I spent much of last week on the road checking out more prospects. And, after briefly getting waylaid in Texas due to icy weather, I got back on schedule Thursday, took a quick trip Saturday and have now mostly covered my bases with live viewings of potential first-rounders in this year’s draft. Here’s what I saw and heard on the road, with updates on a few potential first-rounders.
Checking in on Jett Howard
After getting stuck in Texas for a couple of days due to icy weather, I got back to Chicago and caught Michigan against Northwestern on Thursday night, which was my initial viewing of this season’s Wolverines, headlined by Howard, a freshman who, yes, is the son of Michigan coach Juwan Howard. It wasn’t quite clear among scouts (even the optimistic ones) entering the season whether Howard was going to wind up as a one-and-done-caliber prospect. It didn’t take him long to answer that question, though: Michigan is 13–10 and isn’t a spectacular team by any means, but Howard has been quite impressive, including in a 34-point performance on Jan. 12 at Iowa in which he made seven threes and punctuated his case as a potential lottery candidate. He’s regarded as one of the best shooters in the draft.
