The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482097
NOVEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 39 how good they all were, but … "I don't think he would have been as dominating in this day and age, though, because he couldn't shoot the three-ball," Jett insisted, with a grin. "He was a tech- nician down low. That's what Jalen Rose says." When reminded that Rose and his dad were two of three NBA All-Stars on the Michigan roster, Jett retorted: "Yeah, true. I just feel like his lateral quickness wasn't there. I'm just saying…" Then he laughs, and comfortably so. He understands the serious business at hand, but he likes to have some fun with it. And he's learning every day. The Wolverines took a team-bonding trip to northern Michigan earlier this year, and in a setting unique to someone reared in Miami, received with his teammates a hard message by junior center Hunter Dickinson. "I'm from Miami, so I've never been anywhere like this before," Jett recalled. "We were at a lake house and having campfires. "At the campfire, Hunter was leading the conversation, like, 'If stuff hits the fan, we've all got to stick together. We don't point fingers.' It's sticking it out and deferring when things get bad. We came to understand that can't happen." Jett knows all too well how serious it is for his father. He saw the tears in his dad's eyes when announced as head coach at Michigan, and it left an impact. "I knew he loved this school, but I didn't know it was like a second home for him," Jett said. "When that day happened, I knew it was something different for him. He was looking at a lot of NBA jobs, but he always told me, 'If Michigan ever offers me a job, I'm taking it right there.' "I could tell by his emotions, the way my mom was looking at him, and his eyes, this place was different for him, and he loved it." Jett professes to love it already, hailing his veteran and newcomer teammates for the group dynamic and feeling immedi- ately welcome. The only cold shoulder he's gotten so far involves getting rebuffed on living with his big brother, and the two getting matched up in practice battles when assistant coach Phil Martelli sets up the practice rosters. "It's like we don't know each other, in a way," Jett said, regarding the heated 2022-23 BASKETBALL PREVIEW