Today was 2019 Big Ten Media Day for basketball, yes, really, basketball, and yes that it’s not you, it really is that much earlier than usual this year. The league has two new coaches, both of which have strong connections to the city where the league is headquartered and the event is traditionally held- Chicago.
The Michigan Wolverines’ new head coach is Juwan Howard, a graduate of Chicago Vocational High School, and former star in the Chicago Public League. Nebrasketball has a new mentor in Fred Hoiberg, whose last gig was coaching the city’s excuse for a NBA franchise, the Chicago Bulls.
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Juwan Howard was asked about the importance of strongly recruiting the city and the CPS, and if the fertile recruiting ground of Chicago will be an important part of his program building strategy.
“Growing up here in Chicago, this city, as we’re here today, being a part of the public league was not only easy for me, but it was challenging at times,” he said.
“So I wouldn’t think because I had so much success that it was an easy route.”
“It was not like that. Been through a lot of wars with King and Simeon High School that taught me to compete at a high level.”
“Chicago has amazing talent in this city, and I will continue to recruit, not only here in Chicago but in other parts of the country.”
His time on dais also included another interesting Q&A, about if his players, as well as the players he’s recruiting know who the Fab Five and Chris Webber are.
“You know what, that’s a very good question,” Juwan Howard answered.
“I haven’t had a chance to even talk about the Fab Five. I think a lot of our guys do their homework. They know what the Fab Five is. They understand what I’ve done at my collegiate level.”
“I think the majority of them have seen the Fab Five documentary.”
“Chris Webber in my opinion is a Hall of Famer, not only on the collegiate level but also on the NBA level.”
“Keep in mind, I recruited Chris Webber to come to the University of Michigan, and at that time people said, hey, how can two guys that play the same position coexist on the floor? But we had an amazing coach like Steve Fisher who figured it out, and we’ve had a lot of success and learned a lot from Coach Fisher.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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