The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1178918
NOVEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 35 nuts … they seemed like they en- joyed it. I know I did. I had more fun with it than anyone." THE SERIOUS BUSINESS BEGINS All the donuts, tears, smiles and goodwill won't count for much if Michigan can't hang with Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and whoever else might be prominent in the Big Ten at any given moment. Howard knows that better than anyone. That's why he went right to work, laying a foundation for the future. He re-recruited Franz Wagner, the 6-8 swingman out of Germany, whose older brother Moe gave Big Ten op- ponents fits before moving on to the NBA. Franz, Howard insists, would have been a five-star recruit in the U.S. and should make an impact as soon as he returns from a broken wrist. Meanwhile, other five-stars await. Howard drew a commitment from one such just hours after he held court on Michigan's media day (Oct. 17), pulling North Carolina's 6-10 Isaiah Todd into the fold. Todd, out of Raleigh, is listed the No. 10 prep player in the nation by Rivals.com and is just the second five- star recruit Michigan has landed since the class of 2014. If the ranking holds, he'd represent the highest-ranked re- cruit to come to U-M in the Rivals era (since 2002), but he's also labeled a one-and-done candidate who may even consider a year of playing pro ball overseas instead of college before he makes a leap to the NBA. That's still not wholly out of the question, but Todd very well could be the trigger for more such Michigan commitments. Howard indicated he's looking for the one who gets the ball rolling, much as he himself did with the Fab Five. In addition to loading up the ar- senal, Howard made certain he sur- rounded himself with strong knowl- edge to supplement his own for his first coaching job. He brought on long- time Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli as an assistant, and recently bumped his title up to associate head coach. Howard calls Martelli "The Godfa- ther," knowing that in 24 years of call- ing the shots, he's learned a few things about the game and winning. Meanwhile, Martelli learned plenty 2019-20 BASKETBALL PREVIEW