No surprise on the side of the Ann Arbor campus in Michigan: after a single university season under the orders of his father, in the ranks of the Wolverines, Jett Howard will register for the 2023 Draft.
” It was a good year for me, I gained experience » the 20-year-old told ESPN. ” That’s what I needed. I learned to evolve in a style of game close to that of the professionals and to be effective there. I stepped out of my comfort zone, playing with and against other very good players in the country.”
Archetype of the “swingman” in the NBA, this exterior capable of playing on positions 2 and 3, of creating his shot but also of creating the game as second or third creator in a team, Jett Howard ends this season with 14.2 points (41.4% on shots, including 36.8% from behind the arc), 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists on average in 29 games this season, all started as starters. Selected at the end of the season in the “All-Big Ten Third Team”, the third typical team of the Big Ten conference, he is also placed in the “All-Freshmen Team”, the typical team of first-year players of the conference.
Considered a potential “lottery pick” for a good part of the season, he unfortunately experienced a small setback starting in January in particular, when physical glitches in both ankles prevented him from completing the season at maximum of his physical abilities.
” I was only 50% or 60% physically in every Big Ten conference game. So at the end of the season, after the Big Ten conference tournament, I met a specialist who advised me to do rehabilitation for four to five weeks. But I’m relieved that I don’t have to have an operation. »
A temporary halt, as ESPN reminds us, since if the Michigan “freshman” has to rest for another month, he will be well back in time to carry out “workouts” with the NBA franchises, ahead of the Draft. in April and May, and will therefore be able to cement its place in the Top 20, or even again in the “lottery”.
