WATCH: Juwan Howard previews Michigan State, discusses rivalry
Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Juwan Howard met with the media Monday afternoon ahead of his team’s game at Michigan State Tuesday night at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Watch video of his press conference in the player at the top of the screen or on our YouTube channel.
Howard gave his initial thoughts on the matchup with the Spartans.
“It’s great to have a rivalry game in-state,” Howard said. “This is always fun times for the entire state to really tune in and see two teams that do a really good job of competing for the bragging rights,” the Michigan coach said. “We are looking forward to the competition, which we always do. We expect it’s going to be a very warm, welcoming environment for us when we arrive tomorrow.”
Michigan has lost three straight games and only won one this month. Howard discussed the vibe in the locker room with a rivalry game up next.
“Well, I’ll tell you, our guys are pumped up and excited about this,” Howard said. “We’ve always been like that with any opponent that we’ve faced. When you go into a lion’s den on the road … the road is always a challenging environment, but the best part about it is you get so locked into knowing that it’s us, Michigan, versus everybody. With saying all of that, you’ve got fans cheering against you, players in their home comfort area, there are coaches in their locker room feeling comfortable. I always enjoy playing on the road, and I know our guys are looking forward to it.
“Whenever you play against your rival, it’s a beautiful moment to get an opportunity to play against two teams that really will never, ever invite one another for dinner.”
Michigan will be without point guard Dug McDaniel Tuesday night, with the sophomore still not able to play in road games due to an academic issue. Howard was asked if his status has changed, and he informed the public that it has not.
“What would make it different?” Howard lightheartedly pressed a reporter. “If you hear something, you let me know, OK? But I haven’t. All hands on deck!
“We don’t look at who we don’t have. We get locked in on the guys who are gonna put that jersey on. Everyone that’s gonna be available, we trust that those guys will give us the best chance to win.”
Graduate forward Tray Jackson did return to action after missing four games due to a concussion and broken nose, but he didn’t see any action in the second half. The Michigan coach said that Jackson’s condition is still improving.
“Yes, Tray is still working his way back,” the Michigan coach said. “But the flow of the game is, we had a hell of a thing going on, a good run with [junior guard] Jace [Howard] and [redshirt sophomore forward] Will [Tschetter] in the game. The amount of points that we scored with the two of them in the game, I think, we had scored like 12 to 14 points, and then when they got subbed out of the game, that’s when the scoring drought ended, because I inserted all of the starters with eight minutes to go and we couldn’t score after that. So, it was tough to bring Tray in. But he’s available.”
