He might not have initially been in Juwan Howard's plans next year, but Austin Davis did his part to change his coach's mind. MGoBlue.com announced yesterday Howard invited Davis back for a fifth year and that Davis accepted, thanking his coach with three separate hugs.
Howard elaborated on his decision Wednesday.
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"Austin Davis will be returning for his fifth year," Howard announced. "I gave him the news yesterday, and he was super excited. Just to see the smile on his face ... he gave me three hugs and he held me tight, too, so that just made me know from those hugs, those were the feeling of a guy who was really excited about coming back and being a student athlete here at the University of Michigan.
"We're excited to have him back, because Austin being the great teammate he is, he's also a joy to coach. He's shown great leadership throughout this year, also shown a lot of growth on the court as well as in the classroom."
Howard and Davis first met a few weeks back to talk about the future, after which Howard seemed conflicted. Davis, though, has produced a number of times this year, averaging 4.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 69.6 percent from the floor.
He's done it while averaging only 10.7 minutes per game, notching a game-high 11 in a home loss to Ohio State weeks back.
"We had a great meeting two weeks ago, just talked about his future," Howard continued. "He shared with me (that) anatomy is something he's really strong about. Physical therapy is another area he's really considering in the future. We talked about that as well as his future with the program on the court.
"I really admire his work ethic. I really appreciated how he came out each day, approached every day in practice, working to get better as a player, surging to help his teammates. You'v'e seen the growth this season. We've all witnessed it. It was an easy decision for me, just knowing we have a guy that's all in, loved being here at Michigan and loves playing for the team, and I enjoy coaching him."
Sources have said Toledo was a potential landing point for him if he didn't return for a fifth year, but Davis always wanted to return. Yesterday was the perfect time time to break the news, Howard said, and he did it in a one-on-one setting.
"His production on the court, accepting his role to be a reserve in the beginning of the season. He was like our third center coming off the bench," he said. "I originally had Colin Castleton as that backup center, but Austin just came in and practiced, was very supportive, respectful, did whatever we asked him to do without showing any resistance, so he's been patient with his role. With his name called, he got that time to go out and compete, has always given us great production off the bench. He never wavered at any point of not playing him because he's proven he's deserved to play.
"Overall, I've seen a lot of growth offensively. When we've been able to throw the ball into him, he's been extremely patient in the low block and also been effective when you've seen how he's competed in pick and roll situations, guarding a lot of ball screens. He's buying in to the details of the scouting report, spending a lot of off time coming into the gym try working on his game ... spending time in the film room with himself and the assistant coaches."
He was one of Howard's top eight after last summer's workouts, the coach said, and he's lived up to it.
Now, though, comes the numbers crunch. The Wolverines will be at 15 (two over the allotted 13) if they add another recruit, as expected.
"All i can say is I will not look forward to next year, because we still have a season to play," Howard said. "I just know Austin Davis will be a part of it. That's all I can tell you right here, all I'm comfortable saying at this moment."
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