Juwan Howard's wife pulls back curtain on U-M basketball's trip to the Sweet 16

It was the big question, before the big question.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel sat down with Juwan Howard and positioned him carefully. It was the spring of 2019 and they were talking about the Michigan job.

“It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky,” Manuel said at Howard’s introductory news conference. “I sat him with his back to the beach and the water, so he couldn’t see it. I didn’t want to think about what he might be leaving if he left (Miami).”

Then, Manuel popped the biggest question of all.

“Is Jenine ready to do this?” Manuel asked.

[ Juwan Howard has great relationship with Florida State coach, player ]

Howard met his wife Jenine in his second year in the NBA — at an Alonzo Mourning party — and they’ve been married since 2002. During a 19-year NBA career, they moved constantly; Howard played for eight different teams.

“And he looked at me and said, ‘If she wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here,’” Manuel said. “That told me about him and his decision making.”

Howard did take the job, returning to his alma mater. At the time, I raised questions about the hire, which was a gamble because Howard didn’t have any head coaching experience.

But I couldn’t have been more wrong. And it has proved to be a brilliant hire by Manuel. Howard is one of four finalists for the Naismith Men's Coach of the Year award, which will be announced April 4, and he has led the Wolverines to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and into the Sweet 16, where they will play No. 4 seed Florida State at 5 p.m. Sunday in Indianapolis.

It is an amazing journey — a first-time head coach taking over a program from highly successful John Beilein, losing the 2020 NCAA tournament because of COVID-19, dealing with quarantine and isolation during the strangest offseason in college basketball history, blending a key freshman and a couple of transfers with a veteran group of seniors, getting this team off to an amazing 18-1 start, dealing with a strange 23-day pause between games, winning the Big Ten championship, losing star Isaiah Livers to a foot injury, holding the Wolverines together after losing three of the first five games in early March, and then kick starting everything again in the tournament.

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Whew. Oh, and one other little thing. In the middle of all of that, Howard built the No.1 ranked recruiting class, signing six players in November.

“To all six I say, welcome to the Michigan family!” Howard said on signing day.

It is more than a throw-away line. It is the mantra of this program, the root of the culture Howard is trying to build.

And that family starts at home with Jenine.

“Congrats Coach!” Jenine wrote on Instagram after the Big Ten title. “I’m giving you your flowers NOW - You deserve a garden full! The sleepless nights, endless hours of film, strategizing - always SOLUTION BASED. Your dedication to these incredible young men is second to none. How you’ve Lead with grace in a season of insurmountable challenges is beyond me. I know you detest the attention but try to enjoy this one.”

“For me, it just feels good seeing you receive this blessing especially when many doubted & criticized for no good reason,” Jenine continued on social media. “I know.. I know.. “Ignore the haters” but you know when it comes to you and the muffins I can’t help myself. We are just getting started here in A2 and have a lot more winning to do! Let’s get it!!!”

Jenine has a strong presence on social media. She 50,000 followers on Instagram and another 10,000 on Twitter. And those posts have turned into a must read for Michigan basketball fans because she offers a small window into what this has been like for her husband — the sleepless nights, his dedication and how the initial criticism stung, if not him than her.

But most of all, her posts offer insight into how sweet this truly is, especially after this crazy, unprecedented year.

“These kids have been through so much,” she wrote on Twitter on Jan.23.

Staying on message

During March Madness, there is a rush of stories, profiles and analysis that try to explain why a team goes on a run.

But part of the answer can be found in Jenine’s social media posts. We don’t normally get to see inside a program. But she pulls back the curtain, just as bit.

So what’s the secret of this team?

The key is defense.

“We have to stay aggressive defensively,” Jenine wrote on Dec. 2, 2020. “It will translate into great offense.”

MORE FROM SEIDEL:We should celebrate, appreciate what Tom Izzo, Juwan Howard did in this crazy season

Hmm. I have a feeling Coach Howard has said that a few times around the kitchen table.

This is such a cohesive team. You can see that the way they play defense, as well as when they go out and visit a zoo.

You can sense this team’s resolve in Jenine’s Tweets. After U-M lost to No. 4 Illinois 76-53 on March 2, she Tweeted out: “Go Blue! We gon’ be alright!”

And it’s that kind of resolve that helped the Wolverines come from behind against LSU. Thanks to several players, including Eli Brooks, who scored 21 points and played outstanding defense against LSU.

Who saw that coming?

Jenine.

“Brooks the unsung hero,” she wrote on Twitter on Dec. 2, 2020.

Best of all, Jenine brings some raw honesty to what it’s like being the wife of the head coach.

In February after the Wolverines beat Indiana, 73-57, Jenine posted: “This is way more stressful than the NBA. I swear I only started paying attention in the second round of the ECF. THIS stress is EVERY game! Geez!”

Behind every great man ...

We have seen several different sides of Juwan Howard.

There was do-everything Howard: This man who earned $149 million in the NBA took a towel, got down on his hands and knees and cleaned the court during a game in 2019 game against Iowa State.

“Does he clean the floors at home Jenine?” somebody asked on Twitter.

“No, but he does our laundry,” she responded.

We have seen dancing Howard, as he did the salsa after winning the Big Ten title. His son Jace tweeted out the video clip and Jenine retweeted it: “Suavemente!”

And we have seen fiercely competitive Howard. He was ejected against Maryland after getting into a shouting match with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.

“It feels wrong to root against anyone in the Big Ten,” Jenine wrote on Twitter during the NCAA tournament. “They feel like family now. Except Maryland (crying for joby emoji). Unpopular opinion but it’s sad to see them eliminated.”

Someone responded: “You have to always root against OSU. It’s the rules. “

She replied: “Even basketball huh. Geez ok! Noted.”

Yes, there has been a learning curve.

And there is another layer to this team, this family.

Jenine and Juwan’s son, Jace, is a freshman on the team.

Which could create a tricky situation.

But Jenine approaches it with humor on social media. She posts things that sound like what every other parent wants to say, begging the head coach for her son to get in the game.

On Dec 2, 2020, she wrote: “Jace. We want Jace We want Jace!!!!

And on Dec. 9: “I got big beef with the Coach. Please let us rack up points so the bench can get in.”

After Jace scored his first bucket, she was thrilled; “Bawled my eyes out.”

Following your calling

Fans and the media see only a sliver of what happens to a basketball team.

But there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes.

Things people are dealing with. And the Howard family has had to deal with a horrible loss this season when Donnie Kirksey, 57, died from COVID-19 on Dec. 28.

“Wrecked,” she posted on Twitter. “Godfather to my Jace. A brother to my husband and our families protector. DK you ran a winning race. I’m comforted having you up there on our side”

One last thing from Jenine.

There is more to the story of how they left Miami. Something that truly explains how bad Juwan wanted this job. And she could see it in his eyes.

“When the University of Michigan called, there was spark in his eyes,” Jenine told Brick Magazine. “He had never entertained coaching on a college level, but I knew he would take the Michigan job if the opportunity were right; I could tell by the look on his face. He came home that night and said, “I think this is my calling, to mentor young men. I was mentored and this is what I’m supposed to do — to give back.” I knew I had to support him. This felt bigger than us, if it was a calling than that’s God and we need to follow that. That’s how we made the decision that brought us here.”

That spark. That might explain everything.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.