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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Two big things are on the horizon for Michigan basketball: Thursday night’s matchup against Nebraska is Senior Day, the final home game for Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske in their Wolverines career. And would the maize and blue bring Austin Davis back for a fifth-year after a recent string of excellent performances off the bench.
With the final home game for the 2019-20 season coming up, head coach Juwan Howard spent the entirety of his Nebraska preview discussing both topics, as the Wolverines look to end the Crisler Center contingent of the regular season on a high note.
Watch the entire press conference above or read the full transcript below.
Opening statement
“Before you begin with your questions, I wanted to make an announcement: as you guys know that tomorrow we’ll be celebrating our Senior Day for Zavier and Jon. But there’s a bigger announcement to make regarding Austin. Austin Davis will be returning for this fifth-year. I gave him the news yesterday. He was super excited. Just to see the smile on his face. He gave me three hugs. And he held me tight, too, so that made me just know from that hug, those hugs, it’s the feeling of a guy who’s really excited about coming back and being a student-athlete here at the University of Michigan.
“We’re excited to have him back because Austin being a great teammate he is, but he’s also a joy to coach. He’s shown great leadership throughout this year. He’s also shown a lot of growth on the court as well as in the classroom. As far as his excitement that’s in his feelings, in his voice, we’re excited to make that announcement and to see one of our guys who is a Michigan man returning next year to help lead this program next season with the future that we’re building here at the school.
“I wanted to let you guys know that. If you have any questions now, feel free.”
How they came to the decision to bring Austin Davis back
“Well we had a great meeting two weeks ago just talking about his future. He shared with me, as far as, I’m aware of anatomy as something he’s strong about and physical therapy is another one of the areas he’s considering in the future. So we talked about that alone as far as his future with the program. On the court, I really admire his work ethic. I really appreciated how he’s came out each day, approached every day of practice, working to get better as a player, inserting to help his teammates. You’ve seen the growth this season. We’ve all witnessed it. It was an easy decision for me just knowing we have a guy who’s all in, loves being here at Michigan and loves playing for the team. And I enjoy coaching him.”
Did Austin Davis express wanting to come back?
“Well he was basically just thinking about what was the best situation for his future. I just felt yesterday was the perfect time to let him know we want him back next year.”
Senior Day
“We still have a game to play. Nebraska is a team that, yeah, it doesn’t show up on their record how good they are. But they’ve proven they can beat some teams in the Big Ten. They’ve also proven that they’re a very competitive team. So we do not want to get distracted by the fact that we do have a game to play, but we will celebrate two of our seniors. Two guys who have been great student-athletes here at the University of Michigan. Has been a joy to coach for the ten months that I’ve been here. And I’m just happy to be a part of their success.”
Austin Davis’ growth
“Well, his production on the court, accepting his role to be a reserve. In the beginning of the season, he was our third center coming off the bench. Originally, I had Colin as that backup center. Austin just came in and practiced. Very supportive, respectful and has did whatever we asked him to do without — let me put it like this — without showing any resistance. So he’s been patient with his role and when his name got called on, whenever he got that time to go out there and compete, he’s always giving us great production off the bench. I’ve never wavered at any point of not playing him, because he’s proven that he deserves to play.
“So overall I’ve seen a lot of growth offensively. When we’ve been able to throw the ball into him, he’s been patient in the low block, and also been effective. I’ve seen how he’s been effective in pick-and-roll situations and guarding a lot of ball screens, buying into the details of the scouting report. Spending a lot of off-time coming into the gym working on his game. Spending time in the film room with myself and assistant coaches. He’s shown that he wants to play basketball and that he enjoys it here at the University of Michigan.”
Before which game did he meet with Austin Davis?
“Yes, we had breakfast. No, I don’t remember which game because all these days are running so close together. Sometimes I forget what day it is, to be honest with you.”
How did he tell him he was offered a fifth-year?
“I told him just one-on-one. I don’t think it was no need to make a big, huge announcement. I just felt like it was the right thing to do and the right way to do it.”
Concerned about being over on scholarships with Davis returning?
“All I can say is I don’t like to look forward to next year because we still have a season to play. I just know that Austin Davis will be a part of it. That’s all I can tell you right here. That’s all I’m comfortable saying at this moment.”
If and when Howard knew Davis would contribute as he is?
“Yes, I did. When we first started our development workouts in July, I recall having a coaches retreat with our staff. This was back in September. And I asked each staff member to give me a list of eight guys that they’d feel fits that 8-man rotation. And Austin was a part of my eight after what I observed from July until September.”
How the team doesn’t look ahead to the tournaments with two games left
“Our players always know from the leadership that we take game-by-game and control the controllable. Let’s take care of us first. We’ll see at the end of the season where the chips fall.”
What was the key to Davis getting into the rotation
“I just stated it earlier. What he’s done in a practice as well as ways to prove it on the floor with his play out there. He’s just a joy to coach. I’m just enjoying how he’s just blossoming in all our eyes.”
Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske’s overall impact
“What I’ve witnessed from afar, they’ve been great. I’m a big fan of Jon and Zavier as far as how they’ve represented their school and also how they’ve represented their families. The work ethic shows throughout their career how hard they’ve worked, practiced in the offseason and then during the season, each player has gotten better and better. I’m just fortunate that out of almost one season, we’ve developed a great relationship and they’ve been a joy to coach. They’ve been also great leaders for their teammates and great examples of how they’ve gone about their work in practice, in off-days as well as during the season. It’s beautiful. Coach Beilein did a great job of bringing in two Ohio guys that — and I said Ohio, right? Two Ohio guys that did a great job of representing Michigan.
How senior night has evolved since Juwan’s senior night
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have a senior night. I missed out on that opportunity because I left a year early, so I only had three years here at the University of Michigan as a student-athlete. This will be my first senior night.
Is this like his senior night?
“Well, I’m trying to understand what you mean by that. Yeah, that’s true. I’m looking forward to it, then. It’s gonna be a great way to celebrate our seniors. But, like I stated earlier, I’m also thinking about Nebraska. That’s a big priority. I don’t want us to forget we still have a game to play. And it’s an important game for us and it’s our regular season game here in Crisler. I want it to be a good outing and all of us can leave with a smile on our face.”
The dynamic between Jon Teske and Austin Davis
“Man, they have a great relationship. They both are their No. 1 cheerleaders. And I’ve seen how on the bench, when Jon is out there, Austin is very vocal and doing whatever he can to not only help Jon but the other four players that are out there. Giving pointers, being a great leader, saying all the right things in the huddles. I’ve also seen where Austin is out there playing well on the floor, giving us a spark that we need when Jon is resting, that Jon has been his biggest cheerleader. Enjoying someone else’s success. It’s great that you have players that cheer for one another and care for one another. So it’s been fun for me, just seeing how our team has bought into being a family.”
How much Simpson and Teske helped his transition
“That’s a great question. The seniors have — not just our seniors, but all players — all the players on the roster have helped me with my adjustment here. I’m not gonna always get it right, I’m gonna make mistakes. But they’ve been in my corner. They’ve been super supportive. I have learned from my players and I have learned from Zavier, I have learned from Jon. They both are high IQ ball players. They see things out there on the floor that sometimes, we as coaches may miss. There have been times where Zavier, he’s drawing up an ATO and I’ve given him the board to draw it up. There are times when Jon has been the vocal person in our huddles in time outs. Things he may see when it comes to guarding a ball screen. He’d say, ‘No, coach: let’s try it this way.’ ‘Sure, no problem. Let’s go!’ They’ve been great, man. I’m just fortunate to have two players that I have walked into a team and they have embraced me and they have embraced the new culture.”