Michigan freshman Youssef Khayat joins Wolverines in Paris, meets Juwan Howard for first time
As first reported by TheWolverine.com Tuesday, Michigan freshman forward Youssef Khayat — a native of Beirut, Lebanon and French youth league standout — has been cleared to join the Wolverines on their 10-day European tour that began Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, Khayat has done so, with the program releasing a video of his arrival on Twitter.
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard finally met Khayat in person. The head coach clapped as he emerged from the team hotel’s front door.
“Yo-Yo!” Howard said, calling Khayat by his nickname. “Let’s go baby!”
The two shared an embrace before exchanging words.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Khayat said, to which Howard replied, “We’re so happy to have you here — finally. Welcome to the family.”
The Wolverines will also travel to Greece and play three exhibition games in total as part of their once-every-four-years trip overseas.
In an interview with Brian Boesch on the Defend The Block podcast, Khayat explained why he chose the Maize and Blue, despite not meeting the Michigan coaching staff and players in-person.
“It’s kind of weird because I didn’t meet them, I still didn’t meet them,” Khayat said. “So just hearing from them, hearing from people how great they are, and how great the community is. Because as you know, in Michigan, there are a lot of Lebanese people. So I asked a lot of people how they think about the city, and about the community, and all I heard was the positive stuff.
“I even heard from someone who was an ex-Michigan, from the basketball team, who told me that the coaching staff is one of the best in the country. And so for me, this immediately [helped me] feel at home. I was seeing a lot of messages from fans too, telling me to come, and so I loved it.”
This past season for Limoges CSP, Khayat averaged 17.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and nearly two assists per game in one of Europe’s top youth leagues. He’s also a stellar defender, potentially stronger on that end of the floor than with the ball in his hands at this point in his development.
“I’m someone who gives his all — always,” Khayat explained of his playing style and what he’ll bring to Michigan. “I’m always giving 100 percent on defense and offense. I’m someone who runs the court, who likes to penetrate, and who loves shooting too. So I think I can fit perfectly with the team.
“With the national team, I was always taking the best player on the court. I had this job to always guard the best players, so this helped me a lot, especially in the last couple of months, where I was always in practice and in the matches to guard the best. So I’m someone who’s always willing to defend, to take the steals, take risks. I love playing defense.”
