Juwan Howard didn't have to look very far to get his next pledge, as FL Forward Jace Howard became the fifth commitment of the 2020 class. This was more formality than actual recruitment, as Michigan was easily the best option on the table for the younger Howard, who held a handful of mid-major offers prior to his father taking the lead job in Ann Arbor.

GURU RANKINGS

Rivals	ESPN	24/7	Endless Motor
3*/SF	NR	3*, #250 overall #43 SF, #22 FL	3*/PF

24/7 is the most bullish, placing Howard as a top 250 prospect nationally. Rivals and Endless Motor agree on the generic 3* range, although Rivals views Jace as more of a wing than power-forward. Declining manpower dictates that ESPN has not bothered with evaluation or ranking of any sort. It is agreed that he sits at 6’7 and in the 200-210 pound range.

SCOUTING

Jace has the look of a program player that will be a solid glue-guy on both ends of the court. Offensively, he’s a combo-forward that is more PF than SF in terms of skillset. Howard does the vast majority of his damage inside the arch, but is capable of stretching the floor from the distance occasionally. He runs the floor well in transition and has a solid jumper from the baseline out to 18 feet. Jace isn’t a primary ballhandler, but down the line he may be a guy that can face-up from the elbow and blow by bigger defenders.

He is a solid athlete with fluid movements that may have some real potential as perimeter defender that guards bigger wings and PF types.

Other evaluations are rather scant, as he didn’t play a ton of games/minutes during the Summer on the EYBL circuit and played a limited role in HS as a junior on a loaded University School squad.

Recent analysis from Hoop MIA is probably the best guide, as they’ve viewed Howard recently in a more prominent role as a senior with University School.

“Howard plays the game with great enthusiasm and his teammates feed off the effort he plays with. He is excellent at using his speed and athleticism to take advantage of slower defenders. He then uses his size and length when teams assign smaller players to guard him. He plays the game efficiently and is good at attacking the basket in straight line drives and does not waste moves or dribbles.”

[After THE JUMP: a comparison that will undoubtedly make me look foolish]

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OFFERS

Saint Louis, Cleveland State, Northern Illinois and Brown all extended scholarships. Dayton and San Diego State showed some level of interest, its murky whether offers were actually extended.

HIGH SCHOOL

University School is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Better known as U-School, it has become a powerhouse recently, coming off back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019. Notable past players include Vernon Carey (Duke) and Scottie Barnes (signed to Florida State), along with current 2022s Jett Howard (top 50 type), Taylor Hendricks (already holds offers from Miami, Florida, Florida State, USF, Iowa State, Wake Forest) and 2023 Jaylen Carey (younger brother of Vernon)

STATS

Jace put up 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for Mac Irvin during the 2019 EYBL season.

VIDEO

InsideTheU December 2018 City of Palms:

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

With the talent that Juwan Howard has locked in for the 2020 class along with likely returnees at the forward spot, Jace Howard may very well redshirt as a freshman. At best, he’ll receive spot minutes and won’t be a consistent rotational player.

The 3/4 position is simply stacked. Franz Wagner, Brandon Johns and Adrian Nunez are all expected to return next season. Throw in a college-ready freshman in Terrance Williams, hopefully Isaiah Todd and the possibility of Isaiah Livers making one last go, and the math makes things quite clear.  He may see a very limited role in year two before being ready for rotational minutes as a junior/redshirt-sophomore.

I’m anticipating Juwan Howard sees a role for his son in the same mold as former Miami Heat teammate Udonis Haslem. Udonis wasn’t necessarily the most skilled guy on a very talented Heat roster, but he was reliable and consistent. Jace has a similar physical profile, hits baseline jumpers, has some defensive versatility and just plays hard.

The younger Howard isn’t likely to be a star at Michigan, but he may very well end up being a guy you want on the court during close games in conference as an upperclassmen. He’s best suited for a junkyard dog type role that gives you quality minutes in grind-out games where his effort level can help the team get defensive stops, garbage points, extra possessions and the occasional “I didn’t know he had that in his game” moment.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Simply impossible to project at this point. It remains to be seen whether Jace is on scholarship or takes a walk-on spot. Add in the questions surrounding Isaiah Todd and it becomes more blurry. We do know that Juwan Howard is absolutely prioritizing five-star guard Josh Christopher. I’ve received word that Christopher is informally down to Michigan and Arizona State, and Michigan has certainly picked up steam in his recruitment.