Michigan Basketball: Juwan Howard saw lots to like in scrimmage
Michigan basketball tips off its third (!) season under head coach Juwan Howard Friday night with an exhibition with Wayne State, but it’s not the first taste of foreign competition. The Wolverines faced DePaul in a scrimmage last weekend, and Howard liked a lot of what he saw.
His team was aggressive defensively, Howard reported, and also unselfish with the ball on offense.
“I saw a lot of really good things in our scrimmage, both sides of the ball,” he said. “Offensively we did a really good job of moving the basketball, making the extra pass. Every guy played well from top to bottom on the roster.
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“On the defensive side of the ball, I thought we were great as far as being disruptive. Very [good] challenging shots; we did a really good job of keeping guys in front. Also, fouls — we weren’t out there just fouling. Sometimes I see in practice we get so physical we sometimes foul each other too many times. My concern is I do not want that to become habit where it leads into the season; where we’re putting teams to the free throw line and also getting them into the bonus early.”
They’ll continue to grow, he added, having identified areas of improvement and going over them in a ‘really good film session’ the following day.
From the first practice (Sept. 29) to now, though, Howard has already seen a lot of growth. His biggest challenge shouldn’t be finding capable bodies; rather divvying up minutes between 10 or more talented players.
“It has benefits — a lot of benefits,” Howard continued. “Coaches will tell you it’s a good problem to have.
“We’re going to present five starters tomorrow. Every guy still is being judged in a positi lveight as far as what’s best for our team moving forward,” he said. “I haven’t decided how many we’re going to go with as far as rotation. The rotation is still being decided and looked at.
“But we have time. There’s no need to rush. It’s nice to have a deeper roster than I had before. The most important thing is having healthy bodies … having healthy players.”
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A group that’s going to compete from start to finish, he insisted, and that’s bought in to sharing the basketball and playing for one another.
They’ll also be attentive defensively. Franz Wagner was elite on that end last year, and now he’s doing his thing with the Orlando Magic. There were a number of players committed to buying in to the defensive side of the ball last year, willing to get ‘uncomfortable’ with some of the details and level of technique Howard and Co. coached, including captain Eli Brooks.
The freshmen, too, have followed suit and bought in, have built winning habits on that end of the floor.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth from day one to where we are now,” Howard said. “The buy in is definitely there. Also, what’s been special about our group is they’re not afraid to ask questions … when a guy asks questions, it shows he’s trying to figure it out, pick it up and make sure he’ll be able to apply everything that’s being taught.
“We have an amazing group that has that attitude and commitment to doing what we can to help the team win.”
