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Juwan Howard updates injury return from Jaelin Llewellyn

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•03/15/23•

SamraSource

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Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines talks with Jaelin Llewellyn #3 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of a college basketball game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at Crisler Arena. Both men are healing. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

As Michigan continues their NIT Tournament run, Juwan Howard spoke with the media about one of the Wolverines who wasn’t on the court in Jaelin Llewellyn.

The Princeton transfer suffered a torn ACL in a 73-69 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 4 and hasn’t seen the court since, but Howard is proud of how the young man’s rehabilitation is going at the moment, as the Wolverines coach elaborated on things.

“We want to get him healthy, that’s the key,” started Howard. “Some tough injuries. Achilles, now ACL. Trying to get him a contact with Klay Thompson. We’ll continue working on that, because Klay, who’s been through it before, understands what it’s like going through two tough injuries, and the timetable and the mental part of it. How you can stay dialed in, but also how you can not get to a dark place. That can happen.

“Jalen has been great. I think it’s nice to see that he’s staying around the guys, and around the team. Everyone loves him. He’s such a smart guy, but he’s also such an all-in kind of person. That’ll be nice to see, when Jalen gets healthy again and we’ll go from there.”

Michigan misses Jaelin Llewellyn, and the Wolverines guard wants nothing more than to be on that court. Until then, he’ll continue to cheer on his teammates, hoping they’re the last team standing at the end of the NIL Tournament.

Jaelin Llewellyn reveals how hard it was to get torn ACL diagnosis

Moreover, Llewellyn originally went down with a non-contact left knee injury and doctors determined he had suffered a torn ACL that would end his season with the Wolverines.

“It was torn ACL, and then what went through my mind was definitely challenging, because it’s not what I wanted from this year,” Llewellyn said. “I wanted to be able to play the rest of the season with these guys. But I’ve been in a long rehab situation before, so I’ll be able to bounce back.”

Llewellyn had averaged more than 15 points per game at Princeton in each of the last two seasons before transferring to Michigan as a graduate transfer ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Despite the setback, though, Llewellyn has managed to keep a positive attitude and a day-by-day approach despite not knowing exactly what his plans for the future are.

Some of that is simply a product of experience.

“I’ve torn my Achilles before,” Llewellyn said.