In the midst of a thrilling game-winning run, Juwan Howard stood wide-open beyond the three-point line. The Portland Trail Blazers held a 93-87 lead at this juncture against the Denver Nuggets, and the 36-year old pulled a rabbit out of the hat, returning for an instance back to his glory days at Michigan. Upon receiving a pass from Jerryd Bayless, who had just leaped out of a double-team near the left-baseline to find him, he dribbled into the lane, taking defender  Nene Hilario to his right, and faked to his left before spinning back to his right, confusing Hilario. He then made a tremendous up-and-under move, pump-faking Hilario into the air and evading his body by pivoting back to his left. With Hilario completely baffled, he smoothly drained a 10-footer, sending a crowd already on its feet into pandemonium.

Michigan's Fab Five: from left, Ray Jackson, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Jimmy King.

He jogged back down-court as announcer Mike Barrett and Mike Rice re-lived this blast from the past. In his hey-day, this move was a frequent occurrence. In 1992, Michigan started five freshman. Howard was one of them, and Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King were the other four. These five would be forever known as the Fab Five, as the most famous class in college basketball history. The five, fueled by Howard’s 11 points and 6 rebounds per game, became the first all-freshman to reach the Final Four.

Baby-faced like the others, with a flattop, Howard had an automatic mid-range jumper, stellar low-post moves, and a knack for rebounding. He wasn’t the best player on the team (that title belonged to Webber), but he was no less valuable to their success. This success carried over to the following year. As sophomores, they once again reached the Final Four, thanks in large part to Howard’s 14 and 7 per game, but for the second-straight year, they fell short of a  Championship.

Trash-talkers, with a hip-hop style, wearing baggy shorts and stylish black shoes, they were truly fabulous. And Howard was an integral piece of their historic and memorable puzzle.

He would play one more season at Michigan, during which he nearly averaged a double-double: 20 points and 9 rebounds a contest. Then he took his NBA-ready game to the NBA, and was selected fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. In his first year, he averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds, and was named to the All-Rookie team. The following season he was an All-Star, playing all but one game while scoring 22 points per game.

He would never average 20-plus points again, nor make the All-Star team again. But he was Mr. Consistency, a hard-worker, and a double-double threat. Seven of his next ten seasons were shortened by injuries, but despite this, he averaged in double-figures and grabbed no less than five boards per contest.

Not only was he talented, but he was an exuberant personality. He was known and respected by everyone in the league, including officials, the zebras that he rarely berated. And he just knew how to play basketball, and play the right way.

After all these years, he still does. Able to play center albeit at an undersized 6-9, he was brought in by Portland as a mentor, a wise-man. He was also signed as an insurance policy, just in case Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla suffered catastrophic injuries. Both 7-footers did, shredding their knees in similarly squeamish fashion. So, Howard was no longer just a third-string center, backup power-forward, and a player brought in for tutelage and a good locker-room vibe. Now, he’s a starter, and a very valuable one at that.

The 15-year veteran took Przybilla’s place after the center went down against Dallas. He played 34 minutes in that win, collecting his first double-double–10 points and 10 rebounds–since 2007, and dished 4 assists. He was even better in the final game of the road trip, scoring 12 points on 6-9 shooting, while grabbing 12 rebounds, including five offensive.

How important were these performances, as well as his contributions earlier on the road trip? In an article titled “Juwan Howard is walking the walk”, by the Oregonian’s Joe Freeman, head coach Nate McMillan said, “We don’t win this stretch of games if Howard is not doing what he’s been doing.”

In that same piece by Freeman, Howard is praised by his teammates, and again by McMillan:

Brandon Roy: “Juwan’s been amazing. We always knew he could play. But we didn’t want to put heavy minutes on him because we wanted to use him over the season. But when Greg and Joel went down and we had no choice, he said, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready.’ And we never questioned that because he can play. The dude can play.”

LaMarcus Aldridge: “He’s a pro, man, that’s what he does. He’s always ready. He’s been the go-to guy on teams, he’s been the rogue guy on teams and he knows how to play in any set. And his experience is showing for us by the way he’s playing and the plays he makes. So he’s been big for us.”

McMillan: “Howard has really stepped up and kind of (given) that veteran leadership we need. He’s not allowing these guys to give in to all of the adversity that we’ve been facing. He’s playing good basketball. All of our guys are feeding off of that.”

Roy has been superb of late, as has the likes of Bayless, Andre Miller, Steve Blake, Martell Webster, among others, but Howard has been their backbone. Riddled by injuries himself over the years, he is now picking up this injury-riddled squad, motivating them as the head-honcho, and telling them to not make excuses, to believe.

Whenever he speaks, everyone present listens. He is that powerful an influence. But as he has shown, he is not just a consummate professional and motivator. As Roy, Aldridge, and McMillan said, he can still play.

Howard, who is in excellent physical shape, knows he can, too. “I hope I can have a huge impact in the locker room. But not only that, I also will hopefully have an impact and presence on the court. I’ve played in over 1,000 games. I’ve played in a lot of playoff games. I’ve been around and I know how to play the game. I still have a lot left in the tank.”

He has shown no signs of slowing down, either. A member of one of the greatest college basketball teams in history, and now one of the wise-men of the NBA, Howard has plenty left, as demonstrated by his back-to-back double-doubles. As he said to Freeman,  “I’m going to keep playing because I love it. I’m passionate about it. I’m going to keep playing until they rip this jersey off me.” And Portland will be happy to keep him around until they do.

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