Tag: Juwan Howard

Michigan basketball reacts to jumping to No. 4 from being unranked

What Juwan Howard and a slew of players had to say about going from unranked to No. 4 with the No. 1 Cardinals up next.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  It was huge news on Monday, when the Wolverines came in at No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25.

Michigan was previously unranked, but impressed the entire nation by storming into the Bahamas and winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament last week, having to go through both the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Under the previous regime in Ann Arbor, there’s be little attention paid attention to about the rankings. With Juwan Howard now leading the charge, it’s not that there’s more of a focus on it — but there’s a recognition of the hard work it took to get the nation’s attention.

Still, Howard says, the team has to focus and worry more about taking things one game at a time, because true championships aren’t won in the first month-plus of the season.

“I saw it – my son called me and told me about it,” Howard said. “He was excited as well as surprised, but he also felt that we earned it. I agree with him. At the end of the day it’s early. Championships are not won – yes, we won a championship during Thanksgiving play, but the NCAA Championship in April – you can’t get there yet until you start playing the Big Ten (Conference). We have many of those to try to go out there and achieve.”

The new rankings certainly are resonating in Crisler Center, helping galvanize the team as it prepares to take on the newfound No. 1 in the country on Tuesday night in the Louisville Cardinals.

Michigan is hoping that it can repeat the current trend of taking down, not only a top ten team, but the No. 1 overall squad, as Louisville is the fourth top-rated team in five weeks — with preseason No. 1 MSU losing in the opening contest to Kentucky, Kentucky getting similarly upset to unranked Evansville, and Duke getting surprised by Stephen F. Austin.

But like their head coach, the Wolverines players, while they’re happy to see a number — a high one — next to their name after last week’s accomplishments, they’re aware that it means little if they don’t take care of business moving forward.

“For sure, I would be lying if I didn’t say it was refreshing,” DeJulius said. “It’s really helping us for our confidence. But it’s gonna be the same mindset, same approach that got us here. Just continuing to work hard each and every day in practice, continue to trust each other, have fun together, trust this coaching staff. When you do those things, those are the recipe to win it.”

“It’s big news for us, being unranked and jumping up that high,” senior center Jon Teske added. “But, at the same time, we’re not really worried about that. We were unranked and people weren’t talking about us and we were just doing our job. We gotta come in each and every day with that mentality that, yeah, people are talking about us now. Continue to come in everyday and do our job, and continue to do what we did to get to this point.”

But will they be able to keep the pedal down on the floor, that’s the question?

Howard is sure that his group will remain focused, given how they’ve handled the offseason, the early season, and the success they’ve had to this point.

“I have a very hardworking, humble, driven, focused team that understands what we set out to do,” Howard said. “We’ve always been very – kept everything in house, pride on how we approach things. As a family, we feel we have team goals that we have to achieve. We’re going to keep driving and forging ahead.”

Michigan and Louisville tip-off at 7:30PM at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Juwan Howard shares what Michigan has to do against No. 1 Louisville

What the Wolverines head coach had to say about the challenge of facing the No. 1 team on the road.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  For the second time in a four-day stretch, a top 25-ranked Michigan team will face off against the No. 1 team in the nation.

While it didn’t work out well for the football team this past Saturday, the basketball team is coming off two-straight top ten wins, which is why the Wolverines found themselves moving from the land of the unranked all the way to No. 4 in the country on Monday.

Michigan might be undefeated, but so, too, is Louisville, and with this game on the road, it’ll be a more daunting challenge than even the wins over then No. 6 North Carolina and then No. 8 Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

So what do the maize and blue have to do to get a win over the Cardinals? Quite a lot in head coach Juwan Howard’s eyes.

“They’re a very good team, obviously – the rankings show that,” Howard said. “They play extremely hard defensively. They play with a lot of energy at home. Very good team to transition – generate 15 points in transition. So must get back. Also, we must guard the three-point line. Their attackers do an excellent job of getting out in transition trying to get a layup to finish or make plays for others. This is the kind of big game where we have to take on the challenge guarding one-on-one as well as getting back in transition.

“And, last but not least, boxing out on rebounds, because they hit the offensive glass really hard.”

While the last three games equated to three wins, and it was the first three games away from Crisler Center, it’ll be a different environment entirely on Tuesday.

Being on a neutral court when you’re a big program like Michigan can mean that many of the fans in attendance are loudly rooting for you. That won’t be the case when the Wolverines head to the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday night.

This will be Michigan’s first true road test of the season, made all the more challenging because of the quality of opponent. However, the team has not only made it through the first series of challenges unscathed, thus, it’s ready for the next obstacle in Louisville.

“We’re playing in a tough environment,” Howard said. “We’re going into the lion’s den, I would say. They play extremely well at home. This is going to be our first time being road tested in non-conference play. I’m looking forward to the challenge and I know our players are, too.”

