Michigan Basketball: Jalen Wilson reacts positively to Juwan Howard

Michigan basketball has hired Juwan Howard to be its next head coach and the move seemed to catch the eye of former commit Jalen Wilson.

One of the biggest questions regarding Juwan Howard as Michigan basketball coach is whether or not he will be able to effectively recruit.

Obviously, that’s a question we won’t have an answer too until later on in his tenure, but just after the word came out that Howard had agreed to a five-year deal to become Michigan basketball coach, former top commit from the 2019 class, Jalen Wilson reacted.

Wilson de-committed from the Wolverines and re-opened his recruitment after John Beilein left for the Cavs. Yet, he was named for Jalen Rose and his mother has long been a fan of the Wolverines, so hiring a former member of the Fab Five can’t hurt, especially when you see the reaction of Wilson who tweeted this:

It’s hard to know exactly what an emoji means, however, in this context, it appears to mean that the Wolverines have at least gotten Wilson’s attention. MLive is also reporting that Wilson expects to meet with Howard soon.

This doesn’t mean that Michigan basketball is going to be able to get him back. But it at least feels like more of a possibility now. Wilson visited Kansas already and will also visit North Carolina.

Before all the change at head coach, Wilson was viewed as the gem of the Wolverines 2019 class. He’s a top-50 recruit and many had him penciled in as Michigan’s starting small forward next season after the loss of Charles Matthews, Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis to the NBA.

But with all the uncertainty surrounding Michigan basketball after Beilein left, it’s hard to blame Wilson for opening up his options again. It’s pretty rare for recruits to come back after they ask for a release as Wilson did, but if Howard can build a connection with him, anything is possible.

Howard will also need to reach out to fellow to Cole Bajema, the only remaining commit of the 2019 class. Franz Wagner, the younger brother of Moritz Wagner, also visited last week and should be another target, along with graduate transfer Jaevin Cumberland, who could fill the open hole at shooting guard.

Howard’s potential as a recruiter is one of the reasons why fans are so excited and bullish on his prospects. Well, after Wilson’s reaction, the door appears to be open and it feels like he will offer us the first glimpse into Howard’s ability to win over big-name recruits.