Michigan Basketball: What to make of Wolverines offer to Jace Howard

Michigan basketball extended an offer to three-star Jace Howard, the son of head coach Juwan Howard. Here is what we can make of it.

There was always a question of whether or not Michigan basketball would get in on the recruitment of three-star Jace Howard, the son of head coach Juwan Howard and Wednesday, we got the answer.

It’s a yes as Howard and the Wolverines extended an offer to his son, who is listed as a three-star prospect according to 247 sports and is unranked among the 247 sports composite rankings. Corey Evans of Rivals was the first to report.

But Howard does have legitimate interest from other schools and is a legitimate Divison I prospect. Brown, St. Lous, Dayton and Northern Illinois have been among his suitors, while San Diego State and Cleveland State have also been interested.

Since Juwan Howard took the Michigan basketball job, Jace Howard has been clear that his recruitment is still open. Since Howard is a three-star prospect, I floated the idea of him walking on to play for his father, which would be a coup for the Wolverines, but it seems less likely now.

It will be interesting to see how the 2020 recruiting class develops because that may determine whether or not the Wolverines can give out a scholarship to Howard. Right now, Michigan should have four scholarships available, as long as no other players depart.

However, someone like Austin Davis, who hasn’t played much and likely won’t in the future, could choose to leave after this season as a graduate transfer, opening up another spot.

If that happens, Michigan would have five spots to fill, which gives the program a little more wiggle room. Zeb Jackson is already committed and since he is recruiting others to join him, he seems like he is still solid.

Three other highly-touted recruits, Nimari Burnett, Lance Ware and Walker Kessler have official visits scheduled for next month and even though it seems like a long shot if all three guys ended up committing, that would put UM at four.

It’s not likely Howard would choose his son over one of those prospects since they are each among the top-50 overall. Then, it would likely depend on another spot opening up. If say Davis decided to leave, Howard would have another scholarship to give out.

If not, Jace may need to choose between walking on at Michigan, where he wouldn’t have to worry about tuition or playing somewhere else. It’s possible he doesn’t want to be seen as riding his father’s success into college basketball and that makes sense.

But for UM, getting a legit, three-star prospect to walk on and join the program would be huge. Howard does have some value, especially as a defender and glue guy. He also has more game than people realize, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds on the Nike EYBL via UMHoops.

If there is room, using a scholarship on him wouldn’t be a bad thing. He has upside and would understand his role. But it’s likely to be a numbers game, which is why even though he got the offer, it doesn’t seem like he will be a sure take down the road.