The Top 25 Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989: No. 3

The fourth member of the Fab Five — Juwan Howard — enters our list ranking the top players for the Michigan Wolverines since the 1989 national championship. The first commitment in the recruiting class that changed the trajectory of college basketball, Howard was the ultimate glue guy who developed into one of the most decorated players in the history of the program. Even with a forgettable tenure as head coach, Howard’s an iconic name that will forever be tied to Michigan.

No. 3 – F Juwan Howard – Score: 191.1

If it weren’t for Howard, the Fab Five would have never happened. He played recruiter as a high schooler to bring Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Chris Webber to Ann Arbor. Before the one-and-done culture of college hoops, Michigan was the first to boast a starting lineup of five freshman, four of whom were McDonald’s All-Americans. It was completely unprecedented and the team’s flare, domination and cultural significance revolutionized not just college basketball, but the sport altogether.

Advertisement

Webber was the most talented, Rose is the most recognizable personality, but Howard was the steadiest player across his three seasons with the Wolverines. As a freshman, he put up 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while starting 31 of 34 games. Because of the presence of Webber and Rose, Howard was the guy who was asked to do most of the dirty work, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He was routinely that guy on the other team you didn’t want to mess with.

By the time all five freshmen were starting, it wasn’t just that the team had talented underclassmen starting. It was the fact they dominated the court together. Michigan was 13-5 before the Fab Five all started that season, and it went 12-4 after. And that was against far superior competition on the Wolverines’ way to their first of consecutive National Championship appearances. They were a 6-seed in their first NCAA Tournament and toppled Ohio State, a team that had beaten them by…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/top-25-michigan-men-basketball-110000604.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-08-15 11:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.