Michigan Basketball: 3 Breakout candidates for 2020-21 season

Jace Howard

As a coach’s son, I know how to recognize other coaches’ sons. They are usually one of the best on their team, typically a starter, and they play fundamentally sound basketball. They’re not very flashy, but they can score, and they don’t slack off on defense.

The reason behind that is these kids are getting instruction every day or every other day of their lives. There are no summers off or vacations that don’t include some type of sporting equipment being brought along. Constant tweaking of form and a barrage of critiques.

Watch a few minutes of Howard’s highlights.

He protects the ball, keeps his eyes open for teammates, and doesn’t make stupid decisions. He’s a mature basketball player, well beyond his opponents.

Quickly, I’ll go over his rankings. 247 sports has him as a three-star and outside of the top 350, and ESPN has him around the same range, way too low.

But there weren’t many highlight reels to review as Jace had a severe injury that halted his progress and shutdown his junior year. He had fractured his tibia, or in more simple terms, his shin bone broke.

Jace recovered and will be on the roster for 2020. While he won’t be one of the starting five, he will surprise the masses.