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ESPN CBB analyst says Juwan Howard could bring sons of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade to UM

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

With the report coming from Jon Rothstein on Wednesday that Juwan Howard is expected to be named the next head basketball coach at Michigan, there are already some high expectations for the future of the program.

That might sound a little weird for a program that won two B1G titles, two B1G Tournament titles and appeared in two Final Fours under previous coach John Beilein, but the excitement around Howard is pretty high. Everything from reestablishing a Fab Five culture to winning a national championship has already been discussed.

One really good way to become a front-runner in the national title chase is to do well on the recruiting trail. ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla thinks Howard already has an excellent chance to land two premier targets in the future.

“Juwan Howard should be a good hire (at Michigan), especially because he’ll bring (Miami Heat) culture of work ethic and toughness he learned from Pat Riley and Eric Spoelstra,” Fraschilla wrote on Twitter. “He’ll likely get Bronny James and Zaire Wade. Beilein culture was great, too. Fab Five culture? Fun times but nah.”

Yes, Fraschilla thinks that Howard has a great chance to bring the sons of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to Michigan. And he may be right.

Howard played with both James and Wade from 2010-13 while in Miami, winning two NBA titles. That friendship could be an inside track to landing two high-quality prospects. Then again, James is a die-hard Ohio State fan, which would be a fun twist.

Obviously, there are no guarantees in recruiting, but Howard may have an advantage from the moment he signs the contract.

Dustin Schutte

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