Michigan’s Howard lands No. 1 hoops class
On Monday morning, Juwan Howard was asked to assess his recruiting.
He said he didn’t know how to do that – likely out of modesty.
But we can say it for him: He seems to be pretty good at it.
It’s the Wolverines’ best recruiting class since 1991 – the year Howard and the rest of the Fab Five arrived on campus. At the very least, it’s the program’s highest-ranked class since ’94, and easily Michigan’s top-ranked class in the modern recruiting rankings era, dating to 2002.
Another illustration of how unprecedented his success has been: According to 247Sports’ All Time Recruits tool, he has landed seven of Michigan’s 25 highest-ranked recruits since 2003, including the No. 1and No. 3-ranked prospects in five-star wing Caleb Houstan and five-star big man Moussa Diabate this year.
Howard has done it in just under 15 months, despite circumstances that could’ve hindered his recruiting. In 2019 he signed the top class in the Big Ten, less than five months after taking the job and despite having no recruiting experience. This year he signed the top class in the nation, despite the challenges of not being able to make in-person visits and evaluations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Howard’s first two recruiting classes have earned him a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters.
“All I can say with recruiting (is) we try to go after guys that we feel fit our culture,” he said. “Fortunately enough, last year’s class and now this upcoming class, 2021, these guys wanna be here at Michigan, we want them here, we’re looking forward to building something special: a winning, competitive group.”