Outside of his family––and the rest of the Fab Five––there aren’t many people who know Juwan Howard the way Jimmy King does. So when King speaks about Howard (and Michigan basketball), people should be all ears.

Thursday morning was no different.

King joined The Morning Woodward Show to discuss Michigan basketball and Howard’s time as head coach. As King discussed the Wolverines’ chances in the upcoming tourney, he addressed an article regarding Howard’s potential departure.

On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggested Howard could be a candidate for several NBA head coach vacancies this summer.

“Despite being in just his second year as Michigan’s head coach, Howard has long been viewed as a leading candidate for NBA head-coaching jobs, dating to his time as an assistant with the Miami Heat,” said Givony.

“Last summer, he put out a statement saying he is not ‘exploring, seeking or listening’ in regard to NBA opportunities, but many NBA executives feel Howard will be in high demand once again this offseason.”

Despite the offers Howard may potentially garner, King feels that he isn’t leaving Michigan anytime soon.

“I believe he’s going to stay,” said King. “He’s a 100% committed guy. He’s not going to abandon the No. 1 recruiting class. If he was going to take a head coaching job in the NBA, I believe he would’ve took it two years ago, prior. This is the only job that he would take [outside], or that would be appealing to him.”

“I don’t see him jumping ship or abandoning ship until the job is done, and even then, I still see him trying to build a dynasty.”

Even though there was some turbulence to end their season, Howard has Michigan primed for future success. Proof of that is this season. They ended the season ranked 4th in the nation. And this is after starting the season unranked. They enter this year’s tourney as the No.1 seed in the East region. Along with that, scouts marvel at the recruiting classes he has incoming; the same ones King spoke of.

Howard will coach his first game in the NCAA tourney this Saturday. His Wolverines Michigan will face the winner of Mount Saint Mary’s and Texas Southern’s play-in match Thursday evening.

Unfortunately for Wolverine fans, they have to wait until Saturday to see Michigan play. However, fans of the Fab Five can view King’s entire interview is available to watch by clicking the video below.

In the end, Jimmy King could wind up being wrong. After all, sports is very unpredictable. There is definitely a possibility that Howard could bolt to the NBA at any point. However, that time is not right now. Despite his name showing up in NBA coach talk, Howard is the main man at Michigan.