The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 19 2021 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE were on the roster … to understand the personalities, and then also help the players understand some of the things Coach was trying to commu- nicate." A lot of that was bridging the pre- vious staff's ideas with the new ter- minology and how Howard wanted to do things — which, frankly, wasn't a whole lot different than the way Beilein operated. Howard smartly used plenty of the same offensive philosophies that had been success- ful, added a number of his own and produced a championship product in his second year. On the recruiting side, he was ready to hit the ground running when he arrived. "He had a really good pulse on the prospects out there, because obvi- ously with Jace and Jett [his basket- ball-playing sons] still being in high school at that point, he was aware of more of the in-state kids and kids we had already been recruiting, where things stood there," Washington con- tinued. "But obviously, the recruiting rules and NCAA rules, they don't exist in the NBA. I think Phil and I were able to stand in the gap a little bit and speed up that learning curve a bit as well." Both had years and years of expe- rience, of course, Washington as an assistant and Martelli as the head coach at Saint Joseph's. It became a finely tuned machine the first season; in year two, that group along with second-year assistant Howard Eisley has produced the nation's No. 1 re- cruiting class. With that, program momentum continues to build. AN ELITE GROUP It started last summer when Chi- cago native Isaiah Barnes pledged seemingly out of the blue. In reality, Howard had been working on the wing from his old stomping grounds for a while; Barnes just wasn't ad- vertising his every move on social media. The 6-7, 180-pound Simeon High product had plenty in common with his future coach, leading to a great relationship and, ultimately, a com- mitment from the consensus four- star prospect. "The first thing that really jumps out about Zay is his athleticism," Washington said. "He's a high-level Assistants Explain Juwan Howard's Genuine Approach To Recruiting Michigan head coach Juwan Howard has made a splash since arriving on the scene, both as a coach and a recruiter. He followed up the nation's No. 16 recruit- ing class — one that included second-team All-America center Hunter Dickinson — with the country's No. 1 haul. There's no B.S. to him, Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli said recently, one of the reasons he resonates so well with players and their families both on recruiting trail. Martelli insisted when he decided to join Howard — after years of being the head coach at Saint Joseph's — his new boss had what it took to be elite. Even so, Howard has exceeded his expectations. "What has exceeded my expectations — and it sounds like a crazy thing — is his inability to get tired," Martelli said. "… He just doesn't wear down in recruiting. "His pace — it's not relentless, but it's consistent, and it's like recognizing the time. He knows, for example, that two days prior to the UCLA game is not the time to be perusing the transfer portal, but he knows when it's right. "Even when there are twists and turns. Let's say that a young guy you think the path is to the left, and all of a sudden in the middle of the path you've got to make a right turn or start over with another kid … from years and years and years of experience, I know, that hits you in the gut — but he just has an ability to keep flowing. That's pretty unique." Howard's genuine and honest, too, the veteran college mentor continued, and players and their families have come to appreciate it. There's no "smoke and mir- rors" — no promises other than each kid will get his shot. As much as anything, assistant Saddi Washington added, he's also able to relate to the players. Howard's been in their shoes and knows what to say, how to say it — and as graduated guard Chaundee Brown and others have noted, he backs it up when they get here by being the same guy he was when he was recruiting them. "Everything people say is exactly who he is," Washington said. "I always say he is a great connector of people. When you come through in an authentic way, it helps people really connect and be comfortable making decisions about whether or not Michigan is the right place, because there's no better model or mentor these young men can have. "With coach Juwan, I don't know if they were doing five-star, four-star stuff when he was coming out of school, but he would have been equivalent to a five- star prospect. He had an incredible collegiate career, went on to have an amazing professional playing and coaching career." He's "walked the walk that all of these young men would love to have," Wash- ington noted, and they trust he can help them reach their dreams. He already has with a few, and he's just getting started. — Chris Balas HOWARD EISLEY PHIL MARTELLI SADDI WASHINGTON