From the moment Juwan Howard accepted the Michigan men’s basketball head coaching job in 2019, most considered it a foregone conclusion that his youngest sons — Jace and Jett — would play for him.
Fast forward nearly three years. Jace Howard is in the middle of his sophomore season with the Wolverines wearing his father’s No. 25 jersey, while Jett is a senior guard at IMG Academy who inked his national letter of intent to join the program next fall.
But that wasn’t always inevitable.
Jace, a class of 2020 recruit, had never previously played for his father. He had understandable concerns about being the coach’s kid. So after committing to Michigan over Princeton and Brown, Howard reached out to Memphis guard Jayden Hardaway, son of Tigers’ head coach Penny Hardaway, and Iowa guard Connor McCaffery, son of Hawkeyes’ head coach Fran McCaffery, to pick their brains about playing for their fathers.
Now, Howard is capable of offering his own insight.
“It’s been so far, so good,” Howard said Monday. “Obviously, he’s a little bit tougher on me, but that’s obvious. But it’s great because nobody knows my game like he does. And I know he’s always going to have my best interests.”
Those around the Howard family have been supportive since Jace arrived in Ann Arbor last fall. Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli, who coached his own son at St. Joseph’s 20 years ago, understands the challenges of balancing fatherhood and basketball.
“I don’t want to be thought of as the Howard son whisperer, but I did have conversations,” Martelli said. “I let Jace know that I recognize that it can be a challenge for both the dad and son; it can be a challenge for the coach and it can be a challenge for the player. Over these years, Jace and Juwan have done a remarkable job of separating that.”
Much of that success is rooted in Jace’s commitment to his role. With his path to minutes last year blocked by three future professionals, he took the opportunity to learn from Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers and Chaundee Brown.
He gleaned what he could from them in order to push his teammates in practice. That job takes a handful of different forms. Howard is all over the place at a typical Michigan practice, whether he’s guarding his matchup all 94 feet, locking and trailing freshman Caleb Houstan to deny 3-point attempts or fronting star big men Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate in the post.
At 6-foot-7, Howard’s in-between size allows him to flex his versatility. From shooting to ball handling to post moves, he worked on all areas of his game this offseason. He’s added nearly 20 pounds of muscle mass since getting to campus in 2020, often working with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson before and after games and practices.
In doing so, Howard has naturally prepared himself for game action. With Dickinson and senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. unavailable, the Wolverines called upon him to guard All-American center Kofi Cockburn during Friday’s trip to Illinois.
The situation reminded Howard of a high school state championship game he once played in. Howard was forced to play the ‘5’ when his team’s center, former Duke big man and current Charlotte Hornets center Vernon Carey Jr., went down with an ankle injury.
“(When) I was given the opportunity to help us win a game on Friday night, I took no other approach to it,” Howard said. “… All that extra work was for nights like Friday, where you just never know what the team is going to need from you. Two and a half weeks ago, I wouldn’t have even imagined having the opportunity to go out and guard Kofi, but it was something I’ve always looked forward to.”
Added Martelli: “I think that Jace’s thirst for knowledge, his thirst for information and then his thirst for an opportunity. He got his opportunity. However it came about, he got his opportunity. Now it’s a matter of, where can it grow and how can it grow?”
In the coming weeks, those questions will be answered. And through it all, Howard will continue to prove he’s more than just the son of a former Fab Five star and 19-year NBA veteran.
“Learning from him, which I’ve never done to the extent of the past two years, has been interesting,” Howard said. “I guess that dynamic hasn’t really changed much. He treats me like one of the players because I am one of the players.”
---
Not a subscriber to The Maize and Blue Review? Sign up today!
Discuss this article on our premium message boards
Follow our staff on Twitter @MaizeBlueReview, @JoshHenschke, @BrandonJustice_, @DanielDash_, @DennisFithian, @StephenToski, @TannerWutang, @Baird_CJ, @ZachLibby, @JimScarcelli
Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Subscribe to The Maize and Blue Review on YouTube!
Like The Maize and Blue Review on Facebook!
