The Michigan Wolverines will be forced to play the regular season without Head Coach Juwan Howard, as the former ‘Fab Five’ member and NBA champion with the Miami Heat was suspended for the remainder of the regular season Monday.
Howard’s suspension was handed down by the university following his punch-turned-slap on Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft Sunday.
While there has been little if any objection to Howard’s suspension by national and local media, a social media post was made recently by a Top 50 ranked 2022 high school recruit from one of the most prestigious basketball schools in the country that has people talking.
The recruit, Eric Dailey, Jr. of IMG Academy in Florida, shared a picture of the Wolverines’ head coach on one of his Instagram stories this afternoon, along with the caption #FreeJuwan.
The news was shared by former Wolverines player and On3.com reporter Anthony Wright on Twitter, who played under former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker.
People had questions about how the Juwan stuff will impact recruiting.. I basically said the kids won’t care
Here’s a Top 50 recruits recent IG post pic.twitter.com/66keWLqLrH
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) February 22, 2022
While Dailey, Jr. is still in high school, his message is noteworthy because it shows support for the coach despite the Wolverines’ subpar 2021-2022 season so far, as well as because most analysts have agreed that Howard deserved his suspension based on the strike he threw at Krabbenhoft.
With a record of 14-11, Howard’s Wolverines are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a game against a talented Rutgers squad looming tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
Rutgers had won straight against Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois, respectively, prior to Sunday’s 84-72 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers.
Dailey, Jr. is a 6-foot-6, 225 pound small forward who has an offer from Michigan among his potential suitors.
He is ranked #37 in ESPN’s national rankings, four spots against of Howard’s son Jett, a fellow small forward and top 50 2022 recruit.
Check out highlights of Dailey, Jr.’s skills in a clip below from Courtside Films.
Do you think he would be a good fit with the Wolverines?
