Jace Howard adapting to playing under Juwan for the first time

Growing up, Jace Howard never planned to play for his dad.

Juwan was there, of course, in an omnipresent parental role. Jace watched the Miami Heat teams that his dad was an assistant coach for fervently throughout his middle and high school years. And there was always the understanding of his family legacy, hammered home by Michigan paintings and Fab Five photos adorning the Howards’ house.

But playing for his dad, even after Juwan became a Heat assistant in 2013, was never a thought. And with NBA rigors occupying his time, first as a player then as a coach, Juwan never even coached Jace’s youth teams.

So when Jace, a three-star 2020 small forward, decided to play for Juwan at Michigan, he was entering the unknown.

“I’ve never played for my dad before so it was definitely an experience that I wanted to think about a lot,” Jace said Monday.”… Before coming on to campus, I had a little bit of concern.”