives? Yes. Could we be more proactive with the NIL and use more forward-thinking? Yes. And I say 'we.' I'm including myself. But our athletic department, as well as Michigan as a whole, we can do better.

On whether he's shared his NIL thoughts with the administration

Yes. Yes, I have.

On how Khayat popped up on his radar

There were a few international prospects that I was looking at at the time. Youssef stuck out to me, this is the guy. I talked to him the first time, hearing that college was an option. I breathed and settled down a bit, it's time to roll up my sleeves. I have to share with him about how he fits with the Michigan culture. Share with him about the Michigan experience, that's from academics to Ann Arbor as a whole as far as what we have to offer in Ann Arbor. I enjoy living here and I came from Miami. I have to love Ann Arbor and I do. Sharing that experience along with Dearborn having a large community of Lebanese. That right there, I'm sure, was very attractive to Youssef and his family.