This Is Why Juwan Howard Is An Elite Recruiter, Culture Creator
He cried like a baby when he was hired. He's been beyond complimentary of various people, including media members, when he absolutely doesn't have to. He complimented my wife on a whim when she dropped in on a press conference while she was pregnant. He's innocently made some mistakes during those press conferences. He's gone to bat for his players. He's also been very tough on some of his best players in order to hold them accountable. He danced with his team after winning The Battle for Atlantis tournament last year.
All of these reasons are why Juwan Howard is elite at creating a culture and, in turn, at recruiting.
During his first 19 months on the job, Howard has already inked the No. 1 class in the Big Ten (2020) and the No. 1 class in the entire country (2021). He was in the mix for two five stars in 2020 (Joshua Christopher and Isaiah Todd) who ultimately spurned him, but followed that up by signing a pair (Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate) from the 2021 class.
The success on the recruiting trail is noteworthy because Howard's team wasn't exactly dominant last year. He definitely won some big games. He beat Matt Painter at Purdue, Tom Izzo, Mark Few and Roy Williams in year one, but he also made some mistakes. He's off to a 4-0 start this year but it hasn't been perfect either. But his culture still feels like it is because of what Howard is about, how he conducts himself at all times and how he treats his coaches and players.
He's been able to win against some great coaches and ink elite classes in large part because his guys would run through a wall for him. Scratch that; with him. Howard talks the talk and walks the walk. I don't see that changing anytime soon, which means that his success on the trail and at creating a place where players want to come, won't either.
