Hunter Dickinson leads Howard’s first true freshman class into critical season

Hunter Dickinson understands the space he and his teammates occupy in Michigan’s future. Together, they are Juwan Howard’s first full recruiting class — the first group of players that will allow the second-year head coach to put his definitive stamp on the program.

Remnants of the John Beilein era still remain. Dickinson was initially recruited under Beilein and guard Zeb Jackson will be Beilein’s last commit to debut for the Wolverines. But forwards Jace Howard — Juwan’s son — and Terrance Williams are both entirely Howard’s doing, making the class as a whole a distinct indicator of a new era.

“We’re aware that we’re Juwan’s first children, so to say,” Dickinson said Tuesday. “We’re his first project and we’ve talked about it.”

Last March, when the group initially rounded into shape with five-star forward Isaiah Todd as its headliner, they dubbed themselves the “next Fab Five.” Instead, Dickinson says, “We’re gonna try to leave our legacy as the Fab Four, I guess, at Michigan and hope to cement ourselves with Juwan as his first recruiting class.”