It’s fair to assume that Michigan basketball landing Jett Howard, son of head coach Juwan Howard, was a slam dunk. They got the commitment, but it wasn’t super clear cut.
The four-star IMG Academy product had plenty of attention from other schools, even if others may have assumed that he’d go to Michigan no matter what. Georgetown, NC State, and Tennessee were all finalists to land him, but he ultimately chose the Wolverines.
After the decision, Jett admitted that he was almost wearing Vols orange, not maize and blue. As recently as this week, he says Tennessee was the pick. Ultimately, having your father as a lead recruiter gave Michigan a big advantage.
“Honestly, starting Monday, I was going to go to Tennessee,” he told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi, per Saturday Tradition. “I was locked on going to Tennessee. Then I just sat down with my dad and had a heart to heart moment and he told me everything, really, that I needed to hear. He told me he trusted me and all the things he needs from me… I really just believed in him and took the chance.”
Committed ‼️ @TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/kTmvLj99yS
— Jett Howard (@JettHoward5) October 13, 2021
Jett Howard says he discussed the decision with his IMG coach, as well as his mom before settling on Michigan. Like any other recruit, he got to call and tell his father the good news: that he’ll be playing for him in Ann Arbor.
From MLive:
“’On the way to the airport I told my mom. I was about to leave to go back to IMG (in Bradenton, Florida) and I told ‘em. I was like, ‘Mom, I kind of just want to get this thing out the way.’ She was like, ‘OK, let’s do it. Let’s call the coaches. Let’s figure out what you want to do.’
“’So she got my aunt on the phone and we kind of broke it down and figured out Michigan was the right place. So I told her, then we called the other coaches and informed them about what’s going to happen.”
“He then called his dad, who is entering his third season as Michigan’s head coach. ‘My dad was super excited. He was going around the office in front of everybody like, ‘My son just committed to me.’ It was a good moment. It was nice.’”
247 ranks Howard as the No. 37 overall player in the class, and the No. 11 small forward.
The post Juwan Howard’s Son, Jett, Nearly Committed To Another School appeared first on The Spun.