{"id":19182,"date":"2021-02-15T14:48:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19182"},"modified":"2021-02-15T14:53:20","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:53:20","slug":"what-juwan-howard-is-doing-at-michigan-is-simply-incredible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19182","title":{"rendered":"What Juwan Howard is doing at Michigan is simply incredible"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Michigan Wolverines, playing yesterday for the first time in 23 days after a COVID layoff did what no team could do in slowing some of this team’s incredible forward momentum, trailed Wisconsin by 12 at halftime in Madison. Everything we’ve seen this year from sides derailed by protocol suggested that the final half would bring more of the same and Juwan Howard’s crew would limp home with a lopsided, but ultimately inevitable loss in their return to play.<\/strong> \"Juwan\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong>Instead the toughest, perhaps destined team in the nation blitzed the Badgers for 20 minutes, outscoring them 40-20 and emerging with what has to be considered one of the best victories of the college basketball season.<\/strong>Isaiah Livers played all but two minutes and poured in 20 points, including some huge baskets down the stretch. Hunter Dickinson was all that is man, adding another 11 points while grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking five shots. Franz Wagner and the rest of his frontcourt cast held both Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter without a single rebound, encapsulating the winning plays that have so often been maize-and-blue this season.<\/strong>Michigan may not be the most purely talented roster in the country. But it’s a strong possibility they are the best team. At 14-1, they’re on pace to win the Big Ten and earn a top seed if they can survive the gauntlet of makeup games.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\"After <\/a> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bet against them at your own risk.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because Juwan Howard is already what Michigan dreamed he could be, here in Year 2 of the experiment. He’s succeeding on the court and on the recruiting trail. He has reimagined the face of the program and has everyone rowing in the same direction.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn has a great piece today<\/a> detailing the loud ways in which Howard has announced his arrival and the return of the program to elite status, which was a matter of if not when following John Beilein’s departure. The thing that stands out is the organization Howard’s set up, ensuring he’s sharing the labor and fruits of success with an entirely competent and fearless staff.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, of course, is the hallmark of perennial contenders. This is not some flash in the pan in Ann Arbor. A sturdy foundation is there and it will only be fortified as five-star recruits file into their dorms and pull up those famous shorts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A blindingly bright future, though, should not obscure the plain fact that as we sit here today, this is a team that’s proven it can win it all this year. After all, if a 23-day layoff, a hostile road environment, and double-digit halftime hole at the hands of a ranked team prove to be light work, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be up for the heaviest of lifts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What Juwan Howard is doing at Michigan can\u2019t be ignored<\/strong><\/p>\n

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What They’re Saying About Michigan’s Comeback Win Over Wisconsin<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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No. 3 Michigan Wolverines basketball was down by 14 late in the first half against Wisconsin Sunday in Madison. But the Maize and Blue rallied back and took down the No. 23-ranked Badgers to improve to 14-1 overall and 9-1 in Big Ten play.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a look around the country at what they’re saying about Michigan’s win.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Michigan<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

Michigan Wolverines head basketball coach Juwan Howard has his team off to a 9-1 start to Big Ten play.
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<\/figcaption>Credit Wisconsin senior guard Brad Davison, though, for really bringing U-M to life in the second half. Though his elbow into Michigan senior Mike Smith\u2019s face looked anything but inadvertent during a drive to the rim, officials ruled it so, called a technical foul on the Michigan bench instead and could have changed the course of the game for the worse.<\/strong><\/figure>\n
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Juwan Howard wouldn\u2019t let it. He used it to fire his team up, calling Smith\u2019s number on the other end in a calculated move. Smith responded with a finish that cut an 11-point deficit to nine. The Wolverines continued to chip away, finding the smothering defense with which they\u2019d been playing before being inexplicably shut down for three weeks, and held the Badgers to 20 second-half points in a 67-59 victory.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur guys looked at it and saw their brother looking pretty dazed and affected by the elbow, but Mike told his teammates, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m on fire now. I\u2019m ready to go!\u2019\u201d Howard said. \u201cHe also told me \u2014 because I was a little fired up too \u2014 that it was nice to see that they all rallied together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big, huge test of our culture \u2026 the No. 1 thing in our culture, a word that we say and we believe in, is that we all are family. And it goes to show you family got tested and everyone banded together like brothers for their family.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He laughed in acknowledging he absolutely drew up the play for Smith, two of the senior\u2019s six points to go with six assists. It was the motivation they needed to fight through heavy legs, and they all pitched in.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n