Juwan Howard’s Son Will Honor Him in a Special Way at Michigan
Juwan Howard had his first season of coaching at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Howard was excited to be named head coach at the school he spent his college career.
The former Michigan Wolverines star will coach his son Jace this upcoming season, and Jace will honor his father in a special way.
Juwan Howard was a part of a special team when he played at Michigan
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Everyone that’s a big fan of college basketball knows about the Fab Five. Juwan Howard was a part of that special team at Michigan who had a lot of success. The Fab Five featured Howard, Jalen Rose, Chris Weber, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. Howard was a top recruit out of high school, and he helped Michigan become one of the top basketball schools in the country. During his freshman year, Howard averaged 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Michigan made it to the NCAA championship game and took on Duke in a highly anticipated game.
Duke defeated Michigan 71-51. Howard and his other teammates were eager to get back to the title, and they did just that. During Howard’s sophomore season, he and the team continued to have success and found themselves back in the championship game. This time they matched up against North Carolina. Michigan came close to winning a title that year but fell short, losing 77-71. Howard averaged 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Howard’s junior year was his final season at Michigan. By that time, Weber was already off to the NBA. The versatile forward had his best season during his junior year averaging 20.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. He was a first-team All-Big-Ten member and was an Associated Press third-team All-American. Howard finished his career averaging 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Juwan Howard’s NBA career
Howard was the fifth overall pick to the Washington Bullets during the 1994 NBA draft. During his rookie season, he had an impressive performance averaging 17 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. Howard was with Washington from 1994 to 2001. During that time, he made an All-Star team and made the All-NBA Third Team during his second NBA season.
After his time in Washington, he bounced around the league playing for multiple teams. Howard played for eight different teams during his NBA career. During the early to middle part of his career, he put together some impressive numbers. Howard was the type of player who accepted his role. Whether he was starting or coming off the bench, he left it all on the court. During his final two seasons, he won back-to-back titles as a member of the Miami Heat. Howard finished his NBA career averaging 13.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.
Juwan Howard’s son will wear his jersey number at Michigan
Howard immediately started coaching after his playing career was over. He joined the Heat coaching staff in 2013 as an assistant coach and served in that position until 2019. That’s when his alma mater called and offered him the position as head coach. Howard signed a five-year contract with the team.
Howard’s son, Jace, will have the pleasure of playing under his father for the next four to five years. The incoming freshman will wear the same number that his father wore at Michigan, No. 25. On Jace’s twitter page, he posted photos of No. 25, and he also said, “Blessed to wear the 25.”
“Wearing #25 has been something I have wanted for a long time. Getting my dad’s blessing made it truly an amazing moment for both of us & our family. He made #25 an iconic number at Michigan & I will wear it with pride every day,” Jace said via the program’s basketball twitter account. For Juwan, it’s all full circle. He once wore No. 25 at Michigan, and now he’ll get to see his son wearing that number while coaching him.
