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Report: Juwan Howard commits minor NCAA violation
Published:
It’s been a long time since Juwan Howard has been around the college basketball scene, and he’s already showing that he has some learning to do.
According to MLive.com, the newly appointed Michigan basketball coach provided an update on German prospect Franz Wagner while on the Jim Rome radio show on Tuesday. Howard provided a little too much information on the situation, however, committing a minor NCAA violation.
Howard discussed the recruiting process of Wagner, who is deciding whether to play at Michigan or jump to the professional ranks in Europe before pursuing an NBA career. Because Wagner is unsigned, it is against NCAA rules for coaches to discuss his recruitment or status.
Wagner is the younger brother of former Michigan star Moe Wagner.
Here was the conversation on the radio, as transcribed by MLive.com:
“Feel free to announce that he is going to commit to Michigan right here on the air. If you want to, you can. How hard are you working that situation to try to get a guy like that in?”
“Our communication has been great,” Howard said. “Right now, he is making a decision if he is going to play with his national team to represent his country in the (FIBA) World Cup championship tournament. I highly recommend that he does. That’s a chance of a lifetime.
…
“At the end of the day, we’ve been communicating on whenever that process is over with, we’d love to have him on campus, wear a Michigan jersey just like his brother, and at some point compete for the University of Michigan and help this team in any way possible, and become a student-athlete at the university.”
Howard was somewhat baited into the question and even said “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this.” He didn’t mention Wagner by name, either.
Though Howard technically committed a violation, because of its minor nature, it’s unlikely there will be any significant consequences. If nothing else, it’ll serve as a learning experience for Howard now that he’s return to college athletics.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB