The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 35 was averaging a team-high 15.7 points and shooting 42.9 percent from long range through the first six games. "Fortunately, we have two players, Eli and Frankie, that will have the ball in their hands and will become our de- cision-makers on the floor," Howard said. "Frankie is growing in that area as a freshman. He will continue to grow and get better. "But any coach or team would love to have their guy who is a starter, pri- mary ballhandler, be out there on the floor and not having foul trouble. In the course of the game, it's going to happen. We will just try to continue making adjustments." Jones fouled out of two of his first six games and was in foul trouble against Arizona, as well, limited to 21 minutes. It's been an issue for him going back to his time at Coastal, and it's something he needs to fix. "That's something he also has to learn, not just the coaches," Howard said. "DeVante' is a smart player. You still want him to be ag- gressive, but he's got to be smart ag- gressive without getting himself in foul trouble. "As a player, being a former player [myself ], you've got to figure that out. Sometimes the coaches are not going to be the ones to help you figure it out for you. You've got to have a feel for the game and understanding for how the game is being called — the flow of the game and the situations where you can be overly aggressive. He'll learn that." So, too, will Michigan freshman Caleb Houstan. The shooting guard is known as a great shooter, but he was making only 34.7 percent from the floor, including 25.8 from three- point range, through six games. He was shooting 31.0 and 23.1 percent, respec- tively, before going 4 of 7 (2 of 5 from deep) for 14 points against Tarleton State. "Shooters shoot. Keep shooting it," Howard said with a laugh when asked what he tells his freshman. "That's how you get out of a shooting slump. Keep shooting it. Keep letting it fly." He's confident it will get better, just as he's confident his team will improve.