Juwan Howard opens up on Hunter Dickinson's leadership for Michigan

Juwan Howard’s Michigan squad leans heavily on their youth with a number of freshmen receiving significant minutes in the Wolverines rotation. But they also lean on their veteran center Hunter Dickinson, their leading scorer who’s also trying to come into his own as the team’s leader, filling in the role previously held by Eli Brooks last season.

“Well you can never replace an Eli, and that’s how valuable he was to this team because of not just his production on the floor but his leadership on the court and then also in practice,” Howard said. “One of the things Hunter we’re asking for him to improve on is leadership in practice as well as in games. And that’s a part of his growth, he’s not there yet, but he is embracing it as we continue to keep holding him accountable and he holds himself accountable.”

As Dickinson continues to grow as a leader, Howard shed light on a Wolverine that may not appear as much in the box score but has been doing his part to lead the team, Jace Howard.

“I will feel that yes, he’ll never be the Eli of the leader that we had, but we need definitely leadership. One of the guys that’s been a great leader for us consistently has been Jace. We just need more leadership from guys that are in the rotation, consistent rotation minutes I’m speaking of,” Howard said.

Howard gave a breakdown of what leadership means to him, explaining its importance and what it takes in order to lead.

“Leadership comes in all different ways, and in sports it comes in practice, how you lead and how you conduct yourself by your energy, and effort, and your voice. Leadership comes from how you prepare yourself in a weight room, the work you put in when no one’s watching,” Howard explained. “Leadership comes from the work you put in on the court when there’s non-practice days or you come in early in between classes and get extra work in. Leadership also comes in games when things are not going your way and when teams going on runs or we’re not doing our habits.”

Howard definitely knows a thing or two about leadership, being one of the leaders of Michigan’s Fab Five team from 1991 to 1994. He also had a 19-year-long NBA career, particularly bringing a veteran leadership and experience towards the end of the career that was valuable to multiple franchises.

“You can definitely lead when you up by 20, I mean everybody could be a leader then because everything’s going great, that’s when all the rah rah rah comes out. There’s always different ways to lead, but lets keep in mind too, everyone’s not a leader. And that’s key, that should definitely be said and not everyone knows how to lead and that’s where I know as a coach you can’t always be that leader for your players because your voice sometimes be heard a lot can get stale,” Howard said.