When his team needed a spark 48 hours after a hard loss, Michigan coach Juwan Howard turned to a rival: Draymond Green, a remarkable NBA and former Michigan star.
Howard said he used a video about Green talking about the Wolverines to motivate his team before the 69-50 victory over the Spartans on Thursday, sealing the first title of the 2014 Big Ten.
In the video, for each player, Green said he hoped Michigan would “never win” a game, showing the intensity of the rivalry between the two schools.
“He had a nice little video that I wanted the boys to listen to,” Howard said after the game. “I think they really enjoyed watching her and listening to her words.”
Former Fab Five star and second-year coach did not disclose details about the video or its origins, but his players said they provided a boost for a team that entered Thursday’s game in hopes of forgetting the loss. of 76-53 Tuesday in front of an Illinois. the team that played without Ayo Dosunmu.
“It felt amazing and then it’s even sweeter to do it against Michigan State,” said Mike Smith, a graduate transfer from Columbia who had nine points in victory, his first Michigan-Michigan State rivalry game. “The coach showed us a video with Draymond Green. He just said he never wants to win a game. That just shows how aggressive this game is.”
Howard, now a strong contender for national coach of the year, after leading his team to his first Big Ten title in seven years, has risen to the occasion of hype, proven by this season’s race and his success on the recruitment route. Both team losses this season – to Minnesota in January and Tuesday against Illinois – feel like outliers for a program that is forecast to be No. 1 on selection Sunday.
“It’s gratifying,” Howard said of the title of his team’s conference, which included a three-week break due to coronavirus health and safety protocols. “We didn’t apologize. We rolled up our sleeves and realized along the way. A lot of things were thrown in our way, but we didn’t apologize for that.”
Isaiah Livers, who retired from the NBA draft last summer and returned to Michigan, kissed the floor of the Crisler Arena after walking on the bench in the final minutes of Thursday’s game. The senior said Wolverines’ “journey” is not over because they have bigger dreams that he hopes to achieve in the coming weeks, including a national championship.
“The Big Ten title … that’s a great achievement for me,” Livers said after the game. “We all play like brothers. I want crazy people [national championship], also. We will win a Big Ten championship, we will run in the March Madness and, with our fingers crossed, we will take that madness “.
Howard chuckled when asked about using a rival to inspire his team, but added that he respected Green. When he was an assistant coach in the NBA, Howard said, he pulled Green aside before a game and told him he respected the way he played.
“Draymond,” Howard said, “is a Hall of Famer, in my opinion, at some point when he finished playing.”
On Thursday, however, the remarkable Golden State Warriors was simply the motivation of an old enemy.