The Wolverines and Cardinals are set to tip-off on Tuesday night at 7:30PM at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

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Juwan Howard motivates Michigan with sideline graphic of P.J. Tucker

University of Michigan hoops coach Juwan Howard explains why he motivated his team with a sideline image of Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team is off to a 7-0 start in the 2019-20 college hoops season, and they unexpectedly won this week’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament title by knocking off two powerhouses in No.6 North Carolina and No. 8 Gonzaga on neutral floors.

How did they do it? At least in part, a sideline graphic of gritty Houston Rockets veteran P.J. Tucker seems to have played a role.

The Wolverines have a new coach this season in former NBA forward Juwan Howard, who played three seasons himself with the Rockets from 2004 through 2007. To remind his team on the court of the importance of defensive communication, Howard held up a poster image from the sideline of a 34-year-old Tucker wearing a U.S. national team jersey.

When asked about it postgame after Friday’s win over Gonzaga, Howard explained to reporters:

P.J. Tucker called me yesterday to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving, and wanted to know why I was using his picture. And I told him it’s because of this video of him I showed my team while he was competing for a spot on the U.S. National team last summer. Now, here’s a guy who’s a veteran who’s made a lot of money, and still you were out there talking and communicating so much defensively. So I used you as an example to my team we need to be more like P.J. Tucker.

Tucker ultimately didn’t play for the 2019 U.S. team this summer in the World Cup, since an ankle injury forced him to withdraw early. But the 6-foot-5 forward clearly made a big impact on the squad in his time during training camp and exhibition play.

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On his Instagram account, Tucker posted pictures late Friday of Howard holding up his image. “To see him use me to motivate his kids at [Michigan] is beyond amazing,” Tucker wrote as part of his message, which he finished with a “heart and hustle” hashtag.

Known best for his defense and leadership qualities, Tucker is also delivering offensively this season. His 9.7 points per game on 53.5% shooting and 45.3% from behind the three-point arc are all career highs.

Tucker will return to the court himself when the Rockets host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

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Michigan coach Juwan Howard impressed fans with this selfless act during game

Juwan Howard showed off his leadership skills in a cool way during win.

Former Michigan great Juwan Howard was always seen as a leader during his playing days with the Wolverines and then throughout his lengthy NBA career.

And it looks like those skills are going to help him be successful in his first year as head coach of the Wolverines. Michigan moved to 5-0 with a big win over Iowa State in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas on Wednesday. The victory sets up a date with No. 6 North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day.

Howard’s leadership was on full display when he went out of his way to help wipe some sweat off the court.

He grabbed a towel and got down on his hands and knees, which is something you don’t normally see a coach do:

Twitter loved it:

 

Five takeaways from Michigan hoops vs. Elon

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s win over Elon University in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

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Michigan hosted Elon University on Friday night in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis college basketball tournament.

After a slow start the game, the Wolverines settled in to cruise to a 70-50 victory to improve to 3-0 on the young season. Juwan Howard is off to a strong start in his first stint as a head coach, though far bigger tests await than Michigan’s opening three games against Appalachian State, Creighton and Elon. The Wolverines will potentially play North Carolina later in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, and have future out of conference games against No. 4 Louisville and No. 14 Oregon coming in December.

Below are five takeaways from Friday’s victory for the Wolverines:

1. RESPONDING TO A SLOW START

Michigan opened the game sluggish and uninterested. Through the first ten minutes of play, the Wolverines shot 3-of-12 from the floor — including 1-of-7 from three-point range — and turned the ball over five times. Michigan finished the first half strong however to take a 31-22 into halftime, and carried that into the second half. The Wolverines finished the game 28-of-58 from the field (48 percent) and had just 5 turnovers in the final 30 minutes of play.

2. TESKE DOMINATES THE PAINT

Jon Teske’s game mirrored the Wolverines’ in that he responded after a slow start of his own. The 7-foot center was easily the biggest guy on the floor Friday night, and started to play like it around the midway mark of the first half. Teske finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals to help the Wolverines pull away. The big man also help Michigan dominate the Elon in the paint, as the Wolverines outscored the Pheonix 34-16 down low.

3. DAVID DEJULIUS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

The Wolverines needed a spark after the slow start on Friday night, and that spark came in the form of sophomore David DeJulius. In the first half, the combo-guard had 8 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds for Michigan despite being the shortest player on the floor for the Wolverines. DeJulius finished with 10 points but did not add to his rebounding total in the second half.

4. SHARE THE WEALTH

Michigan finished the game with four players (Teske, DeJulius, Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks) scoring in the double digits, and junior Isaiah Livers was close to double figures with 9 points. The Wolverines moved the ball well offensively, and got multiple people involved once they settled into the game. Michigan finished the game with 12 assists — Simpson led the Wolverines with 7 assists.

