The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1422614
NOVEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 63 BY CHRIS BALAS W e're not for everyone." Juwan Howard has made that clear repeatedly when talking about recruiting, whether it's to re- porters, families or recruits themselves. The program has been held to a high standard on the court and off since John Beilein arrived in 2007-08, and Howard had done his part to ensure the culture has remained intact with his last few classes. Howard and his staff just put the bow on the 2022 group when his son, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Jett Howard (6-7, Rivals.com's No. 35 senior nationally), pledged to the Wol- verines over offers from Georgetown, Tennessee, N.C. State and others, but his success started long before. Last year's highly touted class is al- ready making an impact, assistant coach Phil Martelli said, and not just in the gym. "Starting with John Beilein and all credit to Juwan, these players, the qual- ity of people surpasses the quality of basketball player," Martelli said. "That, to me, is going to carry the day with re- gard to them as a unit. "We will not take a step back in terms of the closeness of our group. That will not be." All four of the pledges in the 2022 class — Howard, Fairfax (Va.) point guard Dug McDaniel (5-10, No. 71), St. Louis forward Tarris Reed (6-8, No. 45) and Florida forward Gregg Glenn (6-7, No. 76) — fit the same mold, scouts have said, and they can also play. McDaniel is a lightning-quick point guard and one of the best setup men in his class, while Reed was one of the most-improved players in his class this summer, rising in the rankings from No. 90 nationally. Glenn has long been a top player in the cycle, while Jett Howard also made a big move from outside the top 50. "It's high-level stuff," Rivals.com analyst Jamie Shaw said of Howard's recruiting efforts. "He's going to con- sistently have top-10-to-15 classes with a couple top-fives mixed in there. That's how you play winning basketball. "He's done a great job of getting guys that kind of fit together. It looks like he's really focusing on mental toughness at the guard position with Dug McDaniel and [class of 2024 point guard pledge] Christian Anderson coming in, a lot of lengthy, playmaking wings. It's good groups of guys that fit together." That's the way it will always be, How- ard said during Oct. 15 Media Day. His 2022 class, ranked No. 6 nationally as of late October, behind only Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas and Ohio State, comes on the heels of last year's consensus top-five group and could get even better if they add another player in the spring, a real possibility depending on attrition. Howard remembered how hard he had to work in the classroom while at Chi- cago Vocational to make sure his grades were good enough for Michigan 30 years ago. That requirement hasn't changed, nor has the significance of getting to know kids on a personal level. "With the evaluation period, it's im- portant you get to know recruits you feel fit your culture. Getting to know BASKETBALL RECRUITING Juwan Howard's Michigan Is Proving Right For Plenty Of Top Recruits When evaluating recruits, Howard looks for performance in the classroom as well as on the court, in addition to making sure the players bring the right mindset and will fit in with the team culture at Michigan. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "