Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and his staff have a busy June hosting prospects, all of them highly ranked. The latest, five-star Jaden Bradley, enjoyed an outstanding weekend in Ann Arbor, one that enhanced the Wolverines’ chances.
Bradley and his family were already familiar with Howard and his, having connected through IMG Academy in Florida. Jaden and Jett Howard, Juwan’s youngest son, play on the same team and are friends, having gotten to know each other well over the last few years.
Nate Bradley, Jaden’s father, and Juwan Howard have had plenty to talk about, and they’ve gotten to know each other well.
“We wanted to interact with the staff a little more,” Nate Bradley said. “We’d had multiple Zoom conversations and on the phone, that stuff, but it was really good to pick their brains (in person).
“I’m a big [assistant coach] Phil Martelli fan. It was great to spend time with him, trade stories, listen to the stuff he had to say, and it was really good for Jaden walking through campus, getting to spend a couple hours’ time with [assistant] Howard Eisley.”
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He summed the weekend visit up in one word:
“Awesome,” he said. “Really awesome.”
Michigan frosh Zeb Jackson was on hand to take part in the visit, too, which helped a lot, Nate Bradley said. They’d known him from different camps and teams over the years, but he helped Bradley get comfortable.
“Jaden's a quiet kid unless he’s around other 17 or 18-year-olds,” Nate Bradley continued. “It was really good to have Zeb there. We had a chance to spend time with him, and he talked about how different it was from IMG, the expectations.
“The staff … Juwan is down to earth, but what I loved the most was how close the coaching staff was, the attention to detail. Juwan is not afraid to have guys on staff who might know a little more. I mean, who’s hiring Phil Martelli? That might be intimidating to 99 percent of coaches in the country, but not Juwan. Those guys are buddies. They joke together, know each other’s history …”
And are good friends.
But they’re all business when it comes to explaining just what Michigan is all about, and they did a great job of that, too, Nate Bradley said. Howard pulled Jaden aside before dinner, even, to go over film with him and show him just how he’d be used in the offense.
“He said, ‘this is what it looks like when it’s done the right way. This is what we’ve done in the past,’” he said. “’We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we didn’t think you could do it.
“We were really happy with what he showed him. It was a lot of point guard stuff, but he told him to watch all of it, not just the point guard, because the point guard is responsible for all five positions. If they run something and someone is not in the right spot, that’s on the point guard.”
The Bradleys will visit North Carolina, Alabama and Arizona in the next few weeks and still have Kentucky high on the list, as well. Some schools are still talking about reclassifying to 2021, so that remains a possibility — it’s more likely he’ll remain in the 2022 class and decide before his senior season this fall.
Watch for more on Bradley in the days and weeks to come …
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