Michigan Basketball: 4-star Hunter Dickinson buys into Juwan Howard

Michigan basketball opens another key recruiting period this week and one target, Hunter Dickinson, seems very interested in Juwan Howard.

When Juwan Howard was hired as Michigan basketball head coach, many speculated that his NBA credentials and career with the Miami Heat would help him on the recruiting trail.

While it’s always hard to tell how much playing and coaching in the NBA helps when it comes to current high school players, Michigan basketball fans can take solace in the fact that one 2020 big man is interested in the Wolverines in large part because of Howard’s NBA success.

That player is four-star center Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 beast that would fill a huge need for U-M in the 2020 class. Dickinson, who is from Maryland, is ranked 30th overall according to the 247 composite rankings. He’s the No. 6 center and second-best player in his home state.

Like many other top prospects, Dickinson will be in action during a key live evaluation period this week. On Wednesday, he joined a number of elite prospects at the Peach Jam in Georgia and speaking with reporters, he talked of his interest in Michigan basketball.

“I was interested in Michigan before Juwan Howard was there with coach Beilein,” Dickinson said according to the Michigan Insider. “Now that they’ve hired Juwan Howard, I’d say my interest is, if not the same, probably a little bit more. I feel like he’s a 6-foot-10 big man who says that he can get me to the league. He has the connections and the abilities to get me there. I feel like that’s a really good option for me.”

With his 19 seasons of playing experience and six years as an assistant with the Heat, Howard has earned a reputation, especially when it comes to working with big men. He was key in developing Hassan Whiteside and that is something Dickinson took notice of. Here’s what he said:

“He said that all the big men he worked with (in Miami), Bam Adebayo and Hassan Whiteside, he thinks he has the tool around him to get me to the league.”

Dickinson also indicated that he would potentially be visiting Ann Arbor this fall, which is another critical step in the process as the Wolverines discovered with Jabri Abdur-Rahim. They weren’t able to get him in for a visit but Virginia did and the Cavaliers got him.

While Michigan basketball has been playing catch up in recruiting, Howard seems to have captured the attention of Dickinson, who is also considering Notre Dame, Providence, Purdue, North Carolina and Florida State.

With Jon Teske set to graduate, the Wolverines will need depth in the front court, particularly after not signing any bigs in the 2019 class. With the addition of Franz Wagner this week, U-M is still set to have 4-5 scholarships available to offer and if all goes well, Howard would certainly love one of those to go to Dickinson.