MICHIGAN, USA — Jett Howard is following in his father's footsteps, going from Michigan to the NBA.
He joined his father, Juwan, as an NBA draft lottery pick Thursday night. Juwan still has bragging rights after being the fifth pick overall in the 1994 draft out of Michigan. His son, a 6-foot-8 guard who played his lone college season with his father as coach at Michigan, went at No. 11 overall to Orlando.
The father and son shared a big hug after hearing Jett Howard's name called at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
A member of the “Fab Five” and a two-time NBA champion, Howard played 1,208 NBA games over 19 years for eight different teams starting with Washington. He spent the 2003-04 season with Orlando and finished his career in the 2012-13 season.
Turns out having an NBA veteran for a father is good preparation. The new NBA rookie credited all the time he spent on a court starting at a young age with his father and brother Jace for helping get him to this point.
“Just teaching me how to shoot, teaching me all the tricks on the court, off the court, just telling me to be consistent with my work, and it paid off for me,” Jett Howard said. “And I’m trying not to cry, but that’s my dog right there, and I love him for it.”
He shot 36.8% from 3-point range playing at Michigan, averaging 14.2 points. He made multiple 3s in 24 of 29 games played.
His father has another piece of advice as his son heads to the NBA.
“Be a sponge and listen. Listen,” the Michigan coach said. “Because listening is a skill, and if you sit there and just listen to the coaches, which he will and he's that type of person, he's a sponge and loves the game. ... He's going to be a special player.”
Juwan Howard knows what he's talking about. Another of his players, Kobe Bufkin, went at No. 15, giving Michigan multiple top 15 picks in a draft for the first time since 1994. Yes, that's when Wolverines' teammate Jalen Rose joined Juwan as the 13th pick overall.
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