Michigan Wolverines Basketball Recruiting: Howard Knows What He Wants
New Michigan Wolverines basketball coach Juwan Howard has landed two players since he’s been the head coach at U-M, hanging on to freshman Cole Bajema and signing German Franz Wagner. He’s now looking for talent to join point guard Zeb Jackson in the 2020 class.
The Wolverines still have two scholarships to give in 2019, but it’s doubtful they’ll sign anybody else.
“It’s possible, but 2020 has a big, strong class,” he said. “So … if someone really excited me and I feel that person fits, it’s possible. But … it’s a good class coming in 2020.”
He admitted a lot of recruits’ parents are aware of his background with the Fab Five and his story, which is “very helpful.” Some kids have seen the Fab Five documentary within the last five years or so, as well.
There are plenty who haven’t, however, and don’t know anything about his era. He’s having to learn how to sell himself and his program, and it’s much different now than when he was being recruited 30 years ago.
“It’s different. I take my hat off to these coaches,” he said. “Wow. I don’t think I was that hard. It was an easy process for me. I had my high school coach … then Donnie Kirksey helped out as an assistant. If you had a home visit you had to win my grandmother over. That was it. Nowadays you have the AAU coach, high school coaches, parents. Some kids have a spokesperson for them. It’s a lot.
“I haven’t been the type who is on the phone talking for a long time. In high school … you had your home phone, would call people up, talk on the phone for 30 minutes, 40 minutes … I think that was the last time I really spent a lot of time on the phone. Nowadays I’m on the phone look up and it’s 30 minutes talking and selling our program and our vision and our culture. But hey …”
You do what you’ve got to do.
He’s not certain if his name has helped get him in the door with kids, noting he’s “ego-less” and often forgets to tell people he’s the head coach at Michigan beyond introducing himself. Becoming more forthcoming and opening up a bit is something he’s got to embrace, he admits.
When it comes to philosophy … well, it’s a work in progress.
“I just know when I recruit a kid, I’m recruiting his parents, too,” he said. “I see the parents and I enjoy seeing how they develop and raise their kid, what their background is like, their philosophy talking to them. It’s a feel thing.
“If that kid is raised right, I’ve watched him play, if the parents are everything and check the boxes of what I look for and how I connect with the parent, the players check the boxes on talent and how I perceive them entering school as a student athlete, that kid deserves an offer. That’s a kid I want to coach.”
His goal is to get as many 2020 and 2021 kids in for visits as possible this fall and bring in a big class.
“The goal is to get the kids we feel we would like to coach here and fit our program and our identity,” he said. “I don’t know how many it’s going to be. I can’t predict how many from the class of 2020 will come in and visit here, or we may see some class of 2021. Now the 2021 juniors can have 10 visits.”
And if he has to wait until April to land some of the seniors, so be it. He knows patience, he said, and recruiting often requires plenty of it.
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