"We are for competitors only."
It was said dozens of times last season, with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and his players and assistant coaches constantly repeating the mantra that drove them to take home the Big Ten regular-season championship, earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and make an Elite Eight run despite facing adversity during a unique year.
The level of buy-in and sacrifice on Michigan's team during the 2020-21 campaign was astounding, and the program's culture was one of the top national storylines of the entire season.
Even more amazing, however, is that Howard and Co. have carried themselves the same way on the recruiting trail, displaying a shocking level of authenticity and honesty, something the sport of college basketball isn't exactly known for at this juncture.
No promises are made or included with a Michigan scholarship offer, and the only guarantees made are those of an opportunity to come in and compete.
Howard was able to find the perfect group that is excited to do just that — it just so happens the haul is regarded as the nation's best — and four-star shooting guard signee Kobe Bufkin, Rivals.com's No. 48 player in the class of 2021, might just be the perfect example.
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As Howard's good friend Monty Williams, the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, says (and Howard has repeated), "everything you want is on the other side of hard," and that's perfectly OK to Bufkin.
"You have to work, and we all understand that as a recruiting class; you have to work for what you want," Bufkin told The Wolverine. "And if somebody is working harder than you or producing more than you, then you have to be willing to understand what will happen.
"The whole coaching staff made sure that they emphasized that when they talked to us. They made sure we knew that there aren't going to be any handouts."
And that 'for competitors only' mantra that resides on the back of Michigan's shooting shirts and is frequently repeated in the team facility?
"It means everything. I grew up as the youngest child in my home, so I know what it’s like to have older brothers," Bufkin said. "I’ve been competing all my life, so that’s just how my household works. I appreciate it."
While it's too early to tell how much success Michigan's 2021 class will be, on paper, it's the program’s best since the Fab Five in 1991, a group Howard was obviously a part of. Bufkin is joined by five-star wing Caleb Houstan, five-star power forward Moussa Diabate, four-star point guard Frankie Collins, four-star wing Isaiah Barnes and three-star power forward Will Tschetter.
"It’s exciting to be able to work with those guys, with them being so highly recruited," Bufkin said. "Obviously, they worked hard to get there. I’m looking forward to working with some guys that are trying to get to where I want to go."
While they know it's going to take work, Bufkin said the group has already had conversations about what they want to accomplish while playing together in Ann Arbor.
