Juwan Howard Is Ready To See What He's Got In His Second Team
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard got a glimpse of his team in Friday's intrasquad scrimmage, and he liked what he saw. Sophomore Franz Wagner dominated at times in leading with 26 points against his teammates.
On Wednesday, Howard finally gets to see what his squad can do against another team — a talented Bowling Green squad (ESPN2, 4:00 p.m.).
He can't wait. Year two at the helm feels just like year one in that respect, he said Monday.
"I"m always going to have butterflies," he said with a smile. "I'm a passionate person, love what I do; it's not a job to me. I'm also very competitive. When I played, I was always nervous before a game, but when it gets going you're so locked in there are no distractions. You have a job to do, so you try to carry it out and give 110 percent.
"It's the same thing about coaching. I submerge into what I'm doing, locked into a game plan and putting our players in the best position to win games."
He has two days to come up with a starting lineup, and while it seems there are two locks — Wagner and senior forward Isaiah Livers — the other positions are up for grabs. He wouldn't comment on a starting five, saying only he had two more days to figure it out; nor would he say how deep he might go into his bench.
He did acknowledge that his team was deep, however, and that there would be times Wagner, Livers and senior Chaundee Brown would be on the floor together.
"We've seen a lot of good things with that lineup. All three are very long," Howard said. "Franz and Isaiah are a lot taller and bigger than Chaundee, but his toughness, aggressiveness defensively causes a lot of problems for his opponents.
"We're going to go to that lineup at times. I expect really good production because of putting them in those situations in practice and seeing how it has grown, and we will continue to grow with it."
There's also a strong possibility we'll see junior Brandon Johns at center in some lineups, he added. Johns scored 14 points in Friday's scrimmage and played well.
"He is still growing, [but it's] all hands on deck," Howard said. "He's very versatile, so it's great to be able to use him at the four and five spot. He is going to be a guy we can lean on at the five deepening on the depth chart.
"[Fifth-year senior] Austin [Davis] and [freshman] Hunter Dickinson are the first we'll play there, but basketball has evolved a lot. At times you'll see a five [man] at 6-7 or 6-6. Credit the Golden State Warriors. They changed the game a lot. Draymond [Green] has perfected that position very well."
In reality, Michigan head coach John Beilein was one of those pioneers, playing a lot of small ball in his time at U-M. It's clear that it's at least a possibility we'll see it again soon.
Johns could be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
"We need his contribution on both sides of the floor, offense and defense," Howard said. "With his athleticism, he can guard two through five. With his shooting on the floor, his back to the basket game has grown a lot — we've spent lot of time developing it — we're going to lean on it a lot. We're going to need his production."
Livers is in great shape and will be a leader on both ends, he added, bigger and stronger, and Howard liked a lot of what he saw from him and the others in the scrimmage. He's now ready to see what they can do against another team.
"Defensively, I really liked our defensive disposition," he said. "Individually, we got to see some guys, where they are on the depth chart, what they can do, how they've gotten better each and every practice. I'm excited to see what they can do [against another team] after beating up on each other."
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