5. REBOUNDING STILL A CONCERN

Michigan has struggled to rebound in the early goings this season, and that continued to some degree in this contest. The Wolverines out-rebounded Elon 38-31, but edging the oversized Pheonix by only seven is disappointing. This has become a trend for Michigan this season. The Wolverines were out-rebounded 38-27 against Creighton, after giving up an ugly 18 offensive rebounds to the Bluejays earlier this week. Michigan also struggled to out-rebound lowly Appalachian State in the opener (34-33).

Halftime Analysis: Michigan hoops vs. Elon

Halftime analysis of Michigan’s home game against Elon University in Crisler Arena. The third game of the season for the Wolverines.

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Playing their third consecutive game in Crisler Arena to open the season, Michigan squared off with Elon University on Friday night in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

The Wolverines came out sluggish, trailing by 11-7 midway through the first half. Michigan settled in and dominated the following ten minutes however, surging ahead to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room.

POSTIVES:

  • Defensivly, the Wolverines limited Elon to 9-of-30 from the floor, under 30 percent shooting. Michigan has a sizeable edge in both size and athleticism, and that showed up in a big way on the defensive end of the floor, as the Pheonix had to claw for every bucket.
  • David DeJulius brought energy off the back when Michigan appeared asleep at the wheel in the opening minutes of the game. The sophomore sparked the Wolverines offensively, scoring 8 points on 3-of-3 shooting, including two makes from behind the three-point line. DeJulius also showed his toughness and hustle, leading Michigan by a wide margin in rebounds with 8 despite being the shortest player on the floor. The next closest Wolverine was Jon Teske with 3.

NEGATIVES:

  • Michigan came out very sluggish offensively, and managed only 7 points in the first ten minutes of play. The Wolverines shot 3-of-12 to start the game, including 1-of-7 from the three-point line. Michigan looked uninspired to play against a low-level program like Elon.
  • Turnovers continue to be a problem for the Wolverines, who had five in the first ten minutes of play and finished the half with seven. This continues a trend we’ve seen from Michigan during its opening three games.

Five takeaways from Michigan hoops vs. Creighton

Michigan moved to 2-0 in the Juwan Howard era with a 79-69 win over Creighton on Tuesday night. Five takeaways from the Wolverines win.

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Coming off a season-opening win over Appalachian State last week, Michigan welcomed Creighton to Crisler Arena on Tuesday night for their second consecutive home game to start the year.

After a back-and-forth first half saw the Bluejays take a 41-38 lead into the locker room, the Wolverines responded in the second half, taking the lead and pulling away late for a 79-69 victory. Michigan moves to 2-0 on the year, and will return to game action on Friday against Elon University.

Below are five takeaways from the Wolverines’ win over the Creighton:

1. LIVERS, TESKE LEAD THE WAY

Junior forward Isaiah Livers played phenomenally for the Wolverines, leading the way with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The junior shot well from deep as well, hitting 4-of-7 shots from behind the three-point arc. After a bit of a slow start, senior center Jon Teske had a big second half to finish with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. The senior center asserted his will in the second half, and was a go-to player on offense as the Wolverines put the game away down the stretch.

2. BLUEJAYS DOMINATE THE GLASS

Creighton had their way on the boards, out-rebounding Michigan by a 38-to-27 margin. The Bluejays hit the offensive glass especially hard, with 18 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second chance points for Creighton. Following the game, head coach Juwan Howard said his Wolverines were out-muscled and out-hustled, particularly in the first half. Michigan will have to do a better job rebounding going forward, especially when Big Ten play begins.

3. SIMPSON RETURNS TO FORM

Zavier Simpson had a tough opener against Appalachian State, finishing with six turnovers and shooting just 2-of-8 from the field. Against Creighton, however, the senior returned to what fans have come to expect of him. Simpson finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. More importantly, the senior finished with 9 assists against 4 turnovers, a much better ratio than he had in the season-opener. The senior will need to continue to cut down on his turnovers — he’s averaging 5 per game so far — but this was a step in the right direction.

4. DAVID DEJULIUS STRONG OFF THE BENCH

Sophomore combo-guard David DeJulius played well off the bench as the Wolverines’ sixth man on Tuesday night. DeJulius had 9 points — including an impressive step-back three-pointer while defended closely — and added 7 rebounds in a gritty performance for the second-year guard. The sophomore went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, and his 28 minutes were the fifth-most for the team.

5. GOOD ADJUSTMENTS FROM HOWARD

Creighton got in the lane via the dribble drive at will in the first half, leading to 24 points in the paint, and several kick-out threes after 20 minutes. However, the Wolverines defended better in the second half, cutting down the Bluejays paint points to 18 in the second half. More impressively, Michigan limited Creighton to just 2-of-7 shooting from the three-point line after the break, after the Bluejays hit five triples in the first half. Head coach Juwan Howard and his coaching staff clearly put an emphasis on shutting down the driving lanes during halftime, and the Wolverines responded well. Michigan held Creighton to just 28 points in the second half.

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