New Michigan head coach Juwan Howard wasn’t on the job long when he started recruiting, and it began with a few kids already in the fold. John Beilein had received letters of intent from four-star power forward Jalen Wilson of Denton, Texas and four-star shooting guard Cole Bajema of Lynden (Wash.) Christian, but Howard’s first job was to convince both that Ann Arbor was still the place for them.
Wilson opted not to wait to hear Howard’s pitch, opting out of his letter and eventually signing with Kansas. Bajema was a bit more patient, and by the time Howard was introduced at his May 30 press conference, he already had good news to report:
Bajema would remain a Wolverine.
He'd gone silent for days while contemplating his future, but it didn’t take much convincing to assure him he’d made the right choice.
“I was just doing my research a little bit,” Bajema said after enrolling at Michigan this summer. “I’ve known Juwan has always been a good guy, just hearing from many sources. I talked to people who told me good stuff about him. I just see it as a cool opportunity with him coming from the Fab Five.
