WATCH: Juwan Howard previews Minnesota, Penn State at The Palestra, talks Michigan football Rose Bowl win
Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Juwan Howard met with the media Wednesday afternoon ahead of his team’s Thursday night matchup with Minnesota. Watch video of his press conference in the player at the top of the screen or on our YouTube channel.
Michigan basketball is preparing for a matchup with Minnesota, but head coach Juwan Howard also made sure he was locked into the Wolverine football team’s game against Alabama Monday at the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines won, 27-20 in overtime, and are headed to the national championship game against Washington.
“My mindset was, let’s get together as a team and let’s watch it,” Howard began. “But then I’m thinking, I need to be dialed in, and I can’t have any distractions while I’m watching this game, because I feel that I have to be in the right seat with the right clothes on to watch and lock into every play that’s on the floor, whether it’s defense, offense, special teams, you name it. So, I needed to focus, so I said, well, you know what, we all will watch the game and make that decision on our own. So, some [Michigan basketball] players watched it together, invite other guys to their apartments, which I thought was pretty cool.
“Me and my wife, we watched it, but then there were times when she sat next to me when in the second half, when Alabama made their run and they had the ball in the third quarter, I felt that she brought some bad luck. So, she had to change her seat.
“So with that, it was beautiful to see. Everyone talked about … granted, I have so much respect for [Alabama coach] Nick Saban — great coach, hall of famer, and he does an amazing job preparing his team. And I know in four weeks, we all were very nervous about what his preparation would be, and he and his staff did a hell of a job with that. But we don’t give enough credit to [Michigan head] coach [Jim] Harbaugh and his staff — and I say ‘we’ collectively, just in general. His preparation with he and his staff and players was special.
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“It was great to see when we needed to score in the second half, we scored. And when we needed to get a stop, we got our stops. And that shows the mental toughness when the game was going. In the third quarter, when Alabama was making their run, our mindset, our attitude did not change.”
Continued the Michigan coach: “It goes to the fact to how our coach and staff prepared our [Michigan] players and also how the players who are the leaders kept everyone mentally stable. I, of course, learned a lot from that, and I feel our players learned a lot from it as well. We took away mental stability no matter what and how when things are not going your way, how you have to stay locked in and just finish. Finish, finish, finish, finish.
“With that, I think Coach Harbaugh — I know Coach Harbaugh and his [Michigan] staff is the best coaching staff in the country. We have one more game to play, and we’re going to play against a tough team in Washington, and I know I gotta figure this out as far as how I’m going to watch the game and what clothes I’m going to wear, because I gotta bring some good energy to our football team.”
