Juwan Howard lands toprated recruiting class
Juwan Howard’s coaching acumen was never in doubt when he took over as Michigan’s coach in 2019.
He played 19 NBA seasons, winning two titles with Miami, and spent six seasons as a Heat assistant under Erik Spoelstra.
He clearly knows the game.
The biggest question in Howard’s return to his alma mater was whether he would be able to recruit at a high level to keep up in the Big Ten and nationally
Howard’s 2021 class, rated No. 1 in the 247Sports composite, leaves no doubt.
“I just go after guys that fit our culture and it’s great to see those who have chosen Michigan embrace the vision we have moving forward,” Howard said. “Yes, every coach in a pandemic world at the collegiate level has pivoted in a way where you had to figure it out. Our staff, we didn’t make any excuses. We had to figure it as well and see what was the best way to go out there and recruit.”
They clearly handled it well.
The first day of the early signing period was Wednesday, but Michigan won’t officially announce its 2021 recruiting class until the last player in it has signed on Friday.
The six- player class is headlined by Caleb Houstan, a 6-foot- 8 Canadian forward, the No. 8 overall recruit in the country. He will be joined by another five- star recruit, Moussa Diabate, a 6-10 French forward who’s rated No. 20 nationally.
The class also includes guard Frankie Collins, Kobe Bufkin and forward Isaiah Barnes, all fourstar recruits. Three- star forward Will Tschetter rounds out the class.
Shifting dynamic
Villanova coach Jay Wright has been pulling in some of the nation’s top recruiting classes the past few years and this year was no different, despite the changing landscape of recruiting in a pandemic.
Villanova has the No. 4 overall recruiting class, topped by Trey Patterson, a 6-7 forward from Somerset, New Jersey, rated No. 30 nationally.
“It was really bizarre. I do feel like doing zooms with players, you’re able to watch film with them,” Wright said. “I felt like you developed, maybe not as good a personal relationship, but a much better understanding of their basketball aspirations and their basketball IQ. Much better. We’ll probably all do that going forward now. We just didn’t do that in the past.”