Everything Juwan Howard said pre-Tarleton State

While Tarleton State won't be as formidable for the Wolverines, there are plenty of things head coach Juwan Howard wants to see improved when the Wolverines take the floor on Wednesday.

For everything Howard said to the media on Tuesday, check out the full transcript below.

On the message to the team after Arizona

Every game, you win or you lose, you always find teachable moments. That game right there, we played against Arizona, it was a teachable moment for us. Looking at a recap of the first half compared to the second half, both halves we didn't play well. We started out with a good start, I shared with them about the beginning of the game, we had a good flow. Played hard. We got into our offensive sets. Defensively we were solid. Then, there was a switch where when the game was 21 to 23, that's where the disconnect was lost. When teams make runs like that, we got to be able to reel ourselves back in. That's where we did not do a good job of that. When we got frustrated, there were times where we felt like we didn't want to be coached. Not all guys, only a few. We also allowed their defense to speed us up so, offensively, when we ran some of our offensive sets, there were two or three guys that didn't know what spots they were in because they didn't know the play. That's where the disconnect started. From there, we could never gain it back.

On accountability and players not accepting coaching

I don't have a concern about it. It's just a part of learning. When you hit a little adversity in games, guys try extremely hard to do everything right. Make sure they play mistake-free basketball. When mistakes happen, you have to be ready to accept some of the coaching, especially when frustration settles in. That's a part of growing. I trust—every kid on our team has high character. Every kid on our team cares about each other, cares about the team, cares about the coaches and loves being around one another. That's a part of growth. You're going to have those moments. They don't want to see teams make runs on them. They don't want to see when they make mistakes. They hate to make mistakes. They want to give their best effort. That's part of the process. I don't feel it will be a problem, nor will it ever be a problem.

On what a team can do to maintain composure

Everything is all about breath. I'm really big on meditation and meditation is some of the best therapy when it comes to things not going your way or you want to try and reset your brain in order to get to a really calm place. Breathing is important. Guys will tell you in huddles, I'm all about, hey, let's take a nice, deep, breath and let's get back to resetting the button and get our minds back in it so we can go back and play at a level that we're capable of playing.

On the biggest thing he wants to see against Tarleton State

Not just one biggest thing, there are several things I'd like to see. Let's back to the Michigan way. Stay connected, play hard from start to finish. I thought the last game, Arizona, give them credit, they had more energy and effort in areas of the ballgame that they showed that we did not play we have done in the past. I would like to see that tomorrow, which I know I will. It's good to be back home after four to five days together on the road. A trip of bonding, which we did. That will now help us throughout the season. Going through the adversity that we went through and learning to grow with it, I think we're going to have some special things coming. Not just on Wednesday but for the rest of the games to come. We played against some really high-level teams. Looking back to Buffalo, Seton Hall, UNLV and Arizona. Not taking anything away from Prairie View A&M, they played extremely hard and they won their conference last year. It's good that we're playing these teams early because that's going to prepare us for this upcoming season, what's left of the season.

On trying to balance DeVante' Jones' aggression

That's something that he also has to learn. Not just the coaches. DeVante' is a smart player. I still want him to be aggressive but he's got to be smart aggressive without getting himself in foul trouble. As a player, being a former player, you have to figure that out. Sometimes the coaches aren't going to be the ones to help you figure it out, you have to have feel for the game and understanding how the game is being called. The flow of the game and the situations where you can be overly aggressive or not. He'll learn that.

On Caleb Houstan's shooting woes

Shooter's shoot. Keep shooting it. That's how you get out of a shooting slump, keep shooting it. Keep letting it fly.

On whether there's a balance between keeping the ball in Eli Brooks' hands

Eli is going to be a player for us like he has been. Last year he had the ball in his hands and made decisions. This year, the same thing. We need him to do both and he's done a great job of it.

On how the game changes offensively with DeVante' Jones not on the floor

Fortunately, we have two players, Eli and Frankie, that will have the ball in their hands and will become our decision-makers on the floor. Frankie is growing in that area as a freshman. He will continue to grow and get better. Any coach or team would love to have their guy who is a starter, primary ballhandler, be out there on the floor and not having foul trouble. In the course of the game, it's going to happen. We will just try to continue making adjustments.

On how correctable Jones' fouls are

Some of the fouls he's committed he's tripped over himself and knocked a player over dribbling the ball up the floor. Some of the fouls he's created where he probably tried to back-tap the ball and fall or hit someone's arm. It happens in games. He'll get better with it.