Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has worked tirelessly on the recruiting trail since his arrival in Ann Arbor, and it’s already paid off with some outstanding classes. The second-year coach has yet to land his first five-star, but he hasn’t stopped pursuit of those he feels fit within his program.

Five-star point guard Jaden Bradley has made his way to the top of the 2022 wish list as the perfect fit. The Gatorade Player of the year in North Carolina last year at Concord Cannon School averaged 23.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game as an all-around player who — believe it or not — is a pass-first point guard, and one of the top players in the country.

Bradley’s father, Nate, was an outstanding athlete in his own right, playing football at Rutgers before transferring to Peru State in Nebraska and becoming a Hall of Famer. One son, Nathan Jr., is preparing to head overseas to play professionally, and now Nate Bradley has seen his other son progress to become of the elite players in the country.

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He’s taken no shortcuts to get there. He’s still the same kid who has chores, takes out the trash and earns what he gets through the work ethic Bradley and his wife, Mialisha, have instilled in him since their son’s competitive playing days began many years ago.

It's his passion for the game that's really helped him ascend.

“He was already playing with the older kids in the third and fourth grade,” Nate Bradley recalled. “I remember one time I was working, my wife called me from a tournament … Jaden had hurt his finger on a Friday, but they had big games Saturday and Sunday. They asked, ‘what do you think?’” I said, ‘gauge what he thinks and how he feels.’”

He wanted to play, and play he did, performing well with one good hand. When Nate got home Saturday, his son’s hand had gotten so swollen they finally had to go directly to the hospital.

“That was fourth grade,” he said, noting that’s when he knew his son had special desire. “At that point, for somebody to be that driven … he was just so focused in and knew what he wanted to do.”

He’s only gotten more competitive since, continuing his ascent to become one of the nation’s top prospects regardless of class. He recently transferred to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, where he rooms next to Howard’s son, Class of 2022 Jett Howard, and has become a leader for one of the nation’s top programs.

It’s a strict regimen, including school from 12 to 6:30, plenty of basketball and a strict curfew, and it’s served him well. He’s now Rivals.com’s No. 6 player nationally in the 2022 class and has a chance to move even higher in the rankings.

“He’s been blessed to be one of to be one of the top point guards in the country, but he’s worked for it,” his dad continued. “He’s tough-nosed on defense, and he always tries to make his teammates better. He’s a great open court player, fast in the open court, knocks down open shots.

"But he’s not a high-maintenance player. A lot of guards might take 20 shots, 15 to get their points, but he’s been fortunate that the system he's in, he’s played with kids who made shots. He’s just been super-efficient [with his].”

While there’s been a bit of homesickness the last few months, Bradley has settled in nicely at IMG, where other players have gravitated to him. His body is already changing, Nate Bradley reported after seeing him last weekend, and he has great chemistry with the other IMG players.

“He loves it,” Nate Bradley said. “We wanted to make sure he was around kids with the same mindset, and he is.”

And, of course, he’s being recruited by some of the nation’s top programs. North Carolina has been strong, while Kentucky, Kansas and too many others to count have also offered.

He was excited, too, to receive an offer from Howard and Michigan, and that relationship has blossomed.

“They’re building a crazy good relationship,” Bradley said. “Juwan is down to earth. He’s not only preaching that family talk, but he’s walking that walk. You see it with Jett.

“There’s also the accountability factor. He’s not trying to be his friend, his ‘home boy’ … he’s trying to be his coach. We’ve had three Zoom calls with them, and he’ll hold his hand over the fire in those, go over some of the Xs and Os and say, ‘what do you see here?’ He’ll pause and say, ‘let me know what you see.’ He wants his input, and if he doesn’t agree, he’ll say, ‘I don’t see that … I see this.'

"I think a lot of people don’t know how to toe that line.”

Others do, however, and that’s one of the reasons Jaden remains receptive heading into the fall season.

“He’s open,” Nate Bradley said. “Jaden is going to make his decision based on a number of factors. He really wants to go somewhere where he’ll play right away, making sure there is some level of mentorship there … maybe where there are upperclassman who have done it before, can tell him what to expect, what it should look like.”

A decision will likely come next summer, he added, but it won’t be a huge production. If and when he narrows his list, the right people will know.

“We try to be tangible. We’re so grateful for the position we’re in,” Bradley said. “His older brother [Nate Jr.] used to beat up on him and helped create who he is today, went through with no offers, went to postgrad, got a couple offers.

"Seeing that and feeling what his older brother went through and knowing a lot of friends that don’t have multiples offers or no offers … we’re grateful.”

Soon enough, one program will be grateful to land the younger Bradley's signature. There’s a long way to go, but Howard seems to be doing everything he can to make it Michigan.

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