Everything Michigan's Jett Howard said during the Defend the Block podcast
Michigan freshman wing Jett Howard appeared on the University of Michigan's Defend the Block podcast this week.
For everything he had to say, check out the full transcription below. To listen to the podcast in its entirety, click here.
On how he's acclimating to Ann Arbor
It's been great, it's been a smooth transition. Hardest thing about this is trying to figure out where everything is at. It's been honestly hard to find all these different classes. It's been fun. You get to figure out campus a little bit more, it's a beautiful campus. Sandman has been a little tough on us. Big Dog (Juwan Howard) has been a little tough on us. This is what you want and it's been great.
On having prior experience with Michigan's campus
100%, I thank God my dad is my coach now when I'm in this process. For one, I kind of understand the practice plan a little bit better, I understand what he wants. Understand how detail-oriented he is. From a practice standpoint, it's been good. I never really got a chance to go walk through campus and kind of figure out where the diag is and where this building is the chemistry building, I never really got a chance to do that. I'm happy. I love it. I love the dorm setup because we're starting to meet and socialize with other kids, I like it.
On how his family has helped shape him as a person and player
They get so (overshadowed) by my dad. I'll honestly say, I'll start with my mom, she drove me to every practice, every game, everything she's been by my side. The wins, the losses, everything. She's like 100% invested in me and Jace. She knows the game because she's been around it so long with my dad. So she's not new to this, obviously, so she'll help me with certain things like, 'Hey, you looked a little ADD out there today.' I'm ADD, so (laughs). Or she would tell me, 'Yo, you're falling back on your shot' or just little things that she sees in my game since she was little, my attitude and stuff like that. She's been a huge, huge impact on my career so far. Up next, I'll give Jace his credit. He beat me up from sixth grade to high school, he's probably still one of the best defenders I've played. Getting exposed to that kind of physicality and confrontation at a young age—actually, I'm thankful for it now and I haven't gotten a chance to thank him for it because our pride gets in the way a little bit. Our pride gets in the way. I definitely thank him for that. He's also been a really emotionally supportful guy, like my mom. I would say my aunt, she played basketball at UAB. She's probably the one I go to for advice a lot and try to figure out what I'm lacking. What she sees because she's never going to sugarcoat it with me. She's never going to try to make sure I like her or, you know how some people just want you to like them or to feel comfortable around them? She doesn't really care about that type of stuff. She gives me the right advice most of the time and, usually, she's right. Also, I would give props to my uncle who passed, Donnie Kirksey. He helped me out a lot. He's from Chicago so he's hard-nosed like my dad. He kind of got the soft stuff out of me a little bit. Rest in peace to his soul, he helped me out a lot.
On what he's learned about being a teammate from Jace Howard
Everything I've learned about being a good teammate has come from him and Scottie Barnes. I would just say, man, Jace Howard has been the most selfless person at Michigan for the last two years. I never seen him complain once about playing time, I've never seen him complain about not getting reps. I'm honestly taking notes. I just want to see how he reacts to certain things, how he approaches people, how when stuff hits the fans, how he reacts. He's been great. His time is definitely coming, I think, personally. I feel like my dad has tested him a little bit throughout these past years and he's reacted perfectly.
On what sold him on Michigan
I just want to give props to Coach Barnes, man. He was amazing in that process. He was genuine, he had my mom for a good portion of it. She was leaning towards Tennessee, don't let her tell you wrong. At first, the first few weeks I was going to Tennessee, I was telling my aunt that I think this is where I want to be, where I want to play. I came to Michigan on my visit, I was sick so I didn't really get the chance to see Michigan and listen because I was out of it, I had the flu. When I left, I said, you know what, I think I want to go to Tennessee. I came back for a weekend to visit and watch Moussa practice because that was my teammate. Me and my dad had a good heart-to-heart moment. He was like, man, he's really good at telling how I'm feeling in that moment so he kind of understood. I was giving him short responses about Michigan and stuff like that and nodding my head. He was like, man, listen, at the end of the day I'm going to love you regardless. You can play for whoever, I'm still going to be your dad, I'm still going to show up, I will still support you. Don't think that if you go to Tennesse I'm not going to love you or any of those things, but, there was a but, I personally think I have your best interests in mind. You'll never have to lose sleep on if I do or I don't. I think you fit into our playstyle really well. Nothing is given so if you come in here, don't think because I'm your dad you're gonna start or automatically crack the rotation. You have to earn that in practice and in training camp. I respected that the most because I felt like other schools, gave me false hope, or maybe it wasn't false hope, or just maybe sold the dream a little bit more. They kept it 100% real with me. Just getting that, I wanted to go to Michigan.
