The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2023 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan guard Jett Howard achieved his goal of being a one-and-done prospect. He's off to the NBA Draft after a standout freshman season in Ann Arbor that saw him earn third-team all-conference (media) and all-freshman team recognition in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have had immense success with the NBA Draft recently, with 15 players selected in the last 12 years (since 2011), but only three have been players who departed after one season. Howard is the fifth to do so from Michigan since 2000, in fact. Interestingly, three of the four prior one-season players occurred during head coach Juwan Howard's tenure, and each of them have come in the last five seasons. Jett Howard joins Ignas Brazdeikis (2019), Moussa Diabate (2022) and Caleb Houstan (2022). Former U-M guard Jamal Crawford went one-and-done in 2000 (eighth overall pick). A projected first-round pick according to many mock drafts, Howard is likely to become the first Michigan one-and-done to be selected in the open- ing round since Crawford, with Brazdeikis, Diabate and Houstan all being second-round choices. Diabate, who's on a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and their G League affiliate, the Ontario Clippers, and Houstan are in their rookie NBA seasons. Diabate has appeared in 22 games with one start, totaling 59 points, 50 rebounds, 8 blocks, 7 steals and 4 assists in the NBA. The Clip- pers made the playoffs. He saw time in 18 G League contests, averaging 15.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Houstan, meanwhile, played in 51 games with four starts as a role player on a young Magic team that didn't make the postseason. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per outing. Brazdeikis stuck in the NBA and G League for three seasons from 2019-22 but is now playing for Žalgiris Kaunas, which competes in both the LKL and EuroLeague and is based in his home country of Lithuania. — Clayton Sayfie Michigan senior Nikhai Hill-Green is back from a season off due to injury and ready to come back with a vengeance in 2023. The linebacker notched 50 tackles two years ago in his first taste of significant game action and seemed primed for a breakout year in 2022 before getting hurt in the preseason. Hill-Green is back to full strength now, and notched 4 tackles (including 2 solo, 1 for loss) in the spring game. We caught up with him in early April for this Q&A: The Wolverine: We kept hearing throughout last season you might be back, might be back … but then you never played. What exactly was your injury? Nikhai Hill-Green: "It was a soft tissue injury, and it was just like something you couldn't see. So … I could still run; I could still do everything. It was hard, because I was always pushing through it, and the coaches, they were like, 'Are you good?' I'm never going to say, 'I can't go …' "They just didn't want me to make it worse. I don't really even know how to explain it. You really couldn't see it." The Wolverine: What exactly was the treatment for it, and what did they ask of you? Hill-Green: "I practiced, and I just kept trying to push through it. I would push through it during the week, prepare for the game. That's why some games I dressed, because I was actually trying to play, but it wasn't worth it. They didn't want some- thing that was temporary to be long lasting. And we learned that because I ended up missing my whole season. This [injury] happened in training camp. "I had to answer, and I did. Now I feel like I'm back, and I'm better. I'm just ready to prove it." The Wolverine: How hard was it to watch from the sidelines last year knowing you could be out there helping your team win a title? Hill-Green: "It was one of the hardest things in my life. I just feel like I did what I'm supposed to do, put in the work. I outworked everyone. I overdo during my process. It was hard. "I didn't deserve it, but it made me better as a person and a football player. I'm just glad. It just makes me appreciate the journey way more." The Wolverine: You said you were full speed now this spring. When did you finally get back to where you were two years ago? Hill-Green: "This makes me mad to even talk about, but a little bit after the TCU game [Dec. 31 Fiesta Bowl], I felt like I was 100 percent. It hurts. My family would tell you it hurts me to my core. Because I was like, 'Dang bro, if I'm 100 percent now, I definitely could have helped us in the TCU game [a 51-45 loss] some type of way.' "But everything happens for reason. I just had to push through it. I feel like I'm good to go now." The Wolverine: You are part of a loaded team here with talent and depth at every position. What's it going to take to get to the next step and win a national championship? Hill-Green: "Little things. Attention to detail. Just little things like cleaning up the locker room, being on time every day where you need to be. Everyone. "Our weakest link is going to be the person that in a sense wins us a national championship, be- cause once we get to late November and Decem- ber, those teams already know who our best play- ers are. It's going to be our weakest players on the field that are going to win us games … progressing throughout the season, getting better week by week. "By the end of the season, we have to be a better team than we were starting the season." — Chris Balas Hill-Green started six games and made 50 tackles as a sophomore in 2021 but missed his entire junior season with a soft-tissue injury last fall. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL HOW MICHIGAN'S ONE-AND-DONE PROSPECTS HAVE FARED ❱ Sitting Down With Senior Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green Player Year Drafted Years In NBA Current Team Jett Howard 2023 TBD – June 22 — — Caleb Houstan 2022 No. 32 (second round) 1 Orlando Magic Moussa Diabate 2022 No. 43 (second round) 1 Los Angeles Clippers (two-way contract) Ignas Brazdeikis 2019 No. 47 (second round) 3 Žalgiris Kaunas (LKL and EuroLeague)