2022-23 Season

Jett Howard declares for NBA Draft

Michigan freshman wing Jett Howard declared for the NBA Draft today, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Howard will also be sidelined for the next month while rehabbing his ankle. Some notable quotes from Howard’s interview with Givony:

“This was a great learning year for me,” Howard told ESPN. “It’s what I needed. It taught me how to play within a pro style offense and be effective, to get out of my comfort zone, and play with other good players.”

“I’ve had both ankles nagging for a while, so my dad and the coaching staff agreed with the specialist that it’s better for me to get to 100%,” Howard said. “I was only 50-60% for most of the Big Ten. My dad being the coach he is was looking out for me and wanted the best for my health. He understands that ankles are tricky. I met with a specialist after the Big Ten Tournament and they wanted me to rehab for four to five weeks. Thank God it doesn’t require surgery or anything like that.”

“I didn’t know how much time I would have at Michigan so I wanted to make the most of it,” Howard said. “It was a unique situation here with my brother and dad. I didn’t want to take this time for granted, which meant playing through injuries. My thought process was if I could do something out there to impact the game, if I could help my team win a few more games and make the NCAA tournament, I was going to do that.”

“Playing for my dad was a beautiful experience,” Howard said. “It was a little rough at first, as he wants things done a certain way, but overall it was easy playing in his offense. He’s a fun person to be around on a day to day basis.”

“He said it without saying it; it might be time for you to go,” Howard said. “This was easy, for him to let go. He asked around and came to the consensus that I should leave.”

Howard had an up-and-down freshman year, getting off to a hot start offensively but struggling to fit into Michigan’s team concept at times on both ends of the floor. He averaged 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game and is projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Howard’s departure, combined with Isaiah Barnes entering the transfer portal, means that Michigan is short on depth at the wing position and will likely have to address that need via the transfer portal. Howard’s announcement will make it easy for Michigan to start recruiting to those needs immediately.

Michigan also released this statement from Howard:

Notable Replies

  1. telekinetic

    well, at least that statement doesn’t leave much question about whether or not he’s just “getting evaluated”!

  2. Drae

    Best wishes, personally think he needed another year but i guess he can work on it in the g league

  3. adamsmit86

    Well at least it sounds definitive rather than unknown going through the process. Just want to know what you’re working with and where you need to go in the portal.

  4. DMB43

    Nooooo Jett whyyyyyy :sob::sob::sob::sob:

    (go get that bag tho)

  5. MattR11

    Gee, people kept saying he was faking.

Discuss the Article

93 more replies

To Top