On Moussa Diabate
Moussa is like, his energy is crazy. He just brings joy. Moussa in high school, he was a freak. I came in my junior year and he didn't get tired during the conditioning tests, didn't get flustered. When the coaches were yelling at him, he didn't show any emotion. Just seeing that superhuman view is nuts. When he got to Michigan, everyone was telling me, man, he was so prepared. I honestly think IMG helped him a lot because he grew up. When he got here, it was an easy transition. As you can see, he hit the floor running. Moussa is just a different human, honestly. I don't really have much more to say about Moussa, zero-percent body fat, all that stuff. He's the perfect project for an NBA team. In two years, he could be an All-Star.
On where he made the biggest strides in high school
My first year, I played with Vernon Carey, Scottie Barnes, Jace and a few other D1 prospects. Basically, I came into the situation ready to be a bench guy, give energy, learn in practice. Believe it or not, I started. I earned it in practice. Just competing at a high level so early just got me so spoiled because now, I go back the next year, my sophomore year, we're not playing Montverde on Monday night or playing Sunrise Christian. My sophomore year I kind of became the main option. I kind of became more of a facilitator. I kind of did it all my sophomore year. Going into my junior year at IMG, that was taken away from me because now we have players like Jaden Bradley, we had Jarace Walkers, we had Tamar Bates. The next year we had Keyonte George. Now, you have to get in where you fit in because I'm not labeled as a five-star, even though I don't buy into that stuff, I'm not that type of player. I feel like I'm that type of player but on the rankings and stuff, I'm not. I think our coach wanted us to go through those guys, which is 100% the right thing to do at that time. I didn't prove anything. I had to figure out how to fit in. I was shooting, defending, sometimes, here and there, sprinkling in a little bit of playmaking my junior year. That's how I stay on the floor. My sophomore year, my coach started to figure out what type of player I was. He started to put the ball in my hands more. I started to do better in practice. It worked out well for me because I started to be myself a little more than I was my sophomore year at U School. That just made me happy because I feel like the work I was putting in way paying off, and I was doing this at a high level in high school. I think that's what definitely helped me. I feel like I went through this process already in a way, even though I'm not at Michigan, I feel like I already went through this process with other high-level guys competing for that spot.
On areas of his game he needs to work on
Defense. That's definitely been one. Just understanding what they want. I feel like once I understand all the rotations and where to be at certain times, then I'll take that leap. Personally, as a one-on-one defender, I'm pretty good. I didn't get to display it that much but I feel like I'm a really good one-on-one defender. Once I figure out the rotations and stuff, then I'll take that leap. Next, I would say my ball-handling. I work on that a lot and I feel like people haven't really gotten a chance to see how good I am as a ball handler. I feel like my passing ability is really good. I'm going to try to get in the lane and create for others. I feel like there's a lot to my game that people didn't see because I'm labeled as a quote-unquote shooter. I just kind of want to break that stereotype because that's not what I am. I can shoot, that's not all to my game.
On the camaraderie with the incoming freshmen class
First off, I've known Gregg Glenn Jr. since freakin' fourth grade. I knew this man since forever, he's spent Christmases at our house. I guess it was a no-brainer that he was going to come here, there's no chance we can't link up again in college. We've been trying to play high school ball since forever together. Now, we're finally together. Gregg is one of my best friends. Dug McDaniel, I've played basketball with since fourth grade also. We just kept in touch, our families kept in touch. My mom and his mom are very close. I feel like its a family. With Tarris Reed, I played Mokan my 17u year and, ever since then, I was like, man, we gotta have this guy because he was just a beast. He was a force. He's like Little Shaq, that's what we call him. Just getting to know his personality as a guy, he's very cool and laidback. If you have a problem with Tarris, you've got a problem with yourself because Tarris is that type of human. We're all close, everybody is close. Everybody in the locker room, there's nothing going on. If there's a problem, somebody would say it. I think everybody is just really cool to each other and we're open to criticism, that's the main thing. We critique each other, We're not going to have an attitude or take it the wrong way, That's why I feel like we're going to be really good this year.
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