When his team needed a spark 48 hours after a difficult defeat, Michigan coach Juwan Howard turned to a rival: Draymond Green, the NBA standout and former Michigan State star.
Howard said he used a video of Green speaking ill of the Wolverines to help motivate his team before the 69-50 victory over the Spartans on Thursday, sealing the show’s first Big Ten title since 2014.
In the video, by players, 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 guys to hear,” said Howard after the game. “I think they really enjoyed watching and hearing the words that were said.”
The former Fab Five star and sophomore coach did not reveal details about the video or its origins, but his players said it gave a boost to a team that entered Thursday’s game in hopes of forgetting defeat at home. Tuesday’s 76-53 for an Illinois. squad that played without Ayo Dosunmu.
“It was incredible and even sweeter to do that against Michigan State,” said Mike Smith, a graduate transferred from Columbia who had nine points in victory, his first Michigan-Michigan State rivalry game. “The coach showed us a video of Draymond Green. He was just saying that he would like us to never win a game. It just shows how aggressive this confrontation is.”
Howard, now a strong contender for the national coach of the year after leading his team to the first title of the top ten in seven years, is up to the hype, proven by this season’s race and his success in recruitment. Both of the team’s defeats this season – in Minnesota in January and on Tuesday against Illinois – seem like exceptions to a program that is projected to be number one on Selection Sunday.
“It’s gratifying,” said Howard of the race for his team’s conference title, which included a three-week break due to health and safety protocols for the coronavirus. “We don’t make excuses. We roll up our sleeves and find out along the way. A lot of things were thrown in our way, but we didn’t make up excuses for that.”
Isaiah Livers, who retired from the NBA draft last summer and returned to Michigan, kissed the floor of the Crisler Arena after hitting the bench in the final minutes of Thursday’s game. The senior said the Wolverines’ “journey” is not over because they have bigger dreams they hope to achieve in the coming weeks, including a national championship.
“The Big Ten title … is a big achievement for me,” said Livers after the game. “We all play like brothers. I want good humor [national championship], also. We are going to win a Big Ten championship, have a race at March Madness and, with our fingers crossed, we are going to achieve that.
Howard laughed when asked about using a rival to inspire his team, but he also added that he respects Green. When he was an assistant coach in the NBA, Howard said, he pulled Green aside before the game and said he respected the way he played.
“Draymond,” said Howard, “he is a Hall of Famer, in my opinion, at some point when he finishes playing.”
On Thursday, however, the highlight of the Golden State Warriors was simply a motivation for an old opponent.