Michigan coach Juwan Howard seeks improvement in one big area
Michigan basketball has struggled in the early going, and in many areas. The Wolverines aren’t shooting the ball well, and the defensive rotations have been sketchy.
Guarding one-on-one, too, has been an issue.
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All of these issues are fixable, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard said Friday. There’s one area in particular, though, that he really wants to see improve.
“Taking care of the basketball,” he told reporters in a Zoom conference Friday. “We have averaged 13.5 turnovers a game. That’s an area that we can truly improve on and that we must get better with. Every possession matters.
“If you look at our defensive numbers, we rank up there with the best team in the country. That’s Baylor I’m speaking of. If you look at some of our offensive numbers, we’re right there with the best team in the country [also Baylor]. But one thing they have done better with is they have more possessions than we do.”
In short, Howard said he and his Michigan staff want to see their kids try to make the simple play and value the basketball. Many times they’ll overthink or force plays.
They’ve seen it on film, talked about it in practice and continue to stress it.
“We make some plays that sometimes I scratch my head and wonder, ‘what are we looking at when we try to make that play?'” Howard said. “Sometimes that play is a home run play. I … want to ask them as we stop practice to see what he saw, because maybe he can teach me something. I didn’t see exactly what he saw …
It’s a learning process, he added, to know if a teammate is open, how to deliver the ball on time, on target.
“If he does it, then make the pass and trust that your teammate will make the right play,” he said.
He’s confident they’ll get there. Hopefully, it starts for Michigan Saturday night against Southern Utah.
“I really love and value this group and trust,” he said. “And not only that, I have a positive attitude knowing that we will improve. I’m not giving up on it, and they know it. It’s going to continue to be stressed until we become one of those teams that have 11 or less turnovers per game, because that’s more realistic than 13.5.”
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL NOTES
• Howard was asked what Michigan freshman Kobe Bufkin and sophomore Zeb Jackson had to do to see more time.
“Keep doing what they’re doing. They’re doing a fantastic job of learning the system, learning new habits, asking great questions, watching film and competing in practice,” he said. “With Zeb having missed a lot of time, he’s now catching up and getting better, too.”
• The Michigan freshmen continue to grow. Caleb Houstan, Frankie Collins and Moussa Diabate have had their ups and downs, but they’re learning, Howard said.
“The game is totally different from high school and AAU, and now that you look at it a lot of teams are a lot older,” Howard said. “You have some teams that have seniors or redshirt seniors because of COVID, and they have more experience. Those guys have been freshmen before where they had to really learn a new style of play, learn what’s asked of them from their coaches, learn new habits, and then see the game as they play-by-play, rep-by-rep improve.
“But I love our group, I love our young guys and Kobe, and not only Kobe but Frankie has been consistently in our rotation.”
• One on one defense isn’t the only area in which Howard wants to see Michigan improve. Southern Utah will attack off the dribble, but it’s not just about staying in front of a man .
“Not only guys have to do a better job individually, one-on-one, but the team has to do also a better job with being in the help position,” Howard said. “Not leaving the man on an island by himself.”
