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Michigan Basketball: Juwan Howard goes in-depth on freshman Isaiah Barnes

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•10/08/21•

Jonathan Wagner

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Michigan Wolverines basketball coach Juwan Howard and his team will open with Buffalo Wednesday night. Gregory Shamus via Getty Images.

The Michigan Wolverines are adding a very talented scorer to its roster this season. Michigan head coach Juwan Howard is happy that he was able to reel in four-star recruit Isaiah Barnes.

Howard spoke about Barnes at Big Ten Media Day, where he raved about Barnes’ talents on the court and his character outside of basketball.

“I’ll first start with the person,” Howard said. “I was impressed with getting to know him and his family, as far as the high-character individual he is, a great student, his knowledge for the game of basketball.

“Then I got to know more about his pedigree, what he come from. I have a little bit of knowledge about Chicago basketball, some of the guys that come out of that city, how basketball is considered the number one sport, the passion, the competitiveness being a part of the Public League South where Simeon, he ended up transferring to. Yes, he did blow up. People did not know much about him.”

Howard is glad that he was able to get Barnes to Michigan

Michigan is coming off of an impressive 23-5 season that saw the Wolverines go 14-3 in Big Ten games. The Wolverines were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before eventually losing in the Elite Eight to UCLA, capping an impressive run on the year.

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Adding Barnes to an already talented roster should keep Michigan in a great spot entering the new season. Barnes had great seasons in his junior and senior high school years. As a junior at Oak Park’s River Forest in Illinois, Barnes averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals per game. As a senior for Simeon Career Academy, Barnes averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Barnes was a Class 4A All-State selection as a senior. He was also a Chicago Sun-Times All-Area selection last season.

Michigan is led by talented forward Hunter Dickinson, who returns to school instead of entering the NBA Draft. Last season, Dickinson averaged 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds and was a consensus All-American as a freshman. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein named Dickinson a first team Preseason All-American. With Dickinson and Barnes, Michigan will have an immensely talented young duo to lead the way this season.

Howard is entering his third season as Michigan’s head coach. He was the Big Ten Coach of the Year last season.