Getting to know Illinois' Jerrance Howard

Why did you want to become a coach? I have always been a person who wants to help people out. I like to see them smile and succeed in life. Coaching is helping young people to be better persons. Some kids dream to play in the NBA, but since fifth grade, I’ve wanted to coach. I really believe I was born to coach basketball.

Your goals? To be one of the best recruiters in the country, and to be the head coach at Illinois after putting in my time and paying my dues.
What is the toughest aspect of evaluating prospects? Are they tough enough and do they have the competitive drive to play at a high level? Can they take care of business off the court? A lot of players are talented and skilled but they are soft. They don’t want to put in the effort and hard work to be competitive at the Big Ten level.

What do you look for? How hard they play, leadership skills, how they interact with teammates. A red flag is if they don’t play hard and aren’t competitive. If they play hard, everything else will fall into place. I like to watch them play a bad game and see how they react when they aren’t shooting well. What will they do when they aren’t scoring? Do they do something else to make up for it?

What separates great evaluators from the rest? Noticing little things like how hard a kid works, if he talks to his teammates. At this level of recruiting, you know they can play, so you look for intangibles, like how they motivate their teammates. You’re looking for a total package, not a one-dimensional player.

What’s the difference between a great coach and a good coach? A great coach is 365 days a year and develops a great player into a great person. A good coach is the basketball season.

The toughest aspect of being a recruiter? Knowing which kid can fit into your program. We recruit a lot of kids, but we must find two or three who fit into our program, the right guys. There are a lot of talented players out there, but you must find the ones to fit into your program.

If you could pick the brain of one basketball mind, who would it be? Magic Johnson. I wore No. 32 because of him. He was smart. He always was two steps ahead of the game. He was a great leader and teammate. I would want to know what made him tick and made him go.

How has the game changed since you played? How many big guys can you count? How many elite low-post players? The game has become guard-oriented. College teams are more perimeter-oriented. The best athletes are guards. When I was growing up, you had to have a big man. The game has gone from big men to guards.

Why is Peoria basketball so good? We play basketball every day, all day. When I was growing up, we played at Peoria Central, Carver Center, Peoria Richwoods and Proctor Center. Howard Nathan and Chris Reynolds were my heroes. I was the ballboy for the 1988 Peoria Central team.

What does the Big Ten have to do to get back on top? It falls on the coaches to recruit at a high level, to get the elite players to come into the conference. In the end, it’s all about the players.

Best player you’ve ever seen? Frank Williams and Howard Nathan at Peoria Manual and Deron Williams when he came to Illinois. I’m not at all surprised that Deron has gone on to have great success in the NBA. All he talked about when he arrived at Illinois was to go to the Final Four. He had great competitive drive and a great knowledge of the game.

Worst airport? O’Hare. So many delays. My longest was six hours, just to get back to Champaign. All the rental cars were booked.

How do you relax? My wife, Jessica, and I love to bowl and go to the movies. I’m a huge Denzel Washington fan. I have every one of his DVDs.

If you had the money, what would you do with Assembly Hall? I’d paint the top of the dome orange. I’d tear out the lower level and wrap a student section around the court. I’d put in luxury boxes on the first level. And I’d set up designated seating, three or four rows with reclining chairs, for recruits and their